have tent, will camp

i got to climate camp on sunday night (better late than never!), and just after i'd finished my welcome soup, i bumped into my friend. she got hit on the head by a police baton, because.. well.. she was within reach of a policeman with a baton. her mate got charged by a policewoman on a horse. nice. i think they were in the independent or the telegraph today. she was dead upset cos she'd asked them not to publish the photo in case it worried her mum too much.

not ACAB though - i also cuddled a policeman called john. well, he didn't whack me with a stick for doing it. and didn't arrest me for telling rubbish jokes either. anyway.

my mate asked me if i'd go with her to hand out sandwiches to the protestors, if the police would let us near them.

we got there. we handed out sarnies and choc coffee beans. we smiled at policewomen. we did poetry on a bikepowered soundsytem. we sat down and talked to people. and stayed sat down. even when it rained, and someone got a tarp to cover us. then more tarp, then tent poles appeared, along with more people.

we blockaded BAA's car park.

we were the singing and poetry corner - shitloads of funny, clever and blimmin talented people, all in one place, all for the same reason, all slightly jumpy (all through the night were cries of 'riot police outside! be ready to get going!' - as in get your stuff together and prepare to leave peacefully but quickly....

we even did a round of 'row row row your boat', along with african chants and 'run rabbit'....

the rabbit was called elliott. we Bonded. at around four in the morning, after being fed cups of tea, sandwiches and wine by the Food Fairies (ie random volunteers), we developed RIH, or rabbit induced hysteria. we decided the rabbit was the Unelected Leader (aka The Elder!) of climate camp, and was also in the pay of the police...

the pissing situation in the BAA carpark got a bit .. um.. sticky?

unfortunately there was a small area of hedge in the corner that turned into the toilet (no poo-ing though! thank god!)

the local hotels/petrol stations/maccyd's weren't letting people 'use the facilities', so there wasn't a lot of choice.

i went for a wee at about 2am, and before i could even get my pants down, a policwoman flashed her torch at me from the outside of the hedge, shouted that i was 'disgusting' and 'worse than an animal', and that i should 'use a toilet'. when i asked her if she had one i could borrow, she told me to 'go home'

one girl got literally dragged out of the hedge and dragged through the car park on her back for actually having the audacity to carry on and drop her trousers

can you sue the police for making you get cystitis? (joking!)

i think they *were* especially mean to the woman with kidney problems, who told them politely but firmly that there could be quite nasty medical probs for her if she wasn't allowed to pee. (whole other debate about protest/illegal action/whether you should do it or not if you have med probs... which i'm not going to even start getting into)

we had 'our lot' to sort out setting up accommodation and dispensing tea (and sandwiches. and the odd bit of wine to share around. and cigs for those that did) all night long. i'm being constructive and applying for jobs at the moment, would have been doing it on sunday too but i don't have a laptop, and i'm guessing the car park didn't have wifi

OH, and i don't think i do count as a crusty. especially as my most recent job title had the words 'corporate' and 'procurement' in it....

this is the last big thing i'm doing for a while, and i've pretty much got a free diary unti october now. i'm concentrating on sorting work and then a home (have a few places to crash for a couple of weeks if i can get some temping stuff for a short time just to get some cash together), got agency interviews this week and am being told by my mum it sounds 'dangerous' for me to head back up north, following some delightful phone calls to her from my ex-landlady....

love to you all xx

to all the dailymailreading naysayers, i'd suggest heading down there and meeting the dolescum dangerous anarchists yourselves. i've met scientists, teachers, care workers, researchers, and small children, and not encountererd a Bad Egg yet.

and WELL DONE to everyone who's been, is there, or is planning on making a late arrival.