A letter from a child

Posted on Thursday, February 10th, 2011 by Vivienne

I’ve just received the most beautiful letter from Elise, an 8 year old little girl. I thought you might like to see it here along with my response to her. I think she’s truly inspirational!

Dear Eco Elise,

I was delighted to receive your letter decorated with illustrations. Congratulations on your punctuation and spelling. Clever people who are actively engaged with the world are so important.

I don’t use a computer but I have a website (www.activeresistance.co.uk/getalife) and my colleague, Cynthia, deals with my communications for me. So we are putting your letter on the site, hoping you don’t mind. The central idea of the website is the AR Manifesto. It would be great if your mum could read it with you. It explains why culture is so important and how it is connected to fighting climate change. Culture is about understanding the past so that you can understand the present – the best way is through looking at art. This makes you strong enough to be a freedom fighter and influence people. If you understand the world you live in, you make great decisions when you have the chance to act.

So, to all your school friends my advice is: find out as much as you can about the whole world and about the past. Listen in class and if you don’t understand something make sure you ask the teacher. Another thing is find out as much as you can about food and how to prepare it – don’t rely too much on take away or ready prepared food. This all helps you to really care about the world. Do listen to what our scientists are telling us, especially James Lovelock who invented the Gaia Theory. Knowledge is power.

Thank you to your sister for her accurate drawings. Do you really have a woodpecker in your garden?

Dear Elise and Abigail

Thank you both so much for your letters and the artwork you’ve sent to me. You are so lucky to have seen a tree creeper – thank you for letting me know. Here’s a picture I found of one – what amazing feet it has! And Elise, we’ve been exchanging badges – this one is my favourite one that you sent me.  Vivienne

 

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  1. Dear Elise,

    Keep up the good work! As Vivienne says, your writing is excellent, and language itself can help change the world: we use language not just to communicate, but to organise our thoughts. Politicians often use it to make lies sound truthful, so it’s vital to see through it and spot when they’re bluffing.

    Have you signed the petition to save the forests in this country? I hope you can get as many friends to sign it as possible. Here is the link:-

    http://www.38degrees.org.uk/page/s/save-our-forests#petition

    It’s lovely to read your letter. These drawings are terrific! I hope you and your sister don’t get distracted by conceptual art. Representations of the world around us – like these – are really so much more valuable.

    Keep reading, keep drawing, keep campaigning!
    Peter 🙂

    Comment by Peter Olive on 10/02/2011 at 9:03 pm

  2. Dear vivenne,

    Comment by Elise on 28/02/2011 at 4:55 pm

  3. Thank you for putting my letter on your website, I cannot wait to show my class, I have been thinking about everything you have said and I have something I am going to send to you soon. Love Elise xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

    Comment by Elise on 28/02/2011 at 5:03 pm

  4. Dear Viviennne,
    Thank you so much for putting my sisters letter and my drawing on your get a life website.
    As you love tree’s we would (me and Elise) like to tell you about the wild bird we saw hunting for in insects in some trees growing on the banks of the the river Itchen,a extremely small Tree Creeper,Elise spotted it.A magnificent spot.

    Thanks again,
    Abigail x

    Comment by Abigail (Eco Elise's sister) on 02/03/2011 at 5:35 pm

  5. Such an inspiring letter!

    Comment by Gabriel on 07/03/2011 at 5:58 pm

  6. elise its me faye derham i love your letter its really good make that fab.elise your sister’s pics are really good make that fab.

    Comment by faye derham on 08/03/2011 at 5:50 pm

  7. really good well done elise

    Comment by faye derham on 08/03/2011 at 5:51 pm

  8. Cool letter
    i met Vivienne Westwood at the launch of the Eco-Friendly coffee Cool Earth
    she really cares about the environment!
    xEviex

    Comment by Evie on 20/03/2011 at 5:15 pm

  9. wow what a lovely pair of sisters you 2 girls are! Nature is the most important thing in my life.I Am a surfer who lives in Maroochydore Sunshine Coast Australia. The creatures and plants of this planet are needed for our excistence.I Love your letter and the bello Drawings .grazie millie ciao bacio bq oz. Dame Viv Was At your Shop SEX in London many years ago .

    Comment by Bradley Quine on 21/03/2011 at 6:26 pm

  10. I just want to say Elise your letter is amazing its better than anything i’ve EVER done and say to Abigail her picture is AM-AZ-ING!!!!!!! 🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂 :)xxxxx also just to say Vivienne you are amazing a legendary role model!xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

    Comment by kornelia kwiatkowska,9,one of elise's best friends on 12/04/2011 at 4:07 pm

  11. actually it’s refuse reuse recycle, but i know im just being picky

    Comment by heather on 01/06/2011 at 12:56 am