Weds Film at Camberwell squat: Brixton Riots

[bluestreak]

http://www.56a.org.uk/warham.html

Wed Films: April 11th
BRIXTON UPRISINGS
1981 commemoration 26 years on!! Two movies, one old and one quite new...with speaker from the events at hand!!
7.30pm

anyone fancy it?

 

[Oula]

Sounds good. Any idea when it might finish?

 

[maes]

hmm that sounds good. yeah i'm up for it if i get enough work done before.

 

[William of Walworth]

Very local to me

Contemplating it! Not sure yet though ...

Interesting the connection (implicit in the Web address) beween this new (?) Camberwell Squatted Centre and the 56a Info Shop at Crampton Street ....

Or maybe the 56a website is just hosting details ...

 

[citydreams]

William, see here

Yeah, I'm in.

 

[William of Walworth]

Sorry. got lazy again ....

I'm out and about tomorrow night and I'm off South West for the weekend from Friday afternoon ... so once I got into the local after work, staying there for a second pint was just that bit too tempting, then I got hungry and came home ...

 

[bluestreak]

oh shitbollocks, i completely forgot about this... did anyone go?

 

[citydreams]

oh shitbollocks, i completely forgot about this... did anyone go?

Aye, it was a really good turn out (and popcorn was provided by the vat load).. They're thinking of showing it again as not everyone could get in. Not that it mattered much as there was a good vibe about, so there were many happy peeps sat outside drinking beer and chatting away.

I got chatting to a number of people who'd been involved with the riots in one way or another. On my side, my dad was a duty solicitor in Brixton so there were a lot of stories to be shared. Was a good way to spend the evening. Thinking of heading down there friday night for a bit of live music and a couple more beers.

e2a: Almost forgot.. apparently, the Brixton riots saw the very first use of petrol bombs on the mainland.

 

[Blagsta]

Too tired after work to go out again.

 

[yokerist]

well I did turn up was cool to see so many peeps there: I left after 2 minutes ya know stroll in the evening and then had some itral dinner:
Makes ya think we need more likkle squated social centres??
big time
come on someone get off the net and open another one up somewhere

 

[bluestreak]

Aye, it was a really good turn out (and popcorn was provided by the vat load).. They're thinking of showing it again as not everyone could get in. Not that it mattered much as there was a good vibe about, so there were many happy peeps sat outside drinking beer and chatting away.

I got chatting to a number of people who'd been involved with the riots in one way or another. On my side, my dad was a duty solicitor in Brixton so there were a lot of stories to be shared. Was a good way to spend the evening. Thinking of heading down there friday night for a bit of live music and a couple more beers.

e2a: Almost forgot.. apparently, the Brixton riots saw the very first use of petrol bombs on the mainland.

i'm busy tonight sadly. let me know next time you go down though, drop me a PM or summit.

 

[bluestreak]

well I did turn up was cool to see so many peeps there: I left after 2 minutes ya know stroll in the evening and then had some itral dinner:
Makes ya think we need more likkle squated social centres??
big time
come on someone get off the net and open another one up somewhere

it would be very cool wouldn't it. do we know any empty properties in brixton that look like they're going to be good material?

 

[pinewood]

frontline

By the way: Is Brixton still the front line?!?

 

[bluestreak]

nope, those days are long gone.

 

[Minnie_the_Minx]

Anything to do with this footage?

 

[Oula]

I think that was one of the films shown.

 

[detective-boy]

e2a: Almost forgot.. apparently, the Brixton riots saw the very first use of petrol bombs on the mainland.

Yeah, in relation to public disorder they did (they'd been used for standard arson purposes before). As a result the Met Public Order Training Unit at Hounslow Heath decided to include them in training ... I was in the very first shield unit to have one thrown at us in training. There was a white line we formed up on with our long shields, and a white circle into which the instructor lobbed a petrol bomb. The petrol and flames came right through under the shields and up the inside, scorching eyebrows and hair and setting my right boot on fire .... "Errr ..." said the instructor (a renowned pscyho ex-special forces lunatic) "... I think we need to put the circle a couple of feet further back!".

