Alan Lodge's Blog

Personally, I come from a free festivals and travelling background. New Age Travellers etc.

A number of sayings have helped guide my life over time. Like….

Bring what you expect to find?

If no you, who?

If not now, when?

If not here, where?

In sum, this means self-reliance. It means gigs are ALWAYS better, when people attending don’t just attend , but are a main part of the act. It is obvious to all those there, when this magic happens.

This is actually where I came in. 1972 Windsor, Stonehenge etc….. These were my motives then and remain so now.

Of course the authorities have difficulty with a system that means they are not in sole charge, hence all the law and violence since the Beanfield etc……

Over time, I have been involved I raising awareness about the law changes and their implications to us all.

· Public Order Act 1986

· Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994

· Noise Act

· Barry Legg MP: Places of Entertainments (Increased Penalty) Act

· Security Services Act

And now all the Acts that have been going through parliament – with the words

“conduct by a large number of persons in pursuit of a common purpose” being a new definition of serious crime!!!

With the new definition of serious crime, that enable the use of some ‘heavier’ police departments to be applied against us. And will be the end of all the RTS and similar gigs.

Shame eh?

Now, in ‘rave mode’, I have spent time with the Velvet Revolution and All Systems gigs, I had written ‘Sound Advice’ and the ‘Right to Party’ – to try and raise these matters in peoples minds.

Well, we have lost each of the matters I’m on about here. Whoever you vote for, the government gets in!

What I am absolutely positive about though, is that people involved in the scene,

DID NOT DO ENOUGH ABOUT ANY OF IT AS IT HAPPENED AND NOW IS STILL GOING ON.

People have to realise that self-interest and their own immediate happiness ( hedonism?), is not enough to make a festival, party rave, traveller site, gathering.

Important, but not enough.

Some folks on reading this will have been too young, to have had any objection to these changes as they have happened over recent years. But many others of you will have been.

The way parties are now organised, between those trying to conform with some pretty onerous conditions, (ie half to 2/3 of a ticket price to ‘self-police’ and pay for your own public order management and drug search.!) and those involved with the ‘free’ end of things but at continued ‘personal’ rather than ‘sheared’ risks.

This division is of course orchestrated by the other side.

This old hippy / raver? Is now of the opinion that folk have now got the party they deserve. Discuss……..

Love

Tash

Oh busy busy. being july in Britain, the summer has only really just got underway, and in another three weeks, it will be autumn, I guess 🙂 Perhaps I exaggerate. But I’m an ‘outdoor type’ and so much I have to do is inside! Including this blog, if you look back through the archives of the previous year [‘cos I’ve been doing this a year now ….] you’ll see that I’ve tried to post more of what I’m up to, and links to new work, and work in progress …… anyway, doing my best.

Stuff going on ……

* More experiments with film speed, low light conditions, handy for surveillance and evidence

* Set up picture taking, and general comms use of my Sony Ericsson p800 mobile phone

* Borrowed a Sony Cybershot ‘point and shoot’ from a mate. Running around taking loads to get an idea of the’issues’ when shooting digital rather than film.

* A whole new exercise in self-portrait.

* Bit of website reorganisation

* ‘Polishing’ of a few recent projects including Stonehenge last month

* Getting stoned and drunk, a few times …….!

The Glastonbury festival drew to a close last night, and the broadsheet journalists all seem to have enjoyed themselves – though, ironically, it’s the Telegraph which laments the “embourgeoisiement” of the event, and the Guardian which tends to feel that, really, it was rather nice to have kept out the crime. “Glastonbury might be a bit more commercial than the old days,” one 43-year-old festival-goer tells the paper, “but it’s so much better organised.”

The GBP105 ticket fee may have had something to do with the “overwhelmingly white and middle-class” audience, says the Telegraph. Certainly, when Chelsea Clinton turns up with bodyguards in tow and two attractive young women dressed as fairies appear on the front page of the Telegraph, something’s changed.

Eavis plans for 2004 Glastonbury – BBC

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/music/3029330.stm

Best ever Glastonbury, says Eavis – Guardian

http://www.guardian.co.uk/arts/glastonbury2003/story/0,12902,987498,00.html

A really jolly super Glastonbury – Telegraph

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2003/06/30/nglas130.xml&sSheet=/news/2003/06/30/ixhome.html

BBC want you free photos, have mentioed their ‘submit a picture’ using your mobile phone cam. Now they want your work from Glastonbury

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/music/3007326.stm

BBC News Online wants your pictures and reviews from Glastonbury 2003.

If you saw something interesting at Glastonbury, please send a picture to us – either from a digital camera or by mobile phone. Our picture editor will then select the best images to publish.

