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Farewell Camp Bling, our job here is done (From Echo)
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Farewell Camp Bling, our job here is done
8:00am Wednesday 24th June 2009
IT WAS a four-year lifestyle of tree-top homes and nature on the doorstep, but now Camp Bling is moving on.
Campaigners had been living on the site to prevent Southend Council from pushing ahead with plans to widen Priory Crescent, but when the council backed down earlier this year, Camp Bling began to come down.
Protesters have been dismantling the camp, which consists of 17 makeshift wooden huts and tree houses. But they are far from sad the camp – which for many has been their home – is being taken down.
Nadine Bourne, 26, lived at the site for a year and now lives in Bristol.
She said: “Life at the camp could be tough – there were ups and downs. There was abuse from passers-by. But it didn’t last long, and we had lots of support from the community.
“I don’t feel sad the camp is coming down, it is actually really positive. It has been a success and achieved what it set out to do.”
People on the camp tried to make life as harmonious as possible, with Blingers living a “low impact” lifestyle using recycled material, and solar and wind energy. The site even has its own cat, Ginger.
The base started out as just one platform in a tree covered with tarpaulin, but it soon grew into a mini-village – which should be completely gone by the end of July.
And these green campaigners are taking the meaning of recycling to the next level, as some of the material used to create Camp Bling is being taken to another protest site at Titnore woods, Worthing, West Sussex, where people are campaigning against Tesco.
Shaun Qureshi, 37, one of the founding members of Bling, said soon no one would know they were ever there.
He said: “We are doing it as sympathetically as possible to minimise the impact.
“All that can be seen from the huts we have taken down is a patch of soil, which we dig over. Grass is already growing back.”
The campaign to stop the road began eight years ago, before Camp Bling, but for many of the Blingers the camp has shaped their lives.
Shaun added: “We are not necessarily expecting people to agree with us, but it is good to see something like this in the local community. It shows things don’t have to be the way they are – we all have choices and we have to be prepared to face up to the consequences of those choices.
“A lot of material is being reused and recycled. Ideally we are avoiding landfill. A lot of the stuff here was second-hand when we got it.
“There is a lot of nature here, but I have a feeling the council will come and strim it within an inch of its life.
Shaun has not made up his mind about what to do next. He added: “We need to look at the way we live. We need to be aware of peak oil and climate change.”
The determined protesters first set up the camp in 2005, following the discovery of a Saxon king’s burial ground on the site.
The name of the camp took its inspiration from the Sun newspaper, which dubbed the Saxon king buried in the tomb the King of Bling, because gold crosses were found during the archaeological dig.
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Your Say YourEcho
Rick Jones, Southend-on-Sea says...
10:20am Wed 24 Jun 09
DannyK86 wrote:So true most were from outside Southend so it had jack all to do with them.
So it seems the vast majority are moving elsewhere to other protests or back where they came from, despite their claims that most of them were 'locals'.
"Shaun has not made up his mind about what to do next"
apart form (to the tune of Your never walk alone)
Sign on sign on with pen in hand and he will never get a job He will never get a job...
Jaq, sos says...
10:38am Wed 24 Jun 09
Again nobody plans to sign on either, most of the residents worked in local jobs whilst there and will simply continue to do so from their main homes rather than from Bling.
Oh and you forgot to mention council tax this time, so ill answer anyway, yes they all continue to pay in on their non bling homes!
jq, Shoeburyness says...
10:55am Wed 24 Jun 09
last night and there was a bloody great fire burning there, thats not my kind of recycling, And far from the Council backing down from this scum, more the case of the government closing up the chq book
farnishk, says...
10:55am Wed 24 Jun 09
How bizarre.
farnishk, says...
11:00am Wed 24 Jun 09
Which of the three options do you choose, JQ?
Quercus, Westcliff on Sea says...
11:07am Wed 24 Jun 09
Soozie, Southend on sea says...
11:20am Wed 24 Jun 09
farnishk wrote:I will miss the friendly waves from you 'Blingers' now you are going.
Rick, does *your* job have a net positive or negative effect on society as a whole? The whole "get a job" thing is meaningless. I experienced this when I was picking berries at Bling. I had enough to make two pies, with loads left over on the bushes: then someone drove past in a white van screaming "GET A JOB!" I guess that would be in order to earn money to buy food. How bizarre.
Good luck with whatever you all decide to do. I think all of you that stuck it out in the face of a of adversity and abuse from those who did not understand (but very quick to beak off) admirable.
evilc, essex says...
