UC22 June-july 1977

I;

INSIDE: *Windscale EnquirpCrofting in Scotland and Ireland *Food co-ops*Organic Farming Guide*StonehengeeFishing and Fish Farming* Free Radio* Primal Therapy~SERA*Methane

%

22

What is your image of 'science'in society?

A

THE DOME SERIES: Geodesic domes are among the most commonly seen new forms o f architecture. These three books examine afresh the geometrical,-coneeptualand mathematical foundations of polyhedral and geometric design. They are practical books for the architect or engineer who works with geodesic structures. resource books for niathematical hobbyists and model builders, textbooks for students of design and reading books for anyone who wants to understand the tensile forces that keep these seemingly delicate structures intact.

GEODESIC MATH AND HOW TO USE IT Hii~lr Kenncr 182 pages, illus., Cloth f 10.00Paper 13.95

1 ~ r e t h e ~ r o b l e m spoverty, of population and pollution

,

technological or political 7 1Who gains what from advanced industrial society ?

Is 'a~tirnativetechnolo~y* the only way forward ?

If you're interested in questions like these, and in acquiring some of the relevant know-how of both the naturaland social sciences, write for details of the BSc and BSc IHonours) In Sociotv and Technology (CNAA) course.

1 It lastsfour years (ten terms plus a placementperiod) 1 You will need anytwo A levelsor equivalent or appropriate experience Write t o the Admisalons Office (Ref C85), Middlesex Polytechnic, 82-88 Church Street, Edmonton. London N9 SPD or telephone 01-807 9001I 2

POLYHEDRA: A VISUAL APPROACH Anthony Push 1 18 pages, illus.. Cloth f 10.00 Paper £3.5

INTRODUCTION TO TENSEGRITY Anilwny P~iglr 121 pages, illus., Cloth f 10.00 Paper £3.5

1

univc~sitvOP cniimnnia PRESS 2-4 Brook Street London W l

V A n A 3 size posterofthe CenFeTpr 20 by Cliff Harper (section shown

kgJAi

~ ~ k h a Road, r -7n London ¥ssi&aasw#f S

I

Undercurrents is published bi-monthly by Undercurrents Limited, a democratic nonprofit-making company without share capital and limited by guarantee.

Printed in England by Prestagate 1-td..

39 Underwood Road. Reading, K-tkshire.

Telephone 0734 583958.

Undercurrents has two addresses: Earth Exchange Building, 213 Archway Road, London N6 5BN (registered office), and 1 2 South Street, Uley, Dursley, Clos.

Please send subscriptions, single copy orders etc. to Uley and letters and editorial matter to the London office.

SUBSCRIPTIONS. Details of the subscription rates and the appropriate labour-saving form may be t. mnd on page 48.

Our airfreight agents are Expediters of the Printed Word Inc., 527 Madison Avenue. New York N.Y. 10022. Second class postage paid at New York City.

DISTRIBUTION. We have two UK d i s ~ b u t o n : The Publication Distribution Co-o emhue 27 Clerkenwell Close, London EC? OAT, Tel 01-251 4976-8 supply radical bookshop* and other alternative stores.

Paperchain Ltd 4 3 Silver St Whitwick. Leics. and 5 ~ o n m o u i hSt on doh W 2 sup 1 other outlets and all'^^ wholesalbra.

9530 37413 and 01-229 9000.

All enquiries about distributors t o Chri* Hutton Souire at our London office lease.

He can be contacted by hone on 01-891 0989 (home) or 01-261 g774 (office).

Td:

>

40

EDDIES: We reveal all we know.

WINDSCALE: The background to the public enquiry'into the p r o p ed nuclear waste reprocessing plant.

WHAT'S ON/WHAT'S WHAT: Events and information.

LETTERS: Readership hits back.

A DOCTOR WRITES: Swingeing abuse of Undercurrents 19, our special medical issue. Where did we go wrong?

COMING UP FOR EIRE: Rural life in the west of Ireland . .

CROFTING IN CAITHNESS . and the north of Scotland.

PARANOIA POWER AND THE DELUSION OF CONSPIRACY. The history of the way in which both rulers and ruled have employed prophecy, paranoia and conspiracy theories in the course of their mutual antagonism.

FED-UP: Food co-operativesare now big business in British Columbia.. .

STAUNOIOS: but in Minnesota they have been suffering from Communist aggression. ' STONEHENGE - COSMIC POWER HOUSE: Some new ideas about the origins of Albion's most renowned ancient monument..

SCREAM YOUR CARES AWAY: Arthur Janov and Primal Therapy.

FISCHKRIEG: Britain goes to war. . . with cod on our side. . .PRACTICAL FISH FARMING: The alternative to the trawler fleet.

ORGANIC FARMING GUIDE: An address list of organisations in the field.

RADIO FREE BOLOGNA: What happens when the bureaucratic monopoly of broadcasting is breached. ' THE GASMAN COMETH: Two readers describe their experiences on the frontier of knowledge.

CATALOGUE: A congenial weekend at the Centre for Alternative Technology.

RIPPLE REVOLUTIONISM: The Socialist Environment and Resources Association at work.

LOOSE ENDS: A new Undercurrents feature, this time reporting on radio, marine pollution and transport.

IN THE MAKING: Alternative p r o i d s that need people, and vice

48

versa.

REVIEWS:. Women's Evolution, Portugal, Oil, ~ h o t o ~ r a p Alternah~, tive Transport, indoor Gardening, Open-Road, Marx, Lamu, Round-up.

SMALL ADS & SUBSCRIPTION FORM

2 6 ,

-

8 10 12 14

16 17 PERSONNEL: People responsible for Undercurrents, to a greater or lesser degree, include Barbara Kern, Chris Hutton Squire, Dave Elliott, Dave Kanner, Dave Smith, Duncan Campbell, Godfrey Boyle, Herbie Girardet, Joyce Evans, Martin Ince, Martyn Partridge Pat Coyne, Pete Glass, Peter Bonniri, Peter Cockerton, Peter Sommer, Richard Elen, Sally Bo yle, Tony Durham, Vicky Hutchings, Woody and a vast number of friends, acquaintances and even total strangers who do a little.bit here and there. A prticular mention is due t o Nigel, Hermione and Eric at Earth Exchange; thanks for the red carpet, folks.

MEETINGS: Undercurrents is hammered into shape at meetings held every Wednesday at 8 pm at Earth Exchange, 21 3 Archway Road, London N6. Anyone who is tired of just reading it and who feels like contributing in some way is, welcome t o attend.

WRITTEN CONTRIBUTIONS: We are especially keen to receive articles from readers - a large part of Undercurrents 22 originated in this way. As far as possible we try to stick to the original intention of the magazine over five years ago, which was to be an 'access* medium for anyone who had something sensible to say, rather than a mouthpiece for a publishing clique. If possible, things sent to us should be typed, double-spaced, and written o n just one side of the paper.

COPYRIGHT: The entire contents of the magazine is the joint copyright of Undcrcurrents Ltd and the respective authors. Permission to reproduce any part of it wil be cheerfully given t o community groups, freedom fighters, anarchists, lunatics, mad inventors, wizards, vegetarians and non-profit-making organisations dedicated to the future of the world. But please ask us first.

22'

23 ,

24

26 28

30 32

33

.. . .

..

..

....

L 34 35

36 38

-

h

1 ill the greatest threat to personal

ON MAY 10th Crispin Aubrey, John Berry, and Undercurrents member DuncaaCampbeD were remanded on bail fça further two weeta while Attorney General Sam Silkill decides whether to proceed against them with charfef brought imdef the discredited and moribund Official Secrets Act. During the three months since they were arrested after a Special Branch swoop on Berry's flat in Muswell Hill, secret police hariassm t of the three, theii friends and supporters, has continued . unabated.

The public face of this conceited campaign against investigative journalism is well knowtt. Two Americans have been deported after a secret-kangaroo trial at which no charges were made, nor evidence presented. The subsequent arrest of Aubrey, Berry and Campbell, all supporters of the AgeeHosenball defence effort, confirmsthe general trend of overt. o f f d a c t i o n . The authorities would like to return to the days when journalists just corrected the punctuation in official. press statements, and kept their noses clean.

But IIpart born these open official acts. the wests ml deoortations, a far more W i o u s ¥strategis being pursued by agents of the state. A number of events *

'

country in wing metnory.

