This weekend local residents of Harmondsworth and Sipson, villages both threatened by the proposed third runway at Heathrow, joined artists and climate change activists in a celebration of their homes and local history.
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Making a church
16th C Great Barn Harmondsworth
Local paper's response to BAA injunction posted in church
Villager shows her photos, records her memories
Sipson post office as was; painting brought in by local resident
Building cardboard house
'Mandy' and Harry Helios belt out "I'm Breathing Fumes from Jet Planes"
Hayes artist shows his interpretation of airport development
More house building
Cox's Orange Pippin originator's grave feeds the birds at Harmondsworth church
Not for sale to BAA signs
Local women have words with police over harrassment
Our Place
“There’s the church I got married in, the cottage hospital where I had my children, the primary school and the playgroup I helped set up. All of it will be under concrete.”
-Linda McCutcheon,
Sipson resident for nearly 40 years
"An Airport is a non-place. This is Our Place."
This weekend local residents of Harmondsworth and Sipson, villages both threatened by the proposed third runway at Heathrow, joined artists and climate change activists in a celebration of their homes and local history.
Held at the historic St. Mary’s Church Hall in Harmondsworth and in the street outside, local children made 'Not For Sale to BAA' signs for their houses and designed banners for the nearby Climate Camp, while others helped to build cardboard models of a house and a church to symbolise what they stand to lose if the runway goes ahead.
The organisers said, 'The finished' Our Place projects will be exhibited publicly, including at the Camp for Climate Action the following week. Climate change campaigners are concerned at the creation of climate refugees – people fleeing areas made uninhabitable by climate change. Christian Aid says this could make at least one billion people homeless by 2050. The Our Place project shows a common concern shared by environmentalists and local residents: the possible loss of the place we call home.'
One local resident, Mrs Francis, once Post Master with her husband in Sipson, brought a whole selection of old photographs of her home village, which stands to be entirely destroyed. 'There's a lot of anger,' she said. These and other photographs will be displayed along with the cardboard structures at the Climate Camp. Other shared memories as part of an oral history project.
Songs of resistance, including 'Orchard vs Runway' inspired by the nearby grave of Mr Cox, originator of the Cox's Orange Pippin apple variety, were sung through the day.
Local historian and author Philip Sherwood gave a talk on the history of Heathrow; he said he had first attended a meeting to oppose Third Runway proposals affecting villages North of the Bath Road (the A4) in 1946. He also showed how the proposed runway, said to be a 'short' runway, is actually logically to be extended in time to also destroy part of Harlington and create a five runway airport. 'Where will it end?' he asked.
Meanwhile 'Mandy' an erstwhile flight attendant handed out biscuits, including to the police forward intelligence unit that photographed and repeatedly visited the community art project throughout the Saturday.
Local women told off the police officers, saying they were violating peoples' human rights. It was clear that residents were getting angry at the disruption with roads closed and many getting stopped and searched by police.
Contact:
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Website: www.ourplace-arts.org.uk
Email:
ourplace@riseup.net Phone: 07972 708 542
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What do they want to do
at Heathrow?
Evict us.
Take our land.
Create more noise.
Create more pollution.
Destroy our communities.
- No Third Runway Action Group (NoTRAG)
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Website: www.ourplace-arts.org.uk
Email:
ourplace@riseup.net Phone: 07972 708 542
for more information on Climate Camp:
http://www.climatecamp.org.uk/ 
e-mail:
Homepage:
Comments
Hide the following 3 comments
Thanks for the article report and good luck!
12.08.2007 23:17
Would love to hear some of the audio that was recorded over the weekend. Where / when will it be published?
merry wife of windsor
What would you do to save your lives and the lives of others on planet?
13.08.2007 00:28
In the end, if you let them, the state will willingly eradicate you (the complainant) so they can prosper without 'interference'.
My 2 pence worth
Reply to previous post
13.08.2007 09:19
They have a great need to be listened to, because no-one has bothered so far, and the climate campers need to build alliances with them in terms the locals can understand. The locals are traumatised and angry, some are being radicalised and some are giving up; they need a bit of emotional solidarity in order to keep fighting in terms the state will take notice of.
One participant fueled a direct action campaign which helped to preserve it from going under the runway. By listening and spending time with him, he showed us the grave of his one year old daughter buried in the graveyard at St Mary's in Harmondsworth - people don't mobilise to save things without that emotional force and attachment to place. But he is knackered -- now, just knowing that new energy is coming in to the airport expansion campaign and that there are at least some activists wanting to understand, listen and build ties has given him a massive shot in the arm.
Don't really feel I need to justify this workshop, just taking part was beautiful and strengthening.
'It's bread we fight for, but we fight for roses too.'
Audio is hopefully going to be made available on the ourplace website (see above article), at the camp and if there is indymedia radio for the camp we'd love to put it on there too.
Talk to someone who doesn't look like you