11:22am Wed 24 Jun 09
Soozie, Southend on sea says...
11:28am Wed 24 Jun 09
evilc wrote:who you talking to evilc?
P155 off!you do not speak for me.
Soozie, Southend on sea says...
11:29am Wed 24 Jun 09
evilc wrote:who you talking to evilc?
P155 off!you do not speak for me.
GavtheSpav, Southend says...
11:46am Wed 24 Jun 09
Don South, says...
12:17pm Wed 24 Jun 09
A walking 'biological' weapon to overpower by body odour any construction workers that ventured near.
At long last they can remove four years of built up grime from thie bodies and join normal society.
Many residents had complained of smells coming from the nearby waste treatment works - not realising it was the stench of the protesters.
Soozie, Southend on sea says...
12:26pm Wed 24 Jun 09
Don South wrote:I sincerely doubt that Don. If you want real proof of stinky unwashed filthy people - half the commuters into London can't be bothered to wash on a daily if not weekly basis. Ugh
There are some protesters who vowed not to wash until they achieved victory. A walking 'biological' weapon to overpower by body odour any construction workers that ventured near. At long last they can remove four years of built up grime from thie bodies and join normal society. Many residents had complained of smells coming from the nearby waste treatment works - not realising it was the stench of the protesters.
If that is what you want to call normal society, I wonder what abnormal is.
streaky, leigh says...
12:35pm Wed 24 Jun 09
spudgun2007, Little Wakering says...
12:35pm Wed 24 Jun 09
evilc, essex says...
12:38pm Wed 24 Jun 09
Soozie wrote:Soozie my dear it certainly aint meant for you.
evilc wrote:who you talking to evilc?
P155 off!you do not speak for me.
'Your my favourite'
It is to the tree huggers.
Rick Jones, Southend-on-Sea says...
12:56pm Wed 24 Jun 09
farnishk, My job is in insurance *Rick ducks for cover* I would say it has a positive effect on those that are effected by the type of insurance it is I am also a claims assessor *Rick ducks for more cover* its in shipping and aviation.
DannyK86, Leigh says...
1:15pm Wed 24 Jun 09
I would love his lifestyle, but I happen to hate berries and nettle tea and so have to work to buy tasty food.
Partyboy2, Southchurch village says...
1:16pm Wed 24 Jun 09
streaky wrote:Gonna have to be quick or it will have pikey's on it before long!
Now these wasters have left the site (back to their homes all over the place), can we widen the road?
GavtheSpav, Southend says...
1:19pm Wed 24 Jun 09
atwork, says...
1:23pm Wed 24 Jun 09
And also...it doesnt make you a tree hugger just because you dont want a dirty great road through a park!!
southendmechanic, southend on sea says...
1:35pm Wed 24 Jun 09
Rick Jones, Southend-on-Sea says...
1:41pm Wed 24 Jun 09
atwork wrote:So the labour govenment have not bust the country and there is not a recession and the contry is not going to hell in a hand cart...
i would like to say a MASSIVE thank you to the people of camp bling! You won :), there is no real use for the road and if it was up to certain people the whole country would end up as one big motorway. So im very proud that there are people who care about what happens to the area. They certainly wasnt on the dol or all the other nasty comments people decided to put, you shouldnt be so sterotypical! Least these people are doing a good cause!!! :). And also...it doesnt make you a tree hugger just because you dont want a dirty great road through a park!!
The project was scrapped because the govenment did not have the money to fund it end of.
Partyboy2, Southchurch village says...
1:59pm Wed 24 Jun 09
Rick Jones wrote:I will laugh my a** off if pikies move in on the land. Then the supportive locals will be crying out for it to be tarmac'd. Probably get it done on the cheap too!
atwork wrote: i would like to say a MASSIVE thank you to the people of camp bling! You won :), there is no real use for the road and if it was up to certain people the whole country would end up as one big motorway. So im very proud that there are people who care about what happens to the area. They certainly wasnt on the dol or all the other nasty comments people decided to put, you shouldnt be so sterotypical! Least these people are doing a good cause!!! :). And also...it doesnt make you a tree hugger just because you dont want a dirty great road through a park!!So the labour govenment have not bust the country and there is not a recession and the contry is not going to hell in a hand cart... The project was scrapped because the govenment did not have the money to fund it end of.
Soozie, Southend on sea says...
