nice see this finally announced,, see ya' lot on the streets.

SEE YA ALL ON THE DAY!

Our Picker crew has been working on this from the start, why has this been posted publicly?? I know we are a smaller Picker collective compared to some but the objections of 50 of us to this being made public before the day has to mean something??!!

To South East peeps this came up at the national meeting as a proposal and there were no objections. I understand you are all in place (if you know what I mean) so this won't change stuff for you guys anyway. Anyway, cops will be to busy wasting time with known local activists I'm sure.

I was just thinking about this event and, instead of picking a fight with the police over this, why don't we choose to just do the festival as normal (or as close to that as possible) - get people to Cambridge with stalls, free-shop, maybe a vegan free food giveaway, information tables....

Instead of fighting the police, we show them (and the local residents) "well, if they won't give us permission, then we'll do it anyway because we don't need their permission" and show people that 1. We're capable of doing something without getting a permit from the cops or council and 2. That us anarchists aren't always just thinking of fighting and arguing and can sometimes just organise a nice family event for the local community.

I know it sounds a bit "hippyish" but sometimes I think that doing something which would gain us public support is better than fighting and arguing and getting ourselves arrested - riots and fights are all well and good, but it's usually best to first have "general public" on side who would see us and join in, as opposed to looking to the government and the police to protect them and stop us.

Also, it would be nice to piss the police off by not giving them a fight and doing something that doesn't involve them - setting up a stall and ignoring them while giving out free food or holding a free-shop and chatting to nicely surprised families about how lovely the day is.

It's like in school when you're told to just ignore the bullies - it annoys them more :)

Unfortunately I haven't been able to make it to any meetings about Strawberry (Raspberry?) fayre as I've been out of the country. I really hope to see that something positive and community-based has happened on the day too. I reckon that should be the main focus and, if people want to fight, they take it away from the family event.

I think with the police on riot mode at this point, CS spray being brought in, riot vans at the ready I think it would be highly irresponsible for us to encourage anyone to bring children down. I think everyone going to the fair just wants to have a good time and stalls are a good idea (providing you don't mind losing them if the cops go mad) – I don' think anyone will kick off as long as the cops don't make arrests and let people enjoy themselves...fat chance though.

We ain't coming to upset the locals you won't even see us, you will see on da day ;-)

"it has sadly become steadily more commercialised over the years."

Tell me, how has the fair become commercialised when you can walk in for free, bring your own beer and food, have a full day of free entertainment and not see a single piece of corporate sponsorship (unless you count the tiny small ads in the back of the program advertisting local printers, plant nurseries etc)?

"We would like to see this event take place as a yearly festival of resistance!"

"We"? Who are you lot anyway? Yorkshire's a long way from Cambridge. So you want to stroll up and take a community run music focused festival that Cambridge residents have been organising for what, 30 odd years, and subvert it into some kind of expression of your half-baked national politics, and then when it's over you all bugger off home giving yourselves a pat on the back and leave the same residents and organisers to clear up the damage you've done to the fair's reputation. That's like turning up to someone's house uninvited, dragging your beshitted heels on their carpet, drinking their beer while complaining it's not your preferred brand, then taking a dump on their doorstep on your way out. STFO out of Cambridge, you're no more welcome than the thieving crackheads from Luton. You want "resistance"? How do you feel knowing that there's a strong "resistance" to you bunch of chancers? The reason the license wasn't granted in the first place is because people rightly got fed up of seeing the hospitality extended by the fair being abused by self-serving twunts like you lot.

All the best xx

Our biggest Picker group is the Cambridge group and we started it off so this isn't people coming in taking over – the people coming in are coming in solidarity. The community/green area is great but the main bit of the fair is just business selling crap mostly not local – I understand you must cover cost,, etc and there is no way the fair as it is could be any better with the cost involved – however if this became an autonomous event the cost issue would be taken away in the main. You might say that'd be shit and you maybe right or you maybe wrong. We'd like to try. We are not against you guys getting your licence back, we've are just reminding the cops of the choice they have sane calm fair committee or us loonies – no fair is not an option ;-)

The Fair pays for the infrastructure it needs by selling stall pitches. This is its only source of income. The stall hire can't be as cheap as everyone would like, because the Fair needs a certain amount of money to pay for the site infrastructure it needs. So it raises money this way instead of charging people to get in. And all the entertainments - for adults and children - are free. So how is that commercial?

"If it were an autonomous event, the cost issue would be taken away in the main". Sorry, how do you work that out? How would the Fair pay for the toilets? The staging? The hire of the generators and all the electric kit we need to make things safe for performers and fairgoers? The mojo barriers to stop people getting crushed at the front of the stages? St John's Ambulance? The hire of the litermiser to pick up most of the rubbish (yeah, we could scrap that and pick it up all entirely by hand again - and I'd bet you'd be there to help us).

This year, there would have been more local charities and community groups actively involved than ever before and the new stuff lined up was really creative and exciting. The number of fast food vendors was to be cut back drastically, and in their place we had lined up a lot of weird and wonderful stalls

In the Arts Area last year we had a craft market of stallholders only paying cost price, selling genuine crafts only. We were going to make it bigger next year. I wonder if there will be a next year, thanks to you? Once you've had a good dance in front of the police video cameras, getting drunk and aggressive, waving round large spliffs and cans of Special Brew, how much of a chance do you think the Fair will have of getting a licence next year?

