Week 23: Who Doesn't Love British Weather?

Oops, I guess this post is a bit late. I must have been having too much fun being rained on constantly. Honestly, I'm pretty sure that this much rain is not necessary. Can somebody please turn off the tap or whatever.

OB, Steve and I had to return a lorry to Hereford, yesterday, that Dave and Sarah had rented for their move to Earthworm. Because it was a 7 tonne truck, we figured that we could ignore the "Road Closed" signs. We were right but it was still funny to be driving on a road that looks like a river. I guess the upside to it is that there's no traffic.

The EF Gathering was a lot of fun. Thankfully there was no overt police presence (can't rule out if they were just hiding in the bushes) and I was able to attend a lot of really cool workshops. I didn't take many photos that week because there was a no camera policy at the event (for security reasons). The most interesting/scary thing that I learned while I was there was how insecure cell phones are.

Apparently, recently a gangster in the States was sent to prison based on things that was picked up and recorded via his cell phone. The fucked up part is that he had removed the battery and SIM card. So, a phone that should be off and have no power source was remotely activated and used to listen in on this guy. Fair enough, that's really unlikely to happen to any of us law abiding citizens but it's still creepy to know that it's possible and how easy it is for our governments to track our calls.

- Kasza



Photos


We call that river the road


Trucks kick out awesome wakes


I guess the Land Rover can be considered an amphibious vehicle


A post modern art piece created with the assistance of magic mushrooms and lack of sleep


This is what it looks like when you don't have an overt police presence


And this is what it likes when you do


Peacefully trying to walk down a road meeting an obstacle


My new buddy "Mike"


Speaks for itself

Week 20: Climate Camp

Climate Camp was quite an experience. The camp was completely self-sustainable and independent. All amenities, plumbing, electrics, shelter, etc. were available and all of the campers helped out in some way or another to make the camp function.

Although Google says it should take 5 hours to get from Earthworm to Climate Camp, the journey took us about 24 hours. We left on Thursday about midday and we arrived at the camp on Friday about midday because the clutch cable on our minibus snapped. Now I can add "fix LDV minibus clutch cable" to the skills section of my resume. The breakdown happened in Oxford, so we settled there for the night and resumed the journey Friday morning.

Because we arrived on Friday before the official opening day which was Sunday, we were available to help with a lot of the setup which was challenging because on Thursday, the police had raided the site and confiscated plumbing, wood, and other materials we needed for basic necessities.

It was on these days that I first got involved with the security of the site. People were needed to watch the gates of the site to make sure that the police didn't come on mass like they had on Thursday. I figured that was an easy enough job to do and since I don't mind early mornings I volunteered for a 4-8am shift on Saturday. Amy-Jane got me involved with the security working group later that day and from then on, my mind was focused on security, trying to predict and prepare for police raids.

The most significant raid occurred Monday morning and again I was doing a 4-8 shift. I was lucky enough to be fully awake for the 5am raid where most everybody else was awaken to screams of "police on site!" Sadly, several of my friends were injured by police that day. Two of them had to visit the hospital. Amy-Jane had a great bruise on her jawline where she was punched by a cop. Unfortunately, I forgot to take a picture of it.

Because of my involvement with security and infrequent sleeping, I was only able to attend one workshop, How to Organise Shit Hot Direct Action which was hosted by Earth First. Even though it was only an hour long, it was really informative and I'm looking forward now for the Earth First Gathering in two weeks where there will be similar, more indepth workshops.

Because I feared the hassle I might receive if I was arrested being a foreigner, I stayed onsite on Saturday when most of the camp headed over to Kingsnorth Power Station to shut it down. There's loads of coverage on the Internet of the day of action and nothing I can add to it, so I recommend checking out Indymedia, Youtube, or VisiononTV. I thought that this local newsclip was pretty good.

I started writing this blog with the intent of ranting about police oppression, harrassment, and brutality but realized how boring it was going to be, so I'll just say this: Fuck the Police!

- Kasza



Everything out of the van, all bags must be searched


This guy found a script in the minibus that he found quite interesting


Dig deeper, non-violent activists always hide their bombs at the bottom of their pockets


Seize the Day playing on Thursday night


Camera shy pigs


Heli-pig; seemed to only stop flying over us to refuel for a couple minutes


Always smile because there's always somebody taking your picture

Week 18: Climate Camp Starts Early

This is an early post because I will not be near a computer for a while. Activists took the Climate Camp location early and started setting up yesterday. So, instead of heading off tomorrow we're heading down today. Follow the Climate Camp news at their website, http://www.climatecamp.org.uk, on Indymedia, and likely in the corporate news sources as well.

Off to Camp,
Kasza

Week 17: Earthworm Wins the Tournament!

Yet another fun weekend at Earthworm and I'm proud to say that we are the champions of this year's Intercommunity Volleyball Tournament.


There were five communities competing in the tournament: Earthworm Housing Co-op, Birchwood Hall Community, Centre for Alternative Technology (CAT), Lifespan-Townhead, and Redfield with over fifty people attending for the weekend.

