Epic saga posted on YouTube pitches man v shark, shark v shark, crocodile v shark and eventually man v crocodile

Further evidence of the cold-blooded cunning of the crocodilian mind – and the rugged insouciance of the Australian male – has arrived courtesy of a YouTube clip showing a rather unusual fishing trip.

The video, posted last month by the Cape Don barramundi fishing lodge in the Northern Territory, records an epic angling saga that pitched man against shark, shark against shark, crocodile against shark and, eventually, man against crocodile.

All appears to be going well when the clip begins, with one of the party landing a fair-sized shark as he fishes off the side of a yacht. Things become more exciting when another shark swims in for an easy lunch, prompting the cameraman to note: "Oh! Another shark's attacking him!"

The valiant angler labours on, and before long the greedy interloper disappears and the thrashing shark is dragged on to the beach with the help of a boathook. But the triumph is short-lived. Within seconds the dark green outline of a saltwater crocodile appears at the water's edge and the reptile dashes on to the beach to make a grab for the shark.

Disaster is averted only by the swift intervention of another member of the fishing party, who leaps towards the thief and delivers a warning blow to its snout with the boathook. Suitably chastised, the croc turns tail and swims off.

The video ends with the slightly shaken group posing for a photo around the unfortunate shark. The man who landed it seems a little distracted and has to be reminded there is a protocol for such occasions. "You've got to do the old put-a-foot-on-its-head thing," the cameraman reminds him.

Crocodiles in the area appear to have realised it is often easier to let the humans do the work. Last November the Northern Territory News reported that a three-metre "saltie" spied on a group of fishermen before tucking into the shark they had just reeled in.

]]>

Epic saga posted on YouTube pitches man v shark, shark v shark, crocodile v shark and eventually man v crocodile

Further evidence of the cold-blooded cunning of the crocodilian mind – and the rugged insouciance of the Australian male – has arrived courtesy of a YouTube clip showing a rather unusual fishing trip.

The video, posted last month by the Cape Don barramundi fishing lodge in the Northern Territory, records an epic angling saga that pitched man against shark, shark against shark, crocodile against shark and, eventually, man against crocodile.

All appears to be going well when the clip begins, with one of the party landing a fair-sized shark as he fishes off the side of a yacht. Things become more exciting when another shark swims in for an easy lunch, prompting the cameraman to note: "Oh! Another shark's attacking him!"

The valiant angler labours on, and before long the greedy interloper disappears and the thrashing shark is dragged on to the beach with the help of a boathook. But the triumph is short-lived. Within seconds the dark green outline of a saltwater crocodile appears at the water's edge and the reptile dashes on to the beach to make a grab for the shark.

Disaster is averted only by the swift intervention of another member of the fishing party, who leaps towards the thief and delivers a warning blow to its snout with the boathook. Suitably chastised, the croc turns tail and swims off.

The video ends with the slightly shaken group posing for a photo around the unfortunate shark. The man who landed it seems a little distracted and has to be reminded there is a protocol for such occasions. "You've got to do the old put-a-foot-on-its-head thing," the cameraman reminds him.

Crocodiles in the area appear to have realised it is often easier to let the humans do the work. Last November the Northern Territory News reported that a three-metre "saltie" spied on a group of fishermen before tucking into the shark they had just reeled in.

]]> http://www.eesonline.co.uk/blog/?feed=rss2&p=7 0 http://www.eesonline.co.uk/blog/?p=8 http://www.eesonline.co.uk/blog/?p=8#comments Wed, 06 Jan 2010 10:45:31 +0000 Matt Seaton http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/blog/2010/jan/06/tips-cycling-in-snow

Travel disruptions mean cycling, with a few adjustments, may be the best bet for getting to work vaguely on time

Snow, for many, is already here. And after I'm done writing this, I'm going to put the knobbliest tyres I have on my bike for this morning's commute.

I've got used to riding with a big crowd of cyclists on my way to and from work, but I suspect that as it has snowed overnight in London, the rank and file of two-wheeled commuters will be thinned out substantially.

But really, there's no need to leave the bike at home, just because of a bit of the white stuff. In fact, with bus, train and London underground services reduced by the inclement weather, cycling might be about the best bet for getting to work vaguely on time.

I just came back from a couple of weeks in north-east US. It snows there any time from November to April, and easily a foot at a time. In New York, where they snowplough the avenues and the main cross streets with incredible efficiency (courtesy of the sanitation department, which uses garbage trucks kitted out with blades and chains on the wheels), I saw no shortage of cyclists pedalling through the snow and slush. Up in Vermont, I rode on dirt roads carpeted in packed snow and sand: with a windchill of -20C, the biggest issue was avoiding frostbitten fingers; staying upright was no problem.

Only ice is the real no-no, but riding a bike in snow is not only easy, it's even fun. And you get the added kudos because people think you're incredibly intrepid getting to work, as though you'd just pedalled to the South Pole or something. With all the hype about the winter weather, I did start websearching for some serious winter tyres – the type with metal studs that will bite and give grip even through hard-packed icy snow. I found a very useful article on tyre choice from this New Hampshire cyclery, but there's so little demand for studded tyres in the UK that these products are hard to source, and by the time your order arrives, the snow will almost certainly have disappeared. So I'd suggest that unless your commute takes you over the Cairngorms, a pair of studded tyres for £70 is a slightly over-the-top technical fix for a problem that occurs a day or two a year at most.

Assuming, then, that we're doing cycling in the snow the cheap and cheerful way, I've got a few tips, but I'd be interested in yours, so please share below.

• The more tread on your tyres, the better. You can ride in snow on slicks, but I wouldn't choose to. If you have a mountain bike, with chunky off-road treads, this is the day for it.

• Let some air out of your tyres, whatever sort they are. Ride them soft: you'll get more grip.

• It's natural, when you're a bit anxious about conditions, to ride leaning forward and tense, with your hands on the brakes. But try to relax the hands and arms, and keep your weight back.

• As in any slippery conditions (such as very wet roads), do your braking early and as much as possible in a straight line. Definitely only use the front brake in this way; otherwise, use the back brake more. And you can also use the back brake to test the amount of adhesion you have.

• Try to steer "with your hips" rather than your hands: in other words, make directional changes progressively and with your whole mass on the bike, rather than by sudden sharp steering inputs at the handlebars.

• As snow gets grooved by car tyres and refreezes, you can encounter rutted tracks and momentary "tramlining" effects. Deal with this by allowing the front wheel of the bike to go where it wants; again, keep your weight back, stay relaxed and don't be too ambitious about your speed.

• Mostly, on British roads, the snow is cleared or turns to slush quickly, but beware of transitions from snowy side streets to clear roads: this is where you're most likely to encounter ice or tricky ruts.

• I generally ride around town with some sort of hat, rather than a helmet. But in the snow, I'll wear a helmet – there's just a little more likelihood of a slip. Most likely, it would be slow-speed and harmless, but I'd factor in the extra risk by wearing a helmet.

• Unless you have mudguards (with good clearance!), wear old clothes: that slimy black slush is perplexingly indelible and a dirty stripe up your arse is not a good look in the office.

• The most dangerous time, as with any analogous activity (skiing, skating, downhill mountainbiking etc), is when you get over-confident. The day I got a little cocky on the back roads in the Green Mountain State, I found myself sliding down the road on my butt. So hey, what do I know?

]]>

Travel disruptions mean cycling, with a few adjustments, may be the best bet for getting to work vaguely on time

Snow, for many, is already here. And after I'm done writing this, I'm going to put the knobbliest tyres I have on my bike for this morning's commute.

I've got used to riding with a big crowd of cyclists on my way to and from work, but I suspect that as it has snowed overnight in London, the rank and file of two-wheeled commuters will be thinned out substantially.

But really, there's no need to leave the bike at home, just because of a bit of the white stuff. In fact, with bus, train and London underground services reduced by the inclement weather, cycling might be about the best bet for getting to work vaguely on time.

I just came back from a couple of weeks in north-east US. It snows there any time from November to April, and easily a foot at a time. In New York, where they snowplough the avenues and the main cross streets with incredible efficiency (courtesy of the sanitation department, which uses garbage trucks kitted out with blades and chains on the wheels), I saw no shortage of cyclists pedalling through the snow and slush. Up in Vermont, I rode on dirt roads carpeted in packed snow and sand: with a windchill of -20C, the biggest issue was avoiding frostbitten fingers; staying upright was no problem.

Only ice is the real no-no, but riding a bike in snow is not only easy, it's even fun. And you get the added kudos because people think you're incredibly intrepid getting to work, as though you'd just pedalled to the South Pole or something. With all the hype about the winter weather, I did start websearching for some serious winter tyres – the type with metal studs that will bite and give grip even through hard-packed icy snow. I found a very useful article on tyre choice from this New Hampshire cyclery, but there's so little demand for studded tyres in the UK that these products are hard to source, and by the time your order arrives, the snow will almost certainly have disappeared. So I'd suggest that unless your commute takes you over the Cairngorms, a pair of studded tyres for £70 is a slightly over-the-top technical fix for a problem that occurs a day or two a year at most.

Assuming, then, that we're doing cycling in the snow the cheap and cheerful way, I've got a few tips, but I'd be interested in yours, so please share below.

• The more tread on your tyres, the better. You can ride in snow on slicks, but I wouldn't choose to. If you have a mountain bike, with chunky off-road treads, this is the day for it.

• Let some air out of your tyres, whatever sort they are. Ride them soft: you'll get more grip.

• It's natural, when you're a bit anxious about conditions, to ride leaning forward and tense, with your hands on the brakes. But try to relax the hands and arms, and keep your weight back.

• As in any slippery conditions (such as very wet roads), do your braking early and as much as possible in a straight line. Definitely only use the front brake in this way; otherwise, use the back brake more. And you can also use the back brake to test the amount of adhesion you have.

• Try to steer "with your hips" rather than your hands: in other words, make directional changes progressively and with your whole mass on the bike, rather than by sudden sharp steering inputs at the handlebars.

• As snow gets grooved by car tyres and refreezes, you can encounter rutted tracks and momentary "tramlining" effects. Deal with this by allowing the front wheel of the bike to go where it wants; again, keep your weight back, stay relaxed and don't be too ambitious about your speed.

• Mostly, on British roads, the snow is cleared or turns to slush quickly, but beware of transitions from snowy side streets to clear roads: this is where you're most likely to encounter ice or tricky ruts.

• I generally ride around town with some sort of hat, rather than a helmet. But in the snow, I'll wear a helmet – there's just a little more likelihood of a slip. Most likely, it would be slow-speed and harmless, but I'd factor in the extra risk by wearing a helmet.

• Unless you have mudguards (with good clearance!), wear old clothes: that slimy black slush is perplexingly indelible and a dirty stripe up your arse is not a good look in the office.

