Showing posts with label Queen Square. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Queen Square. Show all posts

Saturday, 16 November 2013

Occupy Bath - Notes from the Past

Two years ago, the hot topic in the city was a small encampment in Queen Square. In six weeks, so much happened there. Many friendships were made, many people decided that enough was enough and made the decision to make a stand, and many people were inspired - and this legacy still continues today.

A few weeks ago, a friend informed me that they had received a mysterious package with my name on it, and finally got round to giving it to me earlier today. Inside was a wire-bound notebook and a card from someone I hadn't heard from in many months, the person who without a doubt spent more time at the camp than anyone else. Inside was a collection of thoughts, questions, statements, a camping rota and some loose pieces of paper with messages of support from members of the public - all written during the time of the original camp. As we have now reached the second anniversary of Occupy Bath, I thought I might share some of the contents, so that people can be reminded of exactly what the camp meant to the citizens of Bath.

Comments from the Public

The majority of these comments were simple - things like "good luck" and "keep going" - but here's a selection of the more interesting ones from the 100 or so comments. At least one is from a very well-known person, but I'll leave it to you to guess who it was and what they said...

"Very happy you're here!"
"This is great! Time for the silent majority to speak up!"
"Well done to you all - good luck and hope the weather gets better soon!"
"Keep the presence going - it's time the majority in this country had a voice"
"Excellent. There's a need for a voice!!"
"Politics is about the personal - it's about the people"
"Speaking for many"
"Keep going and be very much more ambitious"
"Well done - hope you link with the strike on 30 Nov"
"Thank you, you're speaking for many of us"
"Don't let the bastards grind you down! Support and solidarity to Occupy!"
"Let's get talking!"
"Be the change you want to see - Occupy everywhere!"
"We need to be heard!"
"Very grateful to you for being here"
"You are my heroes, I'm so heart-warmed by your commitment"
"Democracy only works with a level playing field - so state funded campaigns by parties means also no vested interest or lobbying by big money!! Governments are in the pockets of big business"
"The web widens!"
"Down with central banking!"
"Freedom is a valuable thing!"
"You are representing so many people who can't be here"
"Good to see you here. Solidarity from an NUT member"
"Thank you for representing me!"
"Sack the bankers!"
"Good luck, solidarity from Wales!"
"Hopefully the Occupy Movement can keep going and get stronger. Keep up the good work!"
"Thank you for making this statement and taking this action - do it IN MY NAME! With love"
"Sorry I can't join you all but keep it up please, you're speaking for us all!"
"I'm supporting every peaceful movement towards the better"

Questions

The following questions were put forward to be considered to give to the BRLSI for a debate on the Occupy Movement. Most are still relevant today, perhaps more so. If you weren't there, these are some of the things we were talking about at the camp:

1. Is it time for a legal ratio between minimum wage and a maximum wage?
2. Do we need more women in politics?
3. Should manifesto pledges be legally binding (at least key ones)?
4. Should we consider a universal allowance/credit ensuring food and energy for citizens?
5. Will the virtual removal of legal aid make society fairer?
6. Should MPs have a genuine local connection to their constituency (i.e. long-term residency)?
7. Should Bath have a local minimum wage as in London?
8. Do we want American insurance companies running the NHS?
9. What defines growth and competitiveness in a global economy?
10. 80% of the world's population do not have freedom of movement across all borders - is this right?
11. Does the bombing of a country for their resources influence immigration?
12. Is there a link between poverty, wars, inequality, economic instability and climate change?
13. Is growth and international competitiveness conducive to human happiness?

Ideas for Placards

 Most of these suggestions came from visitors to the camp.

- We are the 99%
- Stop the Traders Gambling with Our Money
- XXX Cities Occupied Around the World
- Education for All
- Are You Happy About Minimum Wage?
- Is Your Rent Eating All Your Income?
- Slaves of the Banks
- We Didn't Vote for Traders
- There's Enough for Everyone's Need, But Not for Everyone's Greed
- 1 Job for 50 People... Are You One of the 49 Left Over?
- "The Future Isn't Inherited From Our Ancestors, It's Borrowed From Our Children" - Native American Proverb
- There's Enough For 2 Tennis Courts Per Person of Land in the UK
- Maldives, Bangladesh, Philippines Overflown By Global Warming.... Should Bath Host the Climatic Refugees?
- Having a Job = The Most Important Thing in Life?
- No, We Haven't Found a Magic Solution For Global Warming
- You Don't Change Things By Fighting the Existing System, Instead Design a New System Which Makes the Old One Obsolete
- Non-Violent Resistance Does Not Seek to Defeat or Humiliate the Opponent, But to Win His Friendship and Understanding
- We Can Have Democracy in This Country, Or We Can Have Great Wealth Concentrated in the Hands of a Few, But We Cannot Have Both
- If Not Now, When? If Not You, Who?


