It was a chilly day when a group of friends and family went to “embrace the base” - holding hands around the entire perimeter of the Greenham Common airbase where Britain hosted American nuclear cruise missiles. Popa would have heard our stories of travel by coach and how we walked all the way round to keep warm and meeting people we knew from all over the country. I was 19 and met Quakers I had been with at Youth Theatre summer camps called The Leaveners in previous years.
Prior to this tremendous event Nana and I drove to Greenham a few times to take food, usually a quiche, to the women who had made camps at the gates which they named as colours of the rainbow. Popa often painted rainbows! He never seemed political but Nana was involved in a “telephone tree”. This meant that as soon as a missile launcher left the base on a transporter, usually under cover of darkness, news of it was relayed through telephone contacts. It felt so very important but there was some levity too. When we offered the food we were asked if it was vegan and Nana did not understand...it was vegetarian. As a side note, Popa contributed to a Royal Academy recipe book and when he saw a “quiche” he asked what a “ kwitch” was!
The curve of the tall fence in this painting is echoed colourfully as the protesters begin to gather, small groups emerging from the autumnal trees. There was a carnival atmosphere despite the solemnity of the political issue. I am amazed how this whole image came from our various verbal accounts. I am sure that we were not particularly visual in our descriptions.
- Jemima [Richard's granddaughter]