The Anns of the Law

and indiationa, an seeming trivial, tocather beein to look r i e n i f i The jigsaw puzzle of a &t undercover opentionis fttttat into place. It represents perhas

I

INTELLIGENCE? Are you interested in European Longuoges, Air Phototnterpmtotiort-or Counter It$telligence in your spore time?

W e deot wtth these subjects, travel to"Europe . and ore paid for doing it.

. .

THE INTELLIGENCEAND SECURITY GROUP (volmmteen) is port of the Territorial& Army Volunteer Reserve.

I

menbetween 1 8 d 3 0 We ore looking for more who live or work in the lowing oreoS:

fol LONDON - 435 9660 -'--""^ .- . BIRMINGHAM - -EDINBURGH - (81-556 9983 4

f

--

,-,- -3.

,È&.

-

3

Wnv not teleohone for further information. oblibotion? And perhaps orronge expiiatory still without obtiootion'

ridge, a writer on matters of defence and security, was ques tuned by the Special Branchi they read a letter, he had Witte to Campbell q e à § t i ncoJBabo tion on a book about wartime wdebreaking.

And perhaps the most start' example was that hf Steven Wright, a graduate student at Lancaster University, who was after police discowed that he had received help Cram Campbellin his research into state security system%Hithou in Lancastk was raided, and

and political freedom in this

talk,.

You, too, can cany out military intelligence missions while onholiday, and bepaid to do itE-See Europe, use expensive cameras, be arrested in Warsaw, draw maps of castles disguised as butterflies, and wen learn foreign-language codes!

We were rather surprised to find the advertisement above in the Open University's magazine, Sesame. The tho ht of part+ pitting their wits against the might of the MK% was just too But it was the April/May issue of Sesame. Could it be an A@ day joke? Our re otter expected to comein for a ribbing when he number in <he ad. phoned the

ond don

The harras~nentfallsiktotwo crucially distinctcategories,and the difference between them must be understood. In the flirt place there is the continued activity of the Special Branch.It is obvious that their policy is not simply to pursue enquiries Into the case, but to muse as much inconvenience to the defendants ><possible, preventing them from continuing normal lives while f p c on baB.Detec- officerstoldthepio-Vihan c8Ibr of theuniversity'that the tive Chief Superintendent Harry would bask down the door to Nicholls, in handling the police Wright'sofficeunlessadmitted cafe before Tottenham Magistrates, because 'matters of natbiul objected strongly to bail in the m i t y were at stake'. After a first instance. even thou& the seaich they left empty-handed. charges canya maxim& penalty i Aft* several hours of question oftwo yens impr00ninent or a Wright was released without an £10fine, comparable with, say, damerow drivine. and considerably charges being bmught. ten-mious thaLsay, possession of ffloal drugs. When bail was grant- The Undercover Agents The Special Branch are not ed,the condit10na woe unusually renowned for their mental agfli stringent, sailincluded reporting a n y more than are the rest of tl daily to a given police station police force. They owetfaei sn between the how at 10.30 and successes to sheer, doggedper12.30. ,/ severancerather than to brainDuncan CampbeB hassuffered power. Their activities immedii particularly at the tends of the ly after the arrests were proof < Special Branch. On February 19th. this; they eventuallyfound Mu while he was in custody, the police well HOI Poltee'Station by the took virtually the entire contents of his Brighton flat to New Scotland time honoured practice of dim ting almost every other buddio Yard. They took filed, correspondence, address and notebooks, person- in North London. Although it may be comforting to imagine al documents, photographs wd wrath of the state mitigated by photographic equipment, along such clumsyfootwork, this is with a large number of innocuous paperback books. In spite of repeat- where the cause for concern re: b e i s .

If the Special Branchat edapplications over half of this has uninspired messenger boys, ami not yet been returned, even though the evidence suggests they are, noneof it could have any bearing who, then, are the brains W i n a?the e s ~ tin question. The effect them? of thisis silnoly torestrict Camp On the night of-Februaly H the Special Branch officers win arrested the three did not hear about the operation until 8pm an hour after the'lnaetinB at candemning this arb& interfaeaoe Berry's (lut had banm. They wi with an J a d i v i d u a l ' a ~ n a lbelow- simdv h o e d (iff to eo to ft GDI ings. Eifht weeks I& they have d l ts& &in ~uxwell-Hill whti not received a reply.It ia poMfcte vhcOfficialScueta Act was that he talented so-y amUs dirty trkk.8 white S e e r t t of ~ Statcor Northern Ireland that - way toIhtMpolice*(ion; e what the

Bralfctf activityhasbeen the comic opera investigationsof contacts &&ed fmm Campbell's seized documents. An old friend from university was visited by police on the strength of chint tin as

Carf.lietadsentGarepbeU.A reporterfromçHcrtfordtlihpaper, whotadwritten* him.

-

'*

.

;

and as a result of his letter John

.,-.-"","..--..

UCm^rfTe tion in particular. Carsbelonging to m ~ b e fof s the two defence . . . . . . A

"- ."..-., m.

..-.--., "...

ton,has gone missing in odd cire u m b c e s . While away at an

NUJ conferen& the home of a

la aSt&wcase*the same highly Bgaificant pattern emerges: document! of no intrinsic worth a@ taken or intederedwith,white valuables are left untouched, Where win it aU end?

Every national newspaper is w a i t i i for thisstory to break.

It only needs one reporter to make the fist move, to discover

the government isdetermined to create anatmosphere in which m-oritewill dare? Or

.

The uncertainty surrounding

Windscale 3critical C

THE WINDSCALE PUBLIC NQUIRY into British Nuclear

Èie Limited's

(BNFL) applicaon for ~lanninxuermission to uild anuranium%xide pmcessig plant begins on June 14th.

including: Friends of the Earth (FOE), Campaign Against 'the Arms Trade, the Conservation Societv. Greenneace. and Campa&n&inst Nuclear Energy. ( N N is an information exchange

--

And that was the main subct up for discussion at the leeting of anti-nuclear groups ~nvenedby the Nuclear Infonnaon Network (NIN) at the Town id Country Planning Associaon-on April 30th. Over thirty nuns were revresented there.

on anti-nuclear matters run by the anti-nuclear groups - which are springing up all over the place themselves.)

Although, as several pwple pointed out, the nuclear-industry has received large setbacks lately, includine the American morator-

the intention to expand the i nuclear industry remains firm.

So there wasa feeling of some urgency when the strategies of the anti-nuclear groups at Windscale were discussed.

Both FOE and CANTO have , launched appeals to raise a ctfmbined total of more than £50,00 to cover the cost of being represented

by QC's at the enquiry, and of preparing their cases fully. (CANTO is an alliance of anti-nuclear groups formed before Christmas, and instru mental, as People for a Non-Nuclear World, in placing a letter, signed by several hundred people, in the Guardian of May 2nd reminding President Carter of his election pledges to control the nuclear industry.)

Rumours of a £20,00 donation

by Edward Goldsmith to the antinuclear groups may soon be confirm ed. Objections to the BNFL'sexpansion at Windscale have been lodged to cover every reason for not building it. Anti-nuclear groups were, unanimous in their desire to have the enquiry, perhaps the longes and most important ever, moved from Whitehaven to somewhere more accessible - Carlisle was the common favourite -as the W i d scale enquiry is a national, rather than a regional concern. A recent German study (Eddie's, this issue). suggests that radioactive fallout from accidents at Windscale could affect large areas of England.

Some oeonle at the meeting wntested the'validity of the enq&, fearing that its outcome may be a foregone conclusion, regardless of how many QC's represent the objectors. They thought that the climate of popular and edia opinion would influendethe panel of inspectorsas much as would the quality of the objectors' evidence. We shall know soon ennueh.

France going green In the French local elections in March Michel Lecowe was elected ayor of Ethel, Brittany, on an ecological platform that included >posingthe construction of a nuclear power station at near-by rdeven. Ecologists were elected councillors in Brittany or Alsace herever nuclear power station construction threatened, or industrial illution damaged agriculture or fishing. Averaged over the whole of ance, ecology groups polled an unprecedented 12%of the votes.