• The most dangerous time, as with any analogous activity (skiing, skating, downhill mountainbiking etc), is when you get over-confident. The day I got a little cocky on the back roads in the Green Mountain State, I found myself sliding down the road on my butt. So hey, what do I know?

]]> http://www.eesonline.co.uk/blog/?feed=rss2&p=8 0 http://www.eesonline.co.uk/blog/?p=9 http://www.eesonline.co.uk/blog/?p=9#comments Mon, 23 Nov 2009 10:58:11 +0000 Jon Dennis, Phil Maynard, Suzanne Goldenberg, Jonathan Watts, James Randerson http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/blog/audio/2009/nov/20/guardian-daily-podcast Today we present a special edition of our daily news podcast focusing on next month's crucial United Nations summit on climate change. Many fear that if world leaders fail to reach a deal in Copenhagen, there will be years of wrangling without agreement.

Activist and commentator George Monbiot is pessimistic about Copenhagen's chances of success, even though time is running out both in terms of the science of global warming and in the expiry of the Kyoto pact.

It was hoped that this week's meeting in Beijing of the US and Chinese leaders would fire some momentum into negotiations. But Suzanne Goldenberg, our Washington-based US environment correspondent, says anything Barack Obama promises in Copenhagen will then have to be approved by Congress, which may not be easy.

And in Beijing, Jonathan Watts, our Asia environment correspondent, says that many people in China – even scientists – are sceptical about man-made climate change.

Deniers also have a presence in the UK. It emerged this week that the top 10 Tory bloggers are climate change sceptics. But Greg Clark, the shadow energy secretary, rejects suggestions that they will dent the Conservatives' commitment to the environment.

Sounding a more optimistic note is the former Treasury economist Nicholas Stern, who says there are good reasons to hope for a meaningful agreement next month.

And James Randerson, editor of environmentguardian.co.uk, outlines what a successful outcome at Copenhagen might comprise.

]]> Today we present a special edition of our daily news podcast focusing on next month's crucial United Nations summit on climate change. Many fear that if world leaders fail to reach a deal in Copenhagen, there will be years of wrangling without agreement.

Activist and commentator George Monbiot is pessimistic about Copenhagen's chances of success, even though time is running out both in terms of the science of global warming and in the expiry of the Kyoto pact.

It was hoped that this week's meeting in Beijing of the US and Chinese leaders would fire some momentum into negotiations. But Suzanne Goldenberg, our Washington-based US environment correspondent, says anything Barack Obama promises in Copenhagen will then have to be approved by Congress, which may not be easy.

And in Beijing, Jonathan Watts, our Asia environment correspondent, says that many people in China – even scientists – are sceptical about man-made climate change.

Deniers also have a presence in the UK. It emerged this week that the top 10 Tory bloggers are climate change sceptics. But Greg Clark, the shadow energy secretary, rejects suggestions that they will dent the Conservatives' commitment to the environment.

Sounding a more optimistic note is the former Treasury economist Nicholas Stern, who says there are good reasons to hope for a meaningful agreement next month.

And James Randerson, editor of environmentguardian.co.uk, outlines what a successful outcome at Copenhagen might comprise.

]]> http://www.eesonline.co.uk/blog/?feed=rss2&p=9 0 http://www.eesonline.co.uk/blog/?p=10 http://www.eesonline.co.uk/blog/?p=10#comments Wed, 02 Sep 2009 10:33:07 +0000 Jon Dennis, Andy Duckworth, Tim Maby http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/blog/audio/2009/sep/02/guardian-daily-podcast Today's show comes "live" from Tate Modern, where Ken Livingstone, Jeremy Hardy, Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall, Sara Cox and Michael Rosen are among those telling us why they're supporting the 10:10 campaign to reduce carbon emissions by 10% by the end of 2010.

We hear from the filmmaker Franny Armstrong, who had the idea of 10:10, and the Guardian's deputy editor Ian Katz on why we're supporting the campaign.

Julian Glover, the Guardian's chief leader writer, has the details of today's Guardian/ICM poll on climate change, while Patrick Barkham reports from Greenland, where the battle against global warming is most acute.

In other news, Luke Harding reports from Moscow on an international row over the causes of the second world war.

And business reporter Nick Mathiason explains why the Cayman Islands are on the verge of going bust.

]]> Today's show comes "live" from Tate Modern, where Ken Livingstone, Jeremy Hardy, Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall, Sara Cox and Michael Rosen are among those telling us why they're supporting the 10:10 campaign to reduce carbon emissions by 10% by the end of 2010.

We hear from the filmmaker Franny Armstrong, who had the idea of 10:10, and the Guardian's deputy editor Ian Katz on why we're supporting the campaign.

Julian Glover, the Guardian's chief leader writer, has the details of today's Guardian/ICM poll on climate change, while Patrick Barkham reports from Greenland, where the battle against global warming is most acute.

In other news, Luke Harding reports from Moscow on an international row over the causes of the second world war.

And business reporter Nick Mathiason explains why the Cayman Islands are on the verge of going bust.

]]> http://www.eesonline.co.uk/blog/?feed=rss2&p=10 0 http://www.eesonline.co.uk/blog/?p=12 http://www.eesonline.co.uk/blog/?p=12#comments Tue, 01 Sep 2009 12:09:54 +0000 Bibi van der Zee http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/blog/2009/aug/30/climate-change-police-direct-action

Five days in and the campers admit things are a little boring – there are no more toilets to put up and the police have vanished. But a plan for direct action should put the zip back into things

The weather can't make up its mind, and the campers can't either. One minute the Climate Campers are convinced that this is the best climate camp ever, most welcoming, chilled-out and up-for-it atmosphere, and the next they're admitting that perhaps it feels a little flat and even – God forbid – a little bit boring.

Five days in and there are no more toilets to put up, no more drainage systems to figure out, no more marquees to erect. The camp neighbourhoods all have their kitchens working, the rotas are full, the water hasn't run out and no one has set fire to anything.

As for the police, they have been pretty much invisible, going so far as to reject the idea of training a light on the camp at night in case it's seen as "invasive". On Thursday there was a mobile police station parked 40 or so metres from the perimeter of the Climate Camp fence. By Sunday even that has gone. The police have vanished, gone to confiscate some drugs at the Notting Hill carnival or practise their handbrake turns on the M25.

And the campers admit that, actually, it feels a bit odd without them. After all, much though they may deny this, the police have actually been incredibly useful to Climate Camp – uniting the campers in the face of the common enemy, and keeping them in the headlines in the months between camps. Now members of the legal team are wandering around like lost souls. The hay-bale barricades erected around the gate earlier in the week have been dismantled and turned into comfy seats.

However, there is now a plan for some direct action which should put the zip back into things. Firstly, there will be a flash mob tomorrow at midday at City Airport. And then on Tuesday morning, campers who want to take part in an action will be split into groups for the Rambling Raffle of Resistance.

Before Climate Camp got going, the organisers published a list of their targets which included BP, the Bank of England, E.ON,  and various government departments. Now all these targets will be put into a hat, and the campers will fan out to target them.

Given that the full title of the camp is the "camp for climate action", it will be a relief to supporters of the camp to see that the camp is not just going to be about "movement building" and "educational workshops" this year. The police may even be hoving into sight again too. And just as it looked as if things were all getting a bit dull …

]]>

Five days in and the campers admit things are a little boring – there are no more toilets to put up and the police have vanished. But a plan for direct action should put the zip back into things

The weather can't make up its mind, and the campers can't either. One minute the Climate Campers are convinced that this is the best climate camp ever, most welcoming, chilled-out and up-for-it atmosphere, and the next they're admitting that perhaps it feels a little flat and even – God forbid – a little bit boring.

Five days in and there are no more toilets to put up, no more drainage systems to figure out, no more marquees to erect. The camp neighbourhoods all have their kitchens working, the rotas are full, the water hasn't run out and no one has set fire to anything.

As for the police, they have been pretty much invisible, going so far as to reject the idea of training a light on the camp at night in case it's seen as "invasive". On Thursday there was a mobile police station parked 40 or so metres from the perimeter of the Climate Camp fence. By Sunday even that has gone. The police have vanished, gone to confiscate some drugs at the Notting Hill carnival or practise their handbrake turns on the M25.

And the campers admit that, actually, it feels a bit odd without them. After all, much though they may deny this, the police have actually been incredibly useful to Climate Camp – uniting the campers in the face of the common enemy, and keeping them in the headlines in the months between camps. Now members of the legal team are wandering around like lost souls. The hay-bale barricades erected around the gate earlier in the week have been dismantled and turned into comfy seats.

However, there is now a plan for some direct action which should put the zip back into things. Firstly, there will be a flash mob tomorrow at midday at City Airport. And then on Tuesday morning, campers who want to take part in an action will be split into groups for the Rambling Raffle of Resistance.

Before Climate Camp got going, the organisers published a list of their targets which included BP, the Bank of England, E.ON,  and various government departments. Now all these targets will be put into a hat, and the campers will fan out to target them.

Given that the full title of the camp is the "camp for climate action", it will be a relief to supporters of the camp to see that the camp is not just going to be about "movement building" and "educational workshops" this year. The police may even be hoving into sight again too. And just as it looked as if things were all getting a bit dull …

]]> http://www.eesonline.co.uk/blog/?feed=rss2&p=12 0 http://www.eesonline.co.uk/blog/?p=11 http://www.eesonline.co.uk/blog/?p=11#comments Mon, 31 Aug 2009 16:56:06 +0000 Mark Tran http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/blog/2009/aug/31/100w-incandescent-lightbulbs-axed

Will the last people to switch to fluorescents please turn off the less environmentally friendly lights?

From Tuesday the 100-watt incandescent lightbulb will join tape cassettes and typewriters as defunct consumer items, making way for more environmentally friendly compact fluorescent lamps, as mandated by the EU.

From a green point of view, the phasing out of the 100W bulb, which has been around for more than 100 years, is a no-brainer. Energy-saving bulbs use 80% less electricity than standard ones, therefore cutting bills – by around £45 a year – and reducing carbon emissions. The Energy Saving Trust says the vast majority of the 600m lightbulbs in UK homes are inefficient tungsten filament bulbs, and phasing them out will make a real difference to national energy consumption.

Yet the passing of the standard lightbulb has seen an outpouring of pre-emptive nostalgia, as well as considerable vitriol at its replacement. There is a Facebook page called I Hate Energy Saving Light Bulbs, where Margot K Juby curses the new bulbs: "I got a cactus spike in my foot late one night & had to use a torch to see it! Stupid lightbulb was useless."

Rachel Cooke, of the Observer, confessed to spending £30 – the entire contents of her wallet – on incandescent lightbulbs that were on special offer. The Daily Mail, which considers directives from Brussels the work of the devil, mounted a campaign to keep the old-fashioned bulbs, to the point of giving them away by the thousand. The paper even managed to work up a scare story about how the new bulbs "can give you skin cancer". That claim may be overwrought but some charities have genuine concerns about people with light-sensitive health conditions such as an extreme form of lupus, for whom exposure to the new lightbulbs can lead to a reddish-purple rash and vomiting.

