In January I had the privilege of going down to London to join the MAKEPOVERTYHISTORY launch, along with over 600 female clergy and Rev Geraldine Grainger, better known as funnygirl Dawn French. The vicars attended a service at St. Martin's in the Fields before marching to Downing Street. Some of them met with the Prime Minister to call for him to use his influence as we assume presidency of the G8 group of nations to bring an end to the suffering of millions trapped in poverty. The ministers then congregated in Trafalgar Square for photos with Dawn French before returning to St. Martin's to collect their Traidcraft goody bags.

Dawn talks to the press	Dawn couldn't contain her excitement when we gave her a goody bag (no she's not being sick!)

Some of the vicars

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In February I went down to London to the unveiling of the biggest dress in the world! The event marked the launch of SPEAK's Big Dress campaign to highlight trade justice issues in the international garment industry.

MPs and former top fashion models joined campaigners among the crowd which thronged the "dress" - made from thousands of individually decorated fabric squares sewn together with 14kms of stitching!

The squares were contributed by supporters across the UK and reflected the fair trade nature of the campaign.

It was a fantastic day and it was great to meet so many committed activists. It was exciting to attend an event in what has become the world's biggest dress and partner SPEAK as they launch this impressive and important campaign.

For a full account of the launch and to find out more about SPEAK and its work visit http://www.speak.org.uk

In April I joined a number of other Traidcraft colleagues to run a stall at the Vitality Show at Kensington Olympia. The show was billed as the "perfect girls' day out" and it was certainly packed with women (and a few men) eager to try out new foods, cosmetics, health treatments and remedies. In fact, the show was so popular that the mens' toilets had to double up as female ones to cope with the capacity crowd!

The Geobars and Geoactive bars on the Traidcraft stand proved to be very popular, as did the competition to win a holiday in Cuba. Gerber, who make the popular Fruit Passion fair trade juice, were also on hand to refresh thirsty punters.

There were plenty of freebies to be had, although it was hard for me to get my hands on any as it was so busy. In the end I did manage to collect a few bits and bobs, including some contact lens solution - perfect for someone with 20/20 vision!

All in all, it was a tiring, but fun day. If you're interested in going next year, check out the website:
http://www.thevitalityshow.co.uk/

The following week it was back to London again as I joined with thousands of others to call upon the UK's political leaders to 'Wake Up To Trade Justice', as part of the Global Week of Action.

The evening kicked off with a ceremony in Westminster Abbey, with a varied programme including contributions from celebrities Beverley Knight, Pete Postlethwaite and Ronan Keating. Campaigners armed with candles and glow sticks then moved to Whitehall for a poignant one minute's silence as Big Ben struck midnight.

There was a range of all-night activities including talks, film showings, singing and workshops on issues of trade justice, one of which was lead by Fiona Gooch of Traidcraft's policy unit. At 4am there was a solidarity moment on Whitehall when participants waved candles and banners as a mark of support for the millions trapped in poverty by unfair trading rules.

Stephanie and Liz during the solidarity moment on Whitehall

The vigil culminated with a dawn procession past Parliament Square, up Embankment and down Whitehall, making plenty of noise outside number 10!

My friend Laura commented, "It was fantastic to see so many people motivated into action and so passionate about bringing an end to unfair trade that they are prepared to stay up all night to make their voices heard!"

Liz, Stephanie and Laura still smiling even at 6.30am!

For more information on the night's activities visit http://www.tjm.org.uk

Join Traidcraft for further campaigning activities in Edinburgh on July the 2nd - http://www.traidcraftactive.co.uk

In May I joined other North East campaigners representing organisations such as Traidcraft, Christian Aid, The Trade Justice Movement, Cafod, MRDF and Newcastle University at the Hancock Museum in Newcastle to take part in a powerful MAKEPOVERTYHISTORY demonstration. The aim was to draw attention to the urgency of acting on behalf of the world's poor, and reiterating the fact that it is simply unacceptable that people in developing countries are living in crippling poverty.