Opinion pollsduring the preapproach to totally changing Paris :&ion period had shown an into an ecologically sound city. upsurge of popular concern for In the municipal legislative electhe environment that was large tion they sponsored 109 candidates, enough to cause the principal supported by a radical, nineteencandidates to show that, they too, point election manifesto covering were duty concerned with ecologieverything from localgovernment cal issues. Jacques Chirac's claims reform to garbage. to have always been an ecologist Encouraged by their electoral were quickly denied by Paris success, local ecology groups are Ecologie who pointed out that he meeting to prepare a programme for was largely responsible for the the 1978 parliamentary elections. state building speculation has left However, Paris Ecologie aren't waitParis in. Michel d'ornano, his ing for electoral reform to achieve rival for Mayomf Paris, planted their aims. Immediately after the ee. election results, during a televised Paris Ecologie, formed last interview, Brice Lalonde announced mmn, is a coalition of French their intention to set up neighbourvironmental groups, of whom hood radio stations. The first transAmis de la Terre, the Move mission took place during the intersnt Ecologique, the Movement view. By switching o n a transistor r a Non-Violent Alternative, and radio he had brought with him, he e Anti-pollution Committee are relayed Paris Ecologie's broadcast e most influential. They came over the whole of France.. r to pmduce a combined Since then, neighbourhood groups

.

truths WHEN THE magazine Resurgence held a recent colloquium on 'Community and Planning' at its new centre - Pentre Ifan Farm in Dyfed - the emphasis was inevitably on 'back to the land' and "backto rural Wales' in particular.

And the surprising number of non-alternative' town planners present were treated to a dose of all the 'alternative' ideas: 'small is beautiful*, from Lwpold Kohr (author of The Breakdown of Nations); human-sized industries based on local materials, from Elaine Morgan (author of Falling Apart); and the anomalies of the land-ownership system, from John Seymour (author o SelfSufficiencyI. / The planners also came in for a fair bit of stick. 'Planning has achieved maximum interference with human affairs to minimum effect', said Maurice Ash of the Town & Country Planning Association. 'Planners have failed t o see the wood for the trees - rather they have madea sum of all the trees and called it a wood.'

John Seymour wanted simply to sweep away all their carefullyformulated laws. and Bowen Rees saw planners at the feet rather than over the head of local communities. Planning decisions should be taken at Parish level (albeit after consideration of a possible higher level overall plan); the higher authority could then appeal against any decision; instead of the other way round and why not!

But the words of the last speaker,Geoffrey Ashe (author of The Virgin),were even harsher - and they were not directed against planners but to the Resurgence group itself: these so-called revolutionaries' had, hcsaid, become 'domesticated' -beautiful people talking ibout peace and reconciliation.

4ny number of people going back to the land would not demoralise hose at the top, Ashe declared.

Reconciliation in industry (to ivoid all that nasty conflict) only meant weakening the power of : h e workers; and reconciliation in the third world (to avoid all hat nasty violence) only mean iowngrading the blacks.

The people taking up the nsion of a new age meant some- ; hi@ quite different to what he Mice did. They should be warned - ,i igainst those tendering phoney 4 ;oodwill and false promises of econcillation.

Sue Stickland;4 '+ Resurgence, Venue Ifan, i Wndre Farchq. Cryrnych, wfed/^ Vales.

3 ,

have been busy taping programmes, enthusiasts building radio-transmitters, and detector vans being readied to discourage them. Both ordinary people and the government, for different reasons, are eagerly awaiting the transmissions which were due to stait at the beginning of May.

-; :

Anti-nuclear demo arrested -

IN A NON-VIOLENT action

unique in scale-ami orgartisation, 2000 peo Ie on April 30 occupied the site ofthe proposed n u c k plant at Seabmk, on the New Eagtand coast.

Months of careful prepantion

paid off. Four columns of occupiers, trained in the tactics of non-violence, converged on

the site. They met with no oppoiition and set up a m p , intending to halt further construction work by staying put, indefinitely if necessary.

For many people this was the fast major piece of public protest since the antiwar movement in the early '70s. The occupiers represented a wide cross-section of local citizens, student activists, ecologists, and pacifists - all part of the 'Clamshell Alliance', an anti-nuclear movement, which has chanters throuehout - . ~ e ~ngland.. w

-

Despite the scare stories about 'communist terrorists' in the week proceeding the occupation, the occupation itself was an amazingly peaceful, and joyful, event. The slogans 'NeNukes' and Teople United can Never be Defeated' echoed across the bay as the four huge phalanxes marched to an ecstaticmeeting on the site. One of the erouos came by boat, like an invasion force. All were equipped with suppliesfor three days.

The occupation was organised decentrally, each group of ten or twenty had elected a 'spokesperson*who met in plenary with other 'spokespeople to elect a 'spokesperson' who met in plenary with other 'spokespeople' to elect a smaller decision-making hna" ---, .

The following day the state police, backed by the National Guard, proceeded to arrest the occupiers, as had been expected.

Similar actions last year had led

The deformed hand of the victim d the dread Minamata Diseax.

I& died in Minamata Citv after a long +em caused by k c u r y

crews were also arrested -an action unlikely to go unmentioni in the press.

Overall, the occupation seems to have been a meat succe; in demonstrating thata large number of people were willing to break the law (of trespass) in ord to protest against nuclear power.

And as the occupiers chanted from their detention campsand jails We will be back".

td some 180 arrests; but this time the police were fated with ten times that number. At least 1200 people were arrested.

Endless chains of buses began to ferry the occupiers, who passively resisted arrest but offered no violence, to local jails, prisons and National Guard barracks. Thev were offered bail, but most preferred to stay together injail. Media

Masses' media COM-COM -short for the 'Community Communications Group' established itself at a fust meeting in February in Milton Keynes, met again to forinally adopt its aims in Brisfol in March, and met in London in May to decide its future course of action. in itsorganisation - including thi To the first two meetings came a wide cross-section of people indevelopment of 'non-profitdistri volved in grassroots video work, uting trusts' and of 'co-operative the experimental community and other joint forms of financin cable television projects, radio and to stimulate a direct involvement conimunity newspapers - as well by the community in its own as people who just believed in b^>adcasting services.' theidea of community controlled These are moves in the communication media. right direction if the GovernCOMCOM aims to 'm-ordment decides to include them in its mst-Annan white oaner. A imte and act as an information exchange for the development of COMCOM working party has community communication been considering the Annan proposals further. and is now services. includim mess. video. advocating that the proposed film, radio, relevision and other LBA should also be given a communication resources'. development fund to administer, For COM-COM, the Annan Report is obviously a key to finance non-cometcia1 locat radio projects. document, and the chapter on a 'Local Broadcasting Authority' Andrew Bibb (LBA) is obviously the key pan of the report. Annan expressed a desire to see local , p o n e ~ntarested~nCOMradio extended to the vast CO a aims should contact m&rity of people in the countrG RdaWOunn at 30 Golden coupled with a greater diversity Squarfi, London W1.

-

poisoning-

Japan V W spreads A disease .4

.

-

- .

,

-

WAN TO EXPORT MINIMATA

US - ban

products ..-..witrestraint. f o r '.. ; DISEASE!Tl>È may well be one . instance, Thai AdqiCaustK; : afthe remits of the expawion of Soda Co, the T W sibtidiary of '.

JACK MUNDEY, the Australian JlpuiewTuitU into othel countries Ashai Glass Co discharges, oftunion-environmental leader has in An*. The relocation of heavy checked.-mercury compounds into been denied entry to the US by the industry away from Japw is the the Chao Phraya River in Thailand.

US-Stote Department at the. r o d 4 of firms torching for . By building t i e piuxçThfifeinil. behett of two& tbe--st US unions: the Am-CIO. dwaperl*bour,andgro. they have recrat layw -, @ t o k n e e of$%tiia. . Even while Resident Carter ; ; : legislation fotbkifiing In the 60s and early 7 0 s the ::..'. was entertaining Andrei Sakharov discharge of heavy inetÈl price of Japan's'post-war recovery the environmet.

