# Anarcho-Camping in Slab Square



## JHE (Oct 22, 2011)

I passed through Nottingham's Old Market Square earlier this evening and saw the tents, people and slogans.

Though I had a good look and a bit of a read, I can't pretend to understand this protest well. The slogan on a banner waved about when I was there - "CHANGE!" - was not very helpful, but I gather, mainly from the flags, that this little camp consists of, or at least includes, some benign (and very peaceable) Anarcho-Wotsits and is in solidarity with, among others, the protesters in Noo Yoik and outside St Paul's in London.

OK, well... I wish the campers good luck! I hope it is not too uncomfortable or cold.


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## Supine (Oct 26, 2011)

I walked past at 7am and the little bunnies were all still tucked up in their tents 

I'm also not sure what they are about. I noticed one sign comparing the Dale Farm eviction to ethnic cleansing, which seemed slightly OTT.

Notts cops are being ok with them. Fair play.


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## Supine (Nov 10, 2011)

I saw the council delivering water to them this morning. I was pleasantly surprised


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## JHE (Feb 29, 2012)

The campers were served with an eviction notice earlier this week.  I'm not sure why the council's attitude has changed.

http://www.thisisnottingham.co.uk/N...sters-served/story-15333519-detail/story.html


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## stuff_it (Feb 29, 2012)

JHE said:


> The campers were served with an eviction notice earlier this week. I'm not sure why the council's attitude has changed.
> 
> http://www.thisisnottingham.co.uk/N...sters-served/story-15333519-detail/story.html


 
Probably so they can start putting in big ferris wheels and fake beaches for summer.... apparently there has also been some concern with policing piss heads etc, did you notice the tents with the knife slashes round the edge of the encampment? And wasn't there another Occupy eviction in another town this week? I'm guessing the council are also being leaned on to do something about it from above though, they've always been pretty lenient round here to protests and that.


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## JHE (Feb 29, 2012)

I haven't seen any signs of knife attacks, no, but I have noticed the way that the encampment now has boarding all the way round and I guessed that was to protect the tents.  I assumed - perhaps wrongly - that this was to protect against thieves.  Come to think of it, perhaps that's the same thing.  If you want to burgle a tent, I suppose you slash it with a knife.

The wretched 'Nottingham Eye' and the big sandpit/pseudo-beach thing (which I have to admit is a good thing, even though I don't like it) are many months away.


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## stuff_it (Feb 29, 2012)

JHE said:


> I haven't seen any signs of knife attacks, no, but I have noticed the way that the encampment now has boarding all the way round and I guessed that was to protect the tents. I assumed - perhaps wrongly - that this was to protect against thieves. Come to think of it, perhaps that's the same thing. If you want to burgle a tent, I suppose you slash it with a knife.
> 
> The wretched 'Nottingham Eye' and the big sandpit/pseudo-beach thing (which I have to admit is a good thing, even though I don't like it) are many months away.


There's a big dome tent opposite the entrance of Debenhams with slashes in the roof and a really badly done gaffer tape repair in it. It's not like Shottingham isn't known for a bit or argy bargy in the street on the weekend up the city. You wouldn't have been able to get at the people or stuff in the tent from that far up, I can only presume it was cunts trying to terrorise people or make them get rained on. 

They already have regular people on 'night watch' and the boards have been there for a few months.


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## JHE (Mar 22, 2012)

They've got at least another two weeks before they are evicted.

I walked by the camp this morning. The number of tents in the camp seemed less depleted than it had the last time I had a look.

I had a look at the various signs they have put up and there are a couple of things that rub me up the wrong way.

*Think! It's not illegal yet!*​*Face reality! It's better than being in denial!*​​Leaving aside the strange (though jokey) paranoia of the suggestion that thinking may be made illegal, what gets up my nose is our urban campers' apparent belief that _they_ think and _they_ face reality, while the rest of us don't think and are 'in denial'. What superior people they must be! What deluded sheep-like fools ordinary people are!​


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## pppPenguin (Mar 24, 2012)

Tried asking them what they were up to near to the time they all started camping out, was treated like shite.

Asked what they were protesting against, was told something about police cameras being everywhere before a panicked word of 'taxes' and no other reasonable explanation. They might have been threatened before I got there, but they treated me like absolute shite for showing an interest in them. I assume that's what they wanted, interest. Went to ask another fellow who seemed okay, offered me some nice wine and said something about the NHS, but none of them went into much depth. The guys I asked originally came back to threaten me with violence.

Absolutely certain they have or had no idea what they were doing, it was just a cool thing to do. 

Aside from that there were a few demonstrations outside Primark and other such places in Derby. Saw the same people on the news occupying banks and getting arrested. None of those guys were present at occupy Nottingham. 

Left me with a very sour taste in my mouth.


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## JHE (Apr 26, 2012)

Well, they've gone.  They left on Sunday evening, I believe, saying that (i) they can't afford the lawyers' fees to fight the eviction and (ii) they would become a roving bunch of campaigners and pop up in other town centres in the region.

I still don't know why the council got arsey in the end, but I shall not miss the urban campers and find it difficult to believe they were doing any good.

On the other hand, I don't think they were doing any harm and am very sceptical about the claims that we (taxpayers) are paying many thousands of pounds for the camp.  It cannot cost that much to clean up after the campers.  They weren't a very messy lot.  I reckon that figure used (did they claim £12,000?), if it's not simply invented, probably includes the cost of legal fees for the council's moves to evict the campers.  It would have been cheaper to tolerate the harmless scruffs indefinitely.


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