Leytonstone
During the 1990s we had a friend that was a big part of Reclaim the Streets and we went along a few times to East London to protest about the M11 extension that knocked down a whole lot of Leytonstone and the surrounding areas. I took part in a few 'actions' and appeared on the news almost falling out of a tree at one time.

What I loved most about protests was the strange mingling of art and defence: no one could make a barricade without it being turned into a sculpture. The best part was the giant tower known as Dolly, named after an old lady that had been forcibly evicted and gained the movement a lot of publicity. To prevent one of the houses being knocked down, the protesters built the tower out of random bits of scaffolding, emerging from its roof and climbing extremely high, a long way beyond the reach of the cherrypickers. It was very cool, and a very effective barrier too. Music was also a big part of the protest community - I still get a bit emotional remembering the impromptu drumming session that went on during one construction site occupation.

Now, of course, the motorway has been there for years and you'd never know it had ever been different. We've all shaved a few minutes off the drive to Cambridge and the congestion has been relocated south of the Blackwall Tunnel. Life goes on. Was the whole thing pointless? I don't think so.

The Stop the War protests finally proved to me that democracy is dead, and non-violent direct action really is the only thing that makes a difference: hold as many placards as you like, it's financial costs that actually cause people to re-think. How many road-building projects were shelved or improved as a result of the M11 (and Twyford Down and many other) protests, knowing that they might face similar problems and escalating costs? Would there be a green consensus these days without the Greenpeace activists of the 80's?

Of course, now I have a job and family, and with the anti-terror laws I'd have to think pretty hard before getting involved in anything like that again. It's a job for young people (The Rebel's Dilemma)
( flatfrog Staring vacantly into space, Mon 15 Nov 2010, 14:26, 4 replies)

claremont road?
we drove along the 'new' road (it'll always be new to me) the other weekend and I was thinking about that. different times....
( janet aylia y'all motherfuckers need jesus, Mon 15 Nov 2010, 21:58, closed)

Yes, that was the one
There were some others, but Claremont Road was the hub of it.
( flatfrog Staring vacantly into space, Tue 16 Nov 2010, 9:22, closed)

i will (only slightly) shamefacedly admit to being part of the Chelmsford Freedom Network....
run by Andy Abbott. lots of benefit gigs and demos. happy days.
( janet aylia y'all motherfuckers need jesus, Tue 16 Nov 2010, 12:16, closed)

Oh Jesus I remember this lot.
I remember a hippy I'd met called Pog being on the news, playing his stupid mandolin, and singing a song that went "Have you seen the fairy folk, the fairy folk? They live here too and they don't want to die", and finishing in vere srs manner "Do you like this planet? Do you want to see it go up in smoke?!"

Jesus Christ drugs have got a lot to answer for.
( Je suis un vagabond is an unfunny, up your own arse middle class knob, Tue 16 Nov 2010, 10:34, closed)