Well, OK that’s not quite what they said but who are they but the props of the system of oppression. I think, though, that the headline matches the standards of accuracy portrayed in several local newspapers ‘quoting’ Prajna and me. Anyway, I digress. ^{[See previous blog post ‘Hold the Front Page’ for more on that little aside…]}

Right, so here’s what they really said in a document ‘they’ (what is a council anyway? Can a council be a ‘they’?) presented us with earlier today, following a ‘welfare’ visit from the local Gypsy Traveller Liaison ‘Officer’: 😀

…Oh how warmed by her warmth and compassion we were (sorry I’m breaking out into shoddy journalism again but I claim poetic licence. I’m also ever so slightly stoned and keep drifting off into streams of consciousness. Bare with me, this may take some time and may take some diligence on your part to decipherer. Hehe)…

Right, so Malinda, or what ever her name is, trots along with the (ah shit, I can’t call him ‘lovely’ any more cos his mates are taking the piss. It’s all just one great big school playground don’t ya think?) very professional PC Dave, to inquire into our welfare (if you’re familiar with the Code of Practice for dealing with ‘unlawful encampments’ you’ll know they are required to do such things before they can start any ‘enforcement’ action). How nice. She asked some routine and entirely pointless questions, failed to note our complete, considered and candid responses (most of which went right over her head) and buggered off. ‘That was very nice of them to inquire as to our welfare’, ooze myself and Prajna, suitably tickled by the humour of the situation.

A little while later, as we were enjoying a visit with Danny’s mum, back trot Malinda, a none-too-happy looking PC Dave and the rather tired looking Autolift Director, ‘Poor’ Darryl Davies, accompanied by Shades as a witness.

Upon arrival they presented us with two documents stating:

From Cheshire West and Chester Council;
Our ref: KJA/DT

If you wish to make representations as to why any extenuating circumstances should prevail over the councils intended cause of action, you should contact the [sic] Vanessa Whiting, Regulatory and Compliance, Legal and Democratic Services, HQ, 58 Nicholas Street, Chester, CH1 2NP: Tel 03001238123

You may care to take advice from a solicitor, Legal Advice Centre or the Citizens advice Bureau as soon as possible. [as if!!]

Yours faithfully,
P. Squiggle
Authorised signatory
Cheshire West and Chester Borough Council
4 Civic Way
Ellesmere Port
CH65 0EB”

This was followed ‘Poor’ Daryl serving us a document on behalf of Autolift Recovery Ltd which goes like this:

Tuesday 4th September 2012

Dated
4.9.12

Both documents came with diagrams outlining, in very sketchy detail, the parts of our land they think they own.

It is possible that if we are on council maintained, publicly owned land (which ‘the council’ claim ownership of – that’s right folks, your servants claim to ‘own’ your land) we may be asked to move that part of our dwelling which takes up that public space. It was, after all, Autolift, rather than the people of Cheshire West and Chester, who gifted us a parcel of land.

Far doos; especially as we might(?) be a couple of inches over your (the peoples) boundary with with our land. Naturally, should proof of claim be brought that we are inhabiting land jointly owned by the people (you and us), and should the people (all of you) require us to move our van over by 2 inches, we will be more than happy to do so.

Vanessa Whiting – the woman in charge of regulating you and coercing your compliance with the demands of your servants who claim the ‘authority’ of ‘council’ – seems to hold an ‘office’ (how does one ‘hold’ an office anyway?) claiming the ‘legal’ (is ‘legal’ not a fiction? I’m beginning to see a pattern here! Lol) and ‘democratic’ (and here, another reference to something fictional, invented and illusory) ‘authority’ to coerce you and us into compliance with this entire corporate/legal fiction.

Anyway, another aspect is that the land in question may not be any business of the ‘council’ since it appears to be, instead, within the remit of the Highways Agency.

