Tag: WESTCOUNTRY

LAST ORDERS AT THE BELL?

DARK DAYS FOR Bathonians last month, with the announcement of the impending sale of Walcot Street’s Bell Inn. For those not in the know, the Bell has long been one of the city’s most distinctive waterholes, with a reputation for real ale, almost nightly live music and independent spirit. The foil-hatted amongst you can almost be forgiven for thinking that some sinister Illuminani-esque conspiracy has been targeting the city over the last decade or so, with closures of real pubs like the Hat and Feather, the Porter Butt and the Longacre (even Moles’ future is looking shaky), the expansion of boarded-up wasteland along the London Road, and increased gentrification (yes, this is Bath we’re talking about). Walcot Street, the so-called ‘Artisan Quarter’, whatever that means, has been hit hardest, with the loss of Doolallys cafe and the sabotage of Walcot Nation Day festival, an annual fest of true weirdness.

Maybe the Bell’s motley crue of dedicated boozers and misfits can save the pub, though, and buy it up themselves; providing they can cough up the £925,000. But failing that, this might well be the pub’s final death knell. Well, we’ve always thought it high time the city had another gastro-pub.

http://www.thisisbath.co.uk/Regulars-fear-future-Bell-pub-goes-sale/story-17392550-detail/story.html

GROUNDHOG DAY, OCCUPY BATH-STYLE

NOVEMBER 16TH-18TH saw the return of Bathonian regulars Occupy Bath, for their anniversary weekend trip down memory lane. Barred by the Council from their old haunt in Queen Square, campers made a last minute detour to upmarket Royal Crescent, to dirty the stuffy elegance with their tents and banners and ghastly cookfires. After a swift set-up, and hot nosh (care of Bath Food Not Bombs), they resumed the old General Assembly meeting format – open, consensus-based discussions where all present get to air their views and decide camp policy. A year on, this camp was more firmly focused on the government austerity program, as well as Britain’s corrupt economic system. As well as bathing in the glare of the B.B.C. and Bath Chronicle’s media spotlight, the campers found themselves also dazzled by the flash of busloads of tourist cameras, who must have thought they’d encountered some post-apocalyptic human zoo – and maybe they had. The next day, it was all out to hassle Starbucks on their tax evasion, complete with banner, megaphone and minor security guard scuffles. And then come the Sunday they packed up and went their separate ways, rather than outstaying their welcome for weeks on end, like last time! But unlike many of the Occupy cells, the Bath group are still very much active, particularly in the form of their brainchild Bath People’s Assembly, which meets every month at the Friends Meeting House – and maybe you should do, too?

http://new.bathpeoplesassembly.org/

http://standingstonesblog.blogspot.co.uk/

ANARCHY VS. CHAOS: AN INTRODUCTION TO ANARCHISM

Black And Red Federation
bathactivistnet[at]yahoo.co.uk

16/11/12

MEDIA RELEASE – for immediate use
Anarchy vs. Chaos: An Introduction to Anarchism

ON SATURDAY 24TH November, from 3 until 6pm in the Coffee Lounge of Manvers Street Baptist Church in Bath (a minute’s walk from Bath Spa train station), the Black And Red Federation will be organising a discussion on anarchism, and invite members of the public to come along and take part. The group feels that recent government policy and business lobbyists have made the UK a better place for millionaires and rightwing politicians, but an increasingly uncertain and unhealthy place for everyone else.

Anarchism has received a bad press ever since its birth 219 years ago, with anarchists forced into stereotypes of either violent thugs or sandal-footed hippies – caricatures repeated by both the media and political establishment on one side, but also by self-proclaimed anarchists on the other. But many anarchists see it differently: the philosophy has come a long way since its roots amongst the Taoists of ancient China and the Christian heretic Anabaptists of 16th Century Europe, promoting mutual respect, equality and rationality, and opposing oppression wherever it appears. Indeed, anarchism had become a mass movement of hundreds of thousands of everyday people fighting for and winning freedom in 1920s Ukraine and 1930s Spain, however briefly. Far from embracing destruction and chaos, anarchists say that ‘Anarchism is Order’!

In Bath on the Saturday, a handful of local speakers will make short presentations on the ideas and history of this important but controversial political philosophy, before breaking down into longer group sessions where all present are invited to discuss and offer their two cents. The group will ask whether, in this current climate of biting austerity and growing global unrest, anarchists and their ideas have any role to play?

