The eviction was set for 10am Friday, but the Social Centre was somewhat suspicious of this. The organising collective had been told the bailiffs were not willing to evict without police presence because of the extent of the Social Centre's physical defences, and off the record were told it would take 2 weeks to arrange a cop presence. And the date of Friday was set spontaneously on Monday morning by the Council representatives/Sherrif (cheif bailiff, whatever) in an apparant fit of anger after their proposal that the Centre move out peacefully Monday (ie, tomorrow) met with general indifference.

So Friday morning with plenty of support the bailiffs didn't even turn up! People were locked on etc., actually complaining jokingly that the Council hadn't even bothered to try their eviction - this isn't why we pay our council tax etc. Passers by were generally indifferent or supportive of the 20 or so supporters, many dressed as santa. One bin worker in his cab shouted a 'get a job- and you might get somewhere!' thing laughing, which was met with cries from Collective members of 'got one thanks' - the Collective includes a volunteer co-ordinator, recycling administrators, a telesales worker, a marine biologist and a doctor of psychology! Ho ho ho. So he said 'why are you squatting the nursery then'??!! He got a leaflet, and finally relented to give a horn hoot of support driving on, still laughing his tits off...

The Collective heard from the media that the Councils line was that they were not going to evict that day after all - the second time the Collective have heard of a deferred eviction from the media rather than direct from the Council...

Why was the eviction deferred again, for a third time? It seems supportive interventions from the relevant MP Lin Jones (despite her anti-Brian Haw record) helped, as well as from Council Chief Exec Lin Homer, but they were picking up on the reasonableness of the Collective position; namely that they will not move or be moved until there's a viable alternative proposal for putting the building into social use, an approach to the building's future which the Council has solicited thanks to the squatters, and which the Collective has agreed to publically, notable at the meeting of the Neighborhood Forum in October.

So, while interventions from authority figures, some dodgy and playing their own political game perhaps, has helped, those interventions would not have occurred without vigourous lobbying by the Collective with high quality arguments, and by their willingness to resist any eviction non-violently. Direct action works. Anarchist engagement in discourse works.

Whether an eviction attempt will take place on Monday is uncertain - seems possible, so the Collective remains on eviction alert...while also holding a PHAT party last night, which is still going on at time of writing, and maintaining the donation based cafe and regular workshops...