The mission... Take the BIG Joint to Sydney and publicise our cause to relegalise Cannabis outside the Powerhouse Museum
Friday
The team selected to go on the BIG Joint mission, Undatoka, Max Stone, Hayley Jones and Matt Mattias, assembled at the HEMP Bar and loaded up the trailor hitched behind Black Betty the Daihatsu Rocky. After a brief visit to the local radio station Nim FM 102.3 to announce the "Polite Force" departure, we headed off on our journey. We decided to hole up at Kempsy in a motel, making an immediate dent into our mission funding, but was considered better by far than sleeping outdoors somewhere beside the highway. This trip we tested a usb modem as a way to webcast on the move charging batteries at every chance when we stopped for a break, it was cool to be able to Facebook and Twitter on the "Super Highway" as we hurtled down the Pacific Highway.
Saturday
Around midday we hit Newcastle and wound our way to the beach we had planned to first blow up the BIG Joint, but, to our disappointment there was too much wind. "You can't blow the BIG Joint up if there is wind over 10 kilometers an hour " warned Salty the HEMP Embassy's "Gaurdian of the BIG Joint; So it was decided to push on to Woy Woy to look up an old Mate and fellow cannabis activist Mulcontent, or Mully to his mates, and he offered us the comfort of the floor of his little flat to sleep on, so, after some plotting over pizza and coffee we made our beds and held a symphony of snores till morning.
Sunday
We arrived at the famous Bondi beach around our planned time of midday, but after a long search for a parking spot near where we could inflate the BIG Joint, we realised it was Father's Day and all the parks full of families that probably wouldn't appreciate a generator and leaf blower making a racket, so it was agreed to abandon this minor part of the mission and seek out a good starting spot for the main mission. We found the Glasgow Arms hotel which was opposite the Powerhouse Museum where our targeted conference was to be held Max Stone booked us in for the night and scouted around for any support there may be. It wasnt long till he came back with the news that not only had he found the perfect place to blow up the BIG Joint, but there was someone happy to lend us his power to blow it up. Thanks Duncan your support was greatly appreciated. With just about everything ready to go for the morrow, Hayley and Matt set off for a look around Sydney and Max and Undatoka rested in preparation for the big day that lay ahead.
Monday
Max Stone woke the crew up early, and after a coffee we gathered up the equipment we needed and headed down to our starting location, and knocked on Duncans door so he could power us up, as Undatoka had come down with the gout and was hobbling about he got the job of blowing up the BIG Joint while Max liased with security and the police. Word had come down that the Polite force from Nimbin was in town, so the police new they were in for an easy day( the Nimbin crew have a reputation for getting thier point across with colour and movement and very little trouble )
Finally the BIG Joint was inflated and the four of us swung it up above our heads and marched to our designated spot. Haley and Matt busied themselves handing out MardiGrass programs and put up the "HONK for HEMP" signs and spoke to Sarah a student journalist as Max webcamed us from different positions and angles
after some time a news crew from channel 10 came along to see what the fuss was about and Max Stone and Undatoka held a mini press conference about the BIG Joint and why we where here, part of which was aired on the 10 evening news later in the day. Finally we decided we could achieve no more for the day we packed up and after a brief visit to some of Max's relatives "since we are down here" we turned Black Betty's nose for home. After a fairly non eventfull drive we decided to stay the night at the same motel in Kempsy and blew what was left of our budget on a good night's sleep
Tuesday
We headed home and stopped briefly to visit Max's Mum who had taped the news item for us. Undatoka was dropped off at his turn off and the rest of the crew continued on to Nimbin and the HEMP Embassy to unload and debrief. All in all it was considered a successful mission, Thanks and congratulations to all invovled.
back to undatoka's spot
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