I could go on and on about the huffing and puffing of these robotised drones who go about ‘enforcing’ oppression on you and me – they are also the authors of their own suffering, by the way – and the utterly witless contents of their bits of paper, but I have more to tell you about:

So, after they’d delivered their bits of paper to us and assured themselves that the correct tick boxes had been ticked (are we literate?), off they buggered to attempt to place copies of their documents onto our door-frame (onto which Prajna is, as I type, hanging the most beautiful wood-framed patio doors which came to us courtesy of Mally today). We intervened to suggest they desecrate their lamppost rather than our door with their threats and spurious claims, so they went over, suitably chastened, to attach the aforementioned dodgy documents onto the specified lamppost.

Soon after that, just as Prajna and I were preparing to blog the latest to you, we were visited by Paul and James who’d come to see us all the way from Bolton. They’ve both been following events here and wanted to pop down, say ‘hiya’ and offer their support. They even came equipped with a chainsaw, which came in handy after Mally and his friend arrived with a shed-load of wood, including a pair of patio doors, a load of tongue and groove, posts, and so much more, not to mention the guttering he brought us, and the pipes and tubing and the kitchen sink!!! [yes, really! We even have a kitchen sink!] 😀

And so, once again, the universe has worked its magic! As soon as they attempt to flex their stationary at us, so our position here grows stronger simply by the love and support of others. On the radio the other night I said I’d never been made more welcome anywhere and that continues to be the case.

It’s after midnight now and I’m trying to remember all the other things that happened today: gifts of tools from Ben (naturally, exactly the right tools at exactly the right time to coincide with Mally’s gifts to us). I think that’s about it of any significance today except for a visit from our barrister friend (and, more and more, brother in arms) Jack, who is also being blackmailed by the council because he is helping the people of Flint to retain their cottage hospital in the face of opposition from the public servants of the people of Flint.

Other recent happenings include the radio show the other night, which I’m sure will be podcast soon and the, still utterly overwhelming, support and absolutely amazing gifts and visits from all and sundry. That reminds me: a huge big thank you to Dave and Bernie who took me off for a trip out to the car booties on Sunday morning, showering me (us) with far too much generosity! 🙂

We’re a little concerned for Pete, who we’ve not seen for a few days now, but don’t have his or Faiths number to contact them so we can be sure all is well with them; so if you’re reading this Faith and Pete, giz a shout so we know you’re OK. Xxx

Oh yes, and before I sign off and go back to help Prajna hang the doors I’ll suggest it might be a good idea to have a few witnesses around tomorrow afternoon, just in case your servants try anything which might end up costing you good people dearly, and in case they attempt anything which may cause harm, loss or injury to myself or Prajna. We’re not really expecting anything to happen, as they haven’t begun any kind of legal process yet, but always best to be safe.

Right now I’m thinking of all the people I want to thank for their kindness, thoughtfulness, support and generosity but the fact is this blog would start to read like an Oscar acceptance speech. The thing is, you all know who you are, including all the tooters who pass by (and we delight to have that support too!)

Sorry to all for the delay in updating the blog; I’ve been dying to get to blogging for days but just haven’t had a chance (I’ve got a working title for the blog post I want to write and everything! Maybe one day there’ll be time to write it!) In the meantime we’ll keep you updated on all that’s happening here as best we can.

With much love, gratitude and peace,
Kazz and Prajna. xxxx

hello everybody , a good friend of ours is hosting a live radio show from camp autoift , the legenday pondman and fellow host mal will be broadcasting live from 9pm on http://www.awakeradio.co.uk/ , its going to be a most excelent show please join us if you can , thanks alan .

http://www.awakeradio.co.uk/

So, we made the front page of the newspaper. Ok, it is only the Chester Leader and Chester Chronicle but they are the main local papers. The immediate result was a visit from two local couples, John and Wendy, and Pete and Faith, who had been following the saga in previous articles and who were prompted by this one to come and see us. They were most enthusiastic in their support; John and Wendy brought some provisions and Pete and Faith brought a boot-load of lovely Ash firewood (you should have seen my delight to have some ash, the champion of all firewood, to keep the dhuni fire going).