Entry is free, food and hot drinks will be available, as will stalls of literature, and all are welcome to come along and join them on the day!

Notes to the Editor:

If you would like any further information, please email bathactivistnet[at]yahoo.co.uk

You may also want to check out any of the following:

network23.org/barf
+

 

 

UP AND ATOM

IT’S A BAD time to be in the nuke biz. Remember that global recession that we’re apparently out of? Well, the con-alition government’s nuclear plans (for an extra 10 power stations by 2025) are currently showing the cracks, as three catchy-named nuclear engineering companies from both France and China – Areva, China National Nuclear Power Corporation and China Guangdong Nuclear Power Group – have pulled out of buying Horizon Nuclear Power (planning reactors in Wylfa and Oldbury), due to economic doubts. Iberdrola, Spanish owners of Scottish Power (with designs on Sellafield), are also having second thoughts.

Frenchies E.D.F. are also in financial straits, but that’s not all their problems, as anti-nuclear campaigners have recently finished their ‘Reclaim Hinkley’ weekend action camp. Hinkley Point in Bridgwater is to house two untried-and-tested brand nuke reactors, as well as a storage facility to hold radioactive waste for at least 160 years, assuming some other authority agrees to later take it off their hands. The camp lasted from 5th to 8th of October, and was set up on occupied land nearby, complete with catering, wooden H.Q., solar panels and between 70 and 120 eco-warriors at any time.

After the obligatory day of talks and action training, proceedings ended with a bang on the Monday, as they led a colourful march – complete with toxic yellow barrels rolled through the streets – to the power station’s gates and did a ‘die-in’ blockade. And then it was all on E.D.F.’s proposed Hinkley C site for a jolly mass trespass, where 50-plus surrounded the five mile perimeter, dodged G4S goons, hung massive banners, sang, waved placards, and lobbed 577 seedbombs (the number of days since the Fukushima Dai-chi disaster in Japan). While all that song and dance went on, 30 managed to scale or breach the 8′ high barbed wire-topped fence, and planted wildflowers; six were arrested, and one got a suspected broken arm for their troubles.

South West Against Nuclear say that the £60bn earmarked for ‘new nuclear’ needs instead to be diverted to energy reduction and renewables development, for a cleaner, greener future. Maybe the government will listen?

http://tinyurl.com/8zeqwyz

http://theoccupiedtimes.co.uk/?p=7265

http://tinyurl.com/9ejqr5h

http://www.thisissomerset.co.uk/pictures/Photos-Stop-Hinckley-Protest-pictures/pictures-17046040-detail/pictures.html

http://stopnewnuclear.org.uk/node/1500

http://www.thisissomerset.co.uk/Video-Anti-nuclear-campaigners-begin-Stop-Hinkley/story-17048137-detail/story.html

http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2012/oct/03/british-nuclear-china-investors-pull-out?newsfeed=true

OFF THE BUSES

ANYONE WHO’S EVER got on a bus or train in the southwest, even once, will have learned at least one important fact. First Great Western are rip-off merchants. With fares on a constant sky-rocket, no noticeable improvements to (often late, patchy and overcrowded) services, and directors’ pay also on a steady, yet undeserved upward slant, it’s no wonder most passengers view First Group as the gangsters and capitalist con-artists that they are. But all the overcharging of customers must translate into more money for the workers, right? Wrong. First have recently slapped their bus workers in Devon and Cornwall with a new pay ‘offer’ which removes pay during the time workers spend getting from bus to bus, sabotages sick pay and pension schemes and bans ‘visual checks’ in which drivers check the condition of their bus mid-shift. The workers and the R.M.T. union flat out rejected the offer, with 85% voting for strike action until a respectable offer is tabled.

Making the link between mistreatment of workers and shoddy services, R.M.T. head honcho Bob Crow said “Bus service workers in the southwest will be taking action as the companies attempt to ramp up profits at the expense of the staff as well as the travelling public’. Too right Bob! And as the strikes get underway, it would be great to see words being turned into action, with staff and service users standing together against the racketeers before of First Great Western run our public transport all the way into the ground. Better yet would be if the strikers emulated their fellow drivers in Barcelona, who, during a recent strike, parked their buses across depot entrances, main roads and other choice locations, slashed the tyres and walked off with the keys!