Health concerns aside, the intense feelings generated by the imminent extinction of the 100W lightbulb are a stark illustration of the uphill battle facing those who hope to wean consumers away from planet-spoiling behaviour. If so many people are so attached to something as trivial as lightbulbs, what hope is there of cutting the use of cars and planes?

]]>

Will the last people to switch to fluorescents please turn off the less environmentally friendly lights?

From Tuesday the 100-watt incandescent lightbulb will join tape cassettes and typewriters as defunct consumer items, making way for more environmentally friendly compact fluorescent lamps, as mandated by the EU.

From a green point of view, the phasing out of the 100W bulb, which has been around for more than 100 years, is a no-brainer. Energy-saving bulbs use 80% less electricity than standard ones, therefore cutting bills – by around £45 a year – and reducing carbon emissions. The Energy Saving Trust says the vast majority of the 600m lightbulbs in UK homes are inefficient tungsten filament bulbs, and phasing them out will make a real difference to national energy consumption.

Yet the passing of the standard lightbulb has seen an outpouring of pre-emptive nostalgia, as well as considerable vitriol at its replacement. There is a Facebook page called I Hate Energy Saving Light Bulbs, where Margot K Juby curses the new bulbs: "I got a cactus spike in my foot late one night & had to use a torch to see it! Stupid lightbulb was useless."

Rachel Cooke, of the Observer, confessed to spending £30 – the entire contents of her wallet – on incandescent lightbulbs that were on special offer. The Daily Mail, which considers directives from Brussels the work of the devil, mounted a campaign to keep the old-fashioned bulbs, to the point of giving them away by the thousand. The paper even managed to work up a scare story about how the new bulbs "can give you skin cancer". That claim may be overwrought but some charities have genuine concerns about people with light-sensitive health conditions such as an extreme form of lupus, for whom exposure to the new lightbulbs can lead to a reddish-purple rash and vomiting.

Health concerns aside, the intense feelings generated by the imminent extinction of the 100W lightbulb are a stark illustration of the uphill battle facing those who hope to wean consumers away from planet-spoiling behaviour. If so many people are so attached to something as trivial as lightbulbs, what hope is there of cutting the use of cars and planes?

]]> http://www.eesonline.co.uk/blog/?feed=rss2&p=11 0 http://www.eesonline.co.uk/blog/?p=13 http://www.eesonline.co.uk/blog/?p=13#comments Fri, 28 Aug 2009 11:12:40 +0000 David Batty http://www.guardian.co.uk/news/blog/2009/aug/27/climate-camp-climate-change

Follow the latest developments from Climate Camp's main camp on Blackheath, south east London, and protesters' direct action against big business in the City.

10.42am: Hundreds of environmental activists have set up the latest Climate Camp on Blackheath in south east London, putting on a week of workshops, protests and festivities. The protesters descended on the site in Lewisham, famous for its historic association with anti-establishment protests such as the Peasants' Revolt, after spending much of yesterday milling around the city in an apparent bid to confuse the police. You can read more details of yesterday's events as they happened on my previous live blog.

Our reporting team is down at the camp and out with protesters in front of the Climate Exchange building in Bishopsgate and will bring you updates throughout the day.

10.55am: There are rumours that 20 targets in London have been discussed for potential direct action over the next few days. So far there's no sign there's likely to be a repeat of the violent clashes that marred earlier Climate Camps, leading to criticism of the Metropolitan Police's tactics. The police presence at the camp has been low key and this photo suggests officers monitoring some of the campers' direct action at the Climate Exchange building this morning were enjoying the festivities.

Wearing evening dresses and dinner suits, the protesters unrolled a Climate Change Casino board along with fake banknotes and over-sized playing cards in the columned entrance gate to the exchange's courtyard, Guardian reporter Peter Walker writes. The Met's silver commander for the Climate Camp protest, Julia Pendry, even popped down for a chat with the activists earlier. "Offensives have rarely been more charming," reckons Peter.

10.57am: Guardian reporter Paul Lewis has more on the only ugly confrontation at the Climate Camp so far - when chief superindependent Julia Pendry walked on to the site at around 7pm yesterday to talk to the organisers. A crowd of around a dozen anarchists, apparently against the wishes of the rest of the camp, shouted "scum", "kill the pigs" and "you murdered Ian Tomlinson" at Pendry as she left the site with a colleague.

Paul reckons Pendry, who oversaw the monitoring of the Tamil protests in Parliament Square earlier this year, dealt with the situation deftly - complimenting the camp organisers for their hospitality despite the handful of people screaming in her face. "She played it very diplomatically," he says.

The anarchists, who were dressed in black and carried red and black flags and banners, left the camp later last night. Paul says: "They were made to feel unwelcome by the rest of the camp. Some of those most involved in organising the camp were glad they had left. The camp works on consensus - they agree a line to take on a situation collectively. So if other people go off and do their own thing, it's not appreciated."

11.12am: The Labour mayor of Lewisham, Steve Bullock, has drawn a distinctly unflattering comparison between the campers and football hooligans.

In a post on his blog, where he congratulates himself for using a small electric hybrid car for his official duties, Bullock accuses the environmental activists of "patronising selfishness".

The problem with the Campers is that no matter how well intentioned and nice they are what they are doing is counterproductive. It will be seen as self indulgent by lots of people who are struggling through the recession and could even make it harder to win support for some of the difficult measures that will have to be taken in the future. And who do you think is going to have to pay to take the rubbish away, provide water and repair the Heath when they've gone? That's right you and me – the taxpayers of Lewisham who were never asked and never agreed to the camp being here.

Being angry with the Climate Change Campers doesn't mean you don't care about the issue – for me they are a distraction from the real task of changing how we behave and persuading ever more of our fellow citizens to change the way they behave too.

Local blog the Blackheath Bugle clearly thinks the mayor is, ahem, talking bullocks, and takes him to task for apparently appealing to the NIMBY demographic.

I think it is absolutely essential that people make their voices heard on a local, national and international level. Unfortunately for you, it's on your patch… Nevermind, the heath is a mess every sunny Saturday with people simply boozing, so it won't make much difference.

So, you can either use this to your advantage, embrace it, and listen to their requests, or you can sit in your council offices, chastising these young people for having the gall to make a stand about something. Don't be misled – just because they've got the time and money to be able to come and make a political statement doesn't mean that they are just rich kids who can be ignored. Climate change is going to affect all of us.

Please don't make dubious comparisons with football hooligans. Improve our air quality, reduce the flights coming overhead, make sure that our waste isn't being incinerated, but gets fully recycled, turn our public transport into low emissions vehicles, and stop the crazy rail price hikes!

12.04pm: The Whitechapel Anarchist Group has posted a blog with their version of the confrontation with Julia Pendry last night.

The group - who refer to themselves as WAGs - clearly shares the view of some commentators that many of the protesters at the camp are middle class students and graduates who are about as revolutionary as the Scouts, complaining that they walked in an orderly fashion to the camp rather than marching in the road to stop the traffic. But their ire is mainly reserved for the camp organisers for allowing the police on site:

Then the shit hit the proverbial wind turbine. Superintendent Julie Pendry and some other lackey Copper (Possibly Ian Thomas) were wandering around undisturbed. They were taken into a tent for a cup of tea and a chat with members of the Officer Class while Climate Camp prefects defended the door, initially to keep out press, as they blocked up the entrance so no one could see or hear what was going on. Climate Camp made two tactical errors here. Firstly allowing the Pigs onto the site (Which was fenced off by this point with only one main entrance). And secondly by allowing them asylum in a tent right next to our mob. Oh dear.

And so it began. Heckling. Shouting. And a few choruses of Harry Roberts. People flocked from all corners of the camp to get involved. But the mood was split. Conflict between those opposed to the police presence and those willing to protect and tolerate (And in some cases welcome) the old bill. Climate Camp soft cops warned us that "It's not best to act like this with media around" which just goes to show that some involved in the Camp have so much faith in the corporate media, police and state that their hopes for real radical environmental change are merely liberal posturing at best. At this point a spray can was used to much artistic effect as "ACAB" was decorated on the tent, though the artist was stopped before he could finish "KILL POLICE". The sound system was then pushed up against the tent so that the inside occupants could listen to the brilliant Dead Prez rap about the joy of politically motivated drive by shootings.

Finally the two little piggies were rushed out, protected by Camp prefects, but given a run for their money by us lot. Barrages of "SCUM", "MURDERERS", "BLOOD ON YOUR HANDS" and "WE HAVEN'T FORGOTTEN ABOUT IAN TOMLINSON" were hurled at them until they managed to escape out the main gates. With back up now assembled. FIT Watch's finest did a brilliant job in undermiming their presence and they all finally left as the angry abuse continued letting them know that they were not welcome.

Heated discussions then abounded. We should say that people shouting at the police were not just our group but was a mixed mob of anarchists and sound newly found comrades from the camp who got involved. It was made clear to Climate Camp prefects and others protesting against our actions that we have a right to stand up and be heard when the police, who are oppressive violent functionaries of the State and ruling class, enter a space that is supposed to be liberated and collectively organised for radical purposes of real change from the old order. Obvious to many was the fact that decisions had been made and people were kept in the dark which exposes the hierachical nature behind the non-hierachical rhetoric.

East London blogger Kevin Blowe also criticises the camp organisers' "foolish" decision to allow the police on site just months after the violence at the G20 protests:

First rule of meetings with the police – hold them somewhere neutral. If you invite them to your place, they become your guests, a fact that they will try and exploit. It's no longer as easy to conduct a proper negotiation and you lose the ability to walk away when you're done. Oh, and it may annoy other members of the family for whom a severe beating five months ago still counts as fresh in the memory.

1.06pm: Freelance photographer Jonathan Warren has written an interesting blog post on Climate Camp's policy towards journalists on site.

Journalists wanting to stay on the camp outside of media hours - 10am-6pm ( apparently the organisers haven't heard of rolling news) - will be asked to sign this code of conduct.

The code says 'When you want to take a picture or a video and it includes people, always, always ask first. If you can't ask don't take the picture.'

The camp's organisers claim that all decisions are made with consensus from everyone. But reading through the minutes of the national meetings before the camp, the code of conduct is only ever mentioned in passing. There is never a discussion about what it should be and what it should contain.

So what has resulted is the media team's moral view on what the press should be allowed to do being imposed on everyone at the camp and on journalists. We do not allow the police to impose their moral view of what should be photographed on us, so why should journalists subscribe to the media team's views?

Are they supposing that if the police were to raid the camp we wouldn't be able to photograph it unless we asked everyone defending the camp their permission first? I spent all day photographing people setting up the camp, I didn't ask a single one for their permission and no-one asked me not to take their picture.