2:03pm Wed 24 Jun 09
Rick Jones wrote:Wrongo Rick. The money was there at that time, now the money is not there.
atwork wrote: i would like to say a MASSIVE thank you to the people of camp bling! You won :), there is no real use for the road and if it was up to certain people the whole country would end up as one big motorway. So im very proud that there are people who care about what happens to the area. They certainly wasnt on the dol or all the other nasty comments people decided to put, you shouldnt be so sterotypical! Least these people are doing a good cause!!! :). And also...it doesnt make you a tree hugger just because you dont want a dirty great road through a park!!So the labour govenment have not bust the country and there is not a recession and the contry is not going to hell in a hand cart... The project was scrapped because the govenment did not have the money to fund it end of.
However Camp Bling held their ground from day 1 and never gave up. Good on them! They set out to accomplish something and did. I wonder if you can say the same thing?
This town doesn't need more or wider roads. It needs more people to get out of their cars and walking. This small island is choked with pollution, acres upon acres of unsold cars.
Sometimes you need to give credit where credit is due rather than jumping on people who have a cause and stick to it no matter what!
GavtheSpav, Southend says...
3:40pm Wed 24 Jun 09
Jaq, sos says...
4:10pm Wed 24 Jun 09
"dole sponger" stereotype, I had the pleasure of walking around Basildon town centre this lunch break, and from the pram pushing teen mums n dads and various other often obese and loud obvious non workers, smoking away and shopping for clubbing outfits whilst their kids screamed that i encountered i can only assume that there is a far easier way to live off the state than being at bling, ive said this many times before, and nobody cares to answer, maybe a few of you can now.... Rik? : why would we choose to live there if we had access to housing benefits and incomes support to get us housed, why in this day of the nanny state would we not claim benefits for a cosy flat if all we wanted was to freeload?
As for our assumed need to get a wash....mmmmm well Don it might interest you to know my oh so corporate employer kindly subsidised by membership of an expensive health club in Southend throughout my time at Bling, so you see some of those who insulted our lack of hygeine probably shared my bathtub in the jacuzzi! oh dear is that bubbles or pikey dust?
Maybe ill give up campaigning to keep what little green space we have left for you people and your kids to enjoy, and take up politics instead, ive heard the perks are very good and the and the public vilification nothing compared to Bling!
fletch12107, southchurch says...
4:45pm Wed 24 Jun 09
bumper, sorry its not my town or village says...
4:54pm Wed 24 Jun 09
Mildlyconservative, Southchurch Village says...
4:55pm Wed 24 Jun 09
....................
...............There
's a good chap..............
Jaq, sos says...
4:57pm Wed 24 Jun 09
The numer of petitions, letters and other objections to this road , not to mention Echo polls etc proved beyond doubt that the majority of local people did not want the road, so seeing it cancelled is democracy and the will of the people in force!
Mildlyconservative, Southchurch Village says...
5:08pm Wed 24 Jun 09
Partyboy2, Southchurch village says...
5:09pm Wed 24 Jun 09
Jaq wrote:Did the number of people driving past shouting abuse at you not tell you that the majority of people didnt want you there stinking the place out? The only reason there were more letters of objection was because of all the non working, non driving folk who actually have the time to write letters and camp in trees. I think you would find 'average Joe' would prefer a faster route into and out of Southend meaning they could get to work and back quicker and maybe improve their quality of life slightly.
fletch do you really believe that, given the state of our current democracy? I really wish we were a minority group like those you mention, we would then get plenty of Govt hand outs and anti discrimination protection from the kind of abuse we have to take! The numer of petitions, letters and other objections to this road , not to mention Echo polls etc proved beyond doubt that the majority of local people did not want the road, so seeing it cancelled is democracy and the will of the people in force!
TaoMark, Southend says...
5:49pm Wed 24 Jun 09
But why don't you all carry on with your self-focused, patronising, misinformed and ego-centric comments, as long as it makes you feel big and clever.
firedog, Southend-on-sea says...
7:30pm Wed 24 Jun 09
PS I bet if they lived west of priory cresent and needed the fire brigade in a hurry they would want a wider road.
Grey hair of leigh, on Sea says...
7:44pm Wed 24 Jun 09
fletch12107, southchurch says...
7:50pm Wed 24 Jun 09
Jaq wrote:You people who squatted on the land known as camp bling were a minority in every sense of the word. You cant quote figures about polls and letters of objections because there are no figures so do not use that as a reason for being on that land illegally. You were a few people who didn't think that widening a road was in YOUR best interest and had the time to sit around spouting YOUR take on things. Perhaps the reason the state of our democracy is not all it should be is down to your minority group and others like taking matters into your own hands.
fletch do you really believe that, given the state of our current democracy? I really wish we were a minority group like those you mention, we would then get plenty of Govt hand outs and anti discrimination protection from the kind of abuse we have to take! The numer of petitions, letters and other objections to this road , not to mention Echo polls etc proved beyond doubt that the majority of local people did not want the road, so seeing it cancelled is democracy and the will of the people in force!
