I hear there is trouble at the encampment in Barcelona. The police went in to forcibly close it down this morning. I heard this by text from a friend but when I tried to find out more there was nothing on the BBC news – radio or internet. I even rang them up to ask and a very pleasant Irishman told me that yes there is a tent city there! I said – yes but this isn’t news – it has been there for almost two weeks! What I want to know about is what is happening now.
Isn’t that interesting? Surely BBC news correspondents also would hear about police arriving in force and removing people. The twitter I am following is full of calls for people to come tonight to the square – with flowers to show that it is peaceful – and to support them today.
It really brings it home that reported news is selective but also how technology empowers us with information that can only be stopped if all networks and internet services are closed down – and that would be an interesting show of democracy!
Author: Kate Wilson
Contemplating
The way ahead….
The Day of Reflection
I’ve never really understood the point of Twitter before but now, sitting in Cornwall and thinking about the demonstration in Plaça Catalunya, it is really interesting reading the snippets that come from Acampadabcn.
It’s like having a live link which then stimulates my imagination to create a story.
Some examples today
Suministros de comida para el día de hoy, no necesitamos agua, galletas, pan de molde, leche, arroz, pasta y cebollas. Gracias!
Today we don’t need water, biscuits,sandwich bread, milk, rice, pasta and onions. Thanks!
Necesitamos CREMA SOLAR. Por favor llevadlas a la Comisión de salud, gracias!
We need sun cream. Please take it to the commission of health, thanks!
So I have pictures of mountains of biscuits and bread. People coming to donate things all the time. The internet makes it possible to communicate so much more clearly and instantly. I remember going to Greenham Common and not knowing what to take. Still possible of course to arrive with yet more onions because I didn’t read the Twitter before leaving home.
I imagine areas for food collection, for cooking, for washing up. First aid centres set up with hand made colourful shelters from the hot sun. People raiding their bathroom cupboards for bottles of sun cream of varying strengths.
That part of me which always hoped for world change, that part which can get lost over the years under layers of world weariness, that part is stirring to life. Whatever happens next, that is a good feeling. So much happening in the world at the moment so why not hope?
And if you want to see what Plaça Catalunya was like yesterday – here is a link.
15M Barcelona Madrid Bilbao Seville Valencia
I am sitting in Cornwall feeling frustrated by the UK news coverage of the protests in Spain. At least BBC Radio 4 has now started to report that something is going on but the news presenter says that a demonstration is happening in Madrid. No mention of Barcelona or any other city. They also stress the youthful nature of the protesters, somehow managing to imply that youth = naive enthusiasm = not so important.
It is interesting to move between two countries and notice how the news is dominated by local items and how those same items are considered too trivial to mention in the other country. British stories are rarely featured at all on Catalan TV and I don’t think I have ever seen a Catalan story on the BBC news. Except for sports of course. If it’s football!
So, for those of you who are wondering, there are municipal elections on Sunday in the whole of Spain. I am entitled to vote as I am registered as resident in Granollers but it turns out that I should have applied for the voting part of my rights and by the time the voting card should have arrived, it was too late to apply. Granollers is covered in posters of grinning politicians. What about this one? He gave out balloons to all the children in the Porxada………
The protests, which started on May 15th (now known as 15M which I may adopt as a new way of writing down my birthday) were publicised on Facebook and Twitter and are taking place all over Spain, not just in Madrid. People are fed up with the corruption and lies of politicians and bankers and the way the economic crisis is being manipulated to cut living standards for most people while a minority still grow richer. Unemployment in Spain is now at 21% and youth unemployment 45%.
Normally all political activity is banned on the day before an election. It is called the Jornada de Reflexión, the day of reflection, and today – Saturday – marks a change as the demonstrations are now in direct opposition to the law. I am thinking about all those people in Puerta del Sol and Plaça Catalunya and beyond and wishing them well.
I notice that in some British papers the protestors are critisised for lack of clear objectives. this seems to me to miss the point. This is not a political party with a manifesto and a party line. These are ordinary people, of all ages, citizens who want a voice and a say in democracy. And other ordinary people are bringing them supplies – food and blankets and water – to show support. It seems to me like a live process rather than a fixed rigid demand.
Something exciting is happening! Som-hi!
Virtual Vermut
I’m back in Cornwall again. It’s only about 6 weeks since I was last here but the garden and the field have exploded into green growth and flowery abundance. I came back so quickly because I needed to see my dogs and cats and couldn’t wait till August. All of them have had one problem or another and seemed to be messaging me ‘Come Home’. Teeth, back legs, front legs, gum infections, loss of appetite, excessive appetite, mystery stomach cramps……have I missed anything?
Now I am here all seems well but it is clear that old age is affecting at least two of them and so, as we sit for our virtual vermouth, I can breathe a sigh of relief but also tell you about my concerns over how to look after them all and most important – where?
We can sit here in the evening sunshine looking out over the Cornish hills – the last hills of England before the cliffs at Lands End drop down into the Atlantic
Yet again the weather here is beautiful. The sky is blue and the sea is calm and the bluebells are out.
Or maybe you’d prefer to come and sit by the pond and listen to the blackbirds singing their evening recital
The dogs come and go between two homes – my old house where my two still live and my neighbours who also help look after them.
The houses are linked by this stile
As we sit and sip our drinks they will probably appear and then run off again in their pack of 5 – four border collies and one bearded
Blue is the oldest and she is now having problems walking on the gravel so today my friend and I put some paving slabs on the path. A sort of doggy equivalent to putting up a handrail for your old aunt.
Now she dances along rather than looking like someone walking over broken glass.
I am a bit all over the place – as usual when I come to Cornwall. It’s a strange feeling – my old home, my lovely dogs, the garden which I never have enough time here to look after, the pending decisions all hovering over my head. Friends to see, thoughts to think, feelings to feel, walks to walk.
Some part of me copes. Another part is paddling madly under the surface.
I notice that sometimes before speaking I automatically practice what I need to say before opening my mouth. Then I remember that I don’t have to. I can speak English!
Walking down Morrab Road in Penzance today I thought how interesting that here at the end of the road there is often a splash of blue sea
In Granollers at the end of so many streets there is a hill. I like both views. Different but similar.
Leading your eye out into the unknown. My friend Tiffany also commented on this in her blog.
This made me laugh today in Penlee Gardens. The plaque says In Memory of XXX
Please, if you ever plant something in memory of me, don’t choose something so spiky and mishapen!
Well, if you have come to have a virtual vermut with me this evening I must apologise for being late, for rambling on about totally disconnected things and for getting up in the middle to wave goodbye to my friends in their beautiful Morgan
It has been that sort of day and I am still adjusting to the change of environment. See you soon!