DIY - an example of what can be achieved

[Buddha]

Last weekend was my girlfriend's birthday and we had a party, about 70 or 80 people turned up and a fun time was had by all.

During the week me and a couple of mates went and found a venue for the party. It was a bit of unused land in the middle of nowhere. We opened the gate and put our own lock on it. Then we made some phone calls.

One mate provided the sound system. Another the generator. Someone else had a marquee. A few people helped with decor, a couple of artists painted some fantastic backdrops pieces. Someone had some lights. Several people bought firewood. A number of djs bought their records with them.

We set up a 'party line' so people could phone and get directions to the secret location.

Party started at about 10pm and went on until about 2pm the next day. There can't have been any complaints because the police never showed up.

At the end of the party we tidyied up and left. We shut the gate behind us. Apart from the fact that one link in the chain that was locking the gate is now missing, nobody would ever know we'd ever been there. When whoever it is who owns the land does next go there they will be able to unlock their lock and once again secure their gate.

Yes, we're very, very naughty! But actually, who did we hurt? What did it cost us (or anyone else for that matter)?!

As I said, everybody had lots of fun, incuding, most importantly, my girlfriend.

That, my friends, is just another example of anarchy in action

 

[shotshy]

Well done !

In my opinion, you've harmed no one and left the land clean on departure.

Glad that you all had a great time.

It's a shame that the ****** who trundle around Kent don't do the same.

If they rocked up somewhere quiet and left it as they found it, they wouldn't get grief from the general population.
We all know that this is very much not the case.

 

[markinkent]

Key part of that statement was tidied up.

Leave nothing but footprints and take nothing but memories.

I cant argue with this one buddha as I used to mountain bike on private land all the time ( mostly blissfully unaware that i was).

Unfortunately many members of the travelling community leave piles of shit for others to tidy up.

 

[Buddha]

Key part of that statement was tidied up.

Leave nothing but footprints and take nothing but memories.

I cant argue with this one buddha as I used to mountain bike on private land all the time ( mostly blissfully unaware that i was).

Unfortunately many members of the travelling community leave piles of shit for others to tidy up.

I accept that other travellers make a mess and are a nuisance. But they are of a different culture to us. We are 'new' travellers, born out of the hippy free festival culture and the rave culture. We always tidy up after ourselves, that is part of our culture.

And it is also why we are so extra disgusted when we see just how much waste people leave at mainstream corporate £200 a ticket festivals. All those tents just abandoned, many having only been used once! Honestly, I've done the clean up at Glastonbury and elsewhere; the sheer scale of waste is breathtaking and horrific. And those people leaving all that mess aint travellers, they're 'normal' house dwelling people.

Whenever we have a party or a festival, or simply move to a new site, we always clear up after ourselves. To not do so would be to go against all we stand for.

 

[ThreeSixes]

We opened the gate and put our own lock on it.

Why did you do that, out of interest?

 

[Buddha]

Why did you do that, out of interest?

To keep the gate secure and so it wouldn't look as though anyone had opened it before the party.

And then when the party was about to start so we could open it up again easily.

 

[kettners]

Last weekend was my girlfriend's birthday and we had a party, about 70 or 80 people turned up and a fun time was had by all.

During the week me and a couple of mates went and found a venue for the party. It was a bit of unused land in the middle of nowhere. We opened the gate and put our own lock on it. Then we made some phone calls.

One mate provided the sound system. Another the generator. Someone else had a marquee. A few people helped with decor, a couple of artists painted some fantastic backdrops pieces. Someone had some lights. Several people bought firewood. A number of djs bought their records with them.

We set up a 'party line' so people could phone and get directions to the secret location.

Party started at about 10pm and went on until about 2pm the next day. There can't have been any complaints because the police never showed up.

At the end of the party we tidyied up and left. We shut the gate behind us. Apart from the fact that one link in the chain that was locking the gate is now missing, nobody would ever know we'd ever been there. When whoever it is who owns the land does next go there they will be able to unlock their lock and once again secure their gate.

Yes, we're very, very naughty! But actually, who did we hurt? What did it cost us (or anyone else for that matter)?!

