Um, not unless its heavily edited, I don't think we need a potted history of the Welsh CC group, or indeed climate camp, but the first part under something like 'Welsh reflections of the London Climate Camp' might work.<br>
<br>Cheers, Merlin <br><br><div class="gmail_quote">2009/9/24 <span dir="ltr"><<a href="mailto:website@climatecamp.org.uk">website@climatecamp.org.uk</a>></span><br><blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="border-left: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); margin: 0pt 0pt 0pt 0.8ex; padding-left: 1ex;">
Should this go up?<br>
<br>
---------------------------- Original Message ----------------------------<br>
Subject: Blog Article from Wales<br>
From: "Lewis" <<a href="mailto:l3wis85@gmail.com">l3wis85@gmail.com</a>><br>
Date: Fri, September 18, 2009 11:13 am<br>
To: <a href="mailto:website@climatecamp.org.uk">website@climatecamp.org.uk</a><br>
--------------------------------------------------------------------------<br>
<br>
Hi there, I have written this for our website and wondered if you would like<br>
to use it for the blog?<br>
Lewis - Climate Camp Cymru<br>
<br>
*Climate Camp in London – A view from the Wales Neighbourhood*<br>
<br>
*The sun rises on a vast field of tents, dew still wet on the grass and rush<br>
hour traffic racing past – hectic contrast to the world we’ve created here<br>
at the Camp for Climate Action 2009. In the background Canary Wharf towers<br>
menacingly over the skyline and refuses to let us forget our reason for<br>
being here. *<br>
<br>
We pitched up on an area of common land not far from Lewisham in Central<br>
London and stayed for a week to contest the capitalist system and its use of<br>
false market based solutions to prevent catastrophic climate change and<br>
address social injustice. We ‘swooped’ in to grab the site before the Police<br>
knew what was going on; coordinated by twitter and text message, the morning<br>
of the site-take was extraordinary. I was part of the bike-swoop-group.<br>
Gathering with 200 other cyclists under Waterloo Bridge at noon we proceeded<br>
to take a leisurely ride around the city, taking the lane and creating a<br>
positive vision of the future wherever we went. There were flags, banners,<br>
bike-mounted sound systems and video journalists all on board as we cruised<br>
around chasms of capitalism.<br>
<br>
We eventually received word of the location of the Camp and peddled up<br>
towards Blackheath to be greeted by the sight of tripods going up and busy<br>
people unloading marquee poles, wind turbines and kitchen tat. And there<br>
really were lots of people- all around there were other swoop groups,<br>
converging by foot and public transport. Everyone was smiling and the<br>
atmosphere was great. The sounds of The Clash drifted over the field on the<br>
summer breeze along with the sound of pegs being driven into the hard<br>
ground...<br>
<br>
I located the rest of the Wales crew who arrived with the marquee structure<br>
in the back of a camper van which had kindly been offered to us after a<br>
problem with finding transport. We unloaded and awaited the arrival of extra<br>
hands. It didn’t take long until there were enough of us to attempt to put<br>
up the marquee, and after a battle with the wind we had her pegged down and<br>
were setting up the kitchen burners in one corner ready for a well needed<br>
brew.<br>
<br>
Climate Camp is organised into neighbourhoods arranged by geographic<br>
regions. Others include Yorkshire, London, South Coast and Eastside. The<br>
story of Wales is as follows: Way back in 2007, at the second ever climate<br>
camp near Heathrow there was a handful of Wales folk who were taken in by<br>
the kind Westside crew; a neighbourhood which loosely covered the ‘west<br>
side’ of Britain. For lots of us from Wales this was our first experience of<br>
a Climate Camp and of taking Direct Action. I learnt so much during that<br>
week and felt privileged to be part of a neighbourhood which was full of<br>
experienced and trustworthy people. Blockading the BAA offices together and<br>
standing our ground peacefully against the police was eye-opening and proved<br>
to me what we could achieve when we work together.<br>
<br>
The following year we were determined and united by our experiences at<br>
Heathrow. We went to visit the community living in Merthyr Tydfil in the<br>
Valleys of South Wales, with Britain’s largest open cast coal mine on their<br>
doorstep. We helped them in their struggle by introducing the idea of<br>
peaceful direct action and halting work at the mine for a day. We stood with<br>
them against the injustice served by the government upon a downtrodden<br>
community. We took this confidence and more people with us along to the<br>
Kingsnorth Camp in 2008 where the first Wales neighbourhood was born.<br>
However, things weren’t so straightforward and the cops took our marquee<br>
poles (they are weapons, you see) and refused to return them, so our grand<br>
structures looked a bit lacklustre as we used tarpaulins and rope to make<br>
some kind of shelter.<br>
