Oxfam UK Tour Blog: 29 November 2008

From WikiColdplay

A foggy day back in the U.K.

On a train to Sheffield, England. The accents have changed. The scenery (or what I can see of it), is very different. There’s coffee fumes in the air from the buffet car. Bleary-eyed Saturday shoppers are shuffling along in the carriages, for a boost of morning brew (with chocolate sprinkles).

Autumn looks like it’s been and gone. Trees stripped bare of leaves. Frost on the wiry grass. Thick.. Thick, fog. To be honest, I can’t see a lot at all. Aside from the occasional rooftop, lonely-looking horse, or another patchwork field. It’s all quite poetic.

To think that it was the start of the summer days, when Coldplay took the stage for their live return in Brixton, London, back in June. When ‘Viva La Vida’ crashed into the charts worldwide, and the band began to take the world by storm. I remember back in April, when I got my new job. Preparing for the tour, back in Oxfam House. Designing t-shirts and collecting boxes of materials. The buzz of waiting for the tour to begin. Over 60 shows later, and I feel like a seasoned veteran. OK, so not quite like some of the guys on this tour.. But at least I’m not quite so fresh-faced as I used to be. It’s been quite an adventure that’s brought us back (almost), to where we started.. Albeit, just a few hours up the M1. Two tours of North America and one whistle-stop trip around Europe later, and we are back ‘home’. Home for the band and about half of the crew at least. I’ve been looking forward to seeing how the show goes down here. Seeing some familiar faces, working with Oxfam GB, changing my dollars into pounds, and buying some of the snacks that haven’t been discovered yet, across those ponds.

Las Vegas to Boston, Strasbourg to Antwerp, Ottawa to Salt Lake City. With Budapest, Paris, Munich, Stockholm, Barcelona, New York, Chicago, Houston, Milan.. And many more in between. It’s been a long journey so far. Lots of miles. Lots of sold out Coldplay shows. Thousands of fans joining Oxfam along the way, and nowhere near enough sleep. Here I am, on a train to Sheffield, to start the last 3 or so weeks of the ‘Viva La Vida’ / Oxfam tour, 2008.

Tonight the focus will turn back to asking people to show their support for Health and Education FOR ALL. I have spoken about it before in this blog. Just simple things. Things, even that many people take for granted. But the same things that, without which, can deepen poverty, risk lives, limit opportunities and remove freedoms. With your support, Oxfam is asking for everyone to have clean water. Bars of soap. The chance to learn to read. For life-saving immunisations. Access to a doctor, locally. If you live in Sheffield. There are hospitals. Schools with teachers and train stations with running taps. Not everyone in the world, has this chance. It doesn’t seem much to ask. I hope that a few thousand more Coldplay fans will agree with that tonight, and pledge their support, for everyone to be given the same chance. Those record breakers in Ottawa, back in October, were campaigning for exactly the same thing. Why don’t you click here now, to join the campaign?

Just went through Derby. Almost there. It’s busy. More emptying coffee cups have joined the train. I still can’t see much out of the window, but it’s good to be home.

It’s foggy, and I’m proud.

http://www.oxfamblogs.org/coldplay/?p=111

Sweeping up the butterflies

I never get to see the end of the show from there. I’m usually upstairs, but just now, I watched as the band bowed, left the stage, bolted for the door, and the Oxfam sphere lit up, illuminating the clearing seats, so that the masses can find their way home, and find their way to take action with Oxfam.. It’s already emptied out in there, the contents of the arena, heading out into the misty Yorkshire night. The stage is already cleared, and being torn apart. Rick marches down the catwalk, blowing away the butterfly confetti, with a leaf-clearer fit for any enthusiastic gardener. Every trace of tonight’s show will soon be gone. Band, crew, trucks, cases, stage, amps, lights, Oxfam tables, butterflies, empty beer mugs and tomato ketchup pouches.

It was just a small team of Oxfamers tonight. 9 of them from the Leeds Outreach group. Between them, they got an awesome 623 pledges for Health and Education For All. That’s awesome stuff. Just think what we can do with the 60 volunteers in Birmingham over 3 nights of Coldplay shows..!

This is why the pledge is important.

For millions of people, classrooms with teachers, clinics with nurses, affordable medicines, running taps, and working toilets - are not something to be taken for granted, or taken at all. There is no reason why this should be the case. Vital public services - health, education, water and sanitation - can transform people’s lives. That is why, Oxfam is asking you to join the ‘6 Million More‘ pledge. We want 6 million of you to join us and demand health and eduation for all.

The world needs free public health care and education. The world needs six million more trained teachers and health workers. And to make this happen, the world needs you. Tonight we took a small step closer to the 6 Million marker, to put pressure on governments around the world. We’re not done yet though.

That’s Sheffield done. Now on to Birmingham..

p.s. The crowd was treated to a rare outing of ‘Trouble’ tonight, with Chris Martin at the piano. It’s a while since we have heard that one.

http://www.oxfamblogs.org/coldplay/?p=112