 

[Minnie_the_Minx]

Yeah, in relation to public disorder they did (they'd been used for standard arson purposes before). As a result the Met Public Order Training Unit at Hounslow Heath decided to include them in training ... I was in the very first shield unit to have one thrown at us in training. There was a white line we formed up on with our long shields, and a white circle into which the instructor lobbed a petrol bomb. The petrol and flames came right through under the shields and up the inside, scorching eyebrows and hair and setting my right boot on fire .... "Errr ..." said the instructor (a renowned pscyho ex-special forces lunatic) "... I think we need to put the circle a couple of feet further back!".

I hope you sued the Met for singeing your eyebrows

 

[Gramsci]

e2a: Almost forgot.. apparently, the Brixton riots saw the very first use of petrol bombs on the mainland.

Not sure about this.tried to check google to no avail.There was some petrol bombs but mostly it was bricks and buildings being set alight.

The police were not ready for it.By the time of the second riots they were tooled up.

The old Frontline went courtesy of Lambeth council who demolished most of it.Except the south end.

Central Brixton was perfectly safe.In fact drugdealing was confined to the Frontline unlike now where u get accosted in the market and outside KFC.

 

[detective-boy]

The police were not ready for it.

They were better prepared than in Notting Hill in the 70s (the old pictures of coppers with dustbin lids always vividly illustrate the absolute lack of readiness / training / equipment at that time) but there were very few shield equipped units (primarily the SPG) with an immediate response capability and the back-up serials (a) took forever to call out and deploy and (b) consisted of many officers who had never used a shield before.

Over the next few years that changed dramatically and since then most forces (certainly those in metropolitan areas) have maintained numbers of trained and equipped officers able to respond swiftly (the TSG in London, along with a much larger second level of response, properly trained and equipped, with a much swifter mobilisation plan from divisional duties).

The key in dealing with such disorder is to get more officers there to quell things quicker than the rioters can get help there to escalate it - in the 80s the police were coming second, since then (even with internet and other communications), they usually come first.

 

[clandestino]

The old Frontline went courtesy of Lambeth council who demolished most of it.Except the south end.

I always thought Railton Road was the frontline. Where was the frontline you're referring to?

 

[Gramsci]

The old frontline was the bit going from St Georges Residences towards Brixton.Theres a small row of shops there that used to be were the old Frontline was.

The Dexter playground was originally a victorian terrace (on both sides).At the end of Atlantic road the road split into Mayall road and Railton road.Both were Victorian terrace streets.

I believe the incident that kicked off the riots was actually in Atlantic road where there was a big off licence (opposite Neon where there is that restaurent that has been closed for a while).

 

[Gramsci]

They were better prepared than in Notting Hill in the 70s (the old pictures of coppers with dustbin lids always vividly illustrate the absolute lack of readiness / training / equipment at that time) but there were very few shield equipped units (primarily the SPG) with an immediate response capability and the back-up serials (a) took forever to call out and deploy and (b) consisted of many officers who had never used a shield before.

Over the next few years that changed dramatically and since then most forces (certainly those in metropolitan areas) have maintained numbers of trained and equipped officers able to respond swiftly (the TSG in London, along with a much larger second level of response, properly trained and equipped, with a much swifter mobilisation plan from divisional duties).

The key in dealing with such disorder is to get more officers there to quell things quicker than the rioters can get help there to escalate it - in the 80s the police were coming second, since then (even with internet and other communications), they usually come first.

If they were better prepared than Notting Hill i didnt notice.Still even im not old enough to remember Notting Hill.

I would of thought that the police (from a tactical point of view ) now invest more in intelligence gathering to forsee possible break down in "law and order". Take for example the Stop the City protests.They started off big but the police the next year seemed to be aware of what they would try and do.

Also whats curious about the first Brixton riot is that there were loads of police on the streets (Operation Swamp i think) .I remember it.The riot took them by surprise.And I think the size and quick spread of it did take everyone by surprise.Including the rioters.

Now i notice at any demo or possible "law and order" breakdown there are loads of cops parked up in vans around an area just in case.

 

[detective-boy]

Now i notice at any demo or possible "law and order" breakdown there are loads of cops parked up in vans around an area just in case.

Absolutely. And you're right about the infinitely better intelligence gathering - there was absolutely nothing back then.

 

[Thimble Queen]

Did the black frog ever find a new home?? This was only five mins walk away....