No Vigil For Julia. by Les May

ON the evening of 3 March 2021, 33-year-old Sarah Everard, disappeared in South London. She went missing after leaving a friend's house to walk home. On 10 March her remains were discovered in woodland near Ashford in Kent. A vigil for Sarah took place on Clapham Common on 13 March. Throughout the early part of the day, hundreds of people attended to pay their respects including the Duchess of Cambridge. Four people were arrested in the evening for breaching Covid 19 regulations.

On the afternoon of 27 April 2021, 53-year-old Julia James left her home to walk her dog. Just after 4.00 pm that day her body was discovered in woodland near Snowdown in Kent.

The group Reclaim These Streets which organised the Everard vigil seems to have decided to give this one a miss. I wonder why?

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Come Back Dominic All Is Forgiven by Les May

WHILST the strategy of attempting to argue that Mr. Cummings' conduct was within government guidelines is insulting and distressing to those who have made terrible sacrifices by staying indoors away from family, it also clears the "we're all in this together" smokescreen to reveal a political plane where different rules apply.

These are the words of Kirsty Brimelow QC in late May 2020. Whilst apologists like Boris Johnson, Grant Shaps and Matt Hancock took a different line these words are probably a good reflection of the feelings of a majority of people in this country.

On 6 January this year protesters at an anti-lockdown demonstration outside the Houses of Parliament were arrested. The day after, page 10 of the Daily Telegraph carried a large picture, 30x20cm, of an Asian lady being handcuffed behind her back by two police officers wearing surgical type masks. The male officer was wearing a body camera.

Above it was a six column wide article headed ‘Breach the rules and face fine, police warn’. Below it was another article also over six columns by Martin Hewitt who chairs the National Police Chief’s Council which included the words ‘… everyone should understand the rules in their area. We know, for example, that large gatherings should not be happening. Forces will continue to bear down on that very small minority who flagrantly and selfishly breach the regulations.’

Even the editorial in the Telegraph, which largely speaking opposes the lockdown, could not manage to produce an argument against this which went much further than complaining that it might penalise old people who might find the need to sit down on a convenient bench whilst taking their exercise.

On Saturday a bunch of women congregated on Clapham Common and four people were arrested for public order and coronavirus regulation breaches. They had gathered after an event organised by Reclaim These Streets was cancelled following talks with the Metropolitan Police, which said it would be in breach of coronavirus rules. In other words they knew exactly what they were doing and now are complaining they were badly treated, though it is difficult to see that they were being treated any differently to the lady at the demo on 6 January. As the character Fletcher said in the BBC TV series Porridge, ‘if you can’t do the time, don’t do the crime’.

Let’s not confuse what happened at Clapham Common with the very real threat to our right to use our streets and open spaces to protest. Since the murder of Sarah Everard ego-centric women have exploited what, by its very rarity, the random killing of a young woman walking home after dark, is a devastating and momentous crime, in order to pursue their own agenda against men and trying to spread a of fear of us amongst women. Would it have been even a nine day wonder if it had been a young man killed in a similar circumstances?

If those who support the idea of making misogyny a ‘hate crime’ get their way the same force that is now watching calls for its Commissioner to resign for the way that the Clapham Common incident was was dealt with, will be handed the job of policing the interaction of men and women in London’s streets. Will there be similar outrage if men find themselves faced with on the spot fines, and being handcuffed if they get stroppy, for an overheard comment that a touchy woman takes exception to?

If we are going to swallow the story that the police were wrong to intervene at a gathering when the people there knew it was in contravention of coronavirus rules, then we should be prepared to say we are sorry for all the nasty things we said about Dominic Cummings. The same rules that apply to me apply to women!

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Friends of Freedom Press: Next Meeting

THE next meeting of the Friends of Freedom Press (FFP) will either be next Monday the 15th, August, or the following Monday, the 22nd, August.  At the last meeting the new Friend, Carolyn Wilson, was hauled over the coals by another 'Friend' because she apparently misunderstood the purpose of the Friends of Freedom board.
For some time the so-called Collective has had the wrong idea that the Friends of Freedom were there to raise money for the benefit of the Freedom Bookshop boss, Andy Meinke, Simon Saunders and his other mates in the Collective 'Hangout'.  Ms. Wilson is a new girl on the block and does not yet grasp the ropes.  She is in fact the replacement 'Friend' for Richard Parry, who was removed after the Advisory Service for Squatters (ASS) now based at the Freedom Press building, complained that he had a 'conflict of interest':  Mr. Parry is representing the ASS at the Pitchford Enquiry.  Ms. Wilson is also represented at the Enquiry by Mike Schwarz from Bindmans solicitors:  she is categorised as a 'Social and environmental activist' with 'Reclaim the Streets'.
Despite his exclusion it seems that Mr. Parry actually nominated Ms. Wilson for his place on the Friends of Freedom Press.  Meanwhile, the Secretary of FFP Mr. Stephen Sorba nominated Jason Holdway who has some affiliation to the Solidarity Federation, an anarcho-syndicalist body.
Collective member, Simon Saunders, recorded Ms. Wilson's special performance in the attempt to exclude a participant at the Friends of Freedom Press AGM on Wednesday the 22nd, June, from presenting some proposals she, Mr. Andy Meinke and young Simon Saunders apparently disagreed with.

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