Peace walk – Northwood HQ to London Peace Pagoda, Battersea – 17-18 October, 2009

Please come and join and help spread the word about a two-day peace walk from Northwood military headquarters, Middlesex to the London Peace Pagoda in Battersea Park taking place on the weekend of 17-18 October, 2009.

This walk - open to all - will form part of a unique and historic global initiative called the WORLD MARCH FOR PEACE & NONVIOLENCE (October 2, 2009 – January 2, 2010). See the website and below for details of its aims and high-profile endorsements.

I hope you will feel inspired to participate in this walk - and to bring along lots of friends and relatives - even if only for one of the two days or for a few miles, whether on foot, by bicycle, on horseback(!) or in a vehicle; and, just as importantly, I hope you will help spread the word and get people along to this event.

I am also seeking offers of:

- Overnight accommodation for those who need it, for one or more nights(can be floor space or beds);

- Food for dinner and somewhere to eat;

- Donations to cover costs (flyers, banners, phone calls, etc) (please contact me for the postal address for cheques)

Let me know if you are interested in taking part and/or if you or your organisation would like to endorse this event. In particular, let me know as soon as possible if you need accommodation, and if so for which nights (Friday, Saturday, Sunday). Further details of the planned route can be found below.

Many thanks in advance for your kind support and assistance, and I look forward to walking with you on October 17th/18th!

Peace be with you,

Dan Viesnik, peace activist

E-mail: vd2012-worldmarch [at] yahoo.co.uk

Mobile: +44 (0)7506 234 091

Additional information:

WORLD MARCH FOR PEACE & NONVIOLENCE aims

- The global abolition of nuclear weapons;

- The withdrawal of invading troops from occupied territories;

- The progressive and proportional reduction of conventional weapons;

- The signing of non-aggression treaties between countries;

- The renunciation of war as a means to “resolve” conflicts;

- To create a new global consciousness that recognises the urgent need to condemn all forms of violence - including state violence, street violence, domestic violence, racial, sexual, psychological, ecological and economic violence - and to bring about real peace.

Endorsements for the World March

The World March has been endorsed by many prominent personalities and groups. These include: His Holiness The Dalai Lama, Archbishop Desmond Tutu, Noam Chomsky, Tony Benn, Jeremy Corbyn MP, Alex Salmond MP MSP, Norman Baker MP, Clare Short MP, Caroline Lucas MEP, the Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams, Peter Tatchell, Mark Thomas, George Monbiot, Yoko Ono, President Evo Morales of Bolivia, many Nobel peace laureates, including former U.S. President Jimmy Carter and Mairead Corrigan Maguire; Mary Robinson, actors Martin Sheen, Jane Fonda, Julie Christie, Cate Blanchett, Viggo Mortensen, Penelope Cruz and Lucy Lawless; director Pedro Almodovar, musicians Lou Reed, Bryan Adams and Art Garfunkel; Daniel Berrigan, Mayors for Peace, Abolition 2000, World Without Wars (the initiators of the project) and Trident Ploughshares.

If you would like to add your name or organisation to the list of endorsers of this project, please contact: Silvia Swinden silvia86 [at] gmail.com

Northwood HQ: Calling the Shots from Leafy Suburbia

Northwood Headquarters (a.k.a. H.M.S. Warrior), located a mile from Northwood town centre in leafy suburbia, is the UK military's Permanent Joint Forces Headquarters and home to NATO regional command Allied Maritime Component Command Northwood (AMCCN). The site, much of it contained in a network of underground bunkers, is the nerve centre for British joint military operations in Iraq, Afghanistan and elsewhere and Britain's submarine-based Trident nuclear missile system.

More details of the base's activities here and here

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Planned itinerary:

Saturday 17 October

Meet 10am outside Carpenders Park train station, Station Approach.

Directions: Leaving the train platform, go down the long ramp and then follow the sign at the end to the left for South Oxhey, then up the stairs / ramp to street level.

Map: http://tinyurl.com/StationApproach

Carpenders Park is on the Overground line from Euston, three stops from Watford Junction (Oystercard / Freedom Pass accepted). The station is a little over a mile from Northwood HQ (see below for details of the base's functions).

We will stop opposite the base en route for a peaceful vigil, then continue through Northwood Hills, Pinner, North Harrow and Harrow-on-the-Hill, finishing at Brent Town Hall, near Wembley Park tube.

Sunday 18 October

Meet 10am outside Brent Town Hall, Forty Lane, Wembley HA9 9HD (5 minute walk from Wembley Park tube station)

Directions: From the Bridge Road exit to Wembley Park tube (not the main exit with the stairs) turn left and continue up to the junction. Cross the main road (Forty Lane) and turn right. Brent Town Hall is on the left, just past the Asda supermarket on the right.
Map: http://tinyurl.com/BrentTownHallMap

*Please note, due to weekend engineering works on the Metropolitan and Jubilee lines, you will need to take the Bakerloo line to Stonebridge Park, then Route Replacement Bus C (direction Stanmore) to Wembley Park tube - Please allow extra time for your journey.*

We will pass through Neasden, Dudden Hill, Willesden, Kilburn and central London (including Westminster), finishing at the beautiful London Peace Pagoda in Battersea Park, overlooking the Thames.

Check here again before the event in case of any changes, or e-mail or phone.

The route in detail (as notified):

Saturday 17 October

Start outside Carpenders Park train station (Station Approach, at street level) at 10am

Station Approach, Prestwick Rd, Oxhey Dr, The Woods, Sandy La (first to Northwood HQ main entrance, then south), Watford Rd, Green La, Church Rd, High St, Pinner Rd, Rickmansworth Rd, Pinner Gn, Elm Park Rd, Bridge St, Marsh Rd, Pinner Rd, College Rd, Station Rd, Gayton Rd, Sheepcote Rd, Watford Rd, East La, Forty Av, Forty La, finishing at Brent Town Hall.

Sunday 18 October

Start outside Brent Town Hall, Forty Lane, Wembley at 10am

Forty Lane, Blackbird Hill, Neasden Lane, Dudden Hill Lane, High Rd, Willesden Lane, Kilburn High Rd, Maida Vale, Edgware Road, Speakers’ Corner (Hyde Park), Green St, North Audley St, US embassy main entrance, Grosvenor Sq, Grosvenor St, Maddox St, Regent St, Piccadilly Circus, Haymarket, Pall Mall East, Trafalgar Sq, Whitehall, Parliament St, Margaret Place, Abingdon St, Millbank, Grosvenor Rd, Chelsea Bridge, Battersea Park, finishing at the Peace Pagoda.

(Last updated: 9 October 2009)