Jonathan takes particular umbrage with the sections of the code that advise journalists they will be evicted from the site if they steal, use violence, sexually harass, interrupt campers, or inform on camp activities.

No interrupting? I'm not sure broadcast and radio journalists will be able to be follow that one for more than a minute interviewing someone.

I find the last point particularly insulting, I'll assume they mean 'informing' in the sense of passing the police information that was given in confidence, rather than informing people by reporting – as is our job. Not giving unpublished material over to the state is an issue that journalists go to prison for.

In any case the campers needn't worry as we've already to agreed to a code of conduct – the NUJ Code of Conduct. And that is the only code I will be agreeing to as I cover Climate Camp this week.

Is Jonathan right that this code is patronising and insulting? I'd question how the organisers have a right to establish "No Media Zones" on common land. The Guardian's John Vidal certainly took offence at Climate Camp's media policy at their Heathrow protest.

It's no surprise that activists would be wary of journalists - especially from the national press - given how dire some of the reporting of direct action has been in the past. But it does seem odd to try to impose restrictions on journalists given the issue of press freedom raised by police harassment of photojournalists at protests like G20. Several press photographers allegedly suffered beatings from Met officers while covering G20 - and the NUJ is taking legal action.

3.22pm: Photojournalist and occasional Guardian contributor Marc Vallée has responded to Climate Camp's media code of conduct on his blog. Marc, who has worked on major investigations on police surveillance of protesters and journalists as well as covert state targeting of environmental activists, draws comparison between the camp organisers' media policy and police use of anti-terrorism laws to harass journalists.

I have asked the camps media team for a copy of the code of conduct but they have yet to respond. You will also have to wear a "media badge" at all times so folks know who you are. Maybe my "I'm a Photographer, Not a Terrorist!" badge will do?

The camp is trying to write its own narrative – pretty much in the same way that New Scotland Yard is spinning its media strategy as fact. As Vidal wrote in 2007, "It's an easy step from trying to manipulate the press to manipulate information."

Marc adds via email:

An environmental movement – which wants to take on the anarchic market system of capitalism that is destroying our planet – that attacks press freedom and the rights of photographers to document political protest on public land is a movement that will lose the respect of many committed and independent journalists.

4.18pm: A video on Indymedia suggests a couple of Met Officers who turned up at the main camp yesterday seemed to have missed the force's own briefing on how to handle the protest. No evidence of "community-style policing" there. The incident also illustrates how officers have obstructed journalists - both professional or citizen - covering protests.

4.42pm: Following the confrontation between anarchists and chief superintendent Pendry yesterday, a meeting this morning between the police and protesters was held outside the camp. According to Twitter users at the camp, as a result the police have threatened to cut off all communications. Here's a pic of some protesters on straw bales, apparently blocking police access to the camp.

4.58pm: A reader asks why the Met Police has called its operation to monitor London Climate Camp Operation Bentham. Indymedia reckons it's a reference to the English social theorist and philosopher Jeremy Bentham.

Bentham's most frequently used concept is that of the panopticon. The panopticon is essentially a prison where the inmates are constantly aware that they may be under surveillance but cannot know whether anyone is actually watching. Consequently they are forced to act as though they are constantly being surveyed and so internalise the process of surveillance.

The concept of the panopticon was utilised by French theorist Michel Foucault as a metaphor for modern 'disciplinary socities.' With the police using badge sized cameras to record activists alongside the report that all campers are to be photographed by the police, we shall wait and see whether the police tactics do indeed revolve around creating an Orwellian situation of self-censoring activists.

The Met Police press office claims that all operation names are simply randomly selected by a computer. Hmm.

4.59pm: This concludes our live blog of day two of Climate Camp London. Thanks for your comments and feel free to continue the debate below.

]]>

Follow the latest developments from Climate Camp's main camp on Blackheath, south east London, and protesters' direct action against big business in the City.

10.42am: Hundreds of environmental activists have set up the latest Climate Camp on Blackheath in south east London, putting on a week of workshops, protests and festivities. The protesters descended on the site in Lewisham, famous for its historic association with anti-establishment protests such as the Peasants' Revolt, after spending much of yesterday milling around the city in an apparent bid to confuse the police. You can read more details of yesterday's events as they happened on my previous live blog.

Our reporting team is down at the camp and out with protesters in front of the Climate Exchange building in Bishopsgate and will bring you updates throughout the day.

10.55am: There are rumours that 20 targets in London have been discussed for potential direct action over the next few days. So far there's no sign there's likely to be a repeat of the violent clashes that marred earlier Climate Camps, leading to criticism of the Metropolitan Police's tactics. The police presence at the camp has been low key and this photo suggests officers monitoring some of the campers' direct action at the Climate Exchange building this morning were enjoying the festivities.

Wearing evening dresses and dinner suits, the protesters unrolled a Climate Change Casino board along with fake banknotes and over-sized playing cards in the columned entrance gate to the exchange's courtyard, Guardian reporter Peter Walker writes. The Met's silver commander for the Climate Camp protest, Julia Pendry, even popped down for a chat with the activists earlier. "Offensives have rarely been more charming," reckons Peter.

10.57am: Guardian reporter Paul Lewis has more on the only ugly confrontation at the Climate Camp so far - when chief superindependent Julia Pendry walked on to the site at around 7pm yesterday to talk to the organisers. A crowd of around a dozen anarchists, apparently against the wishes of the rest of the camp, shouted "scum", "kill the pigs" and "you murdered Ian Tomlinson" at Pendry as she left the site with a colleague.

Paul reckons Pendry, who oversaw the monitoring of the Tamil protests in Parliament Square earlier this year, dealt with the situation deftly - complimenting the camp organisers for their hospitality despite the handful of people screaming in her face. "She played it very diplomatically," he says.

The anarchists, who were dressed in black and carried red and black flags and banners, left the camp later last night. Paul says: "They were made to feel unwelcome by the rest of the camp. Some of those most involved in organising the camp were glad they had left. The camp works on consensus - they agree a line to take on a situation collectively. So if other people go off and do their own thing, it's not appreciated."

11.12am: The Labour mayor of Lewisham, Steve Bullock, has drawn a distinctly unflattering comparison between the campers and football hooligans.

In a post on his blog, where he congratulates himself for using a small electric hybrid car for his official duties, Bullock accuses the environmental activists of "patronising selfishness".

The problem with the Campers is that no matter how well intentioned and nice they are what they are doing is counterproductive. It will be seen as self indulgent by lots of people who are struggling through the recession and could even make it harder to win support for some of the difficult measures that will have to be taken in the future. And who do you think is going to have to pay to take the rubbish away, provide water and repair the Heath when they've gone? That's right you and me – the taxpayers of Lewisham who were never asked and never agreed to the camp being here.

Being angry with the Climate Change Campers doesn't mean you don't care about the issue – for me they are a distraction from the real task of changing how we behave and persuading ever more of our fellow citizens to change the way they behave too.

Local blog the Blackheath Bugle clearly thinks the mayor is, ahem, talking bullocks, and takes him to task for apparently appealing to the NIMBY demographic.

I think it is absolutely essential that people make their voices heard on a local, national and international level. Unfortunately for you, it's on your patch… Nevermind, the heath is a mess every sunny Saturday with people simply boozing, so it won't make much difference.

So, you can either use this to your advantage, embrace it, and listen to their requests, or you can sit in your council offices, chastising these young people for having the gall to make a stand about something. Don't be misled – just because they've got the time and money to be able to come and make a political statement doesn't mean that they are just rich kids who can be ignored. Climate change is going to affect all of us.

Please don't make dubious comparisons with football hooligans. Improve our air quality, reduce the flights coming overhead, make sure that our waste isn't being incinerated, but gets fully recycled, turn our public transport into low emissions vehicles, and stop the crazy rail price hikes!

12.04pm: The Whitechapel Anarchist Group has posted a blog with their version of the confrontation with Julia Pendry last night.

The group - who refer to themselves as WAGs - clearly shares the view of some commentators that many of the protesters at the camp are middle class students and graduates who are about as revolutionary as the Scouts, complaining that they walked in an orderly fashion to the camp rather than marching in the road to stop the traffic. But their ire is mainly reserved for the camp organisers for allowing the police on site:

Then the shit hit the proverbial wind turbine. Superintendent Julie Pendry and some other lackey Copper (Possibly Ian Thomas) were wandering around undisturbed. They were taken into a tent for a cup of tea and a chat with members of the Officer Class while Climate Camp prefects defended the door, initially to keep out press, as they blocked up the entrance so no one could see or hear what was going on. Climate Camp made two tactical errors here. Firstly allowing the Pigs onto the site (Which was fenced off by this point with only one main entrance). And secondly by allowing them asylum in a tent right next to our mob. Oh dear.

And so it began. Heckling. Shouting. And a few choruses of Harry Roberts. People flocked from all corners of the camp to get involved. But the mood was split. Conflict between those opposed to the police presence and those willing to protect and tolerate (And in some cases welcome) the old bill. Climate Camp soft cops warned us that "It's not best to act like this with media around" which just goes to show that some involved in the Camp have so much faith in the corporate media, police and state that their hopes for real radical environmental change are merely liberal posturing at best. At this point a spray can was used to much artistic effect as "ACAB" was decorated on the tent, though the artist was stopped before he could finish "KILL POLICE". The sound system was then pushed up against the tent so that the inside occupants could listen to the brilliant Dead Prez rap about the joy of politically motivated drive by shootings.

Finally the two little piggies were rushed out, protected by Camp prefects, but given a run for their money by us lot. Barrages of "SCUM", "MURDERERS", "BLOOD ON YOUR HANDS" and "WE HAVEN'T FORGOTTEN ABOUT IAN TOMLINSON" were hurled at them until they managed to escape out the main gates. With back up now assembled. FIT Watch's finest did a brilliant job in undermiming their presence and they all finally left as the angry abuse continued letting them know that they were not welcome.

Heated discussions then abounded. We should say that people shouting at the police were not just our group but was a mixed mob of anarchists and sound newly found comrades from the camp who got involved. It was made clear to Climate Camp prefects and others protesting against our actions that we have a right to stand up and be heard when the police, who are oppressive violent functionaries of the State and ruling class, enter a space that is supposed to be liberated and collectively organised for radical purposes of real change from the old order. Obvious to many was the fact that decisions had been made and people were kept in the dark which exposes the hierachical nature behind the non-hierachical rhetoric.

East London blogger Kevin Blowe also criticises the camp organisers' "foolish" decision to allow the police on site just months after the violence at the G20 protests:

First rule of meetings with the police – hold them somewhere neutral. If you invite them to your place, they become your guests, a fact that they will try and exploit. It's no longer as easy to conduct a proper negotiation and you lose the ability to walk away when you're done. Oh, and it may annoy other members of the family for whom a severe beating five months ago still counts as fresh in the memory.

1.06pm: Freelance photographer Jonathan Warren has written an interesting blog post on Climate Camp's policy towards journalists on site.