It is incredible to see the politics and plotting that is going on behind the scenes:

That seemingly-supportive article on the front page of the Leader, for example, is actually a finely-crafted strategy intended to support the local council scheme to evict us from the site. The headline itself (oddly, not repeated in the online version) said “WE’RE GOING TO STAY FOREVER”. Why would Robert Platt, the journalist who spoke to us, print such a thing if we didn’t say it (and I can assure you we didn’t)? It seems obvious to us that this is more scheming in the hope of causing us to leave; the intention was most likely to be that such a headline would stir up bigotry, in the hope that some local thugs would take on the job of discouraging us from staying.

Further down the article Robert has also stated, “The camp has grown to about six tents in addition to the caravan.” Hmmm… proof of claim? The camp has never had six tents in addition to the caravan and currently consists of the caravan, two tents, the shelter for the dhuni fire area and a half finished shower cubicle. So why does Robert publish that there are six tents? Innocent mistake? Lazy reporting? We suspect not: We have received word that the council will try to move us this week and we expect they will try to use Section 61 of the Criminal Justice Act, 1994, which says:

Two or more persons trespassing on land ( not including public highway land, eg verges & lay-bys) with the intention of living there may be directed to leave the land by the police if:
(a) there are 6 or more vehicles there; or
(b) if any damage has been caused to the land, eg crop damage ); or
(c) ‘threatening or abusive words or behaviour’ have been used against the occupier or their agents.

Knowing that, it seems obvious that this ‘mistake’ was no mistake at all but a coldly-calculated move to help the council and police to try to massage the facts so as to support the use of Section 61; caravan’s and tents are often ‘construed’ as vehicles when this power is relied on.

Nice try.

I have to say, the general standard of reporting in the Leader/Chronicle, with reference to our camp, has been lacking a great deal of diligence: Robert often misquotes us, paraphrasing our words to subtly change their meaning. I had assumed that when one quotes someone it is done verbatim. One expects words in quotation marks to be exactly what someone said rather than a reporter’s interpretation of them.

And as for the Leader/Chronicle’s photographer: Robert said he would come down and take some more photos of the camp and indeed he did, but he never spoke to us or visited the camp, preferring instead to take a long-shot, paparazzi-style, and run away.

When they say, “Don’t believe what you read in the newspaper.” they must have had disingenuous, lax and misleading reporting in mind; just as we are seeing from the Leader/Chronicle.

We will not be defeated or discouraged by lies, fictions and abuses of power. The Powers That (wanna) Be had better have all their ‘i’s dotted and ‘t’s crossed, be standing square in lawful precedent and demonstrate full respect for our human rights (including the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples) before they come down to our camp with the intention to persuade us or compel us to do anything.

Meanwhile, in the world of “Live the truth and then write about it”, things continue much as they have, with continuing support from local and not so local people; we have more regular visitors too, who seem grateful for our presence, are very supportive with practical things, and who say they welcome our knowledge and insights.

Love, peace, happiness and grace,
Prajna and Kazz

Namaste friends,

So sorry it’s taken so long for me to update you all about happenings here at Camp Autolift. There’s been so much going on elsewhere that’s needed my attention I just haven’t had the time or resources to write anything of any value.

But thing are more settled now and so here we go…

It seems the continued will of those local folks who stop by here that we stick around. We continue to be inundated with both practical and moral support it’s quite overwhelming, not to mention humbling.

For my part, and with Prajna’s full agreement, if we stick around (and it seems we are, at least for the foreseeable future) we need to be as self sufficient as possible. In practical terms, that means water catchment and filtration, composting waste, developing food gardens and generating our own power supply. It also means working with, and for the benefit of, the local community insofar as skill and resource sharing, which benefits all who partake. Aside from that we would also like to develop a community recycling centre though I’m not 100% sure how we might do that at this stage… Time and innovation will show the way. 🙂

Water catchment is both the easiest and most immediate thing to be done. We already have, thanks to friends Adam and Jen, a large water-butt, complete with tap. We also, thanks to Alan, have a large tarpaulin roof from which to catch the plentiful supply of rainwater which falls here. It’s only a question now of putting up some guttering and, from there, developing some kind of filtration system. The guttering is promised and should be here before too long. We have no doubt that once that is in place all else will follow… That’s the way it seems to work around here… as soon as one need is met (and invariably all needs are met just in the nick of time!) then the next need is met in turn.