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Friday, 23 November 2012

Occupy Bath Occupies the Royal Crescent


Occupy Bath - Royal Crescent

And so, after weeks of planning, on the day that Occupy Bath returned for an anniversary camp to highlight the fact that we all still give a shit about all the issues we campaigned against last year, the council decide to close off our old base of Queen Square (along with several other parks) several hours before we were due to set up camp. True, we could have just jumped the railings and set up camp anyway, but that would mean that few would visit us.

Fortunately we were tipped off about the park closures and sent a small team down to investigate alternative sites. Two hours before our announced meeting time, work began on setting up the new camp in a more upmarket location - the grass in front of the Royal Crescent.

Once the camp was set up, and those who came to the meeting point in Green Park Station on time had been met and brought to the camp, a regular cook at the old camp made us a hot dinner, and we had our first General Assembly, with the main focus on the action we were to take the following day. We decided to target Starbucks over their taxes, and arranged security watch for the night. The rest of the evening was spent by the fire, talking about possible future actions and catching up with old friends. A resident from the Royal Crescent came down and joined  our camp, and many people came over to talk.


In the morning, we were greeted with the sight of bus loads of tourists, many of whom ignored the Royal Crescent entirely, and photographed our camp - that's bus loads of tourists from all over the world photographing Occupy Bath and putting the pictures up on Facebook, showing their friends that this movement is still alive, and that the reasons why it exists are still relevant. The Bath Chronicle, the BBC and several freelance journalists and photographers came to visit us, each one another opportunity to get press coverage of people actively demonstrating against austerity and a corrupt political and economic system. One year on and we were more experienced with dealing with the press, and managed to get most of our points across in the finished articles and news pieces.

At 2pm, some of us set off for our demo, with the rest looking after the camp. With a huge banner reading "$TARBUCK$ PAYS LESS TAX THAN YOU", a megaphone (and the Bath Protest Gorilla), we marched down to Starbucks on Milsom Street. We had a minor conflict with an angry security man, but there was nothing they could do to stop our protest. We then made our way over to the other Starbucks, on the High Street. Two PCSOs came over, but they only just asked us to keep the noise down. On the return to the camp we passed the Milsom Street Starbucks and did another brief demonstration.


More photographers were at the camp when we returned. After a few discussion sessions, South West Food Not Bombs cooked a community meal at the camp - the very first meal cooked by them, and hopefully the first of many. People from other Occupations, including Cardiff, Swansea and Bristol had come down to give their support, and some even joined us for the night. The final GA of the camp was focused on the future of Occupy Bath - and we have several things now in the works. The Sunday morning we awoke to frost. The tents were stiff as cardboard, and we had to wait until around 11pm before we could take them down.

We did not intend to use this location initially, but on reflection it was a better choice. Although not all flats in the Royal Crescent are inhabited by the super-rich, many of them are, but more than this, the image of a protest camp before one of the most famous addresses in South West England was an iconic and powerful one. Hopefully this camp has brought the issues of cuts and the banking system to the forefront once more, and will inspire others Occupations to regroup and do something again.

Occupy Bath has done much more than set up a camp - see my list here. Much of what we have done since we set up camp last time has gone largely unreported, except for on this blog, The Shittro and the BARF blog. We know that a few tents won't change the world, but it may just make people think, and consider whether or not its right that corporate-sponsored governments, out of control investment banking and the widening gulf between rich and poor are worth making a stand against and opposing at every opportunity.