The gathered campaigners were photographed outside the museum holding a giant wooden sign saying 'poverty', before carrying the 'poverty' into the museum. It was a dramatic statement emphasising the need to consign poverty to the history books, and it shows once again the passion and commitment of activists in the North East.

Me, Catherine and Jenny on the stand

Also in May, I helped a couple of colleagues on the Traidcraft stand in the charity village at the Great Manchester Run. We took photos of the team before the race, and were on hand to provide well-earned Geobars and Fruit Passion juice for the runners at the end of the race. There were also massages available in the Traidcraft tent to ease aching muscles and tired feet!

We also gave away hundreds of gold helium balloons thanks to 'Balloon Lady' (aka Mum, who was a fantastic help), and Campaign Cookies, which are made of fair trade sugar and contain a thought-provoking fact about poverty.

All in all, it was a great day with hundreds of pounds raised for our charity, Traidcraft Exchange.

Balloon Lady and team Traidcraft

On Saturday 2nd July I joined a bus-load of my colleagues to journey to Edinburgh, along with 250,000 other anti-poverty campaigners, for a MAKEPOVERTYHISTORY demonstration. 2005 is a crucial year in the fight against poverty, as Tony Blair leads the G8 group of the world's richest and most powerful nations. The campaign is a coalition of more than 300 charities, faith groups, NGOs and celebrities who are calling for:

We had a wonderful day in Edinburgh, waving Traidcraft placards; marching and chanting; handing out cookies and balloons; selling Traidcraft goods; and adding white band messages to the huge MAKEPOVERTYHISTORY letters. I also got very hot in the back end of a pantomime cow costume to drum up support for Traidcraft's Stop EPAs campaign. (To read a silly poem about my experience, click here!)

It was a brilliant day, and the sun certainly shone on us. Let's hope the world's most powerful leaders take notice of what their people are saying and do everything they can to lift millions out of the poverty trap.

The Tall Ships event in Newcastle / Gateshead was a fantastic experience, with crews coming from all over the world to take part. Thousands of people visited during the 4 day extravaganza and there was plenty to see and do, from looking round the ships themselves to exploring the environmental village and the other stalls and attractions on offer.

The highlight for me was the firework display on the Wednesday night. There were masses of people lining the Quayside and spectacular fireworks were set off at various points along the river. There were film clips and music as well as acrobats perfoming gymnastic tricks down the side of the Baltic. All in all, a brilliant evening!

This is the weirdest thing I've seen for a while, but it's really good! John (my brother) and I paid a visit to Dreamspace on a sunny Sunday afternoon in London. The leaflet contained phrases such as, "Womb-like, sensual, moving, breathing, luring, immense experience in a forest of joy." and "Feels like being inside a huge animal that is breathing". Since I've never actually been inside a huge animal, I wasn't quite sure what to expect.

When we got there we had to take our shoes off and put on a cape (we were allowed to choose the colour). John went for a fetching purple number, while I selected aquamarine. We then made our way through the narrow entrance into Dreamscape. It is basically a cross between a huge, colourful tent and a bouncy castle. I wasn't too impressed at first, but it's fair to say that the longer you are in there, the more intriguing and mesmerising it becomes. The light subtley changes with each twist and turn, and there are strange, haunting sounds which add to the strangeness of the experience.

We probably spent a couple of hours in Dreamspace, soaking up the experience by walking, resting, crawling and observing other people engaging with their surroundings. It's hard to describe what Dreamspace feels like - it's the sort of subjective, ever-changing, all-immersing present that you need to experience for yourself. If you get a chance, pop along and have a go: it's well worth it!

You haven't lived until you've sung 'Jerusalem' with 4000 middle-aged women! It's certainly an experience that I won't forget in a hurry! Jane, Jean, Laura and I represented Traidcraft at the annual gathering of Women's Institute members and had a fun day manning (or should that be 'womanning'?) the Traidcraft stall and trying not to get trampled underfoot in the rush for goodie bags.

"What do you mean, you've all lost your contact lenses?!"

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