It’ll take time to develop the kind of eco-village-type set up we desire, yet slowly but surely all of the pieces will fall into place. Of that we have no doubt. We would greatly appreciate your help and support in that; should you have any practical advice or support to offer we’d be most grateful. We’re big on ideas, strong on will and ambition, have some notions of how we might develop the systems we need, but we’re no experts… yet! 😉

In the meantime we’ve been given a load of very beautiful fabric by our good friend, Heather, and so I’m going to set to work using that making curtains/partitions for around our shelter and banners for our entrance.

Prajna and I decided last night to create a sheltered, partitioned area so we have somewhere a little quieter and more intimate to chat with friends away from the, often crowded, dhuni fire area. The new room will be raised off the ground and will include, we hope, a small oil-burner for warmth. (We’re sure there must be plenty of small local business around and about that have to pay to dispose of waste oil.)

All in all we’re delighted with the way things are developing here, delighted that folks are responding to our presence and our convictions so positively and delighted by the outpouring of support we’re receiving from right across the board. And we thank each and every one of you for it!

As far as Autolift Ltd is concerned, things have been pretty quiet since my ‘Don’t Mess with the Hippies’ blog post. Whether that’s due to the blog or simply because things are quiet we don’t know. We’re just happy to be left in peace to get on with creating a home and community centre here.

The Autolift guys have been out this morning extending the fence they put around us several weeks ago, one end of which was left open but is now closed, affording us (and them) a little more certainty as to where the boundary between our land and Autolift land actually lies.

Needless to say, Two-fingers and the one I’ve come to call ‘The Big Red Angry One’ were less than friendly when talking to Prajna in relation to erecting the fence, but by now we don’t really expect much better from either of them. As for the rest of the Autolift staff, I think most of them are basically decent folk who just want to get on with their jobs in peace. Mostly they ignore us though one or two occasionally smile and wave as they pass in and out of the yard.

In my last blog I extended an invitation to Autolift staff to visit any time, as long as they leave hostility at the door. That invitation is open and will remain open. We have an open house here, quite literally, and welcome any and all visitors whether they support us or not. – We may become frustrated at the ignorance of a few, but try to use that to inform them of where they might research matters of concern.

Finally, on a more personal note, communication with family and loved ones is difficult here. I’m doing my best to stay in contact via email and facebook. You all know I’m here for you as much as I possibly can be. I love and miss you so much and I only hope you find time to stay in touch with me.

Much love and many thanks to you all,

Kazz and Prajna. xxxx

An open letter to Autolift staff and directors

It’s clear to us now that you are reading our blog, given the threats we received from one of your number a couple of days ago.

It’s unfortunate that you read here that you may be facing redundancy, as your boss, Daryl, suggested to us last weekend. However, as they say, forewarned is forearmed. Advanced warning gives you all the opportunity to seek alternative employment elsewhere.

Sadly your comprehension skills appear somewhat lacking, as you fail to grasp Daryl’s stance that, though we are having NO IMPACT on your business whatsoever, he will willingly close down the business he’s wanted shut of for years and blame us for that. You (at least the guy who threatened us the other day) seem to interpret that as meaning it’s our fault that you may soon be out of work. (Maybe you should look up ‘Cognitive Dissonance’ and decide for yourselves whether the term fits or not.)

All of that said, I think we may well be in a position to at least postpone the closure of Autolift. I’m not 100% sure but I seem to remember that whilst a business is being audited it must remain intact. Looks like we just bought you several months of job security whilst activities at Autolift are fully investigated.

It’s all too clear to us, from all of the numerous tales of extortion regarding your organisation and business practices, that Daryl’s sob story regarding zero profit for last year, if not a fabrication, may well point to evidence of TAX DODGING by those entrusted by this criminal State to tax others, amongst other unlawful activities; no wonder you hate having us on your doorstep, witnessing your more overt activities and chatting with so many victims of your unscrupulous business practices.

Additionally, and on a more personal note, each and every one of you was placed in a position of trust over our home and possessions. You were properly notified of this and asked to ensure, upon your full commercial liability, that nothing happen to our home until the matter was resolved. And each and every one of you breached that Lawful Trust when you allowed our home to be taken away and destroyed.

