STAND, 2025.
The government has announced its intention to fund and make happen 4-6 Small Modular Reactors, SMRs, at Oldbury. According to the designers of SMRs you have to build 30 of them to be cost effective. The government plans to build them all over the country, immediately after Oldury comes Oxford. Each SMR is bigger than the original Oldbury nuclear power station, the Berkeley nuclear storage facilities are importing more dangerous grades of radioactive waste and there are plans for a large nuclear science research centre there. I offered my services to Severnside Together Against Nuclear Development.
I offered to paint a series of 'badge' murals. To kick off I painted STANDs founder members (40 years ago) gable with a STAND logo.
and then Ian of Coleford's car doors.
The back of Mike of Cannop's pick up truck went chevronish hazard.
Bex of Bream's Audi got some Ananuki.
They were Sumerian God/Kings (aliens) who genetically modified us slaves and had unlimited powers. Nuclear and genetic scientists think the same way, they do not have our interests at heart at all, (apart from Ishtar).
Briony of Bream said that with 4 - 6 operational SMRs at Oldbury, enhanced waste storage at Berkeley, and Hinkley Point open only a super hero like Dan Dare would surf the Severn bore. I agreed.
Janice of Bream liked the Simpsons episode where Homer sang 'eenie meanie' to decide which button to press to avert meltdown. Interestingly when chernobyl went, the white coats of the day switched off all the safety mechanisms and waited to see how hot the reactor would go, seems Homers aren't that rare or unrealistic. Do you want 6 of them at Oldury on shift, no neither do I.
Jane of Lydney being an organic gardener is totally aware that wind blown radioactive isotopes do not improve veg, pumpkins or brocolli. In fact some relatives of the first child hood leukemia cluster in Chepstow back in the 1980's live in her Close. Nuclear development is not popular their at all.
I'd like to paint one more car, any volunteers on Severnside? 7 seems like a nice number.
Originally I had been thinking of a large mural such as a STAND death juggler. Maybe when the small (ha ha) modular reactors are half built and the government feels its safe to announce its intentions because its almost too late to complain. Lets face it no one wants to live in a new nuclear industry cluster so I imagine then people will be queueing up for me to paint their gables.
PS update, the government announced last month it was building 6 SMRs at Oldury, and some new research and storage labs all the way from Oldury to Berkeley.
17 Oct 2025 Jonathon Porrit is coming to Lydney to talk about the horror the nuclear industry is planning for us.