TaoMark, Southend says...
8:32pm Wed 24 Jun 09
TaoMark, Southend says...
8:54pm Wed 24 Jun 09
Francis Grubb, Westcliff says...
9:54pm Wed 24 Jun 09
Well done Camp Bling - you stopped what common sense failed to do.
Frank
tommyp, Southend on Sea says...
10:21pm Wed 24 Jun 09
I live very close to Camp Bling, and for the last few weeks a collarless ginger cat keeps visiting me for food.
Just checking he is being taken care of.
fletch12107, southchurch says...
5:54am Thu 25 Jun 09
southendmechanic, southend on sea says...
6:49am Thu 25 Jun 09
GavtheSpav, Southend says...
10:30am Thu 25 Jun 09
TaoMark, Southend says...
10:36am Thu 25 Jun 09
And southendmechanic, the site clearance hasn't been completed yet. Why not save your comments until after they've finished, then see what the site looks like compared to what it was before the blingers moved in. Or can anyone remember what an eyesore it was then?
DannyK86, Leigh says...
10:54am Thu 25 Jun 09
TaoMark wrote:It's well known that people who actually respond to newspaper polls are those more likely to have negative views (e.g. if the Daily Mail has a poll saying 'what do you think about immigrants?', it's not exactly going to be balanced is it?).
Fletch, for someone who posts on an Echo site, you seem to have missed the polls conducted by this paper. If you want figures, the ones that have been published and you seem to have overlooked, just ask. I'm sure they have archives or something. Similarly, the council and department for transport will have a record of all objections and it's your democratic right to find out the figures. So don't use the lame and incorrect excuse that there are no figures, because there are. Just involves getting off your bum and asking.
Leave decisions on roads to professionals from planning and highways services.
GavtheSpav, Southend says...
10:58am Thu 25 Jun 09
TaoMark, Southend says...
11:10am Thu 25 Jun 09
DannyK86 wrote:As opposed to people who live in the area, you mean? In that case, why don't we just let the council buy up all the land that isn't theirs and build what they like on it? Second homes for all the politicians perhaps? In this current climate of sponging, nest-feathering MPs, are you really suggesting that they are the only people who can be trusted to make a decision that isn't self-serving?
TaoMark wrote:It's well known that people who actually respond to newspaper polls are those more likely to have negative views (e.g. if the Daily Mail has a poll saying 'what do you think about immigrants?', it's not exactly going to be balanced is it?).
Fletch, for someone who posts on an Echo site, you seem to have missed the polls conducted by this paper. If you want figures, the ones that have been published and you seem to have overlooked, just ask. I'm sure they have archives or something. Similarly, the council and department for transport will have a record of all objections and it's your democratic right to find out the figures. So don't use the lame and incorrect excuse that there are no figures, because there are. Just involves getting off your bum and asking.
Leave decisions on roads to professionals from planning and highways services.
Should we conveniently forget things like council members sitting on the board of directors for a company responsible for regenerating Southend through building developments paid for with public money and authorised by...hang on, the council! What a perfect example of why we SHOULDN'T blindly accept what they tell us is for the best. Roll over and bark to their tune, that's a good boy!
A lot of people have mentioned the legality of the blinger's residence on the land yet conveniently overlook the fact that the land doesn't belong to the council either. Didn't stop them wanting to build a road over it though!
farnishk, says...
11:47am Thu 25 Jun 09
As for the skips, there are some things you can't recycle or burn. Yes, there was a lot of stuff on site and a fair few structures, but just because it wasn't all neatly lined up in a row like so many Wimpy clone homes with block-paved driveways, two cars and a manicured lawn, it is deemed "offensive" by those who have been conditioned only to trust what the dominant culture tells us is right.
Not sure if links work here, but I'll try: here is a free book that I would encourage you to read - it says a lot more than I could fit in here:
www.amatterofscale.c
om
farnishk, says...
11:48am Thu 25 Jun 09
http://www.amatterof
scale.com
DannyK86, Leigh says...
11:56am Thu 25 Jun 09
I'm all for buildings having a bit of character, but reconstructing inner-city Nairobi isn't necessarily the best way to go about it!
farnishk, says...
