A freezing day in Westminster
21 November 2024
I myself felt it had been a privilege to represent so many of our residents that had told us their stories as part of the Laying it on the Table campaign.
Waking up at 5am in a pitch black, freezing cold November morning to get ready for the Trussell Trust and Joseph Rowntree Foundation “Guarantee our Essentials” event at Westminster, with a nationwide forecast of snow and ice, I did wonder if travelling down to London was still a good idea!
However, all the work preceding the big day could not go to waste so plenty of layers of clothes was the order of the day.
Once kitted out like Sir Edmund Hilary on his way up Mount Everest, I tackled the icy car like a true professional with my furry gloves & credit card whilst waiting for our courageous involved resident, Leanne, to arrive.
Once in the car we chatted all the way to the train station about the campaign and, having brought the emh tablecloth with us, were excited about showing off all the great stories and comments made by our residents.
Jackie and Leanne in Parliament Square
Unfortunately the weather sabotaged the first leg of our journey, and with our original train now cancelled, we waited patiently in the freezing cold for the next one scheduled an hour away.
Right on time, the train arrived and at last we were on our way!
On arrival Euston Station was filled with like-minded people bustling their way to their destinations, and with just a short tube ride later we were at Westminster where we met Communications lead for Placeshapers, Joana Charlton.
Stepping out onto the buzzing street full of tourists we tried to find our bearings but with Joanna at the helm it was like we had our own personal guide as she led the way with earnest.
We were so focussed on our destination both Leanne and I failed to spot Big Ben on exiting the station so I decided it was clearly not big enough and while chuckling at our blunder, I blamed it on the excitement of the event and the glaring sun!
Fortunately, we had been blessed with clear blue skies on the day, so Joanna took lots of photos of Leanne and I right in front of Big Ben - just in case we needed reminding of our earlier oversight.
Campaigners at Westminster
Once we were happy with our pictures, the next stage was to join Trussell Trust and Joseph Rowntree Foundation teams for their campaign photo shoot.
By this time it had warmed up, so the request to take part in our branded t-shirts was not such a horrifying challenge and we proceeded to stand alongside representatives from Mind, Locality, Food Foundation, We Care Campaign, IFAN, Turn2Us with pictures of us reading The Hardship Times newspaper.
The newspaper was an ingenious idea to collate various stories of information on national hardship, associated statistics and quotes from residents who had engaged with Laying it on the Table campaign.
It certainly made powerful reading.
Jackie and Leanne with Levi Roots
At Parliament Square, the celebrity guest Mark Hoyle aka Facebook “Ladbaby” was there to support the campaign. Mark was delightful to speak to in between takes, however at 6ft 8” tall he towered over myself and Leanne.
We also had photo opportunities with the charismatic businessman and founder of Reggae Reggae Sauce, Levi Roots.
Jackie and Leanne with Ladbaby
Once the photoshoot had come to end and we had a spot of lunch, it was time to head back home and reflect on the day.
Leanne spoke about how the campaign had highlighted the strength of feeling across the nation, and how important it was to get this crisis into the heart of Government discussion.
I myself felt it had been a privilege to represent so many of our residents that had told us their stories as part of the Laying it on the Table campaign and looked forward to hearing more about “Guarantee our Essentials” impact and seeing the photos from the day.
Ultimately we both agreed it was a successful and effective event that we were delighted to be part of and were certainly ready and looking forward to a nice hot drink on arriving home.