- . . and making earnest pronouncements on freedomof speech and human became apparent with the recogniSimilarly, Nflioii.Chemi@K'o, rights, an antiquated and repressive a large manufacturer of chromhrel *n of the causes of hiinamaka laywas exhumed to keep a union Disease (mercmy poisoning), compounds, is now relocat leader from speaking to American Yokkaichi Asthma (nilphorous plants, in WW more htan% .:! anions. The McCarran Act. used to a& gas from petrochemical plants), .workers died of hmg cancer {tore deny Mundey entry, isa carryover. and.Kanema Rice Oil Disease (PCB discharged chrom#~lncompoundl. fmm-the McCarthy era of hysterical poisoning). to Utean City in K q . antl-communism that denies But it was only when people The Japanese branch of -& btgan to die from these ant! other Asian EnvironmqtatSociety'are,:- Communist Party members entry d i m s caused by pollution that so @r:ified by +growing TIto the ,US. However, Jack Mundey has been public revulsion was stroag expansion of J-apqieatfirm~,with in the US before: most recently their total (tiyegani f w t h e envin.m *ugh to overthrow the 3ditioniJ when he attended the World Wilddeferential attitude of Japanese went, that they q : trying toalert. life Fnnd Conference in San . wotklepimon to the h u m p m y people towardsgovernment and Francisco, and met with environcompa@,officials.Mass protests that'will almost certamlyrcylt. mentalists andlocal union represenwere nccesiary to reduce pollutwn; They are contacting tatives. He was extended numerous ists t h r o w b u t the- w ,d eventottay i+ustri+lGscbgw them which i$y#riq<aus~,$isç~~ invitations to speak to consumer, et pollutants are higher Unn would union and environmental groups in be acceptable ,m the EEC., by pollution.

- . . . the US about the unique blend of upion-communist activism he contact: pbnecred (Undercurrents14). It

-

-

ck

.

oft>;.

'.:

.

0 ~ an AusUaten 9 Commonid;reilly e a threat to the entrenched, leadership of the big unions in the';, US?After all. the Australian Corn-., rnuniat Pany broke with the Soviets malethan 20 yearsago In protest.:-ov&the Soviet invasion of kIunga@ Aua!dbn Communists are notthe. took'd the Russians, t heChinese":: or ÇaMKÈ else. . . .

Do we want the half- life of the Plutonium Economy?

In only a few short weeks, UK environmentalists.and their allies will either have seized or have missed what is probably their best (and possibly their last) opportunity to de-rail the Nuclear Energy Express as it accelerates off into the night, carrying its 4,000 million passengers apparently inexorably toward the twilight world of the Plutonium economy.

and solidification equipment before it can become fully operational. And anyway, Jimmy Carter, concerned that

other nations might not be as judicious in their use of atomic weapons as the United States, has slapped a moratorium on all US reprocessing activities in a belated attempt to set the world a good example in limiting plutonium proliferation. Another o f Carter's recent initiatives could also spell trouble for BNFL's world wide reprocessing ambitions. His administration i s trying to make it mandatory for all nations which burn US-manufactur ed nuclear fuel in their reactors (and that means most of the world) to return their spent fuel t o the United States.

If Carter has his way the Japanese, who want BNFL to process some 4,000 tonnes of their spent oxide fuel over the next few years, would have to send their fuel back to Uncle Sam instead 8 There are at least four aspects of Windscale safety at issue. The first is the question of radiation hazards to workers in the plant itself. Some experts strongly suspect that Windscale workers are more likely than others to contract fatal cancers - particularly those of the bone /marrow, like leukaemia. But the National Radiological Protection Board, in a recent preliminary study1 of Windscale workers (which the Board itself admitted was 'inconclusive') has declared that Windscale workers are no more likely t o contract cancers than the rest o f us.

-

an unexpected chemical reaction in their The morning of June 14 sees the first oxide reprocessing plant at Windopening, in Whitehaven Town Hall, scale resulted in a release of radioactivity Cumbria, of the Department o f the which contaminated 35 workers. On the Environment's public inquiry into the hotly-controversialproposal b British orders of the Nuclear Installations Inspectorate, the plant had t o be shut Nuclear Fuels Limited (BNFLYto expand down for complete rebuilding, and i s their nuclear fuel reprocessing facilities still not back i n operation. As Sir John at Windscale (Britain's 'nuclear dustbin', Hill, Chairman of the UK Atomic in the immortal words of the Daily Energy Authority, admitted ruefully Mirror), to cope with 'spent' uranium in Denver, Colorado in July last year, oxide fuels from reactors in Britain and We thought that reprocessing another abroad. And already the forces on both 7000 tons a year of light water reactor sides of the controversy are wheeling fuel was just an expansion of what we out all the artillery they can muster for had been doing for 20 years. We what could be their most decisive were wrong. But now, Sir John reckons confrontation. For without reprocessing, he is right in claiming that when BNFL the Plutonium economy is a dead duck. have spent Ă&#x201A;ÂŁ35 million on their proAnd although BNFL has been operaposed new 1000 tonne-a-year 'THORP' ting a reprocessing plant at Windscale for (THermal Oxide Reprocessing Plant) decades, the plant i s increasingly springat Windscale they'll be able to handle ing embarrassing 'leaks' and showing other any fuel the industry cares to throw signs of age - and is in any case designed at them. to reprocess the 'Magnox' (uranium metal, clad in magnesium oxide) fuel Sir John's confidence is not unlverburned by the now-obsolescent first sally shared, however. For BNFL i s not \ generation o f British reactors. the only company to have had its fingers BNFL has in fact received planning badly burned in the reprocessing game. permission t o rebuild its Magnox fuel reprocessing plant, and also to construct , In 1972, after six years of operation the plant operated an R & D facility t o try to develop a proby Nuclear f u e l Services Inc at West cess for 'glassifying' highl radioactive Valley, New York had to be closed down nuclear wastes (see below).~hese two for modifications, because workers were proposals are not being contested by the being exposed to more than the permitWindscale opponents). ted doses of radiation and (perhaps But almost all of the &west tvms o f "

Working at Windscale gives you cancer?

.

reactor - including the 'Advanced GasCooled Reactor'. (AGR), the proposed 'Steam Generating Heavy Water Reactor' (SGHWR), and the American 'Light Water Reactor' (LWR) -burn uranium oxide fuel, and it is the supposedlylucrative business of reprocessing this , oxide fuel for customers all q e r the world that BNFL is so eagerly seeking.

THE PROBLEMS Oxide fuel i s much more difficult to reprocess than Magnox fuel, because it is much m'ore radioactive -as BNFL discovered the hard way in 1973 when

-

more importantly) because it had notched up losses of 7.5 million dollars. Later, the announced that the plant was to be scrapped because the cost of modifications would be astronomical.

The US reprocessing race does have one other hopeful contender, though: massive new plant near Barnwell, Illinois, built by Allied General Nuclear Services (a consortium embracing three friendly local multi-nationals; Gulf Oil, Allied Chemical and Royal Dutch Shell) at a cost o f 250 million dollars. But even it needs another $500 million worth o f plutonium processing and waste storage

-

.

The controversy over whether or not working at Windfeal'e gives you cancer is unlikely to be resolved until the results of a new, continuing survey by the NRPB of all radiation workers, begins to show definite statistical trends - and that won't be for about 10 years.

The second cause for concern over safety arises from the plant's 'routine' releases o f 'low-level' radioactive wastes into the air and sea surrounding Windscale. The Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food's radiobiological laboratory at Lowestoft recently reported' that although releases o f alpha- , emitting isotopes into the sea off Windscale are well within their prescribed safety limits, that marine concentrations of beta-emittershad by 1975 reached 83% of the permitted maximum levels a bit too high for comfort. Moreover, the concentration of caesium in fish caught off Wjndscale rose-no less than tenfold between 1973 and 1975. BNFL mints to the latter disturbing fact as evidence of the need to rebuild at least i t s Magnox reprocessing facilities. A t the moment, a shortage o f reprocessing capacity means that unreprocessed Magnox fuel elements have to be stored too long under water, which causes

of Terrorism Act.

be even more serious than they see widescale and detertion capacity o f the Irish Sea.

been carried out and the plutonium extracted. BNFL and kgg belatedly rediscovered 'Harvest', a : process developed experimentally by Harwgll engineers in the 50's and then inexplicably forgotten, for turning high-level wastes into a setid, gla*like substance which could (assuming a completely safe site can be found) ultimately be buried deep within the . earth and forgotten. But it remains doubtful whether the process, which involvesa fiendish combination o f high temperatures (for glassmaking) with high levels of radioactivity, can work safely and effectively when ‘scaled-uto commercial size.