2:46pm Thu 25 Jun 09
Soozie, Southend on sea says...
4:07pm Thu 25 Jun 09
farnishk wrote:I can't see you leaving the place in bad shape...after all it would defeat part of why you were there.
Well, it was always meant to be temporary, Danny, and has left a minimal impact on the ground. Nature always found its way under and in the structures. There was also a strict "no tents" rule, which really helped keep things in order. Also, don't forget that these were *very* small living spaces by civilised standards; the inside was worn out, as it were. No back gardens, lofts or garages to stow stuff away in. I think, all things considered, it was a pretty tidy place.
Ignore those who seem hell on continuing on with their vitriol.
You all can certainly walk away with your heads held high about what you accomplished.
Well done Camp Blingers!
Mildlyconservative, Southchurch Village says...
5:26pm Thu 25 Jun 09
Quercus, Westcliff on Sea says...
6:22pm Thu 25 Jun 09
Do you mean all those people in denial who are sleepwalking into the post-peak oil age?
DannyK86, Leigh says...
12:04pm Fri 26 Jun 09
Quercus wrote:Regardless of the decline of oil as a fuel and commodity, we will still need cars in future. Already we're seeing a huge shift towards more fuel-efficient cars and petrol/electric hybrids. Over the next 2 decades hybrids, electric cars and )hopefully) hydrogen fuel cell cars are going to become more and more common and should replace petrol vehicles. People are still going to need to get about and it's evident that public transport infrastructure is going to be woefully ill-equipped for a long time yet. Hence building more roads is not necessarily a dead end in terms of sustainable transport - think abotu the future rather than the now!
> Here come the dozers Do you mean all those people in denial who are sleepwalking into the post-peak oil age?
farnishk, says...
1:08pm Fri 26 Jun 09
The system doesn't want to change (we don't want to change), which is why we still think we *need* cars. Reality check: we *want* cars, and foreign holidays, and plasma screens, and patio heaters, and cheap clothes, and cheap food, and cheap lives. It's all we have known because it's rammed down our throats, in our ears and in our eyes from birth.
No wonder people get angry when an alternative is suggested...
DannyK86, Leigh says...
1:33pm Fri 26 Jun 09
It seems you want us all to return to some form of non-existent pre-industrial idyll in which everybody danced around maypoles and never had to worry about being hungry or cold. As a former fellow ex-geography student (I've been doing my homework on you!) you should know that living conditions were hard and life expenctancies low.
Evidently you're some sort of doom-mongering neo-Malthusian and underestimate the power of the human spirit of innovation. Yes, you raise important issues about the importance of sustainable development, but you seem to think that it would be possible for everybody on a global scale to live like people in Camp Bling (hint: the computer you're evidently using for your internet campaigns wouldn't exist if it weren't for the industrialisation of the developing world).
As a geographer I'd also have expected you to have a more global view, with the realisation that if carbon emissions and resource consumption are to be curbed, there are far bigger global players that need to be acted against rather than the UK.
Not trying to attack you, but just wondering why you hold some overly simplistic views when you're clearly quite an educated person.
Tone-Fu, Southchurch says...
2:45pm Fri 26 Jun 09
Also, for the record, it's:
"You'll Never Walk Alone"
YNWA.
Annyetta, Westcliff-on-Sea says...
7:46am Sat 27 Jun 09
I would love to think we lived in a democratic country but alas, it is not true. You only have to look at the local council's policies on planning permission. Unless democracy means those with the largest amount of money & power win the day! I live very close to two seafront buildings which despite being opposed, have sailed through planning, brown envelopes exchanged no doubt!
southendmechanic, southend on sea says...
4:59pm Sat 27 Jun 09
farnishk, says...
2:34pm Tue 30 Jun 09
And what will power the cathodic reaction to produce the hydrogen?
Please read what you just said, Danni. If everyone lived like the people on Bling then humanity might stand a chance of survival - think about the difference in energy requirements, building materials, consumer goods, food (virtually everything freshly cooked in bulk), water (strictly rationed for washing, drinking and cooking only) etc. Compare this to the average civilised person.
I have no idea where you got the impression I was only interested in the UK - I just happen to live here. But at least you read the blurb on my web site (not exactly homework).
Oh, and if there wasn't a global problem, I wouldn't need to use the internet - but there is, so I do. I would love it to be otherwise, but given how much the establishment owns global communications, it would be idiotic not to use the same tools to fight back.
Signed and sealed – taking down Camp Bling
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DannyK86, Leigh says...
9:14am Wed 24 Jun 09