Bristol's Biggest Picnic - depsite dodgy weather!

......I must admit, the day didn't start hopefully. I'd managed to organise Bristol's Biggest Ever Protest Picnic on the same day as The Southmead Festival, St. Bernard's School fete - and the first rainy weekend for ages. "Nice one," I thought. "It's going to be an almighty failure." But how wrong I was. I'd underestimated English sturdiness against the weather, and the strength of feeling residents have for protecting their local green spaces. So the four picnics held across Bristol North West, at The Daisy Field, Okebourne Open Space, Horfield Common (thanks to Friends of Horfield Common!) and Lockleaze Open Space were a roaring success.

Fearful of the weather, and in mild drizzle, I'd moved the picnic at Lockleaze down a bit to the Romney Avenue entrance to make sure people came- but I needn't have bothered -dozens of people turned up to preserve that unique stretch of space just as it is for dog walkers, residents and wildlife.

We distributed a petition - www.savebristolgreenspaces.bristolpetitions.com - as well as encouraging people to write to the Council to register their concerns. This is the first stage of enabling people to make their views heard regarding the future of our community green spaces.

Thanks so much to everyone who helped me organise these picnics - stalwart members of the community ( you know who you are!) and all those who braved the threats of rain to come out for a brilliant day of picnics!