From: "Dave Coull" <d.y.coull-AT-dundee.ac.uk>
Date: Mon, 19 Apr 1999 14:26:55 GMT
Subject: Re: Your home turf


I said

>> When racism and fascism were on the rise in the UK
>> in the Seventies, and when in 1977 the National Front 
>> attempted to march down some racially mixed streets 
>> in south London, I played a part in stopping them,
>> in what the press called "The Battle of Lewisham".

(Well I  _think_  it was 1977. One sign of advancing age
is when you start to remember things to within a year
or two.)

>> But at that time I lived in London. I was fighting
>> on my own home turf. Nowadays, if anybody wants
>> me to go all the way to distant London, they have
>> to give me a bloody good reason. 

and Andy commented

>It seems they're coming to you. According to the papers, 
>the Lawrence 5 were holed up in Scotland for the Bashir 
>debacle.

Yes. An all-expenses paid stay at a luxury Highland mansion.
In today's papers, the woman who owns that mansion 
is quoted as saying that she wouldn't have let the place 
to them if she had known who they were, but the TV company 
had said "money is no object for these young lads", so
she thought they must be pop stars.

>Meanwhile, the Brixton nail bomb is allegedly racially motivated.

That is what I thought as soon as I heard about it.

>I remember the '79  Southall 'riot' where the SPG disposed 
>of Blair Peach. (snip) 

>A couple of weeks later was the Rock against Racism 
>march from Traf Square to Hackney 

I was at a couple of Rock against Racism things. 
I remember marching through Hoxton and getting
a very hostile reception from some of the local 
white fascist youth. We were on our way to Victoria 
Park. I worked as a bricklayer for Hackney Borough 
Council direct works department. Or was it Islington 
direct works I was with at that time ? I worked 
for both of them. Also the GLC.

>I seem to remember some Spanish Civil War 
>veterans marching under a Black Flag? 

The only Spanish anarchist veteran I knew in London
at that time was Miguel Garcia Carcia, who had
spent over 30 years in Franco's jails. But there were
certainly black flags around.


Dave