 

HARDEST HIT HIT BACK

THURSDAY 25TH OCTOBER saw over 30 disabled people and supporters march in Bristol, to draw attention to the massive impact the cuts are having on disabled people and their carers. This is especially clear in Bristol, where the Lib-Dem-led council has forced through policies shutting down eight care homes across the city, despite mass opposition from service users, workers and anyone who gives a shit about the most vulnerable in our society. To highlight the massive impact of these cuts, a report by the Children’s Society and Disability Rights U.K. claims 230,000 severely disabled people are set to get between £28 and £58 less in benefits every week, while 100,000 children stand to lose up to £28 a week, and up to 116,000 disabled people who work will be at risk of losing £40. Event organisers estimate that government cuts will directly hit more than 500,000 disabled people across the country.

After the march, tempers flared when local Lib-Dem scumbag, mayoral candidate and avid backer of care home closures Jon Rogers tried to address the crowd. Not wanting to listen to someone who has campaigned tirelessly to rob them of their facilities, the crowd responded with heckling, booing and even lobbing a few objects, including a lit cigarette, at Rogers – the least he deserved in our humble opinion. Speaking after the event, one of the demonstrators explained their actions, describing how Rogers “[doesn’t have] much of a place at a demonstration like this. He has closed operations for eight care homes in Bristol.” Quite right. Even if the care homes may be set to close, there is still more to fight for. In the meantime, the least we can do is give back a little bit of the discomfort and humiliation that politicians force on us – especially the most vulnerable of us – by making sure they can’t speak in public without having to dodge awkward questions, awkward heckles and as many flaming objects as we can throw!

PIRATICAL HI-JINKS AND HI-JACKS IN DARTMOUTH

HERE AT THE Mutineer, we take pride in the westcountry’s long history of smuggling, brigandry and piracy, so, we thought we’d take the time to salute Dartmouth resident Alison Whelan for upholding these fine traditions. After a weekend long bender, including copious amount of lambrini and hallucinogenic deadly nightshade, Alison decided to relight the dormant tradition of southwesterly piracy. Commandeering a 45ft. vessel, Captain Whelan steered out of the harbour, smashing into dozens of boats, including a £70,000 luxury yacht, all the while screaming “I’m Jack Sparrow!” Police on the scene described the harbour as “like a giant pinball machine” as she attempted to make it to the high seas. As authorities approached, Whelan was heard taunting police by saying “what are you going to do now?” and “I believe this is out of your jurisdiction”. She was wrong. Later, when interviewed, Whelan’s first words to police were “I would have made it to St. Tropez if you hadn’t stopped me!” This unrepentant pirate is now doing a short stretch behind bars, and, while her water-borne protest can in no way be counted as progressive, we would still like to take off our tri-corn hats in salute to a woman who has reminded us that the west’s tradition of drunken, criminal piracy is not quite dead.

A CASE OF BLACK AND WHITE

UNLESS YOU’VE BEEN living in a sett for the last few months, you’ve probably heard that the government plan to undertake a badger cull in order to stop badgers giving cows T.B. Of course, no-one wants to kill badgers, but the government and the National Farmers Union claim that this is necessary; except that no one else seems to think so. Going back a few years, over 10,000 badgers were killed by scientists in order to see if culling them reduces T.B. in cattle, only to conclude that it will make “no meaningful contribution” to controlling the disease. Several studies suggest that cattle movement is the most significant cause, and that this needs to be controlled much more than badgers. Now, these very scientists, as well as conservation and animal welfare groups such as the R.S.P.B. and R.S.P.C.A., the likes of David Attenborough and Bill Oddie, a large proportion of the public, and top of all of this, a majority of M.P.s in the House of Commons, are opposed to the cull and support alternatives such as vaccination and biosecurity measures.

So, why are they trying to kill the badgers? The decision appears to be an entirely political one, as the Tories depend upon the votes of farming communities who do not want to admit that that they’ve made mistakes with cattle movement, and the increasingly low genetic pool of cattle, poor conditions and lack of biosecurity has led to an increase in susceptibility and the spread of the disease. In the words of John Bourne, the scientist who led the previous trial of badger culling: “I think the most interesting observation was made to me by a senior politician who said, ‘fine John, we accept your science, but we have to offer the farmers a carrot. And the only carrot we can possibly give them is culling badgers’”.

