Lennon, Ono’s world famous bed-in for peace set to be recreated

Wellington, Sep 17 (ANI): Late Beatles member John Lennon and Yoko Ono’s world famous bed-in for peace is set to be recreated in Nelson, 40 years after the couple staged it Amsterdam and Montreal.

The re-staging of the famous couple’s stint in bed to promote peace will take place on September 21, on the steps of Nelson’s Christ Church Cathedral.

Nelson actor Roger Sanders and his wife Bridget will be playing the part of Lennon and Ono, and they will give other people the opportunity to hop into the bed.

Grace Deathridge, a Brit actress who has been working in Nelson for nine months, and is one of the event organisers, said there would be one double bed, some peace banners and a guitar for people to have a sing along if they felt like it.

“We are inviting people to participate in the Nelson event in whichever way they want to,” Stuff.co.nz quoted her as saying.

“This might include coming along to talk about peace, recite some peace poetry or play peace music. We just want people to come together and communicate peace in their individual way,” she said.

The event will feature a wish tree, inspired by the Yoko Ono World Peace Project, where people hang their wishes publicly or privately on a tree.

The wishes written in Nelson will be sent to Ono, to place in her Imagine Peace Tower in Iceland, which is a tribute to Lennon.

The event will take place on the Nelson cathedral steps between 8.30am and 4.30pm and will include a peace vigil at noon, and will also feature a panpipe band from Ecuador, a Tibetan Bowls ceremony and a tai chi demonstration.

At 8pm the same day, there will be a screening of The Day after Peace at the Independent Theatre, Church St.

The day will also see Richmond Montessori Preschool children join celebrations by singing the song Light a Candle for Peace at the Richmond Mall at 11am. (ANI)

Silent protests at terrorist murders in Northern Ireland

London – Tens of thousands of people took part in rallies across Northern Ireland Wednesday to protest at the recent upsurge of terrorist violence in which two soldiers and a police officer were murdered.

The city centre of the capital Belfast was brought to a standstill at lunchtime as people flocked from shops, homes, offices, hospitals and schools to join the silent protests, as similar rallies took place in towns and cities throughout the province.

“I’m not going to sign up for that again,” said a well-dressed woman in her 50s, referring to the 30 years of civil strife and religious conflict in Northern Ireland.

“I grew up here, and I saw things a child should not really see,” said a young mother. She did not want her baby boy to grow up with “bigotry, hatred and murder.”

The protests, organized by trade unions, took place as police were questioning two men, aged 17 and 37, in connection with the killing Monday of a police officer in the southern town of Craigavon.

Last Saturday, two British soldiers, both in their 20s, were gunned down outside an army barracks north of Belfast. It was the first lethal attack on British forces in Northern Ireland since 1997.

Republican dissident which broke off from the now disbanded paramilitary Irish Republican Army (IRA) claimed responsibility for the attacks.

A peace vigil was also held in Craigavon, ay predominantly Catholic town, where the 48-year-old police officer was gunned down Monday.

However, there were also signs Wednesday that reconciliation still has a long way to go in Northern Ireland.

Flowers placed at the spot where police officer Stephen Carroll died were burnt overnight, as graffiti sprayed on houses revealed support for Republican splinter groups opposed to the peace process. (dpa)