See our article in the Bath Chronicle here: http://www.thisisbath.co.uk/Occupy-group-holds-cuts-protest-Royal-Crescent/story-17392745-detail/story.html

My favourite piece on the old camp, and the reasons why it was set up, is here: http://www.headheritage.co.uk/uknow/features/?id=107

Links to all press coverage on Occupy Bath here (to be updated shortly):  http://standingstonesblog.blogspot.co.uk/2012/03/occupy-bath-links-news-and-resources.html
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Thursday, 5 April 2012

Occupy Bath Move Your Money Street Theatre: The Movie

The video from the Move Your Money event last weekend:



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Saturday, 17 March 2012

Occupy Bath - Links, News and Resources

Here are all the links I know of relating to Occupy Bath - it's incredible how much has been written about our small camp! Hopefully this will be of general interest to those at Occupy Bath and the rest of the Occupy Movement, and also to researchers and those who want to find out more about us.

I'll update this as more comes to light and as Occupy Bath progresses (it's not over yet, keep an eye on our Facebook page for more news, coming shortly). When I get chance, I'll scan in a few other bits and pieces. If there's anything missing, leave a comment below or e-mail standingstonesblog@hotmail.co.uk.

Note: Last updated 26/4/12

General
Petition
News Articles

Bath Chronicle (News)
Bath Chronicle (Letters)
Bath Impact
BBC
Breeze (Bath)
Guardian
Indymedia (Bristol)
Indymedia (UK)
Milk
Morning Star

Now Bath
Western Daily Press
Blogs etc.


Bath Lib Dems
Head Heritage/U-Know
Hynd's Blog
Move Your Money UK


Nicole A Murray
Occupy Bath
Occupy Bath Queens Square Web Blog
Occupy South West
Open University/Open Learn
Quakernomics
Standing Stone's Blog
Stories from Bath
The Shittro
Ursula writes
Videos

Occupy Bath

NEW Move Your Money Bath
Paul Skinner's Videos

 
Occupy Bath #1 (Interview, 1/11/11): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0TQOHsfXQoQ


 
Occupy Bath #2 (Interview, 3/11/11): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q-1wVmyBTi4


 
Occupy Bath #3 (Interview, 6/11/11): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zf0EGGWENhs&feature=related


  
Occupy Bath #4 (Music Day, 13/11/11): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_0GILyWI4b8&feature=related


  
Occupy Bath #5 (Public Debate, 19/11/11): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r2YdE3ewhYA&feature=related


Occupy Bath #6 (Packing up camp, 10/12/11): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V8es7tbKpMs&feature=related

Other Videos

Anonymous and Occupy Bath 'invade' Bath Xmas Lights (note that no-one from the camp was involved in this): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5fl-iEFmxj0
 

Photography

Kilgore661 Gigapan (27/11/11): http://128.2.220.74/gigapans/93733
Kilgore661 Gigapan II (28/11/11): http://geolocator.gigapan.org/gigapans/93755

Taff's Photos: http://taffthephoto.co.uk/gallery_465342.html
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Thursday, 1 March 2012

The Ongoing War Against the Corrupt Financial Elite

Occupy LSX, outside St Paul's cathedral, has been evicted. With most of the camps gone, it might appear to some that the Occupy Movement has lost. Nonsense. Occupy is an idea, and the people involved haven't gone away. We're all still talking, and Phase 2 is taking off quite nicely. That's not to say that the loss of the St Paul's isn't a tragedy - as a friend of mine put it "why do things always have to end with a fence and bastards in hi-vis?".
Occupy LSX
Back in the mid-90s, occupying physical spaces was an almost as widespread form of direct action as in the last 6 months. Back then, the target was the government road schemes. Some occupations of the land made the national headlines - in particular the protests at Solsbury Hill, Twyford, the A30 and, of course, the Newbury Bypass. Their dedication to holding onto those physical spaces was much more than those trying to hold onto Occupy camps, for good reason - the woodlands and other important habitats were under threat. The pavement outside St Paul's and the land at Queen Square and College Green are not under threat, and not home to rare wildlife. It didn't matter so much where the camps were. The Newbury Bypass protest, and many of the other road protests, failed to achieve their primary objectives - protect the natural habitats faced with imminent destruction. But although those battles were lost, the protests scored some big wins in the long-term. The road protests caught the attention of the media in a big way, and turned a large proportion of the public onto the issues. By the end of the Newbury Bypass protest, scores of camps were set up along the route and many thousands of people had participated in some way in opposing the bypass. It's one of the biggest regrets I have, that I wasn't one of them. It was one of the most important battles fought in my lifetime. I visited Snelsmore Common (the site of several of the encampments) recently and was horrified by what I saw. The legacy of the road protests is that hundreds of proposed road schemes never happened, and that environment and wildlife laws are now enforced much more strictly at the planning and development stages. Another scheme like the Newbury Bypass would have a lot more difficulty getting off the ground today with the current planning laws and demonstrated the importance and effectiveness of direct action. As Swampy put it when evicted from his tunnel at Fairmile:

"I think it's the only way to get a voice these days. I mean if I had written a letter to my MP, would I have achieved all this? Would you lot be here now? I think not!"


