Together with refugees

Before leaving on our travels, I was as prone to doomscrolling as the next person. I also like to think that I engaged somewhat in trying to bring about the change I wanted to see. Be that through my local cycle advocacy group, as a parish councillor, or just as a villager that would get out there and fix stuff. I’m not claiming this was revolutionary. In fact, especially having read Moral Ambition recently, I am all too aware how minuscule my actions were, but so far, it feels like life on the road precludes even that level of engagement. I try to take some solace from this statement, from Tom’s site.

Travelling by bicycle is a revolutionary act, the closest thing you'll find to pure freedom, and the cleanest (and cheapest) way to get it!

I do concur and I think our interactions with people along the way are important in shaping the world a little and definitely shaping what we plan to devote our energy to in the future.

Since leaving our home (which I had lived in for fifteen years), I’ve been less able to doomscroll (essentially good) and less able to engage in campaigning (essentially bad). Nonetheless, we think it’s important to use any platform you have to push for a better world, especially at times when vulnerable people are at threat.

Just before entering the wilderness of the Scottish Highlands (when we were unable to view any news for a few days) the protests at asylum hotels were gathering pace. My pal Danny even sent me images from outside a hotel local to where we used to live. After re-emerging from the wilderness, we checked the news to read Nigel Farage MP spouting his vitriol. The greatest con of them all is a former commodities trader getting people with scant resources of their own to punch down on those with even less to their name.

Once settled at our campsite, we suddenly both remembered (for the umpteenth time) that we got some badges from when we visited Asylum Link Merseyside, which they asked us if we would take photographs of to send them on our travels. So, here is the first of those photographs.

Asylum Link Merseyside do great work. We have written a little more on them (and how to support them) on our Get in touch page.

Whilst in many ways we feel far removed from it all at present such topics are often on our minds as we travel. Together with refugees!