A bit of a deviation perhaps......
....from the luvvies of the west end of London, but many years ago I lived in Blackburn Lancs. One night staggering home from the pub I noticed a boarded up building had been taken over by some reactionaries and hippies, and more for the smell of the puff that was coming from inside accepted an invitation to come in and chat for a bit. They were an alright bunch, the sort who mostly seem to exist through anti-disistablishmentarianism (and I am trying not to be pretentious for using such a big word).

Anyway over the next couple of weeks I got to know a few of them and got to hear tales of their protests against roads through green belt land, anti vivisection protests and so on. One sunday I was chatting with this large Australian chap who frequented the place who introduced me to a couple of fairly well to do people who were excitedly talking about their "discoveries" and we were hastily ushered back to their nice house overlooking the Rovers footall ground. They were discussing some alternative shit whilst I perused the record collection (a habit I use to judge if people are ok) - anyway it was then we were ushered into into the basement for the true "discovery" which had them jumping around like jackrabbits - in the basement the guy produced a large road map of the area and showed us the route up from the A666 and had couloured in all the streets in felt tip pen round all the streets of Blackburn to look like one of the horsemen of the apocalypse! It was something a bored child would do, but they then proceeded to hold aloft a a necklace which everyone was invited to touch the hand from the holder to ask if they "Felt the power here" - the only thing I felt was a prize prat for even considering any of these people were serious.
(Waynster James Joyce is fucking my sister!, Thu 29 Sep 2005, 13:02, Reply)