CHAOS ERUPTS AS KNOWN TROUBLEMAKERS STORM NEWCASTLE COUNCIL CHAMBER
It wasn’t really a very promising start; a ‘Save Our Libraries’ march from New Bridge Street to the Civic Centre in sub-zero temperatures along frozen pavements. Some not very new chants getting a not very enthsiastic response, perhaps because for some reason they made no mention of the Labour Party which controls Newcastle City and which is obligingly making drastic cuts on behalf of the Tories. Same as it ever was.
The two bizzies sent along to monitor the situation did off at the earliest opportunity, presumably for a nice bacon sarnie somewhere, and off we went up Northumberland Street; a hundred or so of us, which is a canny sized mob for Newcastle, specially with a good sprinkling of spikies. We got right up to the main entrance at the civic centre where we made a noise and blockaded the mayoral limo which had been left unattended tut tut.
Next we went to stand outside a big plate glass window to shout rude stuff at some blokes in suits on the other side. It was then that one of us discovered that the main doors were not locked. This is not what we had expected; previous attempts to storm the Civic had resulted in famous but frustrating incidents such as the Revolving Door Kettle and the Known Troublemakers Standoff. In we went!
The blokes in suits turned out not to be councillors or council workers; god knows why they were swanning about inside, but the one I spoke to was a right little sneering shit-in-a-suit who informed me that the cuts were necessary as there wasn’t any money and he could say this with authority because he was…wait for it…an accountant!!!
Fuckwit.
Anyway, the enraged placard waving mob is now on the ground floor. The council chamber is on the first floor and between us is a wide flight of stairs guarded by some security types who were repelling all boarders. Fortunately the SP had a broad and rather stout banner; we pushed up the stairs behind this sweeping aside all resistance. First floor, and there’s the entrance to the council chamber guarded only be a policeperson forlornly holding out her arms and another suit who couldn’t get the door locked in time. The hordes poured into the chamber!
Err…this wasn’t in the script. The room was largely unoccupied apart from some police cadets sitting in the front row who quickly exited stage right. Boldly, we went and sat in the councillors seats and had speeches. Being a broad front action, some of these were about how socialism in one country was possible or the need to build a new workers’ party. Somebody suggested that we should have an assembly about having a meeting to plan for an assembly to decide what to do next and somebody else reported that the councillors were happy for us to stay for their meeting provided we sat in the proper public chairs and not in theirs.
Nah! We weren’t going anywhere and were having out own council meeting! It was about now that this mad old git, (whose placard read “STORM THE WINTER PALACE NOW!!”), attemted to declare the formation of the Provisional Republic of Tyneside & Sunderland. A motion for free education for all was unanimously approved and apparently one of the Byker Ninjas was appointed as Commisar for Public Safety, although I missed the actual vote on that. Things then disintegrated a bit; some of the more liberal types complained about people swearing at the few councillors who had entered the room and people became more interested in the ample photo opportunities and having a go with the Official Council Hammer. As can be seen here:
http://i1104.photobucket.com/albums/h330/neapictures/stormthewinterpalace.jpg
So, having failed to locate the council vodka store, we retired to the pub, unmolested and in good order. Big grins and damn good pracise for the REAL THING.
