One for people living in Hackney near mare street - the squat that has appeared

1. Grits & Pollen
   
   

1. Glass of water
   

1. Glass of water
   
   

Ice and sugar

I listen to that album still. [closer]

That's so old hat. You sound morose.

It aint called 'mare street for nuthin.

I wonder if there are any elm trees on Mare Street. If there were, someone could do a film called 'Night elm on Mare Street'.

that's terrible oli

oh skully
you and your spice girl lyrics
face facts, they are no more skully, stop denying it

At least Skully has Glee now.

that's terrible oli

What did you expect?

The people in there are really nice and friendly. They also appear randomly in London fields giving out free food.

1. Grits & pollen
   
   

pmsl

Sounds interesting I love the idea of squats as a community project type thing they are amazing in Berlin

They are, if you get used to the smell of urine.

I love the idea of squats

clenches fists

They are, if you get used to the smell of urine.

They are not all like that some have waiting lists of years to get a place and are communitys rather than a load of piss stained loafers.

clenches fists

Harsh tactical quote!

Was refering to the ligitimised sort in east Berlin where the government gave disused buildings to people/projects, and they were expected to repair and upkeep them etc in return.

I do not condone squatting.

Squatting comes in many forms. There were some muppets recently who 'squatted' a family home while the family were on holiday. Not good. There are extremely dreadful squats and absolutely wonderful ones that give a lot to the community. It all depends on who the people are and how it's run. You can still disagree with the principle, but I for one welcome the fact that it's still possible.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Squatting#United_Kingdom

They are not all like that some have waiting lists of years to get a place and are communitys rather than a load of piss stained loafers.

I know, I know.
I've been to Berlin, I understand the difference, but in general it's not attractive when you over 30 and have your own family. There are some good squats (or rather proper communes) and there are some which are just glorified crackhouses.

Not everyone understands the idea. Some think of them as an alternative to a free youth hostel, where you can go when you feel like, do some drugs or get drunk, crash there, take a piss in the corner etc.

Not sure how I feel about squats/communes generally, but that's neither here nor there

Anyhoo, I was walking passed the Mare st Squat building yesterday evening at about 8pm, and the usual placards and general signs of life had disappeared. Is the building no longer a squat, does anybody know? It looked like there was some building work going on, and there was a portaloo in the front yard. Was just wondering...

Maybe this chap had sent his friends round for a 'welding class'.

I don't like parties, they avoid the truth.

^one for the EMOs

• attendees of Michael Barrymore's
  

Harsh tactical quote!

Was refering to the ligitimised sort in east Berlin where the government gave disused buildings to people/projects, and they were expected to repair and upkeep them etc in return.

I do not condone squatting.

Do you mean the Autonomes? I got the impression that they moved into the vast number of empty buildings in E Berlin, and then simply couldn't be shifted out. Everyone was terrified of the Black Block in the early 1990s.

As for squatters, I haven't got a problem with the principal of political squatting, particualrly as utilisiation of housing stock in London is so shockingly poor. I find however that often, there are problems with behaving considerately of others, which I find weird as one would expect anarchists to be good neighbours - 'think locally, fuck globally' and all that. However when I was lviing at my last flat, the old dear next door got carted off due to dementia, and within a few days the most reprehensible pack of eastern european scum had broken into the place and were beating the shit out of each other at 3am every night. Once the police finally went to check it out, they cleared off and we thought the issue was over. However they conned a lovely polish couple into moving in and paying them rent (they told them that they were the agents of the owner), the council then evicted the couple (3 weeks after the woman gave birth) and then lost interest, so some of the scummers moved back in, and it was more of the same, only they now appeared to have some south american prostitutes in tow too who they beat regularly. Last time I checked the house had finally been boarded up (I now live around the corner). So yes, I would be interested in experiencing alternative versions of squatting as my current experience has been poor.

I was around when they threw squatters out of the council block in Labrunum Street a few weeks ago. Counted 20 + stolen bikes. The thing that annoyed me was that despite, piercings, dreads etc they all seemed to be middle class kids.

starfish -

how do you know the bikes were stolen?

I was around when they threw squatters out of the council block in Labrunum Street a few weeks ago. Counted 20 + stolen bikes. The thing that annoyed me was that despite, piercings, dreads etc they all seemed to be middle class kids.

What made you think they were stolen?

I played at a charity all-dayer at that Mare St place a few weeks back. Seemed like a good place, they have a really good setup for live music - healthy sound system, one of the biggest stages I've been on in a while. Bit of a wierd vibe towards the end though, a lot of very drunk punks will do that though I guess.

491 Gallery in Leytonstone is a great place, they have a gallery space (dur) cheap rehersal space and run cheap nights and community events. I know the people there and they are all very creatively motivated.

yes it could be that about 7 kids owned twenty plus bikes, and that they kept them all inside their squat. they probably bought bikes all of different kinds and different sizes as they enjoyed a bit of variety. it could also be that they had bought the numerous different tellys, sets of speakers, hi fi's, computer equipment, power tools etc. you never know when you might need a 15 tellys at the same time.

yes it could be that about 7 kids owned twenty plus bikes, and that they kept them all inside their squat. they probably bought bikes all of different kinds and different sizes as they enjoyed a bit of variety. it could also be that they had bought the numerous different tellys, sets of speakers, hi fi's, computer equipment, power tools etc. you never know when you might need a 15 tellys at the same time.

Having squatted a few years back, knowing a lot of squatters, and having done serious academic research on squatting cultures and politics, you're jumping to huge, huge conclusions with little or no evidence.

A lot of squatters fix stuff up. A lot of squatters fix other people's stuff up for free or food, including bikes. A lot of squatters, because they don't always have jobs, scrounge things left in skips, on road-sides etc and make them usable again for themselves or others. A lot of squatters are very arty and make installations with the stuff they find (e.g. TVs that don't work any more). A lot of squatters actually own expensive stuff (e.g. sound systems) that they shift from squat to squat. I could go on all day.

Don't make assumptions about a group of people who you clearly have no knowledge of whatsoever. There is a tiny chance that they are horrible scumbag bike thieves, but to assume that they are is just really shoddy.