The victories scored by those brave people who put their lives at risk deserve never to be forgotten, and their achievements need to be upheld and protected. The coalition government are now branding our wildlife laws as "red tape", are trying to make developments easier to get through planning and attempted to sell off our forests. They are eroding our right to occupy, with the squatting laws and enforced evictions. We need to stop them at all costs.

It's easy to overlook a one-day protest, but long-term high-profile protests get the media interested and, despite some media sources painting negative pictures, a chance to get the word out to the public. Occupy has started an international conversation. When we had the camps in Bristol and Bath, we were constantly on the TV, radio and newspapers. We were given the opportunity to get our message across to the general public and the people in charge, and they were listening, even if only to dismiss us. The camps were in central locations. We had so many people walk past, shouting at us to have a bath and, then go to the pub, start talking about why we were doing it and come back with questions. Already the politicians are speaking about "fairer capitalism". I'm not convinced they completely mean it, but there have been some positive outcomes - the government are now cracking down on tax avoidance by the banks, and the Move Your Money campaign has seen many people move to more responsible ethical banks and credit unions. People are now more aware than ever, thanks to the months of Occupiers using whatever means they can - from social media to newspapers, TV, leaflets, talks and tent city universities - to get the messages across.

But even though we're onto the next phase and few are still camping, I don't think it's the end of direct action. If things get worse, the protest side of things will heat up again. The UNITE union leader is calling for protests during the Olympics, and the 15th of May is a significant date for Occupiers (the Spanish Indignados - the pre-cursor to Occupy - started on this date last year). Both of these are opportunities to expand on showing the fat cats, the government and the rest of the world that we're not happy.

I see the Occupy Movement as the latest manifestation of an ongoing war against the corrupt wealthy elite of this world who are hell-bent on wrecking societies and the environment for the sake of profit. Newbury was part of this fight - some of the dialogue from the protestors in videos from the evictions could just have easily come from an Occupier - as were the war march, the G20 protests, the CND movement and countless other protests and movements. From my perspective, the way forward involves "joined-up thinking". We need to connect poverty, environmental degradation, wars, loss of public services, political oppression and human rights violations with corrupt corporations, bankers and governments. There are many organisations and individuals out there fighting different battles of the same war. We need to come together as one, and attack them on all fronts.

In other news, the Move Your Money campaign is gathering momentum - more info here: http://www.moveyourmoney.org.uk/. March is Move Your Money month - if you don't want the big banks to hold the power and want to support better alternatives, now is the time to do so. If you haven't signed it yet, the petition to get Bath and North East Somerset Council to move from NatWest to an ethical bank like the Co-operative is here.

Further Reading:

Occupy LSX eviction:
Guardian article - http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2012/feb/28/police-evict-st-pauls-occupy-protesters

Surprisingly neutral Sun article - http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/news/4159319/Occupy-London-evicted-from-St-Pauls.html

Where next for Occupy?:
Guardian opinion piece on the next step - http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2012/feb/29/occupy-london-represent

Road Protest Movement
Lots of resources on the Newbury Bypass here - http://www.ukrivers.net/newburybypass/factfile.html

Videos of the Newbury camps and some of the evictions here (not always comfortable viewing, but highlight how insanely vicious police and bailiffs can be when they want to) - http://www.kinokast.net/index.php/protest-videos/transport/the-newbury-bypass/raw-hi8-tapes/

Swampy's speech after leaving the tunnel at Fairmile (A30 road protest) - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hvSwc9ryKAY&feature=related

For an account of Newbury by one of the protestors, see Merrick (1996) "Battle for the Trees"

Also worth checking out the songs "Battle for the Trees" by Julian Cope and "Snelsmore Wood" by New Model Army.
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Tuesday, 31 January 2012

Occupy Bath and Bristol - January 2012

Occupy Bath/Bath People's Assembly

Occupy Bath may no longer have a presence in Queen Square, but the movement lives on in Bath in 2012. At the beginning of January we organised a meal in Queen Square. We set up a gazebo and banners and brought a table, a cooker, pans and food and sent out an invite on facebook for anyone to join us. Despite the heavy rain, about 25 people turned up and had an excellent meal. This was not only a gathering for those who were at the camp, but was also a public display of people getting together to share and cook together to save energy and money, while creating a social environment.

