UK Culture Feature Archive
A New Sheffield Social Centre: The Black Rose Centre
21-02-2012 00:44
The Black Rose Centre is a new social centre project (PDF Flyer) at 268 Verdon Street, established by the Sheffield Social Centre Collective. This is the first time that the Social Centre Collective has had a permanent space, previously there have been weekend events held by the collective such as the Free Schools in 2011 and 2010 and there were two, short lived, squatted buildings in 2009.
On Wednesday 22nd of February at 7:30pm there will be a discussion on setting up a Sheffield Wide Class Struggle Anarchist Group following a screening of An Anarchist's Story. On Friday 24th February at 6pm there will be the opening of QUEER: an exhibition of local artists' work in response to "LGBT History Month", the deadline for submissions for the show is Wednesday 22nd February.
Newswire: Queer - 24th-26th February 2012 | Calling All Sheffield Anarchists | New Social Centre in Sheffield: The Black Rose Centre
Sheffield Anarchist Bookfair 2011
27-05-2011 22:11
Saturday May 21st saw the return of the Sheffield Anarchist Bookfair, now in its second year. This year it attracted over 250 people and throughout the day it had a good crowd of people attending meetings, watching films, hanging out in the cafe space and checking out a good range of groups and stalls. The venue was certainly an improvement on last year (we had day light and windows for a start!) and was decorated with loads of different banners, flags and posters brought by various groups on the day.
Photos | Audio: Elephants, Dogmas and Taboos: a Friendly Critique of Anarchism | Anarchism 101 | Anarchist Studies Network Book Launch | Sheffield Social Centre: Why? What? Where? | Luddites Organising Forum
Sheffield Temporary Autonomous Arts 2011
26-05-2011 22:24
The weekend 19th to the 21st May 2011 saw the second Sheffield Temporary Autonomous Arts event take place in a disused industrial unit on Bowdon Street. The event was organised by the Art and Soul Kollective and followed on from their event last year.
Events over the weekend included a gig on Friday night by Stan Skinny and the Neats and on Saturday night there was a DIY fashion show.
Full article | 1 addition | 2 comments
SchNEWS 759: Middle Eastern Promise
17-02-2011 22:45
Egyptian dissidents (along with the masses) celebrated on Friday as Hosni Mubarak finally threw in the towel after the mass protests in Cairo's Tahrir Square, and across the country, refused to abate (and presumably the Americans finally ordered him to load up the plane with gold and go in an attempt to ensure the power structures – and thus their influence – didn't collapse completely). But the Egyptian revolution is not yet won as the military have stepped in, repressed protest and threatened to declare martial law.
From the Newswire:
Libyan solidarity in London | Algerians take to the streets
Bahrain: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Egypt: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5
Read first-hand reports from Egypt at Cairo Rising | Occupied Cairo | 3arabawy | Game Over Mubarak
SchNEWS 754: We'll Fight Them on the Beeches
13-01-2011 22:44
Last week (see SchNEWS 753) we covered the protests against the sell-off of the Forest of Dean. But the implications of the Public Bodies Bill for the Forestry Commission go a lot further than that. Essentially the Tory’s are planning (in time-honoured fashion) to flog off the family silver and privatise forests up and down the country. The sale is intended to raise £2bn - less than half of one years tax avoidance by Vodafone.
Links: www.saveourforests.co.uk | www.facebook.com/Save-Britians-Forests | www.38degrees.org.uk/save-our-forests | www.saveourforests.co.uk/map-of-forests-up-for-sale | www.handsoffourforest.org
Local campaigns we know about: Staffordshire | Exeter | Nottinghamshire | East Anglia | Gloucestershire
In SchNEWS:SchNEWS 753
SchNEWS 744: To The Manor Osbourne
21-10-2010 21:36
Thousands have marched, a government department has been broken into, and a Scottish branch of Lloyds TSB has been occupied by pissed-off pensioners...It must be the (OK, somewhat quiet compared to France) start of the anti-cuts revolt!
SchNEWS 743: Leicester Is More
14-10-2010 21:05
A thousand EDL supporters rampaged through the streets of Leicester on Saturday (9th), attacking locals, anti-fascists and police.
On the Newswire: 1
SchNEWS 742: ITT's Hammertime
07-10-2010 18:31
Brighton's Smash EDO campaign are holding a mass demo at EDO/ITT on Wednesday 13th October. Anti arms trade campaigners plan to lay seige to EDO/ITT and shut them down for the day.
