CLIMATE CAMP: The week my footprint went down and my spirits went up

[Guest guest]

Published 13 August 2008

By Jenny Patient

 

 

Imagine a tented city spread out on a grassy ridge, with banners flying in the breeze.

Not some scene of medieval jousting, but this year's Camp for Climate Action at Kingsnorth in Kent, where 1500 activists gathered last week to oppose plans for new coal-fired power stations. Energy giant E.ON, with government support, wants to build huge new power stations burning imported coal, with no means at hand to stop the CO2 adding to climate change.In the tented city are large marquees, each full of people planning action on climate change, or honing their skills in renewable energy, media work or vegan cake-baking. A flock of small tents house friends and families who have brought their sleeping bags, cups, plates, spoons and waterproofs to spend a week learning and working together. In the Yorkshire 'neighbourhood' marquee, the vegetables are being chopped for another delicious vegan meal for 150, and today's volunteers are off to clean out the wheelchair-accessible composting toilet. The morning's

neighbourhood meeting attracted 50 people who made consensus decisions on site jobs and how to handle the heavy policing, and still found time to debate the politics of direct action. I spent a week at Climate Camp leading up to taking part in a day of action to shut down Kingsnorth power station. The highlights for me were the fun I had working with my 'affinity group' to prepare for our direct action exploits in the guise of pirates, and the great conversations I had with so many new people. I met 18-year-olds with a maturity beyond their years, and 65-year-olds unafraid to resist police in riot gear. I was utterly impressed with the skills and co-operation that turned straw-bales, sacking, old baths and wheelie-bins into compost toilets and drainage systems that kept us all healthy for a week. Walking back one evening at dusk from my 'eco-wash' (a basin and a windbreak) I was struck by the beauty and simplicity of what we had created

by working together and using so few resources (if you don't count the uninvited police helicopter circling overhead!) We'd succeeded in learning so much about how to tackle the challenge of climate change, and drawn attention to the madness of building new coal-fired power stations when the planet is facing meltdown. Climate Camp gave me new hope that people can work together for a happy, healthy, low-carbon future and stand up against the crazy systems that stand in their way.http://www.thestar.co.uk/headlines/CLIMATE-CAMP-The-week-my.4387184.jp

 

Peter vvSend instant messages to your online friends http://uk.messenger.

[Guest guest]



Hi Peter

 

> The highlights for me were the fun I had working with my 'affinity group' to prepare for our direct action exploits in the guise of pirates

 

How wonderful to see that the "pirates" have taken off... they started very small amongst a bunch of witches in West Virginia, now seems they've invaded rural Britain :-)

 

BB

Peter

[Guest guest]



Hi Peter

 

What is all this about pirates lately? There were pirates at Witchfest last year, and there are pirate Goth clothes .........

 

BBJo

 

 

-

Peter

Wednesday, August 13, 2008 10:22 PM

Re: CLIMATE CAMP: The week my footprint went down and my spirits went up

 

 

 Hi Peter

 

> The highlights for me were the fun I had working with my 'affinity group' to prepare for our direct action exploits in the guise of pirates

 

How wonderful to see that the "pirates" have taken off... they started very small amongst a bunch of witches in West Virginia, now seems they've invaded rural Britain :-)

 

BB

Peter

[Guest guest]

pirates and things piratey have been all the rage over here for years

pirates of carribean and all..riding the wave...

there is a local "gang" here called pyrate punx...they have chapters in the UK as well...

gangs..oy vey....

"jo.heartwork" Aug 13, 2008 3:00 PM Re: CLIMATE CAMP: The week my footprint went down and my spirits went up

 

 

 

 Hi Peter

 

What is all this about pirates lately? There were pirates at Witchfest last year, and there are pirate Goth clothes .........

 

BBJo

 

 

-

Peter

Wednesday, August 13, 2008 10:22 PM

Re: CLIMATE CAMP: The week my footprint went down and my spirits went up

 

 

 Hi Peter

 

> The highlights for me were the fun I had working with my 'affinity group' to prepare for our direct action exploits in the guise of pirates

 

How wonderful to see that the "pirates" have taken off... they started very small amongst a bunch of witches in West Virginia, now seems they've invaded rural Britain :-)

 

BB

Peter

 

 

 

 

 

 

With the first link, the chain is forged. The first speech censured, the first thought forbidden, the first freedom denied, chains us all irrevocably.