Anti-cull activists are therefore on the case, with pickets of supermarkets selling milk sourced from the cull zones (Sainsbury’s, Tesco, Asda) in Bristol and Bath throughout last month. Far be it from us to give shopping advice, but if you’re not lactose-intolerant or one of those funny vegans, you might consider heading to Co-op, Waitrose or Marks’s for your milk. Indeed, we take our hats off to Brian May and his more clandestine friends, a combination of whose e-petitions, lobbying, ‘gentle pressure’, late night sett-monitoring and prank phone calls led to not only a tough day in the office or two for new environment minister Owen Paterson, but also to M.P.s voting to delay the cull until next June!

But don’t pack up your waterproofs, maps and torches just yet – if the cull does still go ahead next year, there is plenty work to be done. Country estates (such as Forthampton Estate) and some farms are still signed up to the cull, and many badger setts have already been baited for culling, and activists are making note of these to go out and interrupt the shooting when the time comes. And campaigners are also targeting coffee shops like Starbucks and Nero, who deal with pro-cull dairies: if you would like speak to them, their details are below:

Starbucks U.K. and Ireland Media Inquiries

tel: + 44 20 8834 5164

e-mail: ukpressoffice@tarbucks.com

Caffe Nero

http://www.caffenero.com/contact/default.aspx

http://badger-killers.co.uk/

http://standingstonesblog.blogspot.co.uk/

http://badger-killers.co.uk/shoot-to-kill/

http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2012/oct/25/badgers-wildlife

BLUE-BLOODED SEX PEST STRIKES IN SWINDON

FROM CORNISH TORIES caught with their fingers in the public purse, we now turn to Swindon, where Councillor Nick Martin has been slapped on the wrist for having his clammy fingers all over the public servants. Well known in the town for being one of the nastier characters amongst the local Tory clique (and believe us, there’s plenty to choose from), Martin is now in hot water over his wandering hands. At a recent social function, Martin – Deputy Mayor and Conservative councillor – was found guilty of inappropriate conduct for rubbing the hair and head of council officer Helen Miah. The married father was also found guilty of passing borderline-pervy comments about Ms. Miah’s haircut. Miah, who described herself as “freaked out” by the incident also told how the Martin ran his hands over her back, commenting “I’ve been dying to do that all night,” while his wife sat only a few metres away. It has since emerged that Ms. Miah had complained previously about the dirty deputy when she saw him touching female council employees inappropriately in 2008. Despite a clear pattern of alleged dirty behaviour, Martin has been let off gently: being forced to attend sensitivity training and write letters of apology. However, thanks to Helen Miah standing up for herself, Martin will at least be placed under heightened public pressure to behave, not to mention the fact that his long-held ambition of stepping into the mayor’s bejewelled boots will now be in tatters.

 

HEY, TEACHER, MAKE THOSE BOSSES GROAN!

TEACHERS ACROSS THE southwest joined colleagues across the country, last month, starting an indefinite campaign of industrial action against excessive stress and workload. The action, designed not to affect pupils, will involve teachers refusing excessive observations (which teachers in some schools in the west face daily), refusing to hand in their planning to be marked by senior leaders (yes, this happens) and dozens of similar boycotts. The average teacher’s day begins at 7.45a.m., and ends around 6p.m., and the long holidays mostly get consumed with marking and planning. This is something teachers have been willing to put up with for years, but with headteachers increasingly treating staff like naughty children – upping already heavy levels of scrutiny as well as expecting a rainforest-depleting ream of paperwork on a daily basis – teachers felt action was the only option. Their decision to fight back has been made easier by education secretary Michael ‘Pob’ Gove claiming that teachers frequently leave at 3p.m. and should have their pay docked for doing so – a sick joke for anyone who knows how deep into the evening an average teacher’s work runs. Clamouring to one-up his partner in crime, OFSTED boss and well-known scrote Sir Michael Wilshaw recently opened a speech to senior leaders with the line “If anyone says to you that ‘staff morale is at an all-time low’ you will know you are doing something right.” Wow! With bosses like these, who can blame the teachers for striking back?

In some schools, headteachers, scared of losing their iron grip over staff, have attempted to ban the action. In at least one school in Wiltshire, staff standing together have already beaten back this attack, and in another, staff in a religious school are preparing to escalate a campaign against their boss who has banned the action on the grounds that it doesn’t fit with their religious ethos (we’d argue that religion and freedom have never had much in common anyway)! Teachers at the school will be going loud with their campaign soon, so we’ll keep you posted. In the meantime, if you are a parent or pupil, you can support your teachers simply by telling them know that you appreciate what they do. Letting them know you think Gove is a bastard, or offering to deck him will also be guaranteed to raise morale amongst your local educators!