Hunger in the cities

(More creative writing - OK this is getting a bit weird but....)

No one had thought of the Women’s Institute having a role in government but why not? They had a membership of over 200,000 and were well organised. They had a good distribution network a capacity for processing food and raw materials and were well networked in both traditional and modern ways. Indeed their computer resources were a key part of the successfully establishment of the virtual government.

So when the food riots kicked off in London and other major cities with the situation in Glasgow-Edinburgh being especially critical with even the middle class (if one can use such an old term) areas of the city close to starvation. Rickets of course had reappeared some 5 years previously. It seems inevitable now that Women’s Institute both offered their services and were welcomed.

It was an inspired move to re-open the Glasgow Clyde side docks and canals so that food could be shipped in by liners, retired navy ships, old barges, yachts and dinghies. Indeed it brought to mind old black and white footage of the evacuation of the British Army from Dunkirk in 1940 during the Second World War of the 20th Century. (Not to be confused with our recent Virtual Second World War).

Much of the food was shipped in from the People’s Allotments in Eire and the Hebrides. The Bank of England issued promissory notes to pay for the food but no-one really believed that these notes had any real value. What really changed things was the broadcasts on WeeTube (the Scottish version of Wetube) which reported world wide hits amounting to 400 million. Of course 400 million hits were more than the sponsors of the site were ready to pay for. However the bleak video footage from mobile and body embedded phones and videos worked wonders.

The exodus from the cities continued – London lost 10% of its population in just one year and Glasgow-Edinburgh was 20% lower since its formation from the merger of Glasgow and Edinburgh. In London, as elsewhere, much of the parks and main roads were dug up and planted for food.