Or, if you were one of the 112,000 fans there, please send us your thoughts on the festival using the form on the right of the page.

If you want to e-mail a picture to us, send it to entertainment.news@bbc.co.uk .

If you want to send your picture from your mobile phone in the UK, dial 07970 885089. You can send them from any network or phone. Please send the large full size images (usually 640×480 pixels) taken by the mobiles otherwise they are too small to publish.

Don’t forget to include your name and some background information as to what the image is about.

Instead of using a password to unlock your cellphone, a Japanese company called Earth Beat has come up with a way to use a picture instead. You just snap a picture of yourself with your cameraphone, then whenever you want to unlock the phone it uses face recognition technology to verify that the person trying to use the phone matches the photo it has in storage. Which also means you might be unable to use your phone if you ever change your appearance.

There is, of course, a big hole in this so called “security” feature…

what’s to prevent someone from stealing your camera phone, then using a photo of you to authenticate them as you? Unlike a password or PIN number, etc, your likeness (i.e. photo of you) is not something that you can protect from being public.

Oh, these Japanese Geeks ………

Just borrowed a 2 Megapix camera from Phil. These are some pictures from it.

 http://indymedia.org.uk/en/2003/06/273217.html

Have just added my Stonehenge 2003 work, to the Indymedia UK database and a few listings

Have been informed by someone who is sad enough to have taken a laptop + satellite link with them to glastonbury, that there will be a live lost vagueness audio stream available here:

http://www.radiovague.com

Welcome to RadioVague. Currently beaming at ya via satellite from somewhere on pilton festival site…

Coming soon: Bands from the Ballroom, Big Caravan evictions, Stanley Donwoods wigwam party, Casino Chaos, Raymundo and some other stuff.

Somewhere on your dial.

Inside the UK – http://live3.radiovague.com:8000

Outside the UK – http://live1.radiovague.com:8000

A Photo selection from the event.

On these pages, have finished a ‘best edit’ selection from my jaunt to Stonehenge, to celebrate the Summer Solstice, but to sadly miss the festival the was / should be there.

I arrived on the friday afternoon in the Airmans Cross area, a couple of miles west of Stonehenge. Folks were parked up the road, at least 3 miles north and west. On a drive about earlier, had noticed folks gathered in Amesbury and Woodhenge. and a few droves. As usual, most of the lay-bys for a few miles around, coned off.

Some had taken a week or so to get there, the walkers and horse drawn. ‘Twas a hot afternoon and was with the horses till the evening. Police generally un-helpful about allowing advance access to the car park field, for the animals’ comfort. Layers of authority, and hours later, the problem had been passed up the chain of command, resulting in the arrival of a police superintendent. He saw the need, came to an agreement that the vehicle wouldn’t follow, and off they trotted.

Then, numbers still building, we formed a queue before being finally allowed into the car park, now its dark. Thus began our ‘managed access’ to the event. Authorities are soooo alert for the possibility of festival getting established.

This is the record of my time there.

Stonehenge Solstice 2003 :: http://tash.dns2go.com/xtra/stonehenge2003/index.htm

* * * * * *

Previous Stonehenge selection :: http://tash.dns2go.com/xtra/stonehenge150_vert1/index.htm

Also, a reminder to check out some ealier work, describing how we have arrived at this phase, in the story, The story so far .. .. ..

Stonehenge: http://tash.gn.apc.org/stones1.htm

Solstice Ritual: http://tash.gn.apc.org/solst_0.htm

[pdf version] http://tash.gn.apc.org/solstice.pdf

Beanfield: http://tash.gn.apc.org/sh_bean.htm

Operation Solstice: http://tash.gn.apc.org/op_solstice.htm

The Story so far: http://tash.gn.apc.org/history.htm

My Diary: http://tash.gn.apc.org/diary.htm

* * * * * *

Pictures taken, live at the event, using a CamPhone.

http://tash_lodge.blogspot.com/2003_06_15_tash_lodge_archive.html#95872280

Guilfin has some more examples at:

http://www.guilfin.net/gallery/?id=pxINET2219

Picture Index :: http://www.guilfin.net/database/showevent.php3?ev_id=evINET2169

Am half way through process and scaning of the the weekends work. Have just uploaded a first edit to Guilfin Database, Thought you might wanna ‘sneek preview’ … … …

Early ‘live’ set :: http://www.guilfin.net/gallery/?id=pxINET2220

Proper Colour Slide edit :: http://www.guilfin.net/gallery/?id=pxINET2263

Stonehenge Index :: http://www.guilfin.net/database/showevent.php3?ev_id=evTSE6688

Picture Index :: http://www.guilfin.net/database/showevent.php3?ev_id=evINET2169

Have been going off a bit about the use of a mobile PhoneCam, in taking pictures for immediate use, out and about. Although the quality is not as good as ‘proper photography’. Not the only one with the same idea …..