A fourth safety auestion mark hangs, o f course, ov'er the possibility that Windscale n a y once again be the scene of yet-another unforeseen (and perhaps unforeseeable) accident ,"fri*ffà like the one in 1973 (mentioned*^-~.6ff'" 'above), or the notorious 1957 Wmdscale reactor fire which resulted in such large releases of radioactivity to the surrounding envkonmnt that the Ministry of Agricuttwe had t o order farmers to pour thorfan radioactive milk down the dra

Y 3

Barring laakçradioactive wattw from the reprocenin9 plant at Windacal* m kept hi thna ittanks until their radioactivity is deemed to be at an acceptable leva).

-

'

-

4000 bombs - t o be shipped back to a country that has not natifiect the nuclear non-proliferation treaty.

BNFL's answer to the charge that it is "contributing to an increased risk o f nuclear war" is, i n @en@, that a) if we don't do the reprocessing somebody else will, and we might asell have the money; and b) if reprocessing must be done mewhere (which they say it must) en t'were as well it were done in d, politically-stable Britain.

,*"'d * %

-: -

Sobs;at what price?

The estimated cost of reprocessing plant at Winds some £35 million, and t of long-term jobs it would create is about 1,000. The c o g per job, £350,00 is, according to the Socialkt Environment and Resources Association (SERA) t h e most expen: sive in the economy. The figure for a typical job in an advanced, automated petro-chemical process plant is around £100,000 in mass-production industries £2&,000;/an in many labour-intensive production and service jobs, arounrf

of whether Britain (if it is a mocracy) would remain one in the ke o f the repressive measures ceded to make the world safe for lutonium i s one which remainsun-

;>

£6,000.

Furthermore, SERA contend, "detailedialculations of the cornpars live employmentand energy implications for nuclear, solar and coal technologies have been carried out in the United Stategand indicate that, per unit energy, a solar power programme would create approximately 2.5 times more employment than a nuclear power programme.

'&c&kra%n The nuclear i&stry

is wintention-

. Then there is the possibility &-tomewould argue, the probability -that groups without the cloak o f legitimacy which enables Governments to threaten violence in pursuit of political objectives may get their hands on plutonium and construct their own deterrent'.^ Certainly in the Plutonium Economy of the year 2005 getting hold of the few pounds of Pu -needed to make a backyard A-bomb would probably be even easier than it i s now.

,

'.

Ovil Liberties -

The precautions which Governments might feel obliged to take in order to counter such terrorist threats, in a future economy extensively-based on plutonium asa source of energy, would be highly corrosive t o our civil liberties -at least those which still remain after such legislation as the Prevention

"There might well also need to be restrictions on the rights o f movement and assembly, and suspension o f habeas corpus if the threat o f the plutonium being exploded were serious".

One o f the nucleat-industry's responses to such arguments is t o argue in turn for the eventual establishment of massive, high-security, 'nuclear parks', on which would besited all the key facilities required for the nuclear fuel cycle.

But such 'nuclear parks', precisely because o f their size and concentration, would be ideal targets for a determined band of terrorist saboteurs, who would be aware that the consequences o f disrupting such a centralised generating system would be much more catas-

3

It's here that the debate over Windscale, reprocessing, fast breeders and the plutonium economy really gets dowri to the bedrock issue which underlies all the other disputes - namely the difference in values, in beliefs about what constitutes a society worth living in, which separates the pro-nuclear from the anti-nuclear lobby. These value differences lie at the root of disputes over apparently-technical issues like the long-term storage of lliKlllevel radioactive wastes, or the probability of a disastrous accident in a fast breeder reactor.

The nuclear advocate will argue, for instance, that the energy benefits accruing to society from a plutonium

iki mnomy are greater than the costs iherent in the risk of a highlydisas¥oubut highly-unlikely FBR scident or in the erosion o f civil berties because of fears o f terrorist stion. And I, as an opponent (you uessed) of nuclear power would argue recisely the reverse. But there's no ope of either o f us proving the other Tong. It's just that we value different lings. Which means that instead of ie issue being a technical one, it ecofis a political one -just as olitical as the familiar controversies rer whether we should build ospitals or nuclear submarines, rimary schools or roads.

These value differences emerge most clearly in the controversy over whether our future energy policy ought to have an increasingnuclear component, based on the use o f FBRs; or whether we can take a 'soft energy path', with coal and conservation forming a 'fission-free bridge' until the 'benign and renewable' energy sources (mainly solar power ' and its derivatives) can take over.

The nuclear lobby's argument is that, historically, energy growth has always been accompanied by economic growth (so one must cause the other, mustn't it?), and that if we want economic growth (because it makes everyone better off, doesn't it?) we must have continuing growth in energy consumption. And although North Sea oil and gas will make energy growth in Britain feasible during the 19801s, by the 1990s these reserves will be running out and we'll be faced with an 'energy gap*. And even though we waste 60%of the energy we consume, energy conservation can make only a modest contribution to.narrowing the gap unless there are radical changes in people's lifestyles (and people wouldn't accept that, now would they?)

7

.

,

On LOWER SHAW FARM bas a calendar of summer events, with a four day wurse Education Otherwile, from June 3-7, and a weekend on Rural Ruettle ment, from June 24-26. The rural weekend is open to all who are mterested in the problem of getting bade to the land, and reinvigorating rural life, whereas the education course is for those families who are practising Education Otherwise, or wishing to support the movement,'and will combine discussion and a holiday.

Details from Dick Kitto, Lower Shaw Farm, Shaw, Swindon, Wilts.

A further event is a residential nmer schoo1,The Shape of Things to Come, from July 4-15, and it will cover the whole range of alternatives. Speakers include Michael Allaby, Gerry Foley, Pat Kitto and George McRobi. The cost

-

-

'

The counter-argument of the antinudear contingent is that economic growth is not an unquestionable good; that the productivity of the world's present productive system i s enough to give everyone a decent standard of living - if-the benefits were equitably distributed; and that economic growth is merely a way o f postponing the inevitable redistribution of wealth it5 favour of the poor and the underprivileged. In any case, i t is possible to have forms of economic growth-which are not energy-intensive.

A comparison of fast breeder reactortechnology with photovoltaic (solar cell') technology neatly illustrates the two poles of opinion.

The present 'demonstration' FBRs (the Dounreay PFR in Britain, and the 'Phenix' in France) have already cost hundreds of millions o f pounds, and will require expenditures of a further £100 million or more if they are to be 'scaled up' t o comhercial size. Even then, a number o f plausibk-but-difflcult technologicaldevelopmentsare 'needed to increase their 'breeding ratio' (a measure o f the rate at which an FBR 'breeds' new fuel) to.the point where enough plutonium i s being 'bred' to make a significant contribution to our energy demands. Solar cells on the other hand have, with only a fraction o f FBR funding, reduced i n price by a * factor o f 15 times in 15 years, and i r e expected (given a number o f plausible but-difficult technological developments) to be cheap enough to compete with conventional sources by the mid-1980s.

Indeed, in Britain the PA Technology Centre in Royston recently claimed it had already made the manufacturing breakthrough to a solar cell that's cheap enough to enable 2 house's electricity requirements to be met using - only , £20 worth o f cells.

The balance is tipping slowly in favour

'

WE REGRET TO ANNOUNCE

0

~

y

~

~

~

N

o

r

ÂÂ

There will however be a Walwt St Art Festival for one day only, August 13, ownised by the Bath Arts Workihop.

Phone Bath 5 169 for detail. other tummr fairs a i d f& include: May 30 to June 5, LEICESTER; June 6 to 15,Emirofair, Seaford BRIGHTON, June 11Strawberry Fair, CAMBRIDGE; June 18 to 26 STONEHENGE; J k 24 to 26 Hood Mediaeval Pat. BUCKFASTLEIGH Devon; June 25 to July 2 Hope St. LIVERPOOL; July 2 & 3,AshtwCourt BWSTOL July 8 to 11W i n Pair* PRESSEU HILLS Sooth Wales; July 16 to 24 AVEBURY; July 30 to August 8, North Country Fair, Rivington PykÇ Chinese Gardens CHORLEY Lanes; August 20.NORWICH; August 28,WINDSOR. Two other possible festivals for which we have no details are: Jply 7, GLASTONBURY; and August 13 t o 21, DORSET. For more precise details of these and other festivals contact BIT (146 Great Western Road, London W 11; 01-229 8219) or the Adam Trust, 331 Goswell Road, Lawn ECLor buy the Festival Number of Inter. .