<br>
Luckily, our old friends in Westside were pitched next to us and once again<br>
took us in and annexed the Wales neighbourhood by way of a long tent<br>
connecting our kitchen tent to their meeting space – lovingly christened<br>
‘the Severn Bridge’. We functioned as a popular neighbourhood, holding<br>
morning meetings and making decisions together during what was a testing<br>
time with the Police trying every method to disrupt our peaceful presence on<br>
the Hoo peninsula. For those of whom the Kingsnorth camp was their first<br>
experience of Climate Camp and perhaps Direct action, I felt warmed as I<br>
remembered my experiences of Heathrow and how this popular movement will<br>
keep growing.<br>
<br>
Next, we joined the Climate Camp on April 1st 2009 down in Bisphopsgate<br>
outside the climate exchange for 24 hours of camping and protesting against<br>
carbon trading; a false and unjust excuse for continuing to burn fossil<br>
fuels. We shut down the exchange and held the street until the early hours<br>
when the police forcibly and violently removed us after preventing anyone<br>
from leaving for hours.<br>
<br>
But the Wales story was only just beginning. Plans were hatched back at<br>
Kingsnorth to try and build the movement in Wales and the climate camp model<br>
seemed to be a good one. So over a period of 8 months we began to engage<br>
with groups in Wales and beyond to build our skill base and attract people<br>
to national gatherings where decisions on location and type of camp were<br>
made. The ball was rolling by spring and the hard work was about to get<br>
harder as August loomed. Following an amazing and hands on gathering in<br>
Pembrokeshire where we built rocket stoves, compost toilets and attended<br>
workshops on legal observing, while making group decisions affecting the<br>
upcoming camp, we were ready to head to Merthyr Tydfil for Wales’ first Camp<br>
for Climate Action. [If you want to read more about the Wales camp, check<br>
out the Website].<br>
<br>
Back in London workshops ran at full capacity, locals poured through the<br>
gates and the sun shone. Morning meetings held at each neighbourhood formed<br>
the backbone of decision making for the camp, where important issues were<br>
discussed. We also made use of meeting times in Wales to plan for the Day of<br>
Action in Cardiff on the 24th of October which was called at the Wales Camp<br>
in August. Meanwhile, the focus of the action training at Blackheath was to<br>
equip the movement with the skills and confidence to join together for what<br>
will be very exciting ‘Great Climate Swoop’ on the 17-18 October to Shut<br>
down E.ON’s coal power station Ratcliffe-on-Soar in Nottinghamshire,<br>
together and in an act of social responsibility where governments have<br>
failed to act and to imagine a future without coal.<br>
<br>
Elsewhere on camp, plans formed for affinity group actions in London which<br>
materialised on the final days of the camp with blockades of RBS, claiming a<br>
people’s refit to withdraw investments in oil and gas. There were office<br>
occupations of E.ON’s PR firms while Shell and BP received their share of<br>
anger at their complicity with the Tarsands oil exctraction project in<br>
Canada. Activists were also present from the Rossport campaign in Ireland<br>
where Shell’s greasy fingers are all over Irish off shore gas with blatant<br>
disregard for local people and the countryside in County Mayo. Meanwhile,<br>
the Rambling Raffle of Resistance roamed about the city supporting actions<br>
with people and music.<br>
<br>
The backlash in the wake of Bishopsgate for the Police has been massive; and<br>
following legal pursuits and media exposure led by Climate Camp since April<br>
1st, the Met have been on the back foot. That’s proved to be a good thing<br>
for peaceful protest as this camp on Blackheath has shown. The police kept a<br>
lower than usual profile on the streets of London as we marched through the<br>
financial district and for the most part there wasn’t a copper in sight at<br>
the camp. All except for a CCTV camera peeking over some nearby trees you’d<br>
be fooled to believe they weren’t interested.<br>
<br>
It remains to be seen where this movement will go next and indeed how the<br>
state will respond to our ongoing pressure for legitimate and immediate<br>
action on climate change; at Ratcliffe and beyond. But one thing’s for sure,<br>
we’re determined, we’re peaceful and we’re sure as hell not going away.<br>
<br>
*Climate Camp Cymru will be taking action and running workshops in Caridff<br>
on the weekend of the 24th/25th October 2009. Also, join us for the Great<br>
Climate Swoop on the 14th/15th! Check the website for more info and sign up<br>
to the mailing list. *<br>
<br>
*Join the movement against climate change!*<br>
<br>
<a href="http://www.climatecampcymru.org" target="_blank">www.climatecampcymru.org</a><br>
<br>
<a href="http://www.climatecamp.org.uk" target="_blank">www.climatecamp.org.uk</a><br>
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<br></blockquote></div><br>