Climate change campaigners held a sombre funeral march through Gloucester city centre on Saturday in a bid to mourn the end of the world as we know it.
To the sound of a beating drum the slowly moving procession, which included the grim reaper, made its way from the railway station to Shire Hall in Southgate Street.
Shoppers watched as the marchers, all dressed in black and carrying wreaths and flowers, held several “die ins” by collapsing on the ground at strategic points along the route.
But the security guards at at the Eastgate shopping centre were not amused by the marchers and asked them to leave because it was private property.
They called called police to remove them but the procession carried on peacefully to the other side escorted by City Protection Officers.
After several speeches about the impact of climate change at the crossroads and outside Shire Hall, the campaigners sang and left a black coffin marked “Our Future” on the steps of the Gloucestershire County Council HQ.
The march was organised by the protest group Extinction Rebellion which this week held a mock trial of the County Council, occupied the council chamber by gluing themselves to seats and supported a strike by school pupils.
Member of Extinction Rebellion Sarah Lunnon explained that the campaigners do not believe the authorities are taking the issue seriously enough and need to do more before it is too late.
“We are here today putting our future on the steps of the Shire Hall because they refuse to declare a climate emergency and the budget that they have just passed does not provide funding to tackle climage change and the devastating loss of our wildlife that we are facing,” she said.
“We have walked through Gloucester and handed out leaflets explaining what is happening our world.
“We have had the funeral for our future and now we are leaving it at Shire Hall where we register deaths.”
The group says it is fighting to stop the ‘Sixth Great Extinction’ which is now under way and the mock funeral, which many found emotional, was for all living things, including humans.
One young man told the crowd he was mourning his own future because the uncertainty of climate change had made he and his girlfriend think twice about having children.
He said he feared they would never be able to enjoy a settled old age spending their days together “nittering an nattering” away in a cottage somewhere.
“We are fighting for our lives,” he told the assembled protestors.