,

.

of

.

/

of solar technology. Estimatesof the amount o f energy that could be providi from renewable sources keep increasing - a few years ago it was'insignificant', this year it's %%of our needs', next who knows what it will be? And on a global scale, the most optimistic estima yet of solar's potential contribution wa published in April by the Worldwatch ~ n s t i t u t e dWashington.' Solar power, says the report's author Denis Hayes, can supply 40%of the world's needs by the turn of the century, and no less than 75% by the year 2025. Ã What's more, Hayes contends that "the most intriguing aspect.of a transition to a solar era, might lie in its social and political ramiTications". Solar technologies, he declai are "more compatible than centralised technologies with social equity, freedom and cultural pluralism".

And if social equity, freedom and cultural pluralism aren't on the.agenda at the Windscale inquiry, they ought to be.

Godfrey Boy REFERENCES

1. A Corn bon o f the Observed and Exoected Qdncen o f the Haemat poietic arid Lvmohatic Svstenu arnon WOT rs a t Wind1 A t Re ort by d w . S&phin.

0.1977.5C&. .

2. Radioactivity in Surface and Coastal Waters o f the British Ides 1974. M.A F.F. Directorate o f Fisheries R'ewuch. ( H ~ o .

1976) 3. 'The Impact o f Solar and Conaavatlon Technologies upon Labor Demxnd* Conferer on Energy Efficiency,May 1976,'duhingtox

.

J

DC 4. Ftnt REport o f the Ranger Uranlum huironmenlal Inquiry A w - -a. o*h= S. See Towards a Peoples* Bomb' by Pat Coyne to Undercurrents 2 1972. and 'New T o m for Terrorist*' ateo by ~ u Coyno, t in Undercumnts 9.ld78.

6. R o w ConuniÑio on Environmental Pollution Sixth Report Nuclear Power and the Environment. HMSO, 1976. a.66.

I. Shown o n the BBC Horizon Ro

The Dawn o f Ole S o l a ~ t e ' , 8 . Energ :The Solar Pro8 ct Price 2 00 from the (vorldwatch ln&te 1776MÈ

Avenue NW,

wathintton DC 2'0036.

THE FESTIVAL OF THE n ENVIRONMENT ~ m = will be taking place at Newcastle for the third year rimning,from May 27-June 5. Friends of the Earth (Tyne-, Hie) and many other local environmental and amenity groups are taking part in this 5th celebration of World Environment Day. They hope that you will join them in Newcastle, or celebrate the World Environment Day (June 5) in some way with your own local group. Â STRAWBERRY FAIR is here again -June 11 onMidwmmer Common, Cambridge. This will be the fourth such fair and there will be the Dragon Procession, inflatables, entertainers, sports, crafts and a myriad of other things. Go and find out, and enjoy y o d v e s . Any profit will go tolocal children's projects. They too, need help now. More details from Cambridge Mayday Group, 28 Bateman Street, Cambridge, CB2 1NB. Tel: Cambridge 67210.

- ,

If you happen to-be passing through Vienna in June, there is an exhiiition on Alternative Life and Technii (techniques?)there, from May 16 to June 16. Organid by 'Arbeitsgruppe Alternat~en' if you want mow details, write to (otca o n ) ~ , a m . R i c g l e t , . D r ~ ~1% St~,

r..MQ 3 -. ¥ -..:< ,%. . -. & ,

,

'

". .

.

-

-72,.

.

-

, -* ,

'

Kl6s KARNIVAL &FREE

AIR will take place at Sussex University ahner, Bright~n~Sussex on June 11. It is oped to combine Street Theatre, Craft, tails and demonstrations), Mtffc and tor& dancing and Envirogronps. It promisi t o t e great fun, if the previous fairs are mything to go.by. If you want to take at, details from Link-up, Falmer House, almer, Bnghton, Stpex. Tel: Brighton 80380 Ext 11, otherwise go and eqoy ourselves!

-.

,

FAIRE, a

4

HOOD 'medieval celebration of crafts, dance, music, sports and country pastimes' is to be held-at Hood Meadows, between Buckfastleigh and Totnes, Devon, on June 24-26, in honour of Midsummer'.'It is hoped that this will be the West Country's version of ye famous Barsham Faire, in Suffolk. If you.want info, or with to get involved eady on, contact Saskia Thomas, 3 Seymour Viilas;Briagetown, Totnes, Devon. TeL ~otnesk362319. w

>. ¥

ECONOMIC AND COMMERCIAL

ASSESSMENT OF SOLAR ENERGY THE SOLAR HOUSEHOLD js an xhibition presented by the Country College o take place on July 1-2,at the Campus fest Exhibition Centre, Welwyn Garden City, 'fckets are 5Op inadvance (or 75p at the m r ) from C ~ u n t r Coltege, y 11, H Ireen Lane, Digswell, Welwyn, Herts. The allege wfll also supay you with more inforÈattonIt promises to be a useful exhibition, ago and get some solar ideas before next later!

I

-

CONSERVATION (phew!) is the title of a one-day UK-ISES meeting in London on July 5, at the Royal Institution. This is, apparently, one of the most crucial issues in mhr enexgy, and discussionswfll be on topics mch as, solar versus alternative energies, and economic model! for solar conversion.

Speakers includeGerald Leach,and Peter Chapman (O.U.). Details from the InternationalSolar Energy Society, The Royal Institution, 21 Albemarle St, London W1X 4BS.

.

Â

.*-

-

"'

THESOB.ASSOCIATION~

organising a 5day course on ORGANIC

.

-

HUSBANDRY, to bs held in Surrey Horn July 11-15. It is to besimilar in content to the course they held at the Shropshire Farm Institute at Easter. Details and formss fmm the Soil Asso&tiion, Walnut Tree Manor, Haughley, Stowmarket, Suffolk (please send sae) or phone Haughley 23516.

There is to be a conference on SOLAR BUILDING TECHNOLOGY on July 25-27, which willdeal with the broade issues of performance of solar energy hardware in varying macro-clhitic conditions, especially in developing countries. It will be organised by North East London Polytechnic in association withUNESC0, and will be held at N.E. London Poly, and the Royal Institute of British Architects. They hope t o have an exhibition of solar manufacturefs running concurrently with the conference. More info from the Secretariat, International Solar Building Technology Conference, Building and Environmental Technology Unit,Faculty of Environments Studies, NELP, Forest Road, London El7 4JB.

?'

k

What's What D The BBC TV COMMUNITY 'ROGRAMMES UNIT deserves a little mupathy: they tend* be despised by the ¥es of the Beeb as glorified socialworkers, d slammed by the radical left for b

7-

he co-opting armof authoritarian broa /' siting. Somewhere in the wasteland letween these two attitudes they do their >estto help people use their access to the 7penDoor Slot. During the summer they as going to put out a weekly programme ailed Grapevine, which aims to be 'an ?penexchange of information about selfI Kip'. They are keen to hear from any group hat has something to say to the world, be t a tenants association, a food co-op, a nmmunity festival, or whatnot. Write to Grapevine, Community Programmes Unit, BW Television Centre, Wood Lane, London W12,If you'd like to get a word in edgewise.

'

-

agents into refusing to sellit. Rebecca ia 35p + lop by'ppst from The Hosts of Rebecca,15 Windsor Esplanade, Docks, Caerdydd, South'wales; a sub Is£2.2 for five issues. Outside South Wales it is distribu.ted by the PDC 0 - SHERRACK,a&mmunitymagazinc, camelfrom Tot,% m Devon. Issue No 13 has articleson local transport, Samaritans and candle-making, plus a feature on Darlington,by Guy Daunw. The magazine is two years old and it has 16 pages full of very interesting material the next blue , will be a Hood Faire Special (see What's On), and o d y costs 15p If you wish to know more or to contriite write to them at TheLinhay; Lake Gardem, Maudlin Road. Totnes, Devon.

-

-

Distributed via the FQC k a

mutzne c*llcd UBERTARUN EDUCATION.

Anyone who doubts that it ia jobbery and sonuption that make the wheelsgo round hBid read REBECCA, a South Wales ¥adimag that specialksin exposing the misdoings of the local labour Mafia, Jicludh our beloved PM. The Scrim; lumber;just out, tells Vow they helped lulian Hodge set up his Commercial Bank of Wales, killing off the Liberal Party'sradical proposals for a genuine tank of Wales. The twelve page Conup < i n Supplement is a rich soup of sex, &mine scandals. corruvtion trials. lousingfidles,a development policy ¥ipoff dirty dealsit the local soccer club, mlitieal nepotism and (sadly) the first case ) f a Plaid Cymni councillor helping himself to a council house he wasn't entitled to..

