in thing; Green wellies
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Travelling to work on the tube the day of the first Countryside March last summer was a strange experience. There was the usual crush of commuters, pale-faced and tucked uncomfortably into their suits, but alongside them were other, incongruous figures, ruddy of cheek and corduroy of trouser, striding through the underground system with an air of rustic purpose about them. And all (well, quite a number at any rate) sporting green wellington boots. The green welly - green, mind, not your common- or-garden black - first acquired aesthetic significance back in the early 1980s when Sloane Rangers considered it, along with a Labrador, the only thing to be conspicuously stored in the back of a Volvo Estate.
Fifteen years later, however, it's been revived as a symbol of rural alienation. As will be evident at this weekend's Countryside March, the green welly has political clout. What the gloved fist salute was for the Black Panthers, the green welly has become for the disenfranchised rump of the British countryside. So if you come across what appears to be a hopelessly lost rambler's group on the underground this weekend, bear in mind you're in the presence of radical activists. And whatever you do, don't step on their green welly boots.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments