Let's trash the countryside
Party Trashers | 16.07.2002 13:22
Let's trash the countryside
'Over ten thousand of you arrived at a nature reserve and birdlife sanctuary - at the height of the wading birds nesting season. For three days, you terrorised the local inhabitants, and destroyed the nests and the fledglings.' -- local resident, near Steart Beach, Bridgewater Bay
'The site wasn't the one chosen, confusion abounded, a few rigs took to the previously used beach, then everybody else followed. It's not on to use somewhere like that, but if you're not aware of its sensitivity, and the police are chasing down convoys, then it's not surprising someone made a snap decision to take the site. What we need is places to party safely and responsibly. Dancing shouldn't be an outlaw activity.' -- Guilfin
'Several thousand people in a field, dancing to underground music from sound systems to live bands, taking whatever drugs they want as the party continues 24 hours a day, and making new connections outside capitalism's reign of terror.' -- raver at alternative Glastonbury at Smeatharpe
Clubs are apparently becoming a little too tame for clubbers, they prefer the freedom of a rave in the countryside - freedom that is to trash someone else's property, freedom to have a free party and freedom to indulge in a cocktail of drugs.
Clubbers and ravers believe they have a right to party where ever they like and fuck everyone else. A right to trash the countryside, the same right exercised by Monsatan, the same right exercised by farmers ripping out hedgerows, the same right exercised by TAG/MoD trashing the heathland to the west of Farnborough Airport. A right to disturb the peace and quiet of the countryside with unwanted noise, the same right exercised by TAG Aviation, BA.
Like effluent overflowing from a rusting pipeline, clubbers and ravers flowed out of the clubs and washed up on Steart Beach during Jubilee Weekend for a free festival. To have arrived at this secluded spot in Bridgewater Bay near Hinckley Point nuclear power station would have required local knowledge (thus inexcusable). The pathetic excuse was that the waste of urban society was being hounded from pillar to post by the local police and they had to go somewhere to exercise their God given right to party, especially when it's free.
The result of this effluent washing up on Steart Beach was that a nature reserve was trashed, a bird sanctuary was destroyed at the height of the nesting season for waders, fires were lit, needles left in fields with young lambs. Locals were left to clean up the mess and count the cost.
Post-Glastonbury, an alternative Glastonbury free festival was held at Smeatharpe, a former airbase some twenty miles from Glastonbury. The neighbouring farmer had no problem with the party as long as people showed him the basic respect of not using the fences for firewood (it's lambing season at the moment) or trashing his crops. Not so tricky really, but that, unfortunately, is what happened, as well as kids burning a car left behind 10 years ago and sending a smoke signal of filth over the surrounding countryside.
No one would dispute organising a free party with a modicum of structure is not easy, there are too many legal hurdles to surmount, as has been seen with the failed Welsh Green Gathering (SchNEWS 354), but as the Ambient Picnic in Guildford has shown, it can be done.
In maintaining links with the party goers and giving their countryside trashing events promotion and publicity in their Party and Protest Guide, SchNEWS has lost a great deal of credibility.
If the ravers and clubbers must exercise their God given right to dance, then choose a suitable venue, an ASDA car park, a GM farm-scale field trial. Or why not the heathland to the west of Farnborough Airport? TAG/MoD have already done a good job of trashing it, it is difficult to see that further harm could result, and it would probably force closure of the airport, so at least some good would result. Party sometime in July before the start of the Farnborough Airshow (22-28 July 2002) and you may manage to scupper the world's biggest arms festival.
www.schnews.org.uk
www.greenleaf.demon.co.uk
www.squall.co.uk/squall.cfm?sq=2002061403&ct=9
www.guilfin.net
www.ambientpicnic.co.uk
www.farnborough-airport.org.uk
'Over ten thousand of you arrived at a nature reserve and birdlife sanctuary - at the height of the wading birds nesting season. For three days, you terrorised the local inhabitants, and destroyed the nests and the fledglings.' -- local resident, near Steart Beach, Bridgewater Bay
'The site wasn't the one chosen, confusion abounded, a few rigs took to the previously used beach, then everybody else followed. It's not on to use somewhere like that, but if you're not aware of its sensitivity, and the police are chasing down convoys, then it's not surprising someone made a snap decision to take the site. What we need is places to party safely and responsibly. Dancing shouldn't be an outlaw activity.' -- Guilfin
'Several thousand people in a field, dancing to underground music from sound systems to live bands, taking whatever drugs they want as the party continues 24 hours a day, and making new connections outside capitalism's reign of terror.' -- raver at alternative Glastonbury at Smeatharpe
Clubs are apparently becoming a little too tame for clubbers, they prefer the freedom of a rave in the countryside - freedom that is to trash someone else's property, freedom to have a free party and freedom to indulge in a cocktail of drugs.
Clubbers and ravers believe they have a right to party where ever they like and fuck everyone else. A right to trash the countryside, the same right exercised by Monsatan, the same right exercised by farmers ripping out hedgerows, the same right exercised by TAG/MoD trashing the heathland to the west of Farnborough Airport. A right to disturb the peace and quiet of the countryside with unwanted noise, the same right exercised by TAG Aviation, BA.
Like effluent overflowing from a rusting pipeline, clubbers and ravers flowed out of the clubs and washed up on Steart Beach during Jubilee Weekend for a free festival. To have arrived at this secluded spot in Bridgewater Bay near Hinckley Point nuclear power station would have required local knowledge (thus inexcusable). The pathetic excuse was that the waste of urban society was being hounded from pillar to post by the local police and they had to go somewhere to exercise their God given right to party, especially when it's free.
The result of this effluent washing up on Steart Beach was that a nature reserve was trashed, a bird sanctuary was destroyed at the height of the nesting season for waders, fires were lit, needles left in fields with young lambs. Locals were left to clean up the mess and count the cost.
Post-Glastonbury, an alternative Glastonbury free festival was held at Smeatharpe, a former airbase some twenty miles from Glastonbury. The neighbouring farmer had no problem with the party as long as people showed him the basic respect of not using the fences for firewood (it's lambing season at the moment) or trashing his crops. Not so tricky really, but that, unfortunately, is what happened, as well as kids burning a car left behind 10 years ago and sending a smoke signal of filth over the surrounding countryside.
No one would dispute organising a free party with a modicum of structure is not easy, there are too many legal hurdles to surmount, as has been seen with the failed Welsh Green Gathering (SchNEWS 354), but as the Ambient Picnic in Guildford has shown, it can be done.
In maintaining links with the party goers and giving their countryside trashing events promotion and publicity in their Party and Protest Guide, SchNEWS has lost a great deal of credibility.
If the ravers and clubbers must exercise their God given right to dance, then choose a suitable venue, an ASDA car park, a GM farm-scale field trial. Or why not the heathland to the west of Farnborough Airport? TAG/MoD have already done a good job of trashing it, it is difficult to see that further harm could result, and it would probably force closure of the airport, so at least some good would result. Party sometime in July before the start of the Farnborough Airshow (22-28 July 2002) and you may manage to scupper the world's biggest arms festival.
www.schnews.org.uk
www.greenleaf.demon.co.uk
www.squall.co.uk/squall.cfm?sq=2002061403&ct=9
www.guilfin.net
www.ambientpicnic.co.uk
www.farnborough-airport.org.uk
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