Criminal legal aid cuts threaten right to protest

A major threat to political protests of all kinds is currently being consulted on by the government and hardly anyone knows anything about it.

Under new proposals to cut legal aid further, criminal legal aid will become pretty much non-existent. What the proposals mean is that criminal suspects will lose their rights to choose or dismiss a solicitor, and the number of accredited legal aid firms will drop from 1,600 to less than 400 – raising the inevitable outcome of hundreds of small high street firms being replaced by huge contractors like G4S and Eddie Stobart.

The government have labelled this process by the memorable name of ‘competitive tendering’. In other words, privatisation by offering contracts to whoever can offer the cheapest rate, ie G4S and co. You would be better off representing yourself then being represented by G4S!

Nearly every lawyer in the country, except those working for companies such as G4S, have come out strongly against the proposals including The Law Society and The Criminal Bar Association. However, most people aren’t taking any notice. The lawyers need supporting otherwise by the end of the year the make up and possibility for protests in this country will be seriously undermined.

Alfie Meadows, beaten up by the Police at a student protest would not have been acquitted without criminal legal aid. For Plane Stupid – many of us would probably be in jail by now without proper legal representation.

On Wednesday a demonstration will take place outside Parliament at Old Palace Yard from 10.30am. We urge you to go down there and make your voice heard.

To keep up to date with all the developments and resistance to the plans please visit: http://www.defendtherighttoprotest.org/

This blog was re-posted from Plane Stupid

Cranford Park, balsam bashing and a secret garden

Cranford Park has loads of brilliant events coming up, from balsam bashing to a bat walk and even an invitation into the secret garden.

This is a reminder that the next Quarterly Meeting of the Friends Group is this Thursday (May 23) at 7.30pm. It will be held at Crane Community Centre, Fuller Way (off Cranford Drive) and all are welcome. Bus E6 passes close by. I hope you will be able to join us to hear the latest about your park and contribute your views. The agenda and previous Minutes were sent to members on May 5.

This Sunday, May 26, the  SECRET GARDEN (next to the Stable Block) will be open from 10-12 noon. Come and see how this is growing, thanks to our volunteers, and maybe lend a hand! There are always jobs to do: no experience is required, tools and refreshments are provided.

More Cranford Park dates for your diary – no booking needed unless stated. Meet at park information centre unless stated.

Sundays May 26, June 23, July 14, August 11, September 8, 10am -12 noon all dates. Friends Group SECRET GARDEN OPENINGS. Come to help with some light gardening or just to have a look at this special place (normally closed to the public) beside the stables. Tools and refreshments provided. Meet in the small walled garden, adjacent to Stable Block. (Friends & Macmillan Cancer Support).

Saturday June 1, 11am. BUTTERFLY WALK. Join the Countryside & Conservation Officer on the park’s ‘butterfly transect route’ identifying a wide variety of species.

Sunday June 9, 10.30am – 1pm. Friends Group with Thames 21 RIVER CRANE BALSAM BASH. Volunteers required! Himalayan balsam is an invasive plant, taking over large swathes of riverbank, yet it’s easy to remove at this time of year. Volunteers will be gathering all along the River Crane and Yeading Brook – help us include Cranford Park in the campaign! Refreshments provided.

Wed. 12 June, 7pm. RIVERSIDE HABITATS & SPECIES. A wildlife walk and talk around the River Crane. Bring wellingtons if you wish to enter the river, nets provided. Please book with Alison Shipley ashipley@hillingdon.gov.uk. Tel. 01895 250647.

Wed. 19 June 8.30pm BAT WALK. Evening twilight stroll looking for bats, using bat detectors. Please book with Alison Shipley (as above).

Sat. June 29, 11am. ‘Knights, Earls & Ghosts’, FREE HISTORY TOUR. Follow in the footsteps of some interesting characters from the past as we show you the park’s historical highlights.

Sun. 14 July, 2pm FORAGING WALK & TALK. Looking for free edible produce our doorstep. Includes cooking tips. With Sam from the Grow Heathrow project.

Sat. 27 July, 10.30am – 1pm. Friends Volunteer session with Thames 21 CLEARING VEGETATION NEAR RIVER BRIDGE. Volunteers wanted to help open up views of this important historical feature. Tools & refreshments provided.

www.cranfordparkfriends.org

Bilderberg fringe festival, 6-9 June in Watford

Hertfordshire Constabulary have confirmed to the Watford Observer that, in the words of the Observer, a ‘shadowy summit of world leaders [is] taking place in Watford next month.

It continues: ”The Bilderberg Group of around 140 influential figures including royalty, politicians and business leaders will meet at The Grove from June 6 to June 9… The group’s annual meetings have in the past attracted storms of protests from campaigners who accuse it of hijacking the democratic process.’