The Occupy Bath meal in Queen Square, January 2012

Many of us have met up since the meal and we are currently working on some ideas, which will hopefully be rolled out in the near future. However, Occupy is not exclusive, and I encourage others to come up with ideas also - and you can share them with the other 400 or so people on the facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/OccupyBath

The Occupy-inspired Bath People's Assembly is still going strong, and now includes non-occupiers as well as those from the camp and/or the movement. We currently meet twice-monthly and the meetings are open to everyone. We've even had local councillors attend, and occasionally invite guest speakers, such as one of the organisers of the local Bath currency "The Oliver" and a councillor from the Independence for Frome, a local democracy group that now have the majority on Frome council. We currently have several projects in the planning stage, including a meeting of all of the groups in Bath to see how they can work with each other. The website is www.bathpeoplesassembly.org and the minutes of our meetings are on there (latest minutes coming soon). Occupy Bristol are now in the process of setting up a network of People's Assemblies and have attended our meetings to see how we do things. The meeting format is one all of the Bath Occupiers are familiar with (hand signals etc.) and it has now caught on amongst the non-occupiers.


Occupy Bristol - Eviction and Phase 2

Occupy Bristol have now been evicted from College Green. After efforts to clean up the camp, the last few remaining structures were removed this morning. Newspaper reports suggest that there was just one person left, with a number of others having left when they were told they would be evicted. I've been back to visit several times since Occupy Bath packed up, and although they had their problems, they were determined to stay, and I was always met by familiar friendly faces who had been there since the start. The shacks they built when it got cold were amazing, warm and cosy with burners and kettles, and I was always offered a bite to eat or a cup of tea. I'll miss that, and I'm going to rant for a minute (it's my blog and I can do what I want on it):

It is a pity that some people in Bristol couldn't see beyond their noses and realise that these people weren't just doing this for the sake of it. Yes, it was a bit muddy and a bit untidy, but really - SO WHAT? If the loss of a small area of, frankly, dull and boring mown grass, happens to send a message to the government and the financial institutions that we are not happy with the situation, while simultaneously creating a vibrant atmosphere and a community of likeminded individuals, then I'm more than happy for it to be sacrificed. GRASS GROWS BACK!!! The Occupy camps were (and in some cases, still are) places where anyone can turn up 24/7 and be with people who are also concerned or affected by the the mess the country and the world is in. Having places like this is important. They were fun and there was a mix of people from many backgrounds. Sure, there were homeless people, but, again, SO WHAT? They are part of the 99% too, and in many cases the reason for their homelessness is out of their hands. If I were in control, I would have let them stay, and told the public that they have genuine concerns and should be free to express them - and that people should head down and hear what they have to say and make up their own minds. I would have had weekly meetings with them in the camp to find out what their concerns were and what I could do about them. Instead, Barbara Janke agreed to a lame "ethical banking policy" that effectively means the council don't have to do anything, despite banking with RBS. This is one blogger calling for her immediate resignation and replacement with someone with a conscience. Rant over.


However, like Occupy Bath, Occupy Bristol are not just about camping out. Their Move Your Money campaign idea has spread to other Occupations (and Occupy Bath are looking at it seriously). They are starting up a network of People's Assemblies and are also looking at coming up with an alternative to the council's Bristol 2050 project. Good luck to them, and I'll help where I can. They are meeting on 4th Feb to discuss these projects further (see Occupy Bristol website below)

Previous post on Occupy Bath: Occupy Bath - The End of the Beginning
Next Post on Occupy Bath: Do the right thing - Move Your Money!