[Guest guest]



Hi Fraggle / Jo

 

The "protest" pirates came out of the Spiral Heart Witchcamp in West Virginia. It started out as a semi-joke amongst a few of the campers, basically using the concept of pirates to burst egos of a few people who needed their egos popping, and to generally take the mickey (or urine, for you US folks) out of capitalism / heirarchical based concepts. "Pirates" would basically appear randomly throughout the camp, and do something dramatic to make a point, then disappear again. It then spread to some of the other camps - never quite made it to the UK Witchcamp directly, but was talked about - and through those camps began to find a home amongst groups like the Pagan Cluster. There was talk of them appearing at the G8 in Scotland a few years ago, but it was felt that the Clowns were already doing exactly what the Pirates would do, and it seemed more divisive to bring them in. Seems like they've now eventually made it into main-stream activism (if such a thing exists!!!!)

 

BTW, the Spiral Heart Pirates pre-date Pirates of the Carribean by at least 3 years.

 

Of course, Pirates have always been popular images anyway (or so it seems, living in Bristol!), so I'm sure there's loads of groups around who've used it...

 

BB

Peter

 

 

 

-

fraggle

Wednesday, August 13, 2008 11:04 PM

Re: CLIMATE CAMP: The week my footprint went down and my spirits went up

 

pirates and things piratey have been all the rage over here for years

pirates of carribean and all..riding the wave...

there is a local "gang" here called pyrate punx...they have chapters in the UK as well...

gangs..oy vey....

[Guest guest]

Hi Fraggle

 

I guess that would be enough to make pirates extra-popular.

 

Jo

 

 

Re: CLIMATE CAMP: The week my footprint went down and my

spirits went up

 

 

pirates and things piratey have been all the rage over here for years

 

pirates of carribean and all..riding the wave...

 

there is a local " gang " here called pyrate punx...they have chapters

in the UK as well...

 

gangs..oy vey....

[Guest guest]

Thanks Peter.

 

So they do the same job as the clowns then. I think the clowns, and

now pirates, do a good job on protests, but would imagine the clown

image to be a little less confrontational than the pirate!

 

Incidentally, I have a lovely photo from the internet, taken at the

G8 in Sterling, of a clown with his hands up in the air surrounded by

police.

 

BB

Jo

 

, " Peter " <metalscarab wrote:

>

> Hi Fraggle / Jo

>

> The " protest " pirates came out of the Spiral Heart Witchcamp in

West Virginia. It started out as a semi-joke amongst a few of the

campers, basically using the concept of pirates to burst egos of a

few people who needed their egos popping, and to generally take the

mickey (or urine, for you US folks) out of capitalism / heirarchical

based concepts. " Pirates " would basically appear randomly throughout

the camp, and do something dramatic to make a point, then disappear

again. It then spread to some of the other camps - never quite made

it to the UK Witchcamp directly, but was talked about - and through

those camps began to find a home amongst groups like the Pagan

Cluster. There was talk of them appearing at the G8 in Scotland a few

years ago, but it was felt that the Clowns were already doing exactly

what the Pirates would do, and it seemed more divisive to bring them

in. Seems like they've now eventually made it into main-stream

activism (if such a thing exists!!!!)

>

> BTW, the Spiral Heart Pirates pre-date Pirates of the Carribean by

at least 3 years.

>

> Of course, Pirates have always been popular images anyway (or so it

seems, living in Bristol!), so I'm sure there's loads of groups

around who've used it...

>

> BB

> Peter

>

>

> -

> fraggle

>

> Wednesday, August 13, 2008 11:04 PM

> Re: CLIMATE CAMP: The week my footprint went

down and my spirits went up

>

>

> pirates and things piratey have been all the rage over here for

years

>

> pirates of carribean and all..riding the wave...

>

> there is a local " gang " here called pyrate punx...they have

chapters in the UK as well...

>

> gangs..oy vey....

>