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'Bristle'ing direct action competition

Bristle Collective | 04.06.2004 22:31

Bristle mag competition deadline!
Just a reminder for all you original writers out there of the June 18th deadline for our Issue 16 Direct Action competition – ‘Stop Bush’. Use your imagination, draw on past experiences, or check out what the Italian anti-war masses get up to when Bush visits Rome this weekend!
Taken from page 10 of Issue 16, here’s the competition details:



It’s yer bristle DA competition – stop Bush!

Yep, your lovely bristle editorial collective, beavering away in our bomb-proof bunker beneath the Kebele building, have gone all generous, and will give to the winner of this sinister competition a years free sub (4 issues); a bag of goodies from our extensive political collection; and print the winning submission in the next issue.

So what’s the story?
That’s up to you. In line with our Direct Action special feature, we want you to write a fictional (!) 500 word press release/article, that you would send to Indymedia’s newswire, based on the action you have taken outlined in the scenario below. Explain what you’ve done and why (practice & theory). The winning entry will be the one the Collective considers the most likely to have succeeded. You’ll loose marks if you got nicked, or if we can’t make sense of what you’ve written. A London A-Z may help, or use www.streetmap.co.uk/. Get those fantasies written down now!

The scenario!
Remember Bush’s London visit last November, and the big Thursday demo which achieved absolutely nothing? Well that evening Bush (and his armoured cavalcade) went to a banquet at the US Ambassador’s residence inside Regents Park. Nearest tube was Baker St. A bunch of us went too. The Ambassador’s pad could be approached by road from 3 directions – from Hanover Gate, or from north or south along the Outer Circle. The residence was just inside the park, close to the junction of these roads (a stones throw from the Central London Mosque!). Only a few cops were at the tube station, as we walked north along the Outer Circle there were none to be seen until you were very close to the aforementioned road junction, where there loads - armed, riot and yellow jackets. The Outer Circle approaching the junction was dark, with little streetlighting, and trees, bushes & hedges on each side. There was a 6ft chain-link fence on the park side of the road. Unfortunately, in trying to establish which direction Bush would come from, we were seen and escorted under armed guard into a pen. There were only 5 other protesters there. You however have the benefit of hindsight, you know Bush will be coming along the dark Outer Circle travelling north from Baker St. Your affinity group is crouching unseen in the dark, 200m from the police blockade at the aforementioned road junction. Now go to work!

To enter
Send your submission by email to  bristlemag@yahoo.co.uk or by post to Bristle, box 25, Greenleaf Books, 82 Colston St, Bristol, BS1 5BB, by 18 June 2004. We wont print the winners real name & address unless you want us to, but you’ll have to give us a contact so we can get your prize to you!

Note our present email address above, as the permanent one is off-line whilst the bristle website www.bristle.org.uk is being restructured. To get a copy of bristle send 1.50 to bristle to our box no at Greenleaf Books in Bristol. Cheers.

Bristle Collective
- e-mail: bristlemag@yahoo.co.uk
- Homepage: http://www.bristle.org.uk