We’ve been your neighbours here for over six weeks now and until Daryl’s visit, only one of your number has ever given us the time of day. More commonly we have had nothing but aggression, threats, harassment and attempts to intimidate from you, all of which are now a matter of both public and private record.

Prajna and myself are peaceful, loving and compassionate people, not to mention that we are also intelligent and incorruptible. We welcome any and all of you, should you wish to talk to us about what’s happening here and why we’re taking the stance we are taking. Just as with all of our guests and visitors here, we will offer you refreshments and open and honest communication. We welcome your viewpoints also, but will not tolerate threats or intimidation.

Yours sincerely,

Kazz and Prajna.

P.S. Now that I’ve got that out of my system I’ll be back later or tomorrow when normal service will be resumed and activities at the camp will be properly blogged for your delight and delectation.

Well hello Friends!

It’s been a few days since our last update so apologies to those of you waiting to hear the latest. Once again we have lots to tell you about, from meeting with barristers to meetings with autolift directors.

Before we get on to that though I want to say hello to Samantha and Dan. I forgot to mention you in my last blog so this time you get a paragraph all to yourselves. 😉 – Much love to you both from both of us. You’re in our thoughts and we’re hoping all is well with you.

And now onto our news:

Our new friend Jack, who happens to be a barrister, has visited a couple of times now and is giving us his professional assistance free of charge – which is kinda lucky as there’s no way we’d be able to afford him otherwise!

The information he’s given us so far has already proved invaluable. It turns out that when autolift erected a fence around our camp what they were in fact doing, albeit inadvertently, was gifting us the land inside the boundary. Prajna and I knew that the fence was good for us but we had no idea it made us land-owners!

Jack has also taken a look at Prajna’s custody record (always, always, always ask for your custody record if ever you’re in the unfortunate position of being held in custody) and chatted with him about what did and did not happen whist in Blacon Detention Centre. Already the IPCC has been informed of several breaches of PACE (Police And Criminal Evidence Act) including failure to inform Prajna of his rights under PACE, and falsifying the custody record; when the police fail to follow PACE the custody becomes wrongful imprisonment regardless of the lawfulness or otherwise of the arrest!

Investigations by the IPCC for breaches of PACE, according to Jack, are heavy going for the constabulary concerned who will be investigated by a neighbouring force, all their records gone through with a fine tooth comb, subjected to unannounced inspections by lay visitors and all manner of inquiry into their practices there.

It also means quite a hefty sum in compensation for Prajna for wrongful imprisonment. And that’s before we even mention the wrongful use of handcuffs on us both and the breach of EVERY rule in the book when our motor-home was seized.

Jack also has a friend, a court bailiff, who he’s chatted to about us and who will be coming along to see us to offer what ever advice and assistance she can. Just on Jack’s description of her alone and how she goes about her job, we already recognise her as a fellow traveller… a kindred spirit. 🙂 Jack says she ‘is not very good at her job’, i.e that she gives too much good advice to those she is sent to ‘bailiff’ (if that can be used as a verb!)

I do keep saying that this place is magic. Well the magic continues and intensifies! This whole situation is nothing short of amazing. Time and time again I’m bowled over by acts of generosity and kindness and by the most stunning revelations regarding our position here. The universe truly is supporting us in this stand for humanity, for freedom from tyranny and legal fiction and for the right to choose our own path through life rather than be dictated to by a system which seeks to control the whole of everyone’s life from cradle to grave.

But I digress. Time to tell you about our meetings with one of the autolift directors, Daryl.

Daryl first came to see us on Friday and then again yesterday (Sunday). Hmmm… how to describe Daryl? He’s a nice enough guy on the surface… personable, working class roots, family man, etc. Yet the whole of our conversation yesterday was littered with thinly veiled threats and disingenuity.