Journalists wanting to stay on the camp outside of media hours - 10am-6pm ( apparently the organisers haven't heard of rolling news) - will be asked to sign this code of conduct.

The code says 'When you want to take a picture or a video and it includes people, always, always ask first. If you can't ask don't take the picture.'

The camp's organisers claim that all decisions are made with consensus from everyone. But reading through the minutes of the national meetings before the camp, the code of conduct is only ever mentioned in passing. There is never a discussion about what it should be and what it should contain.

So what has resulted is the media team's moral view on what the press should be allowed to do being imposed on everyone at the camp and on journalists. We do not allow the police to impose their moral view of what should be photographed on us, so why should journalists subscribe to the media team's views?

Are they supposing that if the police were to raid the camp we wouldn't be able to photograph it unless we asked everyone defending the camp their permission first? I spent all day photographing people setting up the camp, I didn't ask a single one for their permission and no-one asked me not to take their picture.

Jonathan takes particular umbrage with the sections of the code that advise journalists they will be evicted from the site if they steal, use violence, sexually harass, interrupt campers, or inform on camp activities.

No interrupting? I'm not sure broadcast and radio journalists will be able to be follow that one for more than a minute interviewing someone.

I find the last point particularly insulting, I'll assume they mean 'informing' in the sense of passing the police information that was given in confidence, rather than informing people by reporting – as is our job. Not giving unpublished material over to the state is an issue that journalists go to prison for.

In any case the campers needn't worry as we've already to agreed to a code of conduct – the NUJ Code of Conduct. And that is the only code I will be agreeing to as I cover Climate Camp this week.

Is Jonathan right that this code is patronising and insulting? I'd question how the organisers have a right to establish "No Media Zones" on common land. The Guardian's John Vidal certainly took offence at Climate Camp's media policy at their Heathrow protest.

It's no surprise that activists would be wary of journalists - especially from the national press - given how dire some of the reporting of direct action has been in the past. But it does seem odd to try to impose restrictions on journalists given the issue of press freedom raised by police harassment of photojournalists at protests like G20. Several press photographers allegedly suffered beatings from Met officers while covering G20 - and the NUJ is taking legal action.

3.22pm: Photojournalist and occasional Guardian contributor Marc Vallée has responded to Climate Camp's media code of conduct on his blog. Marc, who has worked on major investigations on police surveillance of protesters and journalists as well as covert state targeting of environmental activists, draws comparison between the camp organisers' media policy and police use of anti-terrorism laws to harass journalists.

I have asked the camps media team for a copy of the code of conduct but they have yet to respond. You will also have to wear a "media badge" at all times so folks know who you are. Maybe my "I'm a Photographer, Not a Terrorist!" badge will do?

The camp is trying to write its own narrative – pretty much in the same way that New Scotland Yard is spinning its media strategy as fact. As Vidal wrote in 2007, "It's an easy step from trying to manipulate the press to manipulate information."

Marc adds via email:

An environmental movement – which wants to take on the anarchic market system of capitalism that is destroying our planet – that attacks press freedom and the rights of photographers to document political protest on public land is a movement that will lose the respect of many committed and independent journalists.

4.18pm: A video on Indymedia suggests a couple of Met Officers who turned up at the main camp yesterday seemed to have missed the force's own briefing on how to handle the protest. No evidence of "community-style policing" there. The incident also illustrates how officers have obstructed journalists - both professional or citizen - covering protests.

4.42pm: Following the confrontation between anarchists and chief superintendent Pendry yesterday, a meeting this morning between the police and protesters was held outside the camp. According to Twitter users at the camp, as a result the police have threatened to cut off all communications. Here's a pic of some protesters on straw bales, apparently blocking police access to the camp.

4.58pm: A reader asks why the Met Police has called its operation to monitor London Climate Camp Operation Bentham. Indymedia reckons it's a reference to the English social theorist and philosopher Jeremy Bentham.

Bentham's most frequently used concept is that of the panopticon. The panopticon is essentially a prison where the inmates are constantly aware that they may be under surveillance but cannot know whether anyone is actually watching. Consequently they are forced to act as though they are constantly being surveyed and so internalise the process of surveillance.

The concept of the panopticon was utilised by French theorist Michel Foucault as a metaphor for modern 'disciplinary socities.' With the police using badge sized cameras to record activists alongside the report that all campers are to be photographed by the police, we shall wait and see whether the police tactics do indeed revolve around creating an Orwellian situation of self-censoring activists.

The Met Police press office claims that all operation names are simply randomly selected by a computer. Hmm.

4.59pm: This concludes our live blog of day two of Climate Camp London. Thanks for your comments and feel free to continue the debate below.

]]> http://www.eesonline.co.uk/blog/?feed=rss2&p=13 0 http://www.eesonline.co.uk/blog/?p=14 http://www.eesonline.co.uk/blog/?p=14#comments Thu, 27 Aug 2009 00:22:34 +0000 David Batty, Haroon Siddique http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/blog/2009/aug/26/climate-camp-climate-change

Climate Camp descends on London today with the police promising to take a low-key approach to the climate change protests to avoid the trouble that flared during the G20 summit. Follow live updates from our reporting team as they follow developments across the city.

11.01am: Climate Camp hits London today for the start of a week of protests against the industries and government departments they believe are damaging the environment.

The location of the new camp will not be announced by demonstrators until noon when a text message will be sent to campers revealing where the direct action will be staged. Protesters will make their way there from 7 assembly points or "swoops" – under Waterloo Bridge; outside BP headquarters in St James's Square; Bank of England, Threadneedle Street; Stratford Tube; Rio Tinto offices, Aldermanbury Square; and Stockwell Tube.

Our reporting team, Paul Lewis, Peter Walker and Bibi van der Zee, will be joining the protesters as they march to the main camp. You can follow updates from them here and on this live Twitter feed. If you're taking part and have updates or photos you want to share you can also contact me on david.batty@guardian.co.uk or on Twitter. The Guardian also has a Climate Camp Flickr gallery where you can post photos online.

The London Climate Camp follows earlier protests at the Drax power station in West Yorkshire, Heathrow airport - against the proposed third runway, the Kingsnorth power station in Kent, and the G20 summit.

Previous protests were marred by heavy-handed policing, with campers beaten and forcibly detained - 'kettled' - by officers. One of the assembly points for today's action - Threadneedle Street - was chosen in honour of Ian Tomlinson, who died after being struck by a police officer in the G20 protests in April. Senior Metropolitan Police officers have promised "neighbourhood-style" policing, with fewer stop and searches and "no ring of steel". But the Met has said all protesters attending the demonstrations today will be photographed.

11.12am:

Here's a map of the swoop locations.

Follow Twitter updates from Climate Camp here. You can watch live video feed of protesters gathering at a park here, and films from Climate Camp TV here.

11.35am: Rowenna Davis and Sunny Hundal are also live Tweeting today's protests for Comment is Free; you can follow their updates here. The official Climate Camp website has a wealth of background info on the movement and multimedia reports. In contrast, there's no sign of activity on the Met Police's Twitter account - CO11MetPolice - set up specifically for today's protests.

11.51am: Guardian reporter Peter Walker, who is with the 'Brown Team' of cycling campers, says there are now around 40 protesters gathered at Waterloo. There are only two police present who told him they were the only ones planning to monitor that swoop point.

One of the campers, Nick, a 23-year-old web designer from north London, told him: "I really hope this will be an inspiring event, a chance for me to meet lots of other people and for people to see that this can be a positive event."

Asked whether he was worried about the policing of the demonstration, Nick replied: "I am a bit nervous, I can't lie. But I'm hoping that after G20 - and the death of Ian Tomlinson - the police have learnt something, and maybe we've learnt something too. Maybe this can be the start of a happy new relationship between us and the police."

Organisers of today's demonstrations seem rather less convinced that the police can change their ways, as this YouTube letter to the Met shows.

12.06pm: A protester has posted a photo of the T-shirts worn by Climate Camp's legal advisers who will be on hand to help in the event of clashes with the police. The slogan says: "You do not have to give personal details under any search power".

12.10pm: Peter Walker at Waterloo says there are now 100 protesters gathered with a "party atmosphere" now building. Protesters are tying flags to their bikes and there's a tandem pulling a sound system. You can see photos of the gathering protesters - and the so far low-key police presence - at Climate Camp's twitpic page. We're still waiting for the text of the main camp's location.

12.31pm: More on the police presence from Paul Lewis at the Bank swoop. He says the Met's Forward Intelligence Teams' surveillance officers are not wearing their usual riot gear but do have badge-size CCTV cameras attached to their jackets. Paul says: "An officer told me he was in "normal patrolling uniform."

The FITwatch blog has put up downloadable and printable images of FIT officers and suggests protesters "play a bit of FITwatch bingo" and see how many they can tick off.

Meanwhile, Twitter user cctwitz says: "CO11MetPolice [the Met's Twitter account] just tweeted guardian article about police photographing climate camp swoop and then deleted it - lol."

12.37pm: Looks like the protesters plan to play a cat and mouse game with the police. No specific meeting point has been announced yet. Instead campers are being told to move out from the swoop points around central London. Peter Walker says about 200 cycling protesters, who have been massing at Waterloo, have been told to ride around the city - heading north over London Bridge. While around another 200 campers are marching from St James's Park to Trafalgar Square. Paul Lewis describes it as a "dance around the city".

12.53pm: Photojournalist Marc Vallée has posted a photo of the badge-size CCTV cameras the Met's FIT surveillance officers are wearing on their jackets.

You can read more about his project to document political dissent on the streets of Britain, and how it is affected by recent anti-terrorism legislation, here.

12.58pm: A Climate Camp activist has posted an audio clip explaining why South Bank near the Shell Centre was chosen as meeting point for today's demonstrations.

1.04pm: Peter Walker says the cycling protesters are now heading west from St Paul's cathedral. Meanwhile, the Stockwell Tube group are off to the nearby Larkhall Park for fun and games before heading to the main camp, though there's still no word of where that is. Those gathered at Trafalgar Square are apparently playing with a giant inflatable globe. Adam Vaughan is taking over while I'm at lunch.

1.30pm: Rumours are circulating online that the location of the camp is... London City Airport. Twitter user and journalist @monstris has posted a link to a waypoint near the airport, while Flickr user wnjr earlier today posted a photo of an alleged police camp near the airport. We're still waiting on official confirmation.

1.49pm: The Metropolitan police have just confirmed - via their new Twitter account - that their climate camp command base is at City Airport (as seen in this photo). But the police say they still have "no intelligence on location of the Camp". But judging from whispers of the camp being held near the airport or on Hackney Marshes, a bet on an east London location is looking like an increasingly good wager.

2.03pm: Groups are on the move again.

