The floors of several of the warehouse spaces to be used for the live stages and party were made safe - studs removed and oil and grease painstakingly cleaned.

In addition to the qualified first aiders and medics, there were fire extinguishers distributed throughout, well sign-posted fire exits and toilets with running water.(Pic 1)

The police placed a CCTV unit across the street from the site throughout the day. There is a long history of surveillance of travellers and those involved in direct action - for information gathering and to intimidate. Responsible people were on hand to speak with the authorities - not to make concessions and pander to them but to guage intentions.

The fire brigade were invited on site. Unlike the police, the fire services are not a political organisation, and unlike the police their priority is health and safety. (The police were formed to protect the property of self-appointed landowners and property speculators - nothing has changed.)(Pic 2)

Very soon after the building was occupied, the security tried to break in. When informed that squatting islegal and that they would have to go through the courts, they sought the assistance of the police, who were initially not at all interested. This all changed, and after attacking party-goers and passing locals, police undercover broke into the building and illegally evicted the remaining squatters a few days after the event had ended but before the case had been brought before a judge.

One of the main purposes of Reclaim the Future has been to show the overall unity of many struggles and to bring people together. Information stalls nestled between the stage rooms, giving campaigns the opportunity to inspire and engage. The two inseparable strands of our DIY culture to be emphasised are always sustainability and resistance, practical ideas for community living once the present empire has been removed. One of the reasons this venue was chosen was to make the workshops available to local people, rather than just guaranteeing a party in an industrial estate. First there was a 'learning zone', and then a 'gurning zone'.(Pic 3)

The stages were built using materials found on site, a combination of recycling and ingenuity. When the fire brigade decided on the changes they wanted made in order to grant a fire safety certificate, one of the stages had to be moved - all done in the short time available thanks to everyone already attending the event chipping in.(Pics 4 and 5 )

One of the 'shady organisers'of RTF, here seen double undercover of daylight. She said, 'In the history of the world, dogs have probably pooed everywhere.'(pic 6)

- Terry Ordo

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A letter regarding Reclaim The Future

There was a party at the old Mann and Overton taxi showroom at 52 Holloway Road on Saturday. The sound systems were shut down within minutes of the police signaling their intention to serve what was reportedly a Nuisance Order on the event. But the police still stayed, and stopped punters getting in. I can’t comment on the events outside the gate in Holloway Road, as I was inside the venue all night.

Reclaim the Future 4 was the fourth in a series of events in liberated venues that have happened about every 18 months in London since the summer of 2002. The events grew out of a coalition of people involved in Reclaim the Streets, who brought other activists groups and party crews on board. The money raised goes to anti-war and anti-capitalist actions, such as actions against the DSEI arms fair in London this September, and around the G8. But the ethos, the bringing people together and the networking are as important as the dosh.

RTF 4 started early on Saturday afternoon with a series of workshops, talks and discussions by various groups on topics as diverse as solidarity with Iraqi oil workers to a tongue-in-cheek ‘corporate brainstorming’ about Mayday. There was also an exhibition of political posters going back to the 1990s, a café and a cinema, three live music stages and a cabaret with poets. Various activist groups had stalls, and we had two people come all the way from France and two come all the way from Germany just for the event. Clearly, this was no ordinary rave. Many people brought their small kids along to the afternoon session.

At a time when big squat raves are getting a bad reputation for robberies and even rapes, RTF prides itself on looking after its punters. There were eight identifiable First Aid-trained medics patrolling the party, one of whom was a trained nurse. There was an experienced ‘ambulant’ security crew patrolling inside. There was even a workshop just before the bands started, aimed at encouraging punters to take responsibility for ensuring everyone was safe, and on intervening or getting help if needed.

One of the weirdest experiences of the night was when an awfully nice respectable middle-aged couple turned up at about 5am to collect their daughter. (“She’s coming out in five minutes,” they said.) Clearly, the word’s getting out among concerned parents – if you’re daughter’s going to a squat rave, make sure it’s RTF. Then there was the partygoer who left late at night, only to come back 20 minutes later with his head bleeding after “some random nutter” had attacked him at the cashpoint on Upper Street. Said punter knew that he could head straight back to RTF, where the medics could patch him up.

Here’s an interesting engineering problem – how do you build a stage out of archive shelving units on their sides, and another stage out of upturned cargo cages, both with sheets of wood on top, in under half a day, with only half a dozen people? The RTF crew did it? Then the fire safety officers turned up and expressed concern about our fire exits (English Partnerships’ security had boarded some up when they secured the place), and gave us a list of changes that needed to happen to the building, confident that it would take us three days to get “street legal” on fire safety. They were startled when we mobilized the “people power” of our partygoers and crew to take down the main stage, reassemble it another room, block off one area, clear out the rubbish Mann and Overton had left, and place fire marshals on the fire exits, all in just one hour. We had chosen the rooms for the stages in the first place based on minimizing the noise to the neighbours.

‘Mr. X’, speaking in a personal capacity. My views in no way represent those of RTF

See also www.indymedia.org.uk
 http://rts.gn.apc.org/benefits.htm

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More pics anybody?