Martyn and Joe in Lush Northampton

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Joe (left) and Martyn (right) in the Lush store in Northampton’s Grosvenor Centre.

I strolled into the Northampton branch of Lush this morning at 0910 and asked about this ‘Hen Harrier campaign thing’.

photo 3Crikey was I impressed!

Martyn was able to tell me loads – and all of it was right. He really knew his stuff although he clearly isn’t a ‘birder’. After we had got to the e-petition to ban driven grouse shooting I admitted that I knew a bit about this already and then I stayed and we chatted, and I answered a few questions from the guys. And it’s bath-bombs all round for the family too!

Joe was impressive too. When I said that grouse shooters say that grouse shooting brings money into upland communities he said ‘So does tourism’ quick as a flash, and when I said that grouse shooters say that other species benefit from management for Red Grouse he said ‘But they can’t need it can they? What did they do before grouse shooting?’. Sometimes, we make things seem more complicated than we need.

It seems that two blokes selling soap and toiletries in the middle of Northampton can see through the main arguments of the grouse shooting lobby without much help from anyone else – let’s just remember that.  Or more importantly, maybe grouse shooting should remember that.

I picked up my postcard to send to The Queen and left with a shopping bag full of smelly things (nice smells, of course) and a big grin on my face.  If Lush staff are all as good as Martyn and Joe then the messages about hen harriers will be spread far and wide across the shoppers of the UK over the next few days.

In fact, if RSPB, Greenpeace or FoE are looking for advocates then just give Joe and Martyn a call – they’d be very good.

Wasn’t there once a perfume called Tweed that was all the rage in the 1980s? Does anybody use it these days? Do you miss it?

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9 Replies to “Martyn and Joe in Lush Northampton”

  1. Very much doubt anyone even the most optimistic thought this campaign could progress so well.
    Pessimism of past years turned to optimism,well done to all those who have put so much effort into this campaign.
    Maybe a badge should be struck for you all to wear with pride.

  2. Yes, well done Mark and everyone else. How many ‘opportunities to view’ does that represent? Hundreds of thousands if not millions. Good for Lush!

  3. The campaign is going so well that the shooting lackeys and lobby are all signing up to it as if it were there’s. (except for the ban driven grouse shooting bit 😉 ).

    Seriously though, I think the fact that some of the obviously pro shooting organisations have decided that it would be good PR is something we need to be mindful of. They didn’t start this campaign, they’ve done nothing to try and stop persecution for decades, fine if they want to say Hen Harriers need protecting, but lets see them stand up for buzzards, sparrowhawks and peregrines too!

  4. Hope the events on Sunday aren’t too disrupted by ex-Hurricane Bertha – looks like there could be a few “real” thunderclaps as well as social media ones –
    http://www.metoffice.gov.uk/public/weather/warnings
    To all those attending I wish you a safe journey there and back whatever the weather decides to get up to. And echoing Denis, congratulations to all involved in making this happen – giving hope to Hen Harriers?

  5. Bath bombs good choice, Mark. Well done.

    Oh well done Joe and Martyn too (just in case you thought I was missing the point!)

    I am loving the Lush and hen harrier conjunction. *Grinning*

  6. What a lovely excuse to go and buy lots of fragrant goodies! I will go to my nearest Lush this weekend. Good luck with the Hen Harrier day, I cannot be there in person but my virtual self will be making an appearance on the “selfie wall” 🙂

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