Daryl tells us that for some years now he and his fellow directors (his sister and brother-in-law) have been struggling to keep the business afloat amid all the regulations and restrictions imposed by the DVLA, all of which has resulted in zero profit for last year; that his fellow directors, who are not as young as they used to be, really just wish to retire; that they tried selling the business last year but to no avail; that they have been considering simply shutting up shop and having done with the whole thing, as keeping going is a hassle for them which they’d rather live without. He told us that autolift employs fifteen staff and for their sake he’d been trying to figure out ways of keeping the business going; that he was about to make three members of staff redundant to facilitate that but that, given our presence here (even an autolift ‘spokesperson’ reported to the papers that we are having no impact on the business what-so-ever) he’d rather just close up and put any blame for that on us; this despite claiming to be an honest man who prides himself on always dealing with others honestly. He also wondered aloud how we might react to thugs coming along during the night to wreck our camp and possibly inflict injury on us, because they might feel that since they ‘have to pay tax’ we have to as well. We think it is ridiculous that anyone might take such unlawful action over someone not paying tax, but then the police/DVLA/autolift have destroyed our home over tax.

And littered throughout the conversation were tales of ill-health, deaths of friends and acquaintances, alcoholism, depression, single parents and so on, all designed to tug at the heart-strings. Anyone who knows me will realise the impact of these tales of woe was quite palpable. Seriously, I would hate to be in a position to cause harm to anyone or to add to the troubles already existent in peoples lives. However, as Daryl himself pointed out, and as has been stated in the local press several times (see previous blog entries) we are having “no impact on business” at all. None.

If Daryl and his family choose to close autolift that choice is due to the pressures of meeting with increased restriction and regulation imposed by that same body which saw to it that our home was destroyed. He should point the finger of blame squarely where it belongs, at the DVLA.

Making scapegoats of a couple of peaceful hippies simply refusing to accept the impositions of a thoroughly lawless and corrupt state would be dishonest. As we explained to him, he should see us as allies rather than enemies. We seem to be the littlest piglet. Perhaps you have seen what happens when a piglet bites another: the victim, rather than retaliate against the aggressor, finds a smaller piglet to vent his anger on.

We did briefly consider taking our camp down to the DVLA headquarters in Swansea but we are in such a good position here – rock-solid in fact – that it would be foolish to move.

I should add that Daryl did hint he could replace our home himself, out of his own pocket. Unfortunately for us to accept such an offer would be wrong. What Prajna and I want is the freedom to travel unhindered and untaxed by the State. We’re not after freebee’s or financial reward, we after freedom. Nothing less will do.

Peace, love and joy to you all!

Kazz and Prajna. Xxxx

P.S. Just to send a great big heartful of love to my beautiful niece Alisha who I hope will be here very soon! I love you so much baby. Thinking of you and keeping you in my heart. xxxxx

tonight at 10pm there is a group chat with supporters and friends , skype camp autolift or add alan_maglite .

mick harbys page: http://www.mickharby.co.uk/

So there I was sitting in the tent a few days ago feeling thoroughly depressed… I was premenstrual and so fed up with the constant noise and chaos of the place, not to mention the dirt and disorder. I really wasn’t sure how much longer I would last here.

So, as with everything that happens around here, in stepped the universe to lend a hand. This time in the form of an Irish traveller called Mick, who turned up one day after my depressed isolation in the tent, and told us he had a caravan he needed rid of and asked if we’d like it.

Next morning our friend Will turned up – just the man we needed to tow the van to our camp. And a few hours later, having called in the troops for assistance (thanks guys!!!) Prajna and I had a lovely warm, dry caravan to sleep in! 😀 – Just in time too as it absolutely chucked it down here yesterday and our bed in the tent was soaked by the time I transferred our bedding over; we would have endured a most miserable night if it weren’t for the caravan.

I’m exhausted now just because I’ve spent the whole day cleaning and organising things in the van. I can’t tell you how good it feels just to have somewhere to keep things away from the dirt and rain. And not only that but the van also has a shower! – I feel like I’ve died and gone to heaven. 🙂

And, on top of all that, we had a call earlier and have been told there are two chesterfield sofa’s and a couple of armchairs being brought here tonight! – I don’t know about you guys but I reckon the universe wants us here making this stand for freedom… Every single time we need something around here it manifests somehow. And I do mean every single time. The place is magic… and not just for Prajna and me either, but for many of the friends we’ve made here. Lives are literally being transformed before our eyes!

