Make Poverty History. White Band Day 2005
Giant Banner Towers over the Vale
On Friday July 1st 2005, Faringdon made a spectacular statement in support of the Global MakePovertyHistory Campaign. Wrapped around the top of the Folly Tower, and visible for miles around, was the biggest MakePovertyHistory “Wrist Band” in the UK.
As the first event of the Faringdon Arts Festival, and just days before the start of the G8 Summit in Gleneagles, the people of Faringdon came together in the biggest and most spectacular event of its kind that the town had ever seen.
More than 500 people dressed in white gathered in Faringdon’s market place. The event began with a minute’s silence – recognising that the poor of the world have no voice of their own and rely on us to shout out against injustice on their behalf. The church bells then rang out, and amidst a cacophony of noise the White Band Procession left Faringdon Market Place, heading up to Folly Hill half a mile away. At the centre of the procession was a 22 metre long MakePovertyHistory Banner, held aloft by nine pole bearers and flanked by jugglers, stilt-walkers, belly dancers, acrobats, dramatists and drummers.
On reaching the top of Folly Hill, the procession then encircled the summit of the hill with a human band of people. The chain included Ed Vaisey (the local MP) and Malcolm Harper (Director of the United Nations Association in the UK for 22 years). All then gathered around the base of the Folly Tower itself, a 100ft edifice standing proudly at the very top of the hill; and a well-known landmark visible for miles around. He giant band, emblazoned with the words “MAKE-POVERTY-HISTORY” was then hoisted dramatically aloft, assisted by cheering, chanting and dancing from the crowds below.
That’s the official version. Of course, things are often more challenging than they first appear. On paper it seemed so simple – until we did the measurements.
It turns out it’s more than 400 meters round the Folly perimeter path so we calculated we would need at least 500 people. That’s a lot of people. The Folly Tower is also 5 meters square at its base, which meant the banner had to be at least 22 meters long to have clearance when raised. It also had to be strong, so was made from sail canvas – which is heavy, and It was too big to fit in any halls for assembly so ended up being made in sections. We also discovered that the bricks in the Folly Tower are purpose built to snag anything that touches.it.
Luckily, the Chief Engineer responsible for design and hoisting happened to be a nuclear physicist so after several practice runs, a working method was developed.,
But no one needed to know about these minor mishaps. For most of us, the day that the MakePovertyHistory message towered over the Vale will be one to remember.
Sjoerd Vogt Town Crier
Photos by Al Cane
On Friday July 1st 2005, Faringdon made a spectacular statement in support of the Global MakePovertyHistory Campaign. Wrapped around the top of the Folly Tower, and visible for miles around, was the biggest MakePovertyHistory “Wrist Band” in the UK.
As the first event of the Faringdon Arts Festival, and just days before the start of the G8 Summit in Gleneagles, the people of Faringdon came together in the biggest and most spectacular event of its kind that the town had ever seen.
More than 500 people dressed in white gathered in Faringdon’s market place. The event began with a minute’s silence – recognising that the poor of the world have no voice of their own and rely on us to shout out against injustice on their behalf. The church bells then rang out, and amidst a cacophony of noise the White Band Procession left Faringdon Market Place, heading up to Folly Hill half a mile away. At the centre of the procession was a 22 metre long MakePovertyHistory Banner, held aloft by nine pole bearers and flanked by jugglers, stilt-walkers, belly dancers, acrobats, dramatists and drummers.
On reaching the top of Folly Hill, the procession then encircled the summit of the hill with a human band of people. The chain included Ed Vaisey (the local MP) and Malcolm Harper (Director of the United Nations Association in the UK for 22 years). All then gathered around the base of the Folly Tower itself, a 100ft edifice standing proudly at the very top of the hill; and a well-known landmark visible for miles around. He giant band, emblazoned with the words “MAKE-POVERTY-HISTORY” was then hoisted dramatically aloft, assisted by cheering, chanting and dancing from the crowds below.
That’s the official version. Of course, things are often more challenging than they first appear. On paper it seemed so simple – until we did the measurements.
It turns out it’s more than 400 meters round the Folly perimeter path so we calculated we would need at least 500 people. That’s a lot of people. The Folly Tower is also 5 meters square at its base, which meant the banner had to be at least 22 meters long to have clearance when raised. It also had to be strong, so was made from sail canvas – which is heavy, and It was too big to fit in any halls for assembly so ended up being made in sections. We also discovered that the bricks in the Folly Tower are purpose built to snag anything that touches.it.
Luckily, the Chief Engineer responsible for design and hoisting happened to be a nuclear physicist so after several practice runs, a working method was developed.,
But no one needed to know about these minor mishaps. For most of us, the day that the MakePovertyHistory message towered over the Vale will be one to remember.
Sjoerd Vogt Town Crier
Photos by Al Cane
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