SF's volunteers (none of us are paid - so how is that commercial?) put in a lot of real work to put on the Fair. Work like I think you have no idea. Real, sweaty, tiring work that has to go on until the job's finished. And you want to throw that in our face so you can come and have a drunken party and scupper a real community event so you can have a 'yearly festival of resistance'. Who's going to come to that? The ordinary people of Cambridge? Perhaps they don't deserve the Fair anyway because they're not in your gang. And what about the kids? Bang goes a safe, free day out of fun for them.

Why don't you go to the official site for SF here and find out what you can do to really help the Fair come back in 2011. If you can be bothered.
 http://www.strawberry-fair.org.uk/index.php

In the old days people did mainly just meet up and party, whether it was Strawberry Fair or elsewhere - there is no reason to assume this cannot happen again. The fair would probably have a lot less bells and whistles though. I don't think the group are criticizing the fact that you had to make money to pay for stuff, I think they just think a non-organised day would be good – families meeting up on common land doesn't really need an organiser.

I think any hostility to the SF committee is from the fact you have been telling people not to go – it's our local open space we will use it went we want, thank you – we don't need your opinion on the subject. I think everyone was on your side until you pulled a stunt like that and put up peoples backs up.

The stereotyping of activists in your post shows your personal true colours, although this of course is not a reflection of many of the progressive members of the SF committee.

Many local non-activist types are going this year and I'm sure they will be back – no matter what next year.

The main point you seem to miss however is that you offer the police a more controlled event, the worse this goes for the police the more amenable they will be to you next year. It is silly to suggest they can use it against you as you have nothing to do with it, if they bring it up all you need say is “See what happens when there is no organised fair. Doesn't this show we need to be licensed?” this can only be good for you.

We are coming as well!

Thank you for your convincing argument, Local. (What do you know, I'm Local too. Do you think we might be related?) Why is it that anyone is disagreeing with you? Could it be because some people are more media-savvy than you and realise that any bad behaviour on Saturday (which, to be fair, you have promised) is going to be presented to the world by the Cambridge News and the police as “This is how the average Strawberry Fair punter behaves, so why should we let them have a Fair. And if we do, we need oodles of money to police it, because look at them, they are such dangerous horrid scum!”

I fear my slightly jaundiced view of anarchists may be coloured by the ones I've met in various parts of the country who unfortunately just weren't the nicest guys, and also the tone of some of the content on the Cambridge Anarchists’ website, here:  http://cambridgeanarchists.wordpress.com/2010/03/25/strawberry-fayre-fight-back/
which includes Cambridgeanarchist telling a Camboater who’s told them to stay away from his boats and kids “If we find you you soft as shite twat expect a beating”. And in a reply to a post by the hapless Cinnamon FB, a Harry Roberts refers to “the sold out hippy cunts of the strawberry fair organising committee…” Nice!

When you say “In the old days people did mainly just meet up and party, whether it was Strawberry Fair or elsewhere - there is no reason to assume this cannot happen again.” – do you mean going back to the 1970s when there was just one stage and everyone bought their beer from the Fort St George? There’s too many people who want to come to the Fair now for it to be as rudimentary as that. Perhaps you could prove your point by giving a quick list of what would be provided if you were running the event, and how you think you would pay for it. Remember, you want people to be safe, and in comfort (toilets again!). What do you suggest.

You say families meeting up on common land don’t really need an organiser – but what will they do sitting in a field, apart from bringing a picnic and playing rounders? They can do that any weekend, can’t they? The great thing about the Fair for kids is they get lots of stuff they like, like bouncy castles, a giant inflatable slide, a circus tent, a team of face painters, a variety of kid’s entertainers, baby changing facilities provided for the parents of young children – and the kids and their families don’t have to pay for any of them! Not even ‘donations’! Can you think of any free festival that offers that?

I’m sorry you don’t like me having an opinion, but there it is. People are buggers, aren’t they? They just don’t always agree with you, and sometimes they even have the cheek to say so. I’d hate it if the Fair turned into the rather sterile institution Glasto is now, since Eavis had to cave in to the police’s demand to come on site and be paid a massive amount for it (which doubled the price of the tickets at the time) and I very much doubt that SF will ever go that way. But there’s a game that’s got to be played with them, and if the SF Committee (who have the experience of dealing with the police and the Council all the time and over a number of years) don’t think your protest is a good idea - then perhaps there’s a good reason for it.

theres no such group, as far as we know. it sounds like police shit stirring to me.

keep your ears to the ground!

What would people do? People can still bring stalls, activities for kids, etc. I'm not suggesting a fair with organisers.

If you have a problem with anarchists maybe it is the fact you want authoritarianism. My problem is not your opinion it is the fact you presume to tell others not to use common land.

I think you also misunderstand the post, EVERYONE wants the fair back but it's just a message that if the police decide to refuse you they are stuck with us – we hope to see them be a lot more friendly to you once they know they could be stuck with us lot! You may disagree, that's your right.

Cambridge Anarchists and Cinnamon both have as much right to give this a go as anyone, it's silly to quote random web posts as anything more than harmless banter.

As the person from Cambridge Anarchists pointed out this was 'a load of bollox' but not by the cops. The idea was to ensure the cops spend more on policing due to not being totally sure if the group was real. The aim behind saying we didn't want the fair back was to call their bluff as the last thing they want is an autonomous fair every year (which they can have much bigger next year if they like)! The views expressed were fictitious.

The fair went really well this year with the attendees saying it was better than the real thing, numbers were of course much lower. There was no trouble at all and the cops behaved themselves mostly.