Paul Lewis says the Bank group are taking the DLR to Greenwich, while Peter Walker reports his Waterloo group just crossed Tower Bridge northwards and is now heading east. Other tweeters suggest the Stockwell group is headed towards Greenwich too, which is pretty close to City Airport. The Evening Standard's Twitter journalist says the Rio Tinto group is now making its way to London Bridge on the tube.

2.08pm: Peter Walker and Bibi van der Zee report that their groups are both headed south, towards Lewisham. A text message to the white/brown groups reads "site on right at Hare & Billet Road, Blackheath." Is the camp going to be held at Greenwich park, rather than the airport?

2.15pm: David Batty taking over again. Peter Walker says the main camp will be at Blackheath in south east London. Many protesters are there already, he's told. Climate Camp had sent out a press release - which our latest news report cited - stating the camp would be at Greenwich Park, over the road.

Here's a map of the main Climate Camp's location.

Paul Lewis says the location was chosen as it was a rallying point in the Peasants Revolt of 1381, Cade's Rebellion in 1450, and the Cornish Rebellion in 1497.

2.24pm: The official Met Police Twitter account - CO11MetPolice - has attracted a copycat - C011MetPolice. Please note the update at 1.49pm mistakenly references the fake account.

2.29pm: Peter Walker at Blackheath says there are around 40 protesters at the site of the main camp. Some protesters are now on top of 15ft tripods - see photo here - erected with scaffolding on the heath.

These are put up by protesters to prevent them being moved on by the police - as they can't be dismantled without the risk of injury to the occupants. Peter can also see a load of trucks and a coach, but no police.

2.38pm: Peter Walker says the site at Blackheath is now being fenced off. There are around 100 protesters there now but still no police.

3.02pm: Peter Walker says the first police have arrived at the camp. There are now 500 protesters on site, including six on tripods. At least one of the tripods is now 25ft high. He has also spoken to a Blackheath local for her view of the camp. She says: "I believe in the action they're taking against global warming but I'm not sure about this anti-capitalism."

3.19pm: CiF blogger Sunny Hundal reckons there are now 1,000 people on site "putting up tents & banners, playing music, drinking beer, chatting." He says there are no police to be seen.

Peter Walker adds that a marquee has gone up. "Site currently looks like cross between music festival and very big wedding," he says.

3.51pm: Protesters at the site are tweeting that the fencing around the camp is now complete, with tripods erected at any gaps.

An anti-capitalist banner has been slung between a couple of the tripods.

Peter Walkers says some rather anxious-looking officials from Lewisham council have turned up at the camp "hoping to talk 'health and safety' with organisers". Perhaps they are concerned about the tripods, plastic piping, kitchen sinks and baths being set up on the site.

The Press Association has interviewed local residents for their views of the camp.

One 40-year-old mother of one, whose home overlooks the site, said: "I just hope it's going to be peaceful.
"We all saw what happened at G20. I wonder how long they are going to be here.
"They could not have picked anywhere more middle class than Blackheath.
"It is so 'villagey' here.
"We have got a view right across the camp and I guess we will be looking at hundreds of students for the rest of the week."

Drinkers at The Hare and Billet, which is a short distance from the camp, were unfazed by the sudden appearance of green protesters.
John Hillam, 38, said the unexpected arrivals may well prove to be good for trade in the village, particularly the pubs.
He said: "I cannot see them being any bother.
"It is quite posh around here, so others might feel differently.
"Either way, they are probably going to have to stock up with more cider here."

Nice to see those student stereotypes never change...

4.30pm: Climate Camp organisers are giving speeches on the site - invoking the spirit of Wat Tyler, according to Twitter users at the site.

There are more videos of the site on YouTube.

4.40pm: Three local Liberal Democrat councillors have issued a statement about the Climate Camp.

We are appalled at the disturbance caused to local residence and amenities.

We hope that both the Protesters and Police alike act with respect for the local community.

Aren't the LibDems meant to be green?

4.46pm: This is David Batty signing off for the day. Thanks for your comments. Our environment team is now taking over the live blog coverage, so don't go away!

4.53pm: Adam Vaughan here from the environment team. Just getting word via Bibi van der Zee about how the organisers managed to get so much fencing up so quickly. Apparently there was a secret swoop group of over 80 people who knew the camp location and were waiting with bits of fence all across London. More on that shortly.

5.12pm: A lot of people have been asking why Blackheath was chosen as the camp's location. As Paul Lewis pointed out earlier, it was the site of the 1381 peasants' revolt. But it's also been the site for many other rallies and rebellions, as the Press Association has explained in a handy history of the heath:

Blackheath has been at the centre of rallies and revolts for hundreds of years. The sight of Climate Camp protesters converging on the wide expanse of open grassland in south east London evoked the spirit of the first popular rebellion in English history. Wat Tyler's so-called Peasants' Revolt against unpopular taxes took place on the heath more than 700 years ago and tens of thousands of protesters are believed to have flocked to London. The revolt is remembered by Wat Tyler Road on the heath and was followed in 1450 by Jack Cade's Kentish rebellion against the weak leadership of King Henry VI, unfair taxes, corruption and the damaging effect of the loss of France. Blackheath has since been the meeting point for a series of battles, revolts and demonstrations. Cornish rebels pitched camp there before being defeated in the Battle of Deptford Bridge, sometimes called the Battle of Blackheath, on June 17 1497. During the 17th century, the heath was also a notorious haunt of highwaymen who targeted stagecoaches travelling along Watling Street across the heath to north Kent and the Channel ports. It also has associations with the suffragette movement, with Emily Wilding, who died by throwing herself under the hooves of King George V's horse at the Epsom Derby in 1913, being born there.

5.27pm: Anyone travelling to the camp on Blackheath is being reminded to make sure they have a valid ticket because ticket inspectors are "out in force" on public transport, say Ben Polwin and Paul Parkinson. Climate Camp's official site notes that the entrance to the camp is off Hare and Billet Road.

5.44pm: The video above shows Amelia Gregory of Climate Camp explaining why Blackheath was chosen as a site - and teasing out some of the historical parallels with previous protests.

5.47pm: Flickr and YouTube are starting to fill up with photos and videos of the day's action. Today's "cop and mouse" game has also attracted a reasonable amount of mainstream news coverage: C4, ITV and the BBC have all covered for TV news, while news sites including the BBC, the Telegraph, the Times, Bloomberg and - of course - the Guardian, have covered the story.

5.56pm: Bibi van der Zee has been talking to activists about how they organised today's convoluted swoop and location:

One after another we have all stumbled up to Blackheath to find a few hectares of heath already surrounded by several hundred metres of wire fencing. It turns out that this is all thanks to the Secret Swoop group, a group of somewhere between 80-150 people who who already knew the location in advance and had lengths of fencing hidden in various secret locations around London, and who, simultaneously set off after receiving a text message saying "Go!" according to one of the campers.

7.24pm:
Hi, this is Haroon Siddique. I'll be updating this blog from time to time, depending on how much is happening.

Blogger Darryl853, evidently a south-east London resident, has written a nice account of the first day of Climate Camp. He also criticised Labour mayor Steve Bullock for branding the campers as "irresponsible".

Er… right, Steve. Have you thought about going up to the camp and saying hello to the protesters? You might even find they're normal people, just like yourself! Or maybe it's easier to sit on your backside and judge them straight away? Perhaps he should be disassociating Lewisham Council from Millwall Football Club on the same principle. In a recent speech, he said young people were the future and must not be failed – but only when they do as his generation says, I suppose. Considering his own Labour party was founded off the back of popular protest, it's a staggeringly idiotic thing for a politician to to say.

7.31pm:
Unfortunately, there appears to be some tension emerging as a result of police being allowed onto the site for a meeting in a tent, according to Guardian reporters on the ground. Julia Pendry, silver commander, has been having "tea" with the camp legal team, Paul Lewis tweets. He says about 20 anarchists have been causing trouble outside the tent.
Peter Walker tells me one person is gloomily predicting "it could kick off". Police are now leaving the site, he says, followed by anarchists shouting "scum" and "you killed Ian Tomlinson".

7.36pm:
More from Peter Walker:

Around half a dozen police still standing at entrance to camp. Faced by shouts of abuse, "just go!' and brief chant of "all coppers are bastards. They [the officers] look a bit uncomfortable but still stand their ground.

8.20pm:
Following Supt Pendry's hostile reception from a small group at the camp, Paul Lewis spoke to her. He said she was "calm" and "positive".

8.53pm:
Daryl1974 has a picture which appears to show police using a cherrypicker to watch Climate Camp.

That doesn't seem much like community policing, one twitterer points out.

10.13pm:
After coming in for criticism earlier for their condemnation of Climate Camp local Lib Dem councillors have adopted a more conciliatory approach.

There has been a bit of a misunderstanding about the camp and the Liberal Democrat attitude to it.

There are real concerns about the damage that may be caused to Blackheath which we feel sure all would agree is a precious open space. However we remain confident that the Climate Change camp organisers will protect the local environment, and we are sure the police will have learnt from the G20 demonstrations back in May.

Lets make sure that over a Bank holiday weekend everyone can enjoy Blackheath and can use the opportunity to share ideas and learn more about how we deal with the pressures of climate change.

11.35pm:
Apparently a sing song is going on at Climate Camp....meanwhile, despite the lukewarm reception from other political parties the Greens are pleased to see Climate Camp in Blackheath. The area has the largest group of Green councillors in London and Lewisham Deptford is one of the party's top three target parliamentary seats.

Cllr Darren Johnson, Green parliamentary candidate for Lewisham Deptford, said:

"We're really proud Climate Camp chose Lewisham as its base for communicating its hugely important and positive message.

"The campers have promised to be good neighbours and we are confident the heath will be left just as it was found. I'd urge local people to visit the site, see it for themselves and perhaps even pick up new skills at the camp's packed programme of workshops."

11.38pm:
You can watch or rather listen to the Climate Camp sing song (it's very dark)

1.22am:
You can read the Guardian's take on yesterday's events here. I'm stopping blogging now. Thanks for for joining us today and for all your comments. Those still up feel free to continue the discusssion. Good night.

]]>

Climate Camp descends on London today with the police promising to take a low-key approach to the climate change protests to avoid the trouble that flared during the G20 summit. Follow live updates from our reporting team as they follow developments across the city.

11.01am: Climate Camp hits London today for the start of a week of protests against the industries and government departments they believe are damaging the environment.

The location of the new camp will not be announced by demonstrators until noon when a text message will be sent to campers revealing where the direct action will be staged. Protesters will make their way there from 7 assembly points or "swoops" – under Waterloo Bridge; outside BP headquarters in St James's Square; Bank of England, Threadneedle Street; Stratford Tube; Rio Tinto offices, Aldermanbury Square; and Stockwell Tube.

Our reporting team, Paul Lewis, Peter Walker and Bibi van der Zee, will be joining the protesters as they march to the main camp. You can follow updates from them here and on this live Twitter feed. If you're taking part and have updates or photos you want to share you can also contact me on david.batty@guardian.co.uk or on Twitter. The Guardian also has a Climate Camp Flickr gallery where you can post photos online.

