[imc-uk-emergency] Fwd: [chris at croome.net: So long Sparxie, fwd: [emma at headcharge.net: A dark night]]
Chris Croome
chris at croome.net
Mon Jun 2 17:28:46 BST 2003
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Hi
I'm forwarding this here because the IMC list server is down and so that
I have a URI to send to people.
Chris
- ----- Forwarded message from Chris Croome <chris at croome.net> -----
From: Chris Croome <chris at croome.net>
Date: Mon, 2 Jun 2003 17:21:21 +0100
To: Sheffield IMC <imc-sheffield at lists.indymedia.org>
Cc: emma at headcharge.net
Subject: So long Sparxie, fwd: [emma at headcharge.net: A dark night]
User-Agent: Mutt/1.5.4i
Hi
Some sad news follows, I learnt about it from the email from Headcharge
that follows.
One of the subscribers to this list died on Friday, Sparxie.
He only posted once to the list:
http://lists.indymedia.org/pipermail/imc-sheffield/2003-April/000103.html
But I had a fair bit of off-list email correspondance with him, he was a
very keen supporter of Sheffield Indymedia and offered the use of his
servers, amoung other things, this is an extract from an email he sent
me about video footage he had of anti-war stuff in Sheffield and what he
wanted to offer to Sheffield Indymedia:
On Sat 22-Mar-2003 at 04:36:17 +0000, Sparxie wrote:
>
> I do have much to contribute in computer, video and radio
> equipment, skills, contacts, footage, action and ideas, but, I'm
> recovering from major illness, so don't want to be
> stressed/comitted or more relevant, a relied-upon member, although
> having been 'cured by chemo' my health sometimes prevents me from
> going-out or doing stuff I'd planned to do due to other lasting
> side effects of my treatment that finished over a year ago. Most
> of the time I'm fine.
>
> I'll post an email to the list introducing myself soon.
>
> If you want to upload them to Indymedia let me know, The whole
> video of 8/3/03 is about 2 hours! hahaha, so is the antiwar party
> @ponana/fez video and the corporation one before that too. (long
> because my system is set up to stream programmed video content
> instead of video on demand) Maybe I'll sort out some highlights and
> video-stills, especially as my servers are offline at this
> critical time, mind you, I've been out demonstrating every
> opportunity instead of repairing, maybe I should be looking at the
> bigger picture!.
I never met him but he pointed himself out as 'the male in forground
of':
http://www.sheffieldagainstwar.org.uk/.static/images/2292239749/275-anti-war-demonstrators-med.jpg
There is a bigger version of this image here:
http://chris.croome.net/photos/2003/0320/275_Anti-War_Demonstrators_Med.jpg.274.html
This is very sad.
Chris
- ----- Forwarded message from Headcharge HQ <emma at headcharge.net> -----
From: Headcharge HQ <emma at headcharge.net>
Date: Mon, 2 Jun 2003 16:29:17 +0100
To: Headcharge Mailing List <emma at headcharge.net>
Subject: A dark night
Hello out there - hope that you're well. This is not the most pleasant
email I've written but it is Monday and so it's probably the best day
for it.
Last Friday's Headcharge was one of the most memorable Headcharge nights
we've ever had; unfortunately for all the wrong reasons. Lab4 returned
after over a year and played an absolutely stunning set, rounding it off
with a scorching 170bpm rendition of "Reformation II," the best track
ever written in my humble opinion. You lot seemed to be pretty blown
away and there didn't seem to be anyone on the dancefloor who couldn't
stop bouncing.around. Not to mention a storming set from Big Ron
Atomizer, finishing off a damn fine night of musical and sensory
entertainment.
We're sorry to those who stood around confused at 6.30am when the music
stopped and to those who had to queue to leave the club to give their
details to the multitude of policemen who waited outside to take your
details. Was it a raid? What was going on?
Well, that brings me to the reason why it was our worst night down the
Arches. The police were taking your details not because they were going
to come and get you, but to try and piece together the cause of an
"incident" that happened some time after 4am, when the humid, sweaty
fog created by all that bouncing around just got too much and led to an
horrific couple of hours for all those involved.