So, challenging as this whole experience is, I am utterly blessed and delighted to be here. Especially now that I have a lovely warm, dry, level, clean van to sleep in.

And, despite the recent efforts of the Ellesmere Port Pioneer to sway public opinion against us, we’re still enjoying massive support from locals, including a barrister who came along to see us today having been told about us by a mutual friend… and, my did he have some interesting things to say! Obviously I’m not going to go into detail here, suffice to say what we thought was a strong position for us turns out to be m-m-mighty.

I just want to say a huge big thank you to everyone for your continued support and mention some of the wonderful people we’ve met during our first 33 days here who’ve made this experience so m,uch easier and much more fun than it otherwise would have been. Adam, Jen and the kids, Danny, Val and Andy, Will, Mick, Niall, Maria, Nickie and Biff, Andy, Bobby and I’m sure others… (bound to have left someone out! Sorry!)

We did have a couple of disappointments last week, which resulted in my self-imposed isolation in the tent. Sad to say our little pot of change by the fire was stolen with around £25 in it.. worse it was stolen by people who’d just been chatting with Prajna for about half an hour (they snuck back after he’d come to bed and nabbed it before he could get out of the tent to stop them.

Also, we were told by PC Dave, who oversaw the destruction of our motor-home, that he’s never seen any document authorising the destruction of our home, he simply believes that written authorisation exists. I’d really hate for any of this to come back on Dave as we’ve both grown rather fond of him during our time here.

Oh, and while I think on, I want to say a huge thank you to John and Tina Hurst for all their time and effort on the legal/lawful side of things. Your support makes all of this so much easier for us. Thank you both very much.

And the same goes to all of our friends who give us so much love and support. We love you all!

Love, peace and gratitude,
Kazz and Prajna. xxxx

“Disgusting New Age Traveller protest in Backford condemned on Facebook,” SAYS Laurie Stocks-Moor; The shame of Ellesmere Port and Chester Pioneer

Well my friends, I’ve not blogged here yet but after reading a disgraceful article in the Ellesmere Port and Chester Pioneer (by Laurie Stocks-moor, strangely enough, since Laurie has previously written two excellent articles about Camp Autolift. What changed?).  I’ll link the report later but let’s examine some ‘facts’ from Laurie’s latest story: “… many drivers have tooted their horns to greet Prajna Pranab and ‘Kazz’ …” Yes they have, as I can verify, having spent plenty of time sitting at the dhuni fire. The report starts innocently enough but let’s look a little deeper into the rest of Laurie’s, so-called ‘facts’:

You quote Rachael Riverol as having said, “Why should they get away with paying tax & insurance![sic] We all have to pay it whether we live in a house or on the road! What would happen if they crashed into a vehicle and killed lives?[sic] This is why we have insurance to protect those that pay for it![sic] Them camping outside Autolift is disgusting! Especially with no amenities! Throw them off I say.”

Your Chester Pioneer page has a mere 33 members , one of whom proudly declares herself to be an “elected member for Cheshire West”

Eveleigh Moore Dutton

• Elected Member at Cheshire West and Chester Council

Laurie, are any of these people actually on your facebook page? Whilst our Camp Autolift page has some 18,000 followers, I note that the last comment on your facebook page was from october 2010.

What changed your tone, Laurie? Did Eveleigh put pressure on you to undermine support for the camp?

People of Chester and Ellesmere Port need to realise that their local paper is reporting what the local council want them to believe and they are prepared, in pursuit of that, to fabricate stories from whole cloth.

George Seldes, one of the greatest journalists that ever lived, said the following at his retirement party, which included many of the leading lights in the press: “Journalism’s job is not impartial ‘balanced’ reporting. Journalism’s job is to tell the people what is really going on.”

We’re hoping people can see for themselves that the camp is on the right track if even local papers are being used as a propaganda tool against it.

Thanks,
Alan

The Pioneer article we’re criticising
and Laurie’s previous reports:
Jul 11 2012
Jul 25 2012