As I said, everybody had lots of fun, incuding, most importantly, my girlfriend.

That, my friends, is just another example of anarchy in action

Just like the ****’s then ?

 

[Buddha]

Just like the ****’s then ?

That's a bit of a derogatory term there, kettners, any need for it?

I just looked up 'gypsy' for a definition:

1. a member of a travelling people traditionally living by itinerant trade and fortune telling. Gypsies speak a language (Romany) that is related to Hindi and are believed to have originated in South Asia.

2 .a nomadic or free-spirited person.

In relation to no.1, I am a member of a travelling people, though I am not Romany or Irish.

In relation to no.2, I am definitely a nomadic and free-spirted person.

So yeah, maybe that answers your question. Though you could have asked it without the offensive terminology.

 

[ThreeSixes]

To keep the gate secure and so it wouldn't look as though anyone had opened it before the party.

And then when the party was about to start so we could open it up again easily.

Secure against who? Other trespassers who may also want to use land that didn't belong to them?

I'm glad you had a good time - I hope you realise the majority of people wont have an issue with ethically minded hippy travellers such as yourself. Unfortunately it is the majority of bad travellers that lets it down for the small minority.

 

[jokerman]

I, for one, reject this board's obsession with petit-bourgeois norms like "tidying up" and will continue to let the food rot and the milk curdle on my shelf in the fridge. As Steve Harley used to say (still might for all I know) -resist, resist; it's from yourselves you have to hide or was it blue eyes, blue eyes? I forget.

 

[Buddha]

Secure against who? Other trespassers who may also want to use land that didn't belong to them?

I'm glad you had a good time - I hope you realise the majority of people wont have an issue with ethically minded hippy travellers such as yourself. Unfortunately it is the majority of bad travellers that lets it down for the small minority.

Not really that, just more to keep it locked so nobody noticed it had been opened, and so we had easy access when we got there.

When you're starting an illegal rave the easiest time for the police to stop it is before it's properly started, So you need to get into the venue, get the equipment set up and get as many people as possible in as quickly as possible. For that reason you need to have already made the access quick and easy.

C'mon, that much must be obvious,

I realise that other travellers cause lots of problems. They have (and almost certainly will again) cause us problems. I mean directly cause us problems in addition to the indirect problem they cause us by giving travellers a bad name.

I just want people to know that we;re not all the same. So yeah, if travellers rock up near you, maybe they'll cause trouble, I don't doubt that. But not all are trouble and it's important people know this to be the case.

You say people generally wont have a problem with us 'new' travellers. I hope you're right. I know that you'd be correct if you're talking about people who have met us and interacted with us, but I'm not so confident when it comes to Joe Public who has never had any experence with us and has just read things like what they write in Kent Online!

What you need to remember though is that our lifestyle is made so difficult because of the laws designed to stop us living the way we do. It really is so difficult in the UK. Which is why so many of us now live abroad. There is so much land here, and it is owned by so few. Our community isn't huge, there could easily be sites for us to use up and down the country. Or just places we could park up for a few nights. On the continent there are loads of places, just pull-up and park for a few days. You just can't do that here, not for five minutes before someone is telling you to Go! Move! Shift!

 

[sunnyinkent]

Last weekend was my girlfriend's birthday and we had a party, about 70 or 80 people turned up and a fun time was had by all.

During the week me and a couple of mates went and found a venue for the party. It was a bit of unused land in the middle of nowhere. We opened the gate and put our own lock on it. Then we made some phone calls.

One mate provided the sound system. Another the generator. Someone else had a marquee. A few people helped with decor, a couple of artists painted some fantastic backdrops pieces. Someone had some lights. Several people bought firewood. A number of djs bought their records with them.

We set up a 'party line' so people could phone and get directions to the secret location.

Party started at about 10pm and went on until about 2pm the next day. There can't have been any complaints because the police never showed up.

At the end of the party we tidyied up and left. We shut the gate behind us. Apart from the fact that one link in the chain that was locking the gate is now missing, nobody would ever know we'd ever been there. When whoever it is who owns the land does next go there they will be able to unlock their lock and once again secure their gate.