That night, we lost one of our Headcharge family, an all-round nice
bloke, and a man who was respected by everyone who met him. Someone
who'd run half the length of the room to hold the door open for you, who
amazed you with some of the radical things he had to say, surprising you
by his seemingly quiet demeanour. He loved Headcharge and the Arches
and we loved him. Always willing to get in there and help, tirelessly
video-taping every gig he went to, till he had literally months worth of
video images to come and play to us on a slow Monday morning after a
long Headcharge weekend.
We only knew him as Sparxie or Sparks, never knowing his real name. He
didn't sit there and bang on about what he was doing or what he had
done, which was a hell of a lot - he'd just occasionally pop up with
something that would blow your mind with its unexpectedness.. And yet
we'd always expect him to turn up, video camera in hand and a big grin
on his face. He was such a rare find - someone who never seemed to want
anything in return for his hard work except love and respect for what he
was doing. It was never about money or glory with Sparks - he just
seemed to get a buzz out of helping people out. He was so chuffed that
he'd just got his security badge and I remember him telling us about all
the 6'4" thugs he'd been doing the course with, who he managed to
manhandle despite his slight frame, not by using force but by using his
brain. And he didn't get the badge to be a thuggy bouncer, but so's he
could help people out if they needed him.
We're still waiting to hear exactly what happened to him but it
certainly wasn't drugs 'cos Sparxie didn't do Class A's. Our eternal
gratitude goes to Scottish Dave, Mike Glowbones and everyone else who
kept him alive till the ambulance came. Sparxie was still alive by the
time he left the Arches but I like to think that, if he was aware that
he might not make it, he was surrounded by people who loved him and who
he loved. I'm just sorry it was so unexpected and such a shock, but
glad that his last memory was not of cold hospital walls and the sound
of heart monitors, but of the stone walls of the Arches, the pounding
music and the vibrancy of the people he shared it all with.
We'll miss him.
Another one of the Headcharge family asked me to include something she
wrote this weekend about a dear friend of hers.
A Wizard's Tale
Standing at the base of a raging black heart
Sympathising with the armies who have here once fought
Rewriting my soul and designing my place
To hide from the demons that make up my face.
To a rhythm and a beat I step in time
With a sign and a crystal I wrote this rhyme
Writing for the unknown, writing for myself
Writing for the fallen and that dusty discard shelf.
A crazy day, a crazy week
Whether to cry or whether to weep.
A resilient household frozen by time
Comes alive at the sound of a church bells chime.
Some tasks come easy, others take time
But life is a mountain that all must climb.
Some have the power, the will and the tools
Others need help reading the rules.
A piece of a puzzle unsolved and lost
Is reworked and planted in the bleak winters frost
Suspicious waves, understanding tides
Call out for justice as the moon father hides
Drawing with sunlight he calls to his foes
Failing to answer he stumbles and goes.
To a place in the heavens between two stars
To tend to his wounds and rename his scars.
Gita Patel
We'll be starting up a thread on the Headcharge discussion board at
www.headcharge.net for people who want to add their own thoughts about
Sparxie and we'll be organising a benefit gig for everyone who wants to
come down and say good bye.
Cheers
Headcharge Crew
For more info check out our website on www.headcharge.net or phone 0114
249 6560
If you do not wish to receive the newsletter any more, please send a
message to unsubscribe at headcharge.net
- ----- End forwarded message -----
- --
Photos http://chris.croome.net/photos/protest.html
GNUPG lynx -dump http://chris.croome.net/pgp.html | gpg --import -
Sheffield IMC http://lists.indymedia.org/mailman/listinfo/imc-sheffield
- ----- End forwarded message -----
- --
Photos http://chris.croome.net/photos/protest.html
GNUPG lynx -dump http://chris.croome.net/pgp.html | gpg --import -
Sheffield IMC http://lists.indymedia.org/mailman/listinfo/imc-sheffield
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