Further Reading

Bath People's Assembly website (includes all minutes): http://www.bathpeoplesassembly.org/

Article on the Occupy Bath Meal: http://www.nowbath.co.uk/local-news/occupy-bath-return-for-meal-41979/
Occupy Bristol Website: http://www.occupybristoluk.org/

Guardian article on the Bristol eviction: http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2012/jan/31/occupy-bristol-camp-cleared?newsfeed=true
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Sunday, 11 December 2011

Occupy Bath - The End of the Beginning

Yesterday Occupy Bath left Queen Square. I was the last to leave (closely behind everyone else), one of the first to arrive on site, and have been involved all of the way through. I've divided this blog entry into 3 sections to cover everything we've done and plan to do.

Occupy Bath sign on the railings on Queen Square


1. The Final 3 Weeks

After the success of the first three weeks, which saw us hold debates, talks, musical performances, attend the National Occupy Conference and lay red and white poppy wreaths at the war memorial on Remembrance Day, we decided to continue the camp until at least November 30th, when the union march was planned for Bath. Despite bad weather and cold night temperatures, we perservered. It wasn't always easy, but our principles of direct democracy and our passion for the Occupy Movement overcame hard times. At night, many people out on the town would visit the camp. There was always at least one person on security watch, and often the people up all night would spend it round the camp fire talking to people who had dropped by for a chat or to find out more. One camp member set up a daily Tai Chi workshop, which was often popular. We held a third events day the weekend before the march. Talks included "How the recession started", "Freeman on the land" and a general debate on the Occupy Movement. Also, in these final few weeks, an idea surfaced and gained momentum as it was discussed over and over again in our daily General Assemblies. Soon we were convinced that it might work, and sent out a press release telling people that we had a big announcement to make at 4.30pm, following the union march (more on this below).

Support for the union march at Occupy Bath

We heavily publicised our support for the strike, with a large sign on the kitchen tent exterior, articles in the local newspaper and by contacting local unions. One of the local unions was kind enough to offer us a 5 minute speaking slot at the march. We chose our speakers well - one was a former teacher, and the other a student. Our student was the only student to speak at the march, despite the presence of a large number of students, and was well-received by them. At 1.25pm they gave their speech. In just 5 minutes, our speakers managed to get across the message that we support them, a short summary of the Occupy Movement and a summary of the "big announcement". The speakers were well-received by the audience of approximately 1500 strikers, and Occupiers distributed flyers about the "big announcement" in the crowd. The march ended about 3pm, and between then and 4pm hundreds visited the camp to find out more and show their support. Some even stuck their placards in the ground outside the info tent. At 4pm it started to rain, and by the time of the "big announcement", only about 30 members of the public remained - but by then half of the city knew. The Bath People's Assembly had been founded. Following the announcement, the local pirate-folk band Calico Jack played an hour long set for us in front of the info tent, with much dancing.

Calico Jack playing at Occupy Bath

We found it easy to get our stories into the local paper. We sent them press releases and letters every week, and every week nearly everything we sent got printed. We were the talk of the town, and a big event for Bath. They printed our statement on the Bath People's Assembly, reports of our events and letters from tent-dwellers. We even sent them our own photos, which they printed.

Towards the end of the camp, we decided that we would have to move the camp around to avoid impacting on the grass too much. The new camp was set up on the opposite side of Queen Square and we put pallets down in the kitchen and info tent to preserve the grass as best as we could.

The camp on the final morning of Occupy Bath


Bath Chronicle Articles:
Joining the union march: http://www.thisisbath.co.uk/Occupy-Bath-camp-staying-protesters-join-union/story-13919822-detail/story.html

Article prior to the first Bath People's Assembly: http://www.thisisbath.co.uk/Occupy-Bath-launches-new-public-meetings/story-14007776-detail/story.html

Bath People's Assembly and moving the camp: http://www.thisisbath.co.uk/50-plus-new-forum-Occupy-Bath-shifts-Queen-Square/story-14045534-detail/story.html

Letters:
I'm not an anarchist...: http://www.thisisbath.co.uk/m-anarchist-ndash-ve-worked-hard-life/story-13875063-detail/story.html

Occupy Bath believe passionately in democracy: http://www.thisisbath.co.uk/Occupy-Bath-believe-passionately-democracy/story-14010451-detail/story.html

2. Bath People's Assembly

The idea for the Bath People's Assembly was initially brought up in an early General Assembly, and continued to be brought up again and again, with slight modifications, however it was during the coach journey to the National Occupy Conference that the idea really began to take shape. Over the conference weekend, we discussed it with other Occupy camps and they were generally supportive of the idea. Other Occupations were trying out their own projects, and now that we were all in the same room talking to each other, ideas began to flow. Communications between camps were discussed, and ideas were shared via our communication channels. When we returned from the conference we put our fully-formed vision for the People's Assembly to the rest of the camp. Further modifications were made (notably the change from "People's Council" to "People's Assembly") and there was also a feeling that we should set something more long-term up to continue the work we had begun at Queen Square.