Yes, we're very, very naughty! But actually, who did we hurt? What did it cost us (or anyone else for that matter)?!

As I said, everybody had lots of fun, incuding, most importantly, my girlfriend.

That, my friends, is just another example of anarchy in action

I don’t

 

[sunnyinkent]

I do not like authority myself although I have mellowed in old age, and definitely can’t see any reason why the above is wrong.

 

[ThreeSixes]

What you need to remember though is that our lifestyle is made so difficult because of the laws designed to stop us living the way we do. It really is so difficult in the UK. Which is why so many of us now live abroad. There is so much land here, and it is owned by so few. Our community isn't huge, there could easily be sites for us to use up and down the country. Or just places we could park up for a few nights. On the continent there are loads of places, just pull-up and park for a few days. You just can't do that here, not for five minutes before someone is telling you to Go! Move! Shift!

Beechings Playing field, Riverside Country park, Wigmore Commuter park, Deal Castle, Margate sea front, Medway city estate, school playing fields, doctors surgery car parks. This is where the Kent "bad" travellers have rocked up in the last few months according to Kent Online, and there are many more that I can't remember.

 

[Captainreblue]

"During the week me and a couple of mates went and found a venue for the party. It was a bit of unused land in the middle of nowhere. We opened the gate and put our own lock on it. Then we made some phone calls".

So did you just open the gate or did you cut the lock off that was on there ,open the gate and then put your own lock on, Buddha

 

[Buddha]

"During the week me and a couple of mates went and found a venue for the party. It was a bit of unused land in the middle of nowhere. We opened the gate and put our own lock on it. Then we made some phone calls".

So did you just open the gate or did you cut the lock off that was on there ,open the gate and then put your own lock on, Buddha

The gate was locked. Then it wasn't. Their lock was untouched. Then the gate was locked again with our lock. Then we unlocked it and had a party. Then we closed the gate but left it unlocked. Whoever had the key to the original lock will be able to lock the gate again. Their chain might be one link shorter than it was!

 

[Captainreblue]

So you tidied up after yourself, well done. Other than that you did what the ****** have been doing throughout Medway and Kent, forcing entry.

 

[valenciagill]

The gate was locked. Then it wasn't. Their lock was untouched. Then the gate was locked again with our lock. Then we unlocked it and had a party. Then we closed the gate but left it unlocked. Whoever had the key to the original lock will be able to lock the gate again. Their chain might be one link shorter than it was!

So criminal damage to a chain then ?

 

[Whitstabletangerine]

Buddha, you will have to forgive me for knowing little about anarchists and the way they would organise daily life in a country such as this.
Yes I could read up the many articles that probably appear on Google but from a living person such as yourself can you tell me in your perfect world of an anarchist society if there are any laws, any courts any taxes collected to run hospitals etc.
As I understand it there are no leaders, or indeed a head of the anarchist state, so in this country of 60 million who decides the path that we tread, are there constant referendums, are there meetings nationally, briefly how does it work.

 

[Buddha]

Buddha, you will have to forgive me for knowing little about anarchists and the way they would organise daily life in a country such as this.
Yes I could read up the many articles that probably appear on Google but from a living person such as yourself can you tell me in your perfect world of an anarchist society if there are any laws, any courts any taxes collected to run hospitals etc.
As I understand it there are no leaders, or indeed a head of the anarchist state, so in this country of 60 million who decides the path that we tread, are there constant referendums, are there meetings nationally, briefly how does it work.

There's no simple answer that I can give you here in 5 minutes, whitstable.

And the whole point is that it's not about my vision or blueprint for perfect society. It's more about everybody working together to create a better society for everyone.

It's about basing human relations upon things such as co-operation and mutual aid rather than profit and individual greed.

It all sounds so pie in the sky but when people work together they can achieve so much.

An anarchist society would involve people making decisions together rather than being told what to do.

If you're interested in places where anarchism has worked read about the Paris Commune, Catalonia in 1936, the island of Tristan da Cunha, or even about the things that have been happening in Rojova during the last few years.