On Saturday 24th March, the London's collective of Anarchitects called Space Hijackers invited the Whitechapel local community to a 'East End Knees Up' against the fact that the corporate chain Starbucks recentlty opened a new store in the area. Starbucks has a long history of undercutting and closing down local independent cafes, of treating their staff badly, and their coffee growers even worse.

The tea party in "defense of our area, and to show off the lovely culture we have" lasted for about 4 hours. At 1pm a small crowd turned up outside Starbucks to set up a stall and a sound system, and to give out maps of the area which listed alternative local places to buy coffee and keep money within the local community. From then on, many local people that just came across to it joined in for a hot drink or a plate of hot food provided by the group Food Not Bombs. Police eventually stepped in and threatened to arrest those gathering around the stall for obstruction of the highway, although no one was finally arrested.

Photos: 1 | 2 | 3
Related Links: Space Hijackers' Projects Archive | Starbucks - The Faulty Logo | I Hate Starbucks