Anarchist Bookfair 2005

Lots of books, lots of activists, leaves falling off the trees. It's that time of year again, the Anarchist Bookfair.

This year a new venue.

To the relief of many, the Anarchist Bookfair had moved from the disastrous University of London Student Union. This year it was held at the Resource Cente on Holloway Road, just up the road from Holloway Road Tube Station.

You knew when you had arrived from the number of people hanging about outside and the large number of cycles chained to the railings.

At the Anarchist Bookfair, one is spoiled for choice.

Two recently published books well worth reading:

Ian Henshall and Rowland Morgan, 911 Revealed, Robinson, 2005

Annie Machon, Spies, Lies and Whistleblowers: MI5, MI6 and the Shayler Affair, Book Guild, 2005

http://www.heureka.clara.net/books

Annie Machon and David Shaylor (both ex MI5 spooks) gave a talk, but this did not go down too well. One prat asked them to hand over the names of all the agents at MI5. Get real!

Worse though was to come.

The following day, the Resource Centre Centre hosted a conference entitled The Freedom to Protest. Dave and Annie were barred from speaking and it was made clear to them that they were not wanted. Obviously the freedom to protest only goes so far. Whoever chose to bar them ended up discrediting the conference. A massive own goal.

http://www.freedomtoprotest.org.uk/

A minor criticism of the Anarchist Bookfair was that there were too many bookstalls. We need a better mix, with more stalls like SchNews, Corporate Watch and Indymedia UK.

Indymedia had a very good selection of DVDs and VCDs, which they were busily copying off for everyone.

The end of the day was marred by a riot!

A prat or prats, decided to meddle with a sound system in a neighbouring pub. The bar staff got annoyed, as did many of those who wanted to have a quiet drink and chat and mull over the day's proceedings.

The police were called, and what until then had been a minor incident escalated and got completely out of hand.

A handful of anarchists decided to take on the police. The police called for back up.

The police then over-reacted. As far as the eye could see down Holloway Road, flashing blue lights. Along came the riot squad and started to seal off the area.

Not wishing to be detained for several hours in the wind and rain, or be clubbed on the head by over-zealous cops, a few of us had the sense to go back into the building and out the back way.

There is now the very real risk that the incident will be used as an excuse to ban future Anarchist Bookfairs.

http://www.anarchistbookfair.org/

Unlike last year, when the Anarchist Bookfair was followed by the Indymedia Party, there was no party, or if there was, news of it was kept very quiet.

More comments and pictures:

http://www.indymedia.org.uk/en/2005/10/326337.html

http://www.indymedia.org.uk/en/2005/10/326252.html

http://www.indymedia.org.uk/en/regions/london/2005/10/326291.html

http://www.indymedia.org.uk/en/regions/london/2005/10/326267.html

Anarchist Bookfair 2004

http://www.indymedia.org.uk/en/2004/12/302216.html

Keith Parkins
Homepage: http://www.anarchistbookfair.org/

Comments

Hide the following 11 comments

Yeah right...

25.10.2005 16:03

As anarchists we should never, ever, ever, no, no, no, no, take on the Poleesshhh.

Very bad indeed.

What tosh.

And balls to Shayler...once a spook always a spook.

Francis Berny

Dave and Annie who?

25.10.2005 16:51

Who are Dave and Annie?

Anne Archie

Yawn

25.10.2005 17:11

Labels, profiles, etc...

OOPs

25.10.2005 17:58

"Annie Machon and David Shaylor (both ex MI5 spooks)"

Oh yeah- sorry wasn't paying attention...

Anne Archie

Freedom To Protest conference

25.10.2005 18:36

Why would David & Annie speak at the FTP conference? It was not appropriate for them to do so, whether they were spooks or not. The conference, highly successful by the way, (I am assuming the commentator was not actually there to judge from his language), was for grassroots political activists, something the above two hardly fall into. It was not to push any particular agenda and it was not focused on any one movement. The aim was to provide a place to learn and to network a huge cross-section of activists in different movements (both of which it did). There were speakers, a number of people had a five minute slot in the first pleniary, but they were restricted to people who were grassroots activists in successful campaigns - something D & A would also not have been appropriate for. And finally, just when did they approach the steering committee to say they wanted to speak?

Basically, the FTP conference was not appropriate for their agenda, so bringing the conference into you moan is equally inappropriate.

M

M
Homepage: http://www.freedomtoprotest.org.uk

Large

25.10.2005 18:48

The police were giving it the Eddie Large treatment.

Big Potatoes

There werer after parties

26.10.2005 01:51

There were parties after the bookfair (advertised on indymedia and with flyers handed out at the bookfair) but it seems that most anarchists prefered the corporate chain venue of the pub and keen to swell the breweries profits and have a pointless ruck with the cops.

brewery rules

Not so..

26.10.2005 21:07

These anarchists quite likely wanted to drink with other people they most likely hadn't seen for a while and fancied a quiet drink without loud music.

Or do you know different due to your crystal ball?

Justin

Were they definitely anarchists though?

27.10.2005 11:22

Just wondering about the 'trouble makers' in the pub with the sound system - were they there to deliberately cause trouble perhaps?

Just a thought, especially as there is the threat that future fairs may be cancelled as a result of this incident, but maybe they are well known and I'm talking bollox..

After Parties

27.10.2005 13:28

There were after parties - they were very busy and people enjoyed them.

People went to the pub in the early evening _before_ the parties. Some people were not going to the parties and so the pub was a good place to sit down and chat with people. Duh.

pubs r us

what happened at the bookfair

08.11.2005 14:39

Some incontrovertible facts about what really happened at the Anarchist Bookfair re Shayler and the 9/11 crew.

Firstly, Shayler did turn up late at the Bookfair about 5pm - using room 6 which wasn't booked and with a pre-arranged goon squad of up to ten 9/11 conspiraloons, one of whom tried to get heavy with a NFB comrade. A very vocal 'American' (possibly the mysterious Keith?) - this was effectively an assault o the bookfair. None of these people were anarchists and had no right to be there - a posting on the 9/11 site by frazzell warned that Shayler might be unpopular or disliked by 'anarcho' types and called for people to turn up to defend Shayler, giving the clear impression that this would be an intimidating event. Fortunately, members of the anarchist community and Notes from the Borderland turned up at Shayler's whacky seminar to question him and put his 'visit' into context - he after all had spied on anarchists whilst paid by MI5. Shayler didn't like being asked questions and stupidly lost his temper. Little boy.

Secondly, when NFB personnel were leaving the Bookfair, a group of 9/11 loonies were outside the building with Shayler/Animation - including the American thug and Mr Conspiracy himself Tony Gosling - this is when and where the altercation took place - then Animation, obviously fired up a little, came across to question and threaten the NFB team - using old MI5 tricks in fact but achieving nothing. Animation tells us she knows nothing about the spying that occurred against the SWP - we think she knows more and should name names. If Shayler can give us (admittedly bare and inconsistent) info on anarchist infiltrators, mthen she should give us chapter and verse on spies in the left/SWP, some of whom might still be operational. She was head of the department surveilling SWP for two whole years - even intelligent conjecture as to who the SWP spies were/are and what they did would be a start. But, as usual, all we get is a smokescreen. Readers can make their own minds up as to why Animation wants to remain so quiet and unhelpful.

Our DVD of the debate where Shayler was taken on by Larry is an excellent starting point for those interested in these matters - visit the NFB website at www.borderland.co.uk

heidi svenson
mail e-mail: heidisvensonfem
Homepage: http://www.borderland.co.uk