Last years the Big Green Gathering was cancelled 'for safety reasons'. Compliance with the Security Industry Act meant all security staff had to be individually licensed. The costs of the event rocketed and meant organisers had to pan handle for donations from previous punters. Despite these setbacks this years event was set to go ahead until - two days before the start of this years festy that is. 'Worries' from the cuntish Somerset County Council about 'Public safety' have scandalously seen Somerset Pigs camped out on the site chasing away potential troublemakers / terrorists I mean ticketholders.
What are they (the authorities) doing? Why are they blatently targeting such an ostensibly innocuous event; an event where naked hippies ride bareback on Shire horses, where mud baths and magic hat saunas abound, where children frolic freely and safely, where cranks converge and swap dubious therapies????
The answer is obvious: the radical fringe. Well it's not so much a fringe it's an integral part of the event. Shnews are always there, Indymedia, Climate Camp ran a bar there a while back etc: there's lots of DIY stuff. In other words it was definitely a 'scene' event. Whats demonstrably dangerous for the authorities is the potential the event had for radicalising legions of middle class hippies.
Now lets have a look at what is allowed: the fucking 'Big Tent' festival in Fife. 'Kindly sponsored' by Fife council and a Range Rover full of other dubious corporate entities: Stagecoach, Forestry Commission, Tullis Russell, Forth One FM, Scottish Government, Carnegie UK Trust among them. Angus burger stalls everywhere, highly efficient uniform Field and Lawn rectangular tents that don't leak everywhere, interactive video presentations. Massive PR event basically. There was a tent for smaller rootsy stuff in it but you get the picture: Got money – space. Nae money – tiny space. Revolutionary stuff – beat it!