So what is the Bath People's Assembly? The statement of intent is as follows:

"The People's Assembly is an independent
democratic non-affiliated body for discussion,
debate and the formulation of ideas and proposals
on local, national and global issues and policies

Its purpose is to give all people of Bath a stronger
democratic voice. It invites people of all ages,
genders, abilities, races, and religions to come and
work together to put democracy into action"

Essentially, it's a forum for people of all backgrounds to get together and talk about the issues that concern them. It is not Conservative or Labour, or left or right-wing - it is for everyone. Sometimes it really helps to hear what someone with an opposing view has to say, in an environment where they are given the opportunity to have their voice heard. From this, decisions on actions such as lobbying the council or taking action ourselves can be made, where everyone is happy with it.

The first meeting of the Bath People's Assembly took place on 2nd December 2011. It was attended by around 50 people, with only a small minority of people from Occupy Bath. We spent the first few minutes explaining what it was about and introduced people to the hand signals used in Occupy GA's throughout the world. We then handed the assembly to the people of Bath and opened the floor for discussion. There was a long, silent pause. Then, someone raised their hand and brought up an issue. This is turn led to responses, and before long we had a big debate about housing in Bath. Our first working group was formed to look at this issue in more detail. Other working groups formed that night include taxation, legal issues, international relations and an admin group. A date for the next meeting was set as 15th December. Everyone applauded at the end and the Occupy Bathers looked around at each other in amazement. Since then, several other occupations have been in contact, and are looking to start up People's Assemblies in their own cities and towns.

A website and facebook page have been set up for the People's Assembly:

Website: http://www.bathpeoplesassembly.org/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Bath-Peoples-Assembly/200861646662035

3. Ending the Occupation, and Looking to the Future

It wasn't the cold. The fire was always warm and we had lots of blankets and hot water bottles and a kettle permanantly on the boil. Occupy Bath had become too much about keeping the camp going, and not enough about trying to change the world. We were all still friends by the end of it, and wanted to move forward and achieve something. The People's Assembly was a success. My opinion, that I stated many times over the 6 weeks, was that we should camp "until we come up with something better", and many felt that we had come up with something with the potential to bring about more change than the camp itself. The visual presence of the camp, and the round-the-clock space for debate was important, and had achieved much, but now we were starting to be taken seriously by people who hadn't been to the camp too. The decision was made late on Thursday night, and we put out a press release.

Taking down the camp took a good 8 hours and many hands. Occupy Bristol turned up with a van and we donated a large number of items to them. Someone also did runs to Bristol and other places with things from the camp, and others came and took their belongings home. Afterwards we all met up in the pub, and remembered the good times.

Packing up the camp
Occupy Bath will live on. Another occupation at a later date has not been ruled out, and the door is always open to anyone who didn't camp at Queen Square to set up a tent somewhere in Bath. With the strong possibility of the collapse of the Euro in the coming weeks, and the possibility of David Cameron's gamble on our position within the EU having serious repercussions for the British economy, if things get worse I can see that happening. It is also possible that even our critics may reconsider their position, once it hits them. Without a doubt, we can put our hands up and say that these are the things we have been discussing over the last 6 weeks, and we have been promoting alternatives. It's now up to the public to decide if they want to accept the situation or do something about it. The Bath People's Assembly provides a suitable place to continue these discussions and hopefully reach a wider audience. The forecast for the future may be bleak, but we have provided optimism, discussed solutions and provided true democracy in Bath. None of this, not one second of it, was a waste of our time, and we will continue to work together.

There will be a ceremony next Saturday in which we will re-seed any bare patches in the grass.

Guardian article: http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/dec/10/occupy-bath-protesters-quit-camp?newsfeed=true

Bath Chronicle article: http://www.thisisbath.co.uk/Occupy-Bath-protesters-leave-Queen-Square/story-14093223-detail/story.html

Standing Stone's Blog will continue to support and chronicle the Occupy Movement and the Bath People's Assembly 

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Sunday, 13 November 2011

Occupy Bath - Two weeks old today!