Here is an example from the Solstice at Stonehenge

Solstice revellers watch sunrise – BBC News

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/wiltshire/3008828.stm

Stonehenge’s summer solstice goes ahead – BBC News

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/wiltshire/2996450.stm

Thousands witness solstice – Channel4 News

http://www.channel4.com/apps26/news/news_story.jsp?storyId=1782592

Road to ruins: Plans are afoot to transform Stonehenge in the next few years. John Ezard visits the focus of this weekend’s summer solstice – Guardian – Travel

http://travel.guardian.co.uk/saturdaysection/story/0,8922,981426,00.html

Hope you’ve enjoyed the more ‘immediate’ pictures here and on Indymedia and Guilfin, that I’ve sent directly from Stonehenge, with my new mobile phone. Will be processing, scanning and then uploading, some of my ‘proper’ photos over the next few days. I couldn’t help this one though.

This policeman is a front-row member of the style-police. I said I liked the shades, took a snap with my phone, and he said ‘Cool’. I nearly fell over. What is the world coming to? Anyway, little did he know, that he we on the internet, for public view, by the time I’d got back to my car !!!!!

http://www.guilfin.net/gallery/?id=pxINET2234

I’d successfully taken a number of pictures with my new Sony-Ericsson Mobile phone. Uploaded them to Indymedia, Guilfin and this blog, at various times while the events at Stonehenge were happening.

This was a first, playing with some of the toys, and I’ve already heard that many had see these pictures, thought that looks nice, seeing it was sunny, and people had happy smiling faces, and thus came out to celebrate.

Me thinks that this is pretty wicked use of this technology.

Front page on Indymedia UK at the moment, http://indymedia.org.uk

English Heritage had decided to open Stonehenge on the wrong day! The Solstice is at 20.10h on Saturday evening, and the Solstice dawn occurs on Sunday June the 22nd. But free access to The Stones will only be permitted from Sat 2.00h to 12.00 h.

Campaigners are demanding full restoration of their traditional rights of free access to Stonehenge and provision of land for camping while attending the Midsummer Solstice Celebration (21-23rd June). To be expected: Music Fun and Agit Prop Morris dancing, with Seize The Day, Headmix, Celtica, Tarantism, Judge Trev, 2000DS and Nik Turner (of Hawkwind), Threefortenpound, RinkyDink + other cycle sound-systems for atmosphere. [Report]

Tash’s mobile phone photos of Saturdays sunrise on his blogs at:

http://tash_lodge.blogspot.com and my CamPhone Blog at: http://www.camblog.com/blog.php?blog=239

http://indymedia.org.uk/en/2003/06/272815.html

http://indymedia.org.uk/en/2003/06/272813.html

Guilfin has some more examples,

http://www.guilfin.net/gallery/?id=pxINET2220

http://www.guilfin.net/gallery/?id=pxINET2219

http://www.guilfin.net/database/showevent.php3?ev_id=evTSE6688

So, all this was for ‘immediate communications’. Over the next few days, will be proccess the Black and White, and Colour transparency work, that i’d taked during the event. Will post the ‘proper work’, after a scanning session, on my main website.

The sun has just risen over the stone, to great cheers

more later.

Leaving for Wiltshire shortly, hope to post ‘directly from the field’, on here, Indymedia and Guilfin using my Sony Ericsson P800 ‘CamPhone’. Got to juggle that, as well as taking photos, in my more traditional method, on film.

Stonehenge’s summer solstice goes ahead BBC NEWS 17june03

Stonehenge 2003 CONDITIONS OF ENTRY AND INFORMATION English Heritage

posted yesterday about the latest news, and advice and posting links. Check out at:

http://tash_lodge.blogspot.com/2003_06_15_tash_lodge_archive.html#95807772

I’m one of the man’s greatest fans. I like so much of the different styles he’s produced. He is famous for imperial ‘the king is great’ type music, but i think some of these are soo sensitive. I put them on my server to share here.

[128kbs, so depending on your modem, might be best to ‘right-click’, then ‘save target’ to disk and then play]

I would like to hear ‘As Steals the Morn upon the Night’ over a quality system at Stonehenge on solstice morn!! What would the papers say about that?

A few pieces I’m listening to now ::

Handel – As Steals the Morn upon the Night

Handel – Where’er you walk

Handel – Ombra mai fu

Handel – Messiah – I Know That My Redeemer Liveth

oh, and this is the noisy stuff he’s good at 🙂

I used this piece, in a couple of slide shows on the Mayday Protests in Parliament Square, London

Handel – Zadok The Priest

Mayday2000 protest, London