Info for the Day:: The meeting place for the demo is Wild Park Cafe (directions here) at 10am on Wednesday, but people are being asked to arrive on the evening of the 12th. Convergence space will be available. There will be a meeting about the demo at 7pm at the Cowley Club on Tuesday 12th. There will be a timeline on Indymedia and a twitter feed: @smash_edo
Local contacts for ITT's Hammertime: Birmingham - hammertime-brum [at] riseup.net | Bristol - bristolagainstarmstrade [at] gmail.com | Cambridge - hammertime-cambridge [at] riseup.net | Cardiff - val.swain [at] yahoo.co.uk | Cornwall - kernowaction [at] gmail.com | London - hammertimelondon [at] dsei.org | Manchester - info [at] targetbrimar.org.uk | Notts - alex.dable [at] ntlworld.com | Swansea - d [at] undercurrents.org
Previous features:They Think It's All Over ...ITT Is Now | Smash EDO Solidarity in Nottingham | Hammer Time: The EDO Decommissioners go on trial | Indymedia Coverage of Remember Gaza | Anti Militarists take on Barclays | Support the EDO Decommissioners | Mayday! Mayday! | EDO Smashed | Anti-Arms Protesters Shut ITT | Smash EDO Carnival Against the Arm Trade - Timeline | Carnival Against the Arms Trade | Marie Vesco RIP | On the Verge - The Film They Tried to Ban | Singers Arrested Outside Arms Factory | Smash EDO Action Camp: Shut down the Brighton bomb builders | Lebanon War protesters - Not Guilty! | EDO CORP: 2006 Alternative Report | 2007 Is The Year To Shut EDO Down | EDO MBM Injunction crumbles | EDO MBM desperate to stop protests as resistance increases | Smash EDO Take On The Law | Harassment Law Used Against Anti-War Campaigners | Campaign to Smash Edo | Arms company shut down
Links: ITT's Hammertime demo page| Smash EDO |Target Brimar| Decommisioners
SchNEWS 740: No Borders Camp, Brussels
23-09-2010 21:40
No Borders Camp 2010 in Brussels kicks off this Saturday (25th) til the 3rd October, so get yourself to the continent to make a start on creating a world where no one is illegal. Among the objectives of the camp are the denouncing of European migration policy; showing the links between this policy and the structures of capitalism and repression; the blocking of Brussels' deportation system and the organisation of an autonomous safe space for the voices of migrants and activists to be heard.
On the Newswire: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6
In SchNEWS:1Links:www.noborderbxl.eu.org
SchNEWS 739: Tesco Check-Out
16-09-2010 19:01
In fantastic victory for the local community, Tesco have withdrawn their involvement from the Lewes Road Community Garden development plans.
On the Newswire:1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6
SchNEWS 734: Grassroots Struggle
05-08-2010 22:14
Yet another independent festival has been cancelled after a concerted campaign by bureaucrats, nimbys and the fun police.
The Grassroots Feastival is a small volunteer run event due to take place in Cambridgeshire in early September. Organisers had lined up three days of revelry, running from poetry to Drum 'n' Bass and culminating in a communal banquet replete with juggling waiters.
The Feastival faced determined opposition from the very start. According to one of the organisers, Mooney, when the application process began in January the council made it clear they would do all they could to stop the festival taking place. Martin Ford from the police licensing board went one step further and told organisers, “I'd rather put pins in my eyes than have this festival in my county.”
SchNEWS 732: Getting Away With Murder
22-07-2010 21:17
“After 16 months of waiting, to hear nothing is being done is a complete joke. Today they gave us no hope. This experience has broken our family apart. The DPP has told us there was an unlawful act, yet no charges are to be brought. This is no justice - everyone has failed us.” - Ian Tomlinson's son Paul King.
Ian Tomlinson, a 47 year old news-vendor was killed at the G20 protests in April 2009. His family have waited until now to find out what action the justice system was going to take. The Director of Public Prosecution Keir Starmer stated today (Thurs) that there would be no charges brought against any police officers involved in the death of Ian Tomlinson. This astonishingly bare faced whitewash prompted the director of INQUEST Deborah Coles to say “The eyes of the world will be looking on with incredulity as yet again a police officer is not facing any criminal charges after what is one of the most clear-cut and graphic examples of police violence that has led to death. This decision is a shameful indictment of the way police criminality is investigated and demonstrates a culture of impunity when police officers break the law. It follows a pattern of cases that reveal an unwillingness to treat deaths arising from the use of force by police as potential homicides”
Family Campaign Fighting Fund | Picket of DPP 30/7
Links: www.inquest.org.uk | www.iantomlinsonfamilycampaign.org.uk
Nottingham hosts "first ever Vegan Beer Festival"
09-06-2010 17:00
On June 5-6, the Sumac Centre hosted the "first ever Vegan Beer Festival". Vegans and vegetarians are wary of real ales as they often use isinglass, derived from the swim bladders of fish, to make it less cloudy. This inspired a number of local vegans to organise the real ale festival as a way of demonstrating that there is an alternative.
The Saturday was a gloriously warm day and the event was well attended, with the alcohol flowing within minutes of the official opening at 12 noon. There were a range of beers available to try, along with several ciders and perrys. Interest was so great that the beer ran out on Saturday.
On the newswire: Vegan real ale festival | Sumac Vegan Beer Festival Saturday 5th June and Sunday 6th June
Links: Vegan Beer Festival | Nottingham Animal Rights | Nottingham CAMRA
Sheffield Anarchist Bookfair
06-06-2010 20:12
May 2010 saw an anarchist bookfair in Sheffield, the first in living memory for most of those attending, and a real success. It seems that interest in anarchism is having new growth, with social centres, bookfairs and co-operatives springing up around UK and the world. The basic principles like self-organising, equality, non-hierarchy, mutual aid and co-operation make a lot of sense to new generations who don't believe negative media demonization and want to find out for themselves how it works.
Links: An anarchist book fair for Sheffield | Sheffield Anarchist Bookfair — 22nd May 2010 | Audio: An Activist Guide to the Web | Audio: What is a Social Centre? | Audio: Tracking Corporate Complicity in the Occupation of Palestine | Audio: Anarchism 101 | Photos
SchNEWS: Calais - Out of Africa
03-06-2010 21:11
The Africa House squat in Calais is to be evicted next Wednesday (9th). After a herd of 20 CRS vans circled the squat scoping the site on Wednesday morning (2nd), they deposited an eviction notice with those present, informing the migrants they had a week to hit the streets. The building - home to Eritrean, Sudanese and Ethiopian migrants, many of whom had already seen previous squats and camps destroyed - has been marked for demolition.