Inthe next issue, which will come when Wready, we are promised The Secret Otreer iflames Callaghan, The Mafia are tight* a&mtthe.only way thepknow, with MJffte&^lubuo^~^mptfo

fr. fÑahtJM ftaiJl

 While on the theme of education EDUCATION OfHERWSE bas been let upas a membershb o n a h t i o n with a cliantebfe status under the a& of the ~ltmativtf*"' Society. Even if you arenot-thinkingof* education at present they are keen that you Should join them because they believe that schools and uutitutioffl have a. straiiglchou on education. This hold, they lay, diouU b< challei^ed, and there is a need for a strong group-committed to re-establishing family responsibility for the CBBd'seducation.

Membership mas£per family per tnnum, and a auarterlv newsletter wffi be vroduced (free for members, W p tv anyo& else).

Detail! from Education Otherwise, Lower Shaw Farm, Shaw, Swindon, Wilts. Â

THE CENTRE FOR ALTERS

T1VE TECHNOLOGYhasproduced a collection of DIY ptoin of the various AT gadgetly which goes itongside t h a i wlteotion of Information Sheets. The Plans are

R a d i a l E d u c a ~ n ~ o f t, m ~ mostly of things they have built there themselves, and while there is nothing up and die but LE produced ftl21st edition . startlingly new here, the* &a stand earlier thB year! It adopts an anthuthoritarapart from most of the literature since inn attitude towards schools and mlleçe several of the itemare described boh bv we should work together towards control bolt.~hisisvery usçfultothernÈM>rit of our own.lives. of IMwho haveoat yet dirtied OUT hands.

The first @suewas in 1966, &e , DIY Plans. 5W Wind Generator,Water the boom period of underground presses in Pump, Savoniom Rotor,Solar Panel. the fate 60'h and it has grown from duplicated Cretan Windmill, Haylmx, 10ft Watersheetsto 20pp of litho and an international wheel, Brad S o h Roof. £1.2 + l o p circulationof 1500.@ the latest edition postage:InformationSheets£l.O + 10p theeditorial comments We think education postage, both from C.A.T., Llwyngwern isa life-tong process'. LE is available from Quarry, MachynUeth, Pow@. bookshops at 20p, or from LE, 6 Beaconsfield Road, L e i i e r , at 30p S i L p&p). (Courtesy

-

theGrauniaa.

ANYONE WHO HAS easy acces&to Burto-Trent and is interested in a meeting of Undercurrents readers, please riotf Barton 63610 or write to Sandv

Â

NORTOWEST CLAP lists altem tive groups in the North-West of England, appears irregularly, isftee, and is available from39-41 thuiestya Lane, Liveipool 1.

Subjects covered include: women, men, lavs, regionalCLAPS, transport,ho-, .

.

,educatin/kids,artÇ

4

;z

5j

)ANGERS

OF COUNTER-

have been obtained. We hope to

c a r r y a report by Richard E k n

XILTURE

in a future issue.

SORRY RICHARD!

thevariety t o prevent iriterference. However Richard didn't pdint out the obvious trick of alternating horizontally polaris ed signals with vertical (as is done with UHF and V H F T V ) which would have helped him

.--

The danger of the counter-culre, t o m e , is that it will develop guilt-ridden neurosis about its @insand aims if people take rlously the intellectual waffle of ose who play, and haveplayed, leading part m creating it.

Horace

Herring

Wanderlust C/o Canal Shop London R d , Braunsto Northants.

Hulrn - Ray .. . . - .

FRITH'S WINSTANLEY

Park RA ssex

loam-12am to anti-clockwise 12am-02pm t o clockwise 04pm-06pm toanticlockwise U'he room where the experiments took Place had big windows facing north.)

No significant difference could be found between the samples belonging t o the different groups A-E (the seedlings in the pyramid tended not t o follow the above Quite SO a c c u r a t o l ~ ~ There are o n the ocher hand experiments in this field which &e not too difficult t o reproduce: Clive Backstops 'Evidence of primary Perception in plant life'. I have tried it. with three "niton

. .Age for resistancemeasurement, constant voltage method 2 mV chart recorder), one leaf of t h e third was cut in several -~ . .-.nie,-os ---..- - , whc-h ...were individually bunled a t various distances. Within a 2-1

-..

It lust noes to nhow that lbefore we move to a new cecnnoioey we must learn the old one properly.

Nicolas Walter 134 Northumberland Rd Harrow, Middx,

PYRAMID POWER

Plant A

B

In the face of so ma.iv 'failures'

Wolfgang

is a mess b u t can only b e changed by people getting back t o the land and changing their heads' is t o make a political statement.

But if the counter-culture is political (whether it likes it or not) what are these politics? What seems t o come throueh is a desire to have a good time without anyone else being oppressed or exploited in the process. Few of us would

Peter Sornmer

Retti:

35 Uplands Rd Crouch End. London N8

50 Addington Rd Reading, Berks.

TWADDLE Ockham's Razor, mlxicli 1106 not needed sharpenin fiince 1350, tells us not to look f o r n c n m plex explanation until a i l attempts to find similar ones have failed. While in general UASRJsharcs W o l f u w Kettiz's scepticism, some repeatable re-suits ~

What is Woody talking about in his 'Radical Economics' piece in ~ n d e r ~ u r r o nN t nA 7 7 .p Firit hesays that 'the people are something separate from tho of us who work and those of us who suffer the ranee of boring L social and sometime5 dangerous

-.

1

Undercurrents Earth Exchange Building, 213 Archway Road, LONDON N6 5 B N .

G r G g , i G t j G t weight It has been said fox some lime that rice eatin peoples complain about the auaUty of the rice which has been reduced by the hi use of feitifisem in the soc$ed weti revolution. This is almoft certainly because the rotein content of the new rice muchless than that of the old.

Many housewives in this country must have noticed the 001 quali of Patna type rice compared wi'& the old ~ a t n rice a they could buy yean afa

is

Margaret Laws Smith White Oak Green Hailey Witney, Oxon.

ALTERNATIVE SHOPKEEPING

Bruce Johnson Greengates 16 Wordsworth Rd Hamenden, Herts.

!Ă&#x201A;

PISSED OFF

free of charge. '

I have been a keen AT enthuriait for some time and decided to do something concrete about it: AS a result I am now teaching engineerin in a small town Northern kulun. Beingmounded by desert it Is one of t e hottest towns on the planet; local energy sources are charcoal or wood, both pxoenttveand ecologically d m C -

Andrew Brown

College of Mechanical EnglneeiinE PO Box26 Atbara Nfle Province, Sudan.

EAT WHEAT, NOT MEAT

~. . .

So.

naturallv. 1 built a solar

Brian Taylor 11poxwood Place Todmorden lanca.

VIRULENT

a go.

We should not almost certainly get so great a weight of hi@

Gordon of Maodala Wholefoods (Letters, Undercurrent! No 21) launches into what can only be construed as a personal attack on John Seymour. His reasons fox doing so must be obscure to your readers. It dearly cannot be on account of John Seymour's eating habits: for why single out one Individual? And if, as he, makes it plain he is dissatisfied with John Se 'mour's books why doesn't ge write and publish some himself' Rather than witness a virulent attack on someone who whatever his faults (we all have them) has imparted by advice and example eat deal of impetus to the ternatives Movement, the majority of us, I feel, are likely

^

25p Including P&P).

Clifford Harp 76 Peckham Rd London SE5

*A Doctor lohn Williamson is a doctor. Recently laid un with flu (even oat . . . .doctors ..

-*

-

^*owlesls

lick sometimes) he had time to writethis critique of our recent ~ e a l t h ssue (Undercurrents 19).

excellent paper i s one of the

weakest Had it ever parts been o f shown his entire that argument. health edi cation (or ~ro~aganda) had had t t remotest effect on public behavio-., then it might be a reasonable analysis.

But given the oast record of such oersu sionihe real choice appears to be i n investing in expensive, though reasonal effective, intervention or wasting mow on cheap, though unheeded, education The message i*right but the example ii not.