The London Climate Camp follows earlier protests at the Drax power station in West Yorkshire, Heathrow airport - against the proposed third runway, the Kingsnorth power station in Kent, and the G20 summit.

Previous protests were marred by heavy-handed policing, with campers beaten and forcibly detained - 'kettled' - by officers. One of the assembly points for today's action - Threadneedle Street - was chosen in honour of Ian Tomlinson, who died after being struck by a police officer in the G20 protests in April. Senior Metropolitan Police officers have promised "neighbourhood-style" policing, with fewer stop and searches and "no ring of steel". But the Met has said all protesters attending the demonstrations today will be photographed.

11.12am:

Here's a map of the swoop locations.

Follow Twitter updates from Climate Camp here. You can watch live video feed of protesters gathering at a park here, and films from Climate Camp TV here.

11.35am: Rowenna Davis and Sunny Hundal are also live Tweeting today's protests for Comment is Free; you can follow their updates here. The official Climate Camp website has a wealth of background info on the movement and multimedia reports. In contrast, there's no sign of activity on the Met Police's Twitter account - CO11MetPolice - set up specifically for today's protests.

11.51am: Guardian reporter Peter Walker, who is with the 'Brown Team' of cycling campers, says there are now around 40 protesters gathered at Waterloo. There are only two police present who told him they were the only ones planning to monitor that swoop point.

One of the campers, Nick, a 23-year-old web designer from north London, told him: "I really hope this will be an inspiring event, a chance for me to meet lots of other people and for people to see that this can be a positive event."

Asked whether he was worried about the policing of the demonstration, Nick replied: "I am a bit nervous, I can't lie. But I'm hoping that after G20 - and the death of Ian Tomlinson - the police have learnt something, and maybe we've learnt something too. Maybe this can be the start of a happy new relationship between us and the police."

Organisers of today's demonstrations seem rather less convinced that the police can change their ways, as this YouTube letter to the Met shows.

12.06pm: A protester has posted a photo of the T-shirts worn by Climate Camp's legal advisers who will be on hand to help in the event of clashes with the police. The slogan says: "You do not have to give personal details under any search power".

12.10pm: Peter Walker at Waterloo says there are now 100 protesters gathered with a "party atmosphere" now building. Protesters are tying flags to their bikes and there's a tandem pulling a sound system. You can see photos of the gathering protesters - and the so far low-key police presence - at Climate Camp's twitpic page. We're still waiting for the text of the main camp's location.

12.31pm: More on the police presence from Paul Lewis at the Bank swoop. He says the Met's Forward Intelligence Teams' surveillance officers are not wearing their usual riot gear but do have badge-size CCTV cameras attached to their jackets. Paul says: "An officer told me he was in "normal patrolling uniform."

The FITwatch blog has put up downloadable and printable images of FIT officers and suggests protesters "play a bit of FITwatch bingo" and see how many they can tick off.

Meanwhile, Twitter user cctwitz says: "CO11MetPolice [the Met's Twitter account] just tweeted guardian article about police photographing climate camp swoop and then deleted it - lol."

12.37pm: Looks like the protesters plan to play a cat and mouse game with the police. No specific meeting point has been announced yet. Instead campers are being told to move out from the swoop points around central London. Peter Walker says about 200 cycling protesters, who have been massing at Waterloo, have been told to ride around the city - heading north over London Bridge. While around another 200 campers are marching from St James's Park to Trafalgar Square. Paul Lewis describes it as a "dance around the city".

12.53pm: Photojournalist Marc Vallée has posted a photo of the badge-size CCTV cameras the Met's FIT surveillance officers are wearing on their jackets.

You can read more about his project to document political dissent on the streets of Britain, and how it is affected by recent anti-terrorism legislation, here.

12.58pm: A Climate Camp activist has posted an audio clip explaining why South Bank near the Shell Centre was chosen as meeting point for today's demonstrations.

1.04pm: Peter Walker says the cycling protesters are now heading west from St Paul's cathedral. Meanwhile, the Stockwell Tube group are off to the nearby Larkhall Park for fun and games before heading to the main camp, though there's still no word of where that is. Those gathered at Trafalgar Square are apparently playing with a giant inflatable globe. Adam Vaughan is taking over while I'm at lunch.

1.30pm: Rumours are circulating online that the location of the camp is... London City Airport. Twitter user and journalist @monstris has posted a link to a waypoint near the airport, while Flickr user wnjr earlier today posted a photo of an alleged police camp near the airport. We're still waiting on official confirmation.

1.49pm: The Metropolitan police have just confirmed - via their new Twitter account - that their climate camp command base is at City Airport (as seen in this photo). But the police say they still have "no intelligence on location of the Camp". But judging from whispers of the camp being held near the airport or on Hackney Marshes, a bet on an east London location is looking like an increasingly good wager.

2.03pm: Groups are on the move again.

Paul Lewis says the Bank group are taking the DLR to Greenwich, while Peter Walker reports his Waterloo group just crossed Tower Bridge northwards and is now heading east. Other tweeters suggest the Stockwell group is headed towards Greenwich too, which is pretty close to City Airport. The Evening Standard's Twitter journalist says the Rio Tinto group is now making its way to London Bridge on the tube.

2.08pm: Peter Walker and Bibi van der Zee report that their groups are both headed south, towards Lewisham. A text message to the white/brown groups reads "site on right at Hare & Billet Road, Blackheath." Is the camp going to be held at Greenwich park, rather than the airport?

2.15pm: David Batty taking over again. Peter Walker says the main camp will be at Blackheath in south east London. Many protesters are there already, he's told. Climate Camp had sent out a press release - which our latest news report cited - stating the camp would be at Greenwich Park, over the road.

Here's a map of the main Climate Camp's location.

Paul Lewis says the location was chosen as it was a rallying point in the Peasants Revolt of 1381, Cade's Rebellion in 1450, and the Cornish Rebellion in 1497.

2.24pm: The official Met Police Twitter account - CO11MetPolice - has attracted a copycat - C011MetPolice. Please note the update at 1.49pm mistakenly references the fake account.

2.29pm: Peter Walker at Blackheath says there are around 40 protesters at the site of the main camp. Some protesters are now on top of 15ft tripods - see photo here - erected with scaffolding on the heath.

These are put up by protesters to prevent them being moved on by the police - as they can't be dismantled without the risk of injury to the occupants. Peter can also see a load of trucks and a coach, but no police.

2.38pm: Peter Walker says the site at Blackheath is now being fenced off. There are around 100 protesters there now but still no police.

3.02pm: Peter Walker says the first police have arrived at the camp. There are now 500 protesters on site, including six on tripods. At least one of the tripods is now 25ft high. He has also spoken to a Blackheath local for her view of the camp. She says: "I believe in the action they're taking against global warming but I'm not sure about this anti-capitalism."

3.19pm: CiF blogger Sunny Hundal reckons there are now 1,000 people on site "putting up tents & banners, playing music, drinking beer, chatting." He says there are no police to be seen.

Peter Walker adds that a marquee has gone up. "Site currently looks like cross between music festival and very big wedding," he says.

3.51pm: Protesters at the site are tweeting that the fencing around the camp is now complete, with tripods erected at any gaps.

An anti-capitalist banner has been slung between a couple of the tripods.

Peter Walkers says some rather anxious-looking officials from Lewisham council have turned up at the camp "hoping to talk 'health and safety' with organisers". Perhaps they are concerned about the tripods, plastic piping, kitchen sinks and baths being set up on the site.

The Press Association has interviewed local residents for their views of the camp.

One 40-year-old mother of one, whose home overlooks the site, said: "I just hope it's going to be peaceful.
"We all saw what happened at G20. I wonder how long they are going to be here.
"They could not have picked anywhere more middle class than Blackheath.
"It is so 'villagey' here.
"We have got a view right across the camp and I guess we will be looking at hundreds of students for the rest of the week."

Drinkers at The Hare and Billet, which is a short distance from the camp, were unfazed by the sudden appearance of green protesters.
John Hillam, 38, said the unexpected arrivals may well prove to be good for trade in the village, particularly the pubs.
He said: "I cannot see them being any bother.
"It is quite posh around here, so others might feel differently.
"Either way, they are probably going to have to stock up with more cider here."

Nice to see those student stereotypes never change...

4.30pm: Climate Camp organisers are giving speeches on the site - invoking the spirit of Wat Tyler, according to Twitter users at the site.

There are more videos of the site on YouTube.

4.40pm: Three local Liberal Democrat councillors have issued a statement about the Climate Camp.

We are appalled at the disturbance caused to local residence and amenities.

We hope that both the Protesters and Police alike act with respect for the local community.

Aren't the LibDems meant to be green?

4.46pm: This is David Batty signing off for the day. Thanks for your comments. Our environment team is now taking over the live blog coverage, so don't go away!

4.53pm: Adam Vaughan here from the environment team. Just getting word via Bibi van der Zee about how the organisers managed to get so much fencing up so quickly. Apparently there was a secret swoop group of over 80 people who knew the camp location and were waiting with bits of fence all across London. More on that shortly.

5.12pm: A lot of people have been asking why Blackheath was chosen as the camp's location. As Paul Lewis pointed out earlier, it was the site of the 1381 peasants' revolt. But it's also been the site for many other rallies and rebellions, as the Press Association has explained in a handy history of the heath:

Blackheath has been at the centre of rallies and revolts for hundreds of years. The sight of Climate Camp protesters converging on the wide expanse of open grassland in south east London evoked the spirit of the first popular rebellion in English history. Wat Tyler's so-called Peasants' Revolt against unpopular taxes took place on the heath more than 700 years ago and tens of thousands of protesters are believed to have flocked to London. The revolt is remembered by Wat Tyler Road on the heath and was followed in 1450 by Jack Cade's Kentish rebellion against the weak leadership of King Henry VI, unfair taxes, corruption and the damaging effect of the loss of France. Blackheath has since been the meeting point for a series of battles, revolts and demonstrations. Cornish rebels pitched camp there before being defeated in the Battle of Deptford Bridge, sometimes called the Battle of Blackheath, on June 17 1497. During the 17th century, the heath was also a notorious haunt of highwaymen who targeted stagecoaches travelling along Watling Street across the heath to north Kent and the Channel ports. It also has associations with the suffragette movement, with Emily Wilding, who died by throwing herself under the hooves of King George V's horse at the Epsom Derby in 1913, being born there.

5.27pm: Anyone travelling to the camp on Blackheath is being reminded to make sure they have a valid ticket because ticket inspectors are "out in force" on public transport, say Ben Polwin and Paul Parkinson. Climate Camp's official site notes that the entrance to the camp is off Hare and Billet Road.

5.44pm: The video above shows Amelia Gregory of Climate Camp explaining why Blackheath was chosen as a site - and teasing out some of the historical parallels with previous protests.

