“Extinction Rebellion”? Sounds like a title for the next Mel Gibson movie. The pre-prepared speeches from the 16 year-old child, are probably as factually inaccurate as the script of Mel’s most famous movie too. My generation destroyed your world? “How dare you!”

I’ll explain: As a pre teenager, my pocket money was earned on Saturday, by pushing a large, DIY made box on pram wheels, to an almost-local waste paper factory, knocking on doors on the way until the box was full, and being paid 2s/6d, 12p to you young’uns, for my efforts, by the factory. Then I would shop for the neighbours, and collect hand sliced ham, wrapped in grease-proof paper, and bread, and loose spuds, in a brown carrier bag. Plastic? That was for buttons, but produced from powdered milk known as casein, and formaldehyde. Or Bakelite, almost the same, but using carbolic. Every month or two, the rag and bone man, with a horse and cart, would come around to buy old clothes, we wore them all ‘til they looked like modern-day jeans. No charity shops then, nothing to donate to them. He'd buy bones too, used to make wood glue. I’m not from Dickension times either, although Charles was born just one mile from me, albeit 135 years before, almost next door to the paper works mentioned earlier, as a matter of fact. I’d pass his birthplace on the way.

Instead of causing havoc, and missing school, and digging up college lawns “Digging for oil”, (What was that all about?) would our warriors not be better employed finding people like me, who would be more than happy to allow them to plant trees on otherwise unproductive land. There must be many farmers, and even people with large gardens, who would be more than happy too, to accommodate them while they do something worthwhile. Even those schools, which have spaces round the perimeter, could use it in their biology and geography lessons. Businesses, and individuals, could contribute to the cost of purchasing the saplings. There’s even the perfect name, with a perfect advertising campaign, which comes free of charge with just a light breeze, “The Trees Movement”.

So instead of frustrating those people trying to live their lives, by disrupting their journeys, not to mention the production and spread of increased diesel particulates, why not spend the time and effort, and the bus fares to rallies, buying and planting trees.

To quote that great American poet, “The answer my friends, is blowing in the wind, the answer is blowing in the wind”. There you go, a theme tune, too. www.youtube.com/watch?v=G58XWF6B3AA

Bryan Billau