The Npower Lumberjack Song

© R.M. Stephens March 2007

No, there's no wildlife here.

We spent one night making lots of noise

With gunfire from our gallant boys

To fill the otters full of fear.

Oh, there's no wildlife here.

Wildlife, there ain't none here.

Our little boats buzzed night and day,

Chased the swans and ducks and geese away

Until the lake and all its banks were clear.

Oh, there's no wildlife here.

Wildlife? No, there's none round here.

We scragged the scrub, the trees are gone,

There's nothing left for birds to nest upon.

So cross my heart and swear sincere -

There's no wildlife here.

There's no wildlife here;

It's been proved by our tame ecologist,

An independent (paid) on-site apologist,

Who made his/her opinions very clear.

Yes, there's no wildlife here.

There's no wildlife here,

Of course there's no wildlife here,

So we can drain the lake and chuck

Our many million tons of muck

In that pretty lake, for never fear,

There's no wildlife here.

 Npower's lumberjacks are not OK

They work after 1p.m. on Saturday

(Repeat)

They chop down trees on Sunday too

They trample on wild flowers

They violate the planning laws

By working after hours.

Npower's security is not OK

They wear black masks both night and day

(Repeat)

They try to scare off local folks

They're really not our mates

But when 300 marchers pass

They cower behind locked gates.

Npower's solicitors are not OK

They serve out writs for lots of pay

(Repeat)

Injunctions carry loads of clout

They try to gag the press

They wear appalling stripey suits

And get them in a mess.

Npower's morality is not OK

They'll do anything to get their own way

(Repeat)

They hand out cash to schools and clubs

But everyone knows why

They say they'll make a Nature Park

And pigs will really fly.

Prize winner Rosie Hunt, aged 9,

Radley Lake is the best place to be

When you want to chill out and be cool like me

There's birds, there's fish, there's a gentle swooshing sound

As the clear water laps against the ground

The swaying trees cast a dappled shade

On plants and flowers in a cool green shade

But if nPower get their way

The lakes will face some terrible days

It won't be quiet

It'll be far too loud

‘cos there won't be any wild life around

It'll just be a pool of poisonous goo

And who wants that?

Not me or you

SAVE RADLEY LAKES

(after the manner of Pam Ayres)

There's a beautiful lake down by Radley,

Not far from the Oxfordshire Thames,

But a cloud's hangin' over it, sadly,

Though it's one of Dame Nature's real gems.

Local people are angry and sour,

Holdin' protests and lookin' for cash,

‘ Cos a company, RWE npower

Wants to pump that nice lake full of ash.

It's a German-owned outfit, npower,

Makes electric from coal-fired steam,

But the stuff that it sells by the hour

Makes this ash in amounts you can't dream.

So with help from their friends in high places

They pipe it to fill up our lakes,

And set guards with masks on their faces

And get Courts to stop protests we makes.

This last lake is a beautiful treasure

For wildlife of all kinds and sorts,

Which gives all its visitors pleasure

With its peace and its nature and sports.

So we're asking for help from you readers,

To stand up and do what it takes

To get npower to listen and heed us.

Join the action, and Save Radley Lakes !

RM Stephens. February 2007

Thrupp Lake by Sue Small

-----------------------------------------------

This used to be our playground

A peaceful place where we would walk or ride

Where wildlife had no boundaries

And creatures came from far and wide

To settle and bring up their young

A place to relax for everyone

In tranquil beauty and birdsong at nature's door

For young and old no matter if you're rich or poor

But greed has come with tools of mass destruction

To cut down trees, continue their production

Burning coal and dumping all the waste

Smashing all that's precious in their haste

What will be left if they do what is planned?

A fence around a dead decaying land

Peace and quiet but not a pleasant place

Was once a lake now filled with toxic waste

Swan Lake by Sue Small

-----------------------------------------------

Down by the lakes

Where we used to play

In endless peace day after day

Swimming laughing, having fun

On picnics in the summer sun

Birdsong trees grasses and wild flowers

We would daydream there for hours and hours

Paddling on the edge and skimming stones

Soaked, but alive with pleasure to our bones.

Now men armed with chainsaws, hear the scream of trees

As they tear down the homes of birds and bees

They come to kill the work of mother earth

To devastate the places they give birth

They plan to fill the lake with poison ash

To fill their greedy coffers full of cash

They care not for the future or the past

Or what we leave our children in the dust

3rd March 2007

Lake E by Sue Small

-----------------------------------------------

The sound of birdsong on the breeze

The smell of green shoots in the trees

May blossom falling just like snow

Spring waiting to put on a show

Waking to a brand new morning

Birds are nesting frogs are spawning

A regal swan drifts on the lake

Fish leave a ripple in its wake

The water shines like broken glass

Underwater gardens, insects, grass

A natural Eden now for many years

Is now a place we go to shed our tears

They've stripped the islands, laid them bare

Crushing all the creatures living there

Robot men with chainsaws, men in boats

Masked guards marching in fluorescent coats

Taking notes and filming where we walk

Listening behind fences when we talk

It's not too late to stop this utter madness

Leave barren fenced off land and lasting sadness

So make a stand for justice, tell them NO!

Leave our Lakeland , pack your bags and GO!  

Let mother nature back to grow once more

Return peace and tranquility around her door.

March 7th 2007

A Lakeside Lament

    ~

There was a lake that once I knew,

Reflecting skies of grey or blue,

Where dragonflies through reedmace flew;

But now to go, forever?

On its surface swarms did glide,

Ducks would dabble, moorhens hide,

And mirrored moon and stars did ride;

But soon no more, nor ever?

Hard by where the fishes played

Watchful heron slow would wade

And egg of coot in secret laid,

While kingfisher brightly flashes.

Yet shall fowl, fish and flower now go,

The trees truncated, ne'er to grow,

And orchids' bloom no longer show?

The wonder turned to ashes...

Like dust to dust, interred below

Those cold, uncaring ashes;

The dead, indifferent ashes...

       R. V. Taylor.

      Radley;

      March, 2007.

Corporate Greed and urge to make

profits great, little give, lots of take

mean the destruction of our lake!

Power is Might but is is it right

that NPower so dismiss the weight

of people's views without a care

and think not twice of plans to dare

to kill the wildlife and lay waste

an area of such beauty, in their haste

to burn more coal and make more ash

and earn their shareholders loadsacash!