5.47pm: Flickr and YouTube are starting to fill up with photos and videos of the day's action. Today's "cop and mouse" game has also attracted a reasonable amount of mainstream news coverage: C4, ITV and the BBC have all covered for TV news, while news sites including the BBC, the Telegraph, the Times, Bloomberg and - of course - the Guardian, have covered the story.

5.56pm: Bibi van der Zee has been talking to activists about how they organised today's convoluted swoop and location:

One after another we have all stumbled up to Blackheath to find a few hectares of heath already surrounded by several hundred metres of wire fencing. It turns out that this is all thanks to the Secret Swoop group, a group of somewhere between 80-150 people who who already knew the location in advance and had lengths of fencing hidden in various secret locations around London, and who, simultaneously set off after receiving a text message saying "Go!" according to one of the campers.

7.24pm:
Hi, this is Haroon Siddique. I'll be updating this blog from time to time, depending on how much is happening.

Blogger Darryl853, evidently a south-east London resident, has written a nice account of the first day of Climate Camp. He also criticised Labour mayor Steve Bullock for branding the campers as "irresponsible".

Er… right, Steve. Have you thought about going up to the camp and saying hello to the protesters? You might even find they're normal people, just like yourself! Or maybe it's easier to sit on your backside and judge them straight away? Perhaps he should be disassociating Lewisham Council from Millwall Football Club on the same principle. In a recent speech, he said young people were the future and must not be failed – but only when they do as his generation says, I suppose. Considering his own Labour party was founded off the back of popular protest, it's a staggeringly idiotic thing for a politician to to say.

7.31pm:
Unfortunately, there appears to be some tension emerging as a result of police being allowed onto the site for a meeting in a tent, according to Guardian reporters on the ground. Julia Pendry, silver commander, has been having "tea" with the camp legal team, Paul Lewis tweets. He says about 20 anarchists have been causing trouble outside the tent.
Peter Walker tells me one person is gloomily predicting "it could kick off". Police are now leaving the site, he says, followed by anarchists shouting "scum" and "you killed Ian Tomlinson".

7.36pm:
More from Peter Walker:

Around half a dozen police still standing at entrance to camp. Faced by shouts of abuse, "just go!' and brief chant of "all coppers are bastards. They [the officers] look a bit uncomfortable but still stand their ground.

8.20pm:
Following Supt Pendry's hostile reception from a small group at the camp, Paul Lewis spoke to her. He said she was "calm" and "positive".

8.53pm:
Daryl1974 has a picture which appears to show police using a cherrypicker to watch Climate Camp.

That doesn't seem much like community policing, one twitterer points out.

10.13pm:
After coming in for criticism earlier for their condemnation of Climate Camp local Lib Dem councillors have adopted a more conciliatory approach.

There has been a bit of a misunderstanding about the camp and the Liberal Democrat attitude to it.

There are real concerns about the damage that may be caused to Blackheath which we feel sure all would agree is a precious open space. However we remain confident that the Climate Change camp organisers will protect the local environment, and we are sure the police will have learnt from the G20 demonstrations back in May.

Lets make sure that over a Bank holiday weekend everyone can enjoy Blackheath and can use the opportunity to share ideas and learn more about how we deal with the pressures of climate change.

11.35pm:
Apparently a sing song is going on at Climate Camp....meanwhile, despite the lukewarm reception from other political parties the Greens are pleased to see Climate Camp in Blackheath. The area has the largest group of Green councillors in London and Lewisham Deptford is one of the party's top three target parliamentary seats.

Cllr Darren Johnson, Green parliamentary candidate for Lewisham Deptford, said:

"We're really proud Climate Camp chose Lewisham as its base for communicating its hugely important and positive message.

"The campers have promised to be good neighbours and we are confident the heath will be left just as it was found. I'd urge local people to visit the site, see it for themselves and perhaps even pick up new skills at the camp's packed programme of workshops."

11.38pm:
You can watch or rather listen to the Climate Camp sing song (it's very dark)

1.22am:
You can read the Guardian's take on yesterday's events here. I'm stopping blogging now. Thanks for for joining us today and for all your comments. Those still up feel free to continue the discusssion. Good night.

]]> http://www.eesonline.co.uk/blog/?feed=rss2&p=14 0 http://www.eesonline.co.uk/blog/?p=15 http://www.eesonline.co.uk/blog/?p=15#comments Wed, 12 Aug 2009 16:41:28 +0000 David Batty http://www.guardian.co.uk/news/blog/2009/aug/12/perseids-meteor-shower-stargazers

Forecasters warn that the British weather will obscure views of Perseids especially in southern and central England
• Datablog: Perseids 2009 - full list of meteor showers, where and when

Stargazers should head to the Midlands, the north of England and north-west Scotland for the best views of the annual Perseids meteor shower tonight.

The shower happens as the Earth passes through debris from the Swift-Tuttle comet, with around 80 to 100 meteors an hour raining down as the small particles collide with and burn up in the atmosphere.

But forecasters warn that the British weather risks putting a dampener on the spectacle. Rain and patchy cloud could obscure the view for astronomy enthusiasts in southern and central England, the Met Office said.

A high quarter moon also risks outshining the dimmest shooting stars after midnight.

The best time to observe the Perseids will be 2am to 4am. Stargazers are advised to face away from the moon or block it from view behind a wall.

Those unable to see the shower can turn to Twitter for an online meteor watch organised by the Newbury Astronomical Society and the International Year of Astronomy 2009.

The Twitter Perseids meteorwatch follows on from a similar Twitter Moonwatch organised by the Newbury Astronomical Society in May.

Richard Fleet, the president of the society, said: "We realised early on that what people want are images of the night sky so we used our array of telescopes and cameras to provide a constant stream of pictures which we uploaded straight to Twitter.

"We were amazed at how excited people were about our Twitter moonwatch; we had thousands of people who had probably never looked through a telescope before asking us questions directly and viewing images."

The best views of the peak of the meteor shower last night were in remote rural spots in the south-east of England.

The National Trust has advised people to head to remote rural spots free of light pollution for the clearest views.

Jo Burgon, the head of access and recreation at the trust, said: "Light pollution from our towns and cities has increased so much in recent years, but head out to the countryside for the perfect place to explore the beauty of the night sky, away from the intrusive glow."

The trust's top seven recommended Perseids viewing sites are:

• The chalk downland of Salisbury Plain near Stonehenge, Wiltshire

• Black Down on the South Downs in West Sussex

• Friar's Crag, Cumbria

• Mam Tor in the Peak District, Derbyshire

• Teign Valley, near Castle Drogo, Devon,

• Penbryn beach on the Ceredigion coast in Wales

• Wicken Fen nature reserve in Cambridgeshire

]]>

Forecasters warn that the British weather will obscure views of Perseids especially in southern and central England
• Datablog: Perseids 2009 - full list of meteor showers, where and when

Stargazers should head to the Midlands, the north of England and north-west Scotland for the best views of the annual Perseids meteor shower tonight.

The shower happens as the Earth passes through debris from the Swift-Tuttle comet, with around 80 to 100 meteors an hour raining down as the small particles collide with and burn up in the atmosphere.

But forecasters warn that the British weather risks putting a dampener on the spectacle. Rain and patchy cloud could obscure the view for astronomy enthusiasts in southern and central England, the Met Office said.

A high quarter moon also risks outshining the dimmest shooting stars after midnight.

The best time to observe the Perseids will be 2am to 4am. Stargazers are advised to face away from the moon or block it from view behind a wall.

Those unable to see the shower can turn to Twitter for an online meteor watch organised by the Newbury Astronomical Society and the International Year of Astronomy 2009.

The Twitter Perseids meteorwatch follows on from a similar Twitter Moonwatch organised by the Newbury Astronomical Society in May.

Richard Fleet, the president of the society, said: "We realised early on that what people want are images of the night sky so we used our array of telescopes and cameras to provide a constant stream of pictures which we uploaded straight to Twitter.

"We were amazed at how excited people were about our Twitter moonwatch; we had thousands of people who had probably never looked through a telescope before asking us questions directly and viewing images."

The best views of the peak of the meteor shower last night were in remote rural spots in the south-east of England.

The National Trust has advised people to head to remote rural spots free of light pollution for the clearest views.

Jo Burgon, the head of access and recreation at the trust, said: "Light pollution from our towns and cities has increased so much in recent years, but head out to the countryside for the perfect place to explore the beauty of the night sky, away from the intrusive glow."

The trust's top seven recommended Perseids viewing sites are:

• The chalk downland of Salisbury Plain near Stonehenge, Wiltshire

• Black Down on the South Downs in West Sussex

• Friar's Crag, Cumbria

• Mam Tor in the Peak District, Derbyshire

• Teign Valley, near Castle Drogo, Devon,

• Penbryn beach on the Ceredigion coast in Wales

• Wicken Fen nature reserve in Cambridgeshire

]]> http://www.eesonline.co.uk/blog/?feed=rss2&p=15 0 http://www.eesonline.co.uk/blog/?p=16 http://www.eesonline.co.uk/blog/?p=16#comments Wed, 05 Aug 2009 09:14:25 +0000 Jim Falzarano, Phil Maynard http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/blog/audio/2009/aug/05/guardian-daily-podcast Britain's transport secretary, Lord Adonis, wants to unite the country with a high-speed rail network. Guardian transport correspondent Dan Milmo
explains why such a network has suddenly become such a top priority.

Former US president Bill Clinton has been sent to North Korea to secure the release of two US journalists. Tania Branigan, the Guardian's Beijing correspondent, reports on what the visit tells us about Barack Obama's strategy toward Kim Jong-il.

The pensions deficit of the FTSE 100 companies has reached £100bn. The Observer's business editor, Ruth Sunderland, surveys the damage.

Three Conservative candidates have competed for the right to represent Totnes in the next general election. Steven Morris reports on the results of the first-ever open primary election.

Britain's bees have been hit hardby both disease and the destruction of
their rural habitat. Hope for their revival may lie, oddly enough, in the city, thanks to Johannes Paul, who helped create the Beehaus.

]]> Britain's transport secretary, Lord Adonis, wants to unite the country with a high-speed rail network. Guardian transport correspondent Dan Milmo
explains why such a network has suddenly become such a top priority.

Former US president Bill Clinton has been sent to North Korea to secure the release of two US journalists. Tania Branigan, the Guardian's Beijing correspondent, reports on what the visit tells us about Barack Obama's strategy toward Kim Jong-il.

The pensions deficit of the FTSE 100 companies has reached £100bn. The Observer's business editor, Ruth Sunderland, surveys the damage.

Three Conservative candidates have competed for the right to represent Totnes in the next general election. Steven Morris reports on the results of the first-ever open primary election.

Britain's bees have been hit hardby both disease and the destruction of
their rural habitat. Hope for their revival may lie, oddly enough, in the city, thanks to Johannes Paul, who helped create the Beehaus.

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