Although tension and competiveness increased as the weekend progressed, everyone maintained a positive attitude and loads of fun. It has been remarked to me that my attempts at imbibing a pint of ale an hour hindered my skills later in the day and probably was a large factor in jamming my thumb on the ball a couple of times. Nevertheless, we went on to win the tourny and with a duct taped bandage to hold my thumb in place, I participated in each match we played (the pint an hour challenge was limited to Saturday).

Since it's unlikely I'll be in England next year, I'm disappointed that I won't be able to participate in the next tounament which will be held at Redfield.

We now have four days to sort of chill out and prepare for next week as we head out for Climate Camp on Friday.

- Kasza




Here are photos taken by me and AJ


Seb (playing for CAT) with a textbook volley


Joe (Earthworm) and Danny (Lifespan) battling it out at the net


O.B., the Earthworm Head Cheerleader


Rocky doing a little breakdance between serves


This is what losing a point looks like


Aeris all tuckered out after a full day of ratting


Evidently, the crowd was thoroughly entertained during the final match


Trophy for the best costume change goes to Lifespan


Trophy for the best dives goes to Rocky


Dressing up for the winner's ball


AJ epitimizing cool in one of her many poses

Week 16: Happy Birthday Sam

An enjoyable weekend of drinking and eating has been successfully completed. Although Sam suspected that his wife, Alex, was planning something, he wasn't prepared for the elaborate party she had put together.


A few of the party-goers arrived at the campsite Friday (including us) to help set up but the majority of people came the next day. Everybody arrived around noon on Saturday and crowded into the marquee ready to scream "Surprise" when Sam and Alex rolled in at one.

Finally, with that out of the way, we could resume drinking (proudly started at 9am) and dive into lunch (a plentiful potluck feast). The afternoon progressed with a rotation of eating, drinking, napping, and volleying (gotta keep practicing so we're in form for next weekend's tourny).


The party was also a trial run for the Earthwize energy trailer. Overall, it was successful run and we're getting better throwing it up and bringing it down.


Back at Earthworm, work week helpers arrived on Saturday and have been getting on quite well attacking a variety of jobs around the property. And now that I'm done typing this, I will go join in (I'm thinking gathering wood will be a good Monday morning job).

- Kasza



Photos (incl. some long exposure experiments)


this is a wind turbine


this is a marquee


this is a gazebo


this is an evening sky


this is a night sky


this is a campfire


this is also a campfire


and this was a party

Week 15: Back in the UK

Another post missed. My excuse this time was that I was in Bristol last week and didn't have access to a computer. Maybe I should get a ghostwriter to handle my blog obligations.

Since my last post I have altered my plans and returned to Earthworm for the summer (I had been toying with the idea for a while). I will stay here until my UK visa runs at the end of September. I expect at that point I'll head to France, Switzerland, and/or Spain; who knows, maybe even Morocco. But I don't have to worry about that until September and I have enough going on here to keep me occupied/entertained.

I have been to a few cities in the last two weeks. Here's an overview of what I've done in July:

July 1
- left La Besnardiere in France early because the woman was quite irritating (my patience for WWOOF hosts has thinned considerably now)
- travel by foot, bus and train to arrive at Caen, where I stayed for three days

July 2 & 3
- visit Juno Beach Centre (overcast day ruined photo ops), William the Conqueror's castle, and some very beautiful local parks (favourite being la Vallée des Jardins)

July 4
- midnight ferry to Portsmouth (sooo very expensive)
- met a Canadian who had traveled around Europe for the previous three weeks and spent about $30,000 CDN, he figures (I nearly puked when he told me)
- train from Portsmouth to Bristol
- back in the land of the Pound Sterling (shit ain't cheap); compare the Caen hostel of 11 euros to the £25 YHA hostel in Bristol

July 5
- visit local sites
- move Saturday from the £25 YHA to the £17 Full Moon hostel, which is also environmentally friendly and much more sociable

July 6
- more local site seeing, kill time in the library
- finally get in contact with (Earthworm resident) Joe's younger brother, Sam
- hang out at Sam's place along with Joe, their brother Matt, Sam's wife Alex, and Matt's son Djindi

July 7
- Joe and I train back to Earthworm

July 8-12
- normal going-ons at Earthworm: gardening, maintenance, meetings and eating

July 13 (a very good day)
- the first sunny day all week
- future volleyball courts finally able to be mowed
- Lily's 8th birthday
- a portable, green energy solution of wind and solar nearly complete

- cob oven built



Upcoming for Me
Jul 18-20 - Sam's surprise 30th birthday, camping near Bristol
Jul 19-25 - Earthworm July Work Week
Jul 26-27 - Inter-Community Volleyball Tournament hosted at Earthworm
Aug 2 - Steve's sister's wedding (on route to...)
Aug 3-11 - Climate Camp
Aug 15-17 - Radical Routes gathering at Earthworm
Aug 27-Sep 1 - Earth First! Summer Gathering

Cheers,


Kasza



Photos


Smile for the camera


Comforting


Green pine cone?!?


Bristol Blitz victim


Overcast dawn (yet again)

Because I haven't taken many photos recently, here are a few more of the punk band at Fete de Music in Bauge. Maybe with some practice I could be as good Andrew.