It's two weeks today since we set up camp in Queen Square, and just over three weeks since many of us met for the first time at the planning meeting. I feel like I've known many of my fellow occupiers for years. This afternoon I walked away from the camp feeling happy, tired, sad, reflective and optimistic about the future of the world. I'll be back soon.

Occupy Bath camp in the early morning

The public reaction has been extremely positive. We have had support from many individuals and organisations - far too many to list here. Every day (and night) people wander in to give support or to find out more about what we are doing, and after talking to us they usually leave with a much clearer picture of the many issues that we are concerned with and the possible solutions that we are beginning to discuss. The mainstream press refers to us as anti-capitalists and protestors. I'm going to make it clear here: We are not all anti-capitalists, although we have among our number some who would refer to themselves as such, and this isn't just a protest - it's a place for people to voice their views and work together to find solutions. There's a very insightful blog entry by Marcus Moore here. The community we have formed lives very much by the principal that all are equal. Our discussions involve direct democracy, where all are able to have a say and all opinions and ideas voiced are considered as a group. People come and go from the camp, some are there on a permanant basis, others several days a week or just come when they can.

The original Occupy Bath sign

Sometimes the occasional person shouts to us from outside of the fence - "Get a job!" or "You're a bunch of lazy layabout hippies". A quick show of hands last night revealed that most people have a job. Most of those that don't are students - and some have both a job and go to university. As for laziness - we are constantly working while at the camp, from talking to the public, putting on music and talks that all can attend, holding daily meetings, cooking, cleaning, litter-picking, raking, networking, giving interviews, writing letters, coming up with new ideas and much more besides. And hippies? Yes there's a few who would probably descibe themselves as such, as there are people who would probably describe themselves as workers, pensioners, students, unemployed (and actively looking for work), scientists, union members, members of certain religious groups and political parties, musicians, photographers and many other labels besides. For a non-hierarchial community we are exceptionally well-organised. Pretty much everything that needs doing gets done. People stay up on security duty every night, the camp is kept clean and tidy and we all put a lot of effort into discussing local and global issues with each other and the general public. Recycling is important to us, and we ensure that all rubbish is divided up into our separate recycling bins.

Recycling

In order to keep the camp going, we need our supporters to come along and help out when they can. If you can camp with us, even for as little as one night a week, it makes a massive difference - it would allow someone to go home and get a good night's sleep, or to catch up on things like university work, family life and other things that people in the camp do besides occupying Bath. And if you can't camp, the daytimes are just as important too. There's a list of 10 ways you can help the Occupy Movement if you're not camping in my previous blog entry.

Yesterday we had an events day - our way of giving something back to the city of Bath, and an opportunity to engage the public in discussions about the current global economic and political situation, and the possible ways forward. Musical performances from Kevin Brown, Steve Rowcroft and Frome Street band were very well-recieved and enjoyed by most who attended. Talks and discussions entitled "The future of capitalism", "An introduction to the Zeitgeist Movement" and "Freeman on the Land" were well-attended and conversations on these subjects continued well after the talks had ended.

Music Day

Music Day

Music Day

Today is Remembrance Sunday. Several of us attended the service at the war memorial this morning. You would have been hard-pushed to tell us from the rest of the crowd. We laid two wreaths by the memorial, one of red poppies (out of respect to the servicemen who died defending our country) and one of white poppies (for peace, and out of respect to the non-military casualties of war), tied together with a band reading "Occupy Bath". It was an emotional event for us all, and we walked back to the camp with our arms around each other with some close to tears.

The poppy wreaths - the only white poppies laid at the war memorial in 2011

So, if you want to join in or want to find out more, come along and see for yourselves. We're always happy to talk to you and if you support the Occupy Movement you're welcome to join us too! We appreciate any help that we can get, and I would like to say a personal thank you to all that have helped so far.

Next post on Occupy Bath: Occupy UK and Ireland Conference

Disclaimer: All views and opinions above that are not stated facts are those of myself (as an individual parcipitant in the Occupy Movement), except where stated, and do not necessarily represent the views of a particular Occupy camp or those of the Occupy Movement as a whole.
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