So local people are putting on a free framily-friendly fringe festival to Occupy Bilderberg. There’ll be:

• International Speakers
• Comedians
• ‘Hug a Bilderberger’
• Music
• Poetry and spoken word
• Delicious local and ethically sourced food and drink, plus grilled Bilderburgers.

All ages welcome, although it should be pointed out that this is not the same as the toddler-focussed consumer Build-a-Bear festival, which is what I thought when I first heard about it.

Updates and more info are at bilderberg2013.co.uk and bilderbergfringefestival.co.uk.

Sun 18: How to grow organic with companion planting

3 Sisters Companion Planting Skill Share Sunday 18th May! 

The Three Sisters – corn, beans and squash – are 3 great plants that grow and thrive together. Corn provides a natural pole for bean vines to climb. The beans take nitrogen to the corns roots, improving the fertility of the plot by providing nitrogen for the following years corn. Bean vines also help stabilize the corn plants against the wind. Shallow-rooted squash vines become a living mulch, shading emerging weeds and preventing soil moisture from evaporating, improving the overall crops chances of survival in dry summers. Spiny squash plants also help discourage predators from approaching the corn and beans.

The large amount of crop residue from this planting combination can be incorporated back into the soil at the end of the season to build up the organic matter and improve its structure.Corn, beans and squash also complement each other nutritionally. Corn provides carbohydrates, the beans are rich in protein and squash yields both vitamins from the fruit and healthful, delicious oil from the seeds.

Last year the 3 sisters shared an vibrant and full bed in the front meadow. This year, to give them more space, we’re going to be venturing to the newly mulched sunny plot in the back.

Next Sunday 19th May every one is welcome to come and join in the preparing of the beds and planting of the vegetables. Growing Sundays will be starting at the usual time of 2pm and ending at dusk, but feel free to drop in whenever you like. I’m not an expert on this, in fact I’ve never done it before, so hopefully every one can share what they know and work on it together and we’ll all come away knowing a little bit more.

If you have any questions please give us a call on 07890751568 or email info@transitionheathrow.com

Secret location revealed for Open House tomorrow

We are delighted to announce the location of Open House and invite you to our first day of events on Sunday.

Open House is taking place in County Street, a stone’s throw from Elephant & Castle tube. See here for a map.Come down to check out Open House anytime from 12pm tomorrow, Sunday 12 May, for:

• Mural painting: a collaborative project exploring gentrification – arrive early for an all day event beginning at 10am
• Professor Danny Dorling on The Great Housing Disaster: a talk about the housing crisis and social justice – 4.30-6pm
• Open House, Open mouth, Open mic: music, poetry and spoken word – from 8.30pm

We’ve been making the space beautiful today and we’re really excited to kick off a great week of events with you. See you tomorrow!

Grow Heathrow on Catch 21

“You really need to come down here – I’m in absolute awe of the place. It’s truly inspirational.” Stop, I’m blushing! That’s not a bad final piece to camera from the presenter Antonio Castaldo, when Grow Heathrow featured on the cutting edge video channel Catch 21.

Join us at Abundance London’s Herbal High Road, 18 May

Court of Appeal – another update

We were told that we’d hear the verdict from the Court of Appeal by the end of April…

…BUT April has been and gone and we still haven’t heard anything.

We will keep you up to date, but in the meantime feel free to join us in the sunshine – we’re busy sowing seeds and making wood burners and doing yoga on the wind turbine tower!!

Foraging Fridays: free wild food every week

Free wild food workshops are thriving every Friday at Grow Heathrow, from 2 to 5pm.

Friday 10th: cow parsley tabouleh

Learn how to safely tell cow parsley (anthriscus sylvestris) apart from its deadly poisonous lookalike hemlock (conium maculatum) and fool’s parsley (aethusa cynapium). Then make the world’s best tabouleh, bursting with vitamin-C-packed cow parsley.

Friday 17th: burdock roots workshop

Learn how to identify burdock roots, which are best harvested in early spring or late autumn, and whip up a delicious and nutritous meal that’s wild and free.

Friday 24th: garlic mustard saerkraut

Sound too good to be true? No – and it’s free. We’ll learn how to ID wild garlic mustard (alliaria petiolata) and then make its leaves into a gourmet wild saerkraut.

Friday 21st June: solstice celebration: elderflower champagne

This one needs no introduction: it’s the one we’ve all been waiting for. The big event of the Grow Heathrow wild food calendar. Elderflower (sambucus nigra) scrumping, here we come.

Mon 29 April: Capers for free

Free wild food workshops are every Monday at Grow Heathrow. Join us on Monday 29th from 2-4pm to make capers from dandelion buds.

We’ll learn to preserve dandelion buds (taraxacum agg.) in brine, like we did with cow parsley (anthriscus sylvestris) ‘celery sticks’ last week. Dandelions’ deep reaching tap roots bring calcium and potassium up from the sub soil, accumulating health-giving minerals for us to enjoy in this wonderful spring.

So come, visit, and let’s get a-foraging together.