Since no-one quite as reactionary as I disease-orientation to a more positive im is likely to bother t o write t o you, health-orientation. This is most particulerhaps you will find my comments of lafly evident when we consider that the nterest. Before I criticise, however, let raison d'etre for academic Departments ne say that three articles Ifound stimuof General Practice in OW medical schools siting and straightforward accounts of ' is largely to inculcate a holistic approach 'cry basic and interesting questions; I to the patient. They fail, of course, but efer to the articles by Geoff Watts on for reasons other than those suggested by 'eople 'sPrescription, Tom Heller's he author. Mind you, I do not disagree rticle on Community Health, and The with any of the concluding points except -ondon Hospital Women's Groups that I would rephrase point iv as 'Medicine refused 2) the tostatement fund-the printing that the and DHSS distrit rticle on Drugs and Women. helps the person to help themself. tion o f Angela Kilmartin's pamphlets a The article on Holistic Medicine b cystitis because it did not encourage se o m Graves I find confusing. He medication issurely erroneous. I am nc Limitsto medicine or science a concern which does .disputing that the DHSS might feel tha i s easy t o criticise Jenny Ratcliffe's igure largely in the literature on way, but is quite another thing to say paper Limits t o Medicine because her ihilosophy of science, and I susp that this is why such an excellent publi over-riding message i s essentially true. might find himself at a disadvantage tion was rejected. Surely, the answer li~ Unfortunately much o f the evidence she iarguing the point for example, simply in the fact that the DHSS is a uses t o support her argument isdubious. ~ i Karl r Popper. Science is based on bureaucratic department which does ni 1 think that the suggestion that smallpox efutable hypotheses, but whether the have the remit t o support ~ublications eradication was the result of social rather {ypothesisis concerned withcausation than immunological factors would be other than official government docur with manipufation is largely irrelevant. ments. Its research funds, which were disputed by many authorities. It is also uch variations in perspectives towards presumably thesource which Ms K i l m possible that the control (ifnot the nowledge are simply scientific refuta- . tin attempted to tap, w e restricted t o initial conquest) o f diphtheria is related ions within different pafcdigms. O f particular types o f work which do not to medical or quasi-medicalinterventions. the fact that iuch more importance is include publishing. However, the DHS; is not true that the f i f ~ @ c t a n c y of he author apparently does not underthrough the Health Education Council, d l males males has decreased; that of land the nature o f multifactorial causalater ensured a wider circulationof the has incred&amatically but it is true on; a model o f causes which would U&l Club's ideas through an explanato iclude 'necessary causes' like his cholera , that* li-fe-expectanc~of adult males leaflet. Entitled "Cystitis', it is supplied has fallen ^Y wm.e eleven months OVef acillus, antecedent variables, accentuainterested *rOu* the local anyow @St -v/ Y W .

S f l c e mOTe ~ ~ 1 6 the ng variablesand 50 on. It is particularW* Educati~nOffices of the Arm erroneous totlaimthat jmmunology live td middle age does It m h that the Health Authority. These are free and N previously robust middbagEttare being .based on a doctrine o f 'sole causes*. written i n m i u n c t i o n with Angela Kit diluterfby the protected 'weaklings' woo G~~~~~ goes on to make the c,assiwhose self-help club is advertise martin in an earlier ~ r i 0 oftustory d would il error- in discussing health matters. He mfuses health withhealthcare. died-off i n childhood? It is a very diffiquite adequately: cult analysis and epidemiologists have et me make my when quite clear. ie National Health Service was establishSetf Help ' not Yet 801 to the bottom of it.

It is quite wrong t o say that seven1 'Margaret yershiyseo's article on The 1there was little clamour for health, diseases are. related to the Westerndiet ¥Politico f Self Help is an interesting radices alternative to conqntional and assume that a causal r&at)o?iship though over-polemical discussion o f an lopathic Medicine. No Service can oper, exists. U is true that these factors have -jmtoortant topic. She p k e s some good ¥ efficiently without some conttol of t o be associated but It is emand and a Service does not necessarily been MW points about the relationship between ' S t i l l POtGbk that wch dtion ive an obligation t o extend i t s facilities personal heat* and national economic * be spUn.ous- The proportion of families eyond those demanded. T o expect the though Ithink her overall argument is possessing a television set and the rate HS to encompass aJIsorts of fringe less well-expressed tfiqn that in a r e m of divorce are also statistically associated, alternative practices whilst even the publication(> the ~ u y~' ~ unit ~ not logical& related, but doeSo w vel o f basic medical care that people for Studies 6 Health Policy. it i s cauw the other? The role of diet in ant is unobtainable insome areas (aborpatently absurd t o look at a statistieillness is assumed but still unproved.

There are two otherpoints in

,

-

5,i'

f

~

-

naercurrenis n. cilities. The cause may be differential rceptions of health, or, since the ference cited for it is an international ~ d y ,cash incentives or the use o f mediI assistants. The distribution o f general actitioners under the National Health :mice i s now Very roughly what has therto been regarded as ideal, so what bes her statistic mean? If it concerns ferral to a specialist, then some doctors auld argue that the child who i s not tedlessly referred i s being treated better an one who is sent to the hospital just :cause thepatient's parents demand it. the latter case, it might be argued at kids from middle-class homes :re actually receiving detrimental edical care. It is all a matter o f definian and perspective.

Throughout the diatribe against Ivan lich's theories runs the constant fear a t somehow their adoption will divert tention from the much more necesr y radical reform, or change, o f society. nce Marx's original prognostication o f orker's 'revolution' in this country as neatly side-tracked by the governents of the day educating the workers i d giving them the vote, I have no ~ u bthat t t h i s is both a valid and a ue assessment of what is happening. ut it is surely unkind t o blame Illich tr such an obvious counter-strategy. i s point i s fundamentally true. He ilieves that the major guiding principle I life should be autonomy: the right ) make decisions for oneself i n an iformed and authoritative way. This is at necessarily the same as Do-It-YourĂ&#x201A;ÂĽI although it might be. In his book, ook for Conviviality, which is probably ~uchmore helpful to a debate about IS theories, Illich continually makes ie point that bureaucracy, technology r expertise which is not conducive to a ~ o quality d of life (ie conviviality) is I evil. Nemesis simply took his argulent one step further by looking at how ~ c hthings as professionalism could be [tended beyond the limits of their ~pertiseor remit and by examining ie moral difficulties that could be prouced when such an extension was rtually found to be conducive to anviviality. 1 do not agree entirely i t h Illich's points and I think that his ihilism is misplaced. Reform o f the {stem is both possible and in progress ilbeit too slowly for my more impaent colleagues). Illich i s surely wrong 1 suggesting the break-up of Medicine 5 a solution. We all know that when ne institution decays or is brought own another takes its place, and that not simply a function of capitalism. lis rather deterministic existentiarism often difficult to take. But the rather ritedismissal of his views by Ms (ersluysen is not really merited.

Perhaps the real danger of this rticle i s i t s swinging dismissal of selfelp and self care. Even worse, I s Versluysen does not write in such way that convinces me that she nows anything about this movement. ier suggestion that self-care i s geographally restricted and distorted by class onsiderations is difficult to accept if

,

. .

mentioning those which arose from the you think o f Alcoholics Anonymous.

Sheffield Women in Health Conference.

There has been a vast amount written about self help in health and most Babes in the ward of this finds that people involved in The final paper that I M n t to mention such groups are by and large people is that on Babes in the Ward by John who have some sort o f disadvantage Bradshaw. As is usual with Dr Bradshaw's which keeps them apart from the wider it is very entertaining and eminentarticles society - colostomies, epileptic fits, ly readable, but.it does leave a nasty addictionsetcetera. There is no eviarriere gout that he i s throwing away the dence of a social class bias other than baby with the bath-water if you will the obvious two: 1) that a disadvantage pardon the expression. There are only related to.a disorder which itself has two strands o f his argument that I shall a class bias (like 'schizophrenia') will take up here though. The first is his , produce a distorted group; and 2) antipathy to hospital delivery and the most groups tend tobe set up initially second i s the suggestion that the deaths by sufferers from a middle-class (and of a few babies are relatively unimportant, often an upper-middle class) backthough deplorable. Tb reverse the order ground. Most work on this subject is, and take the second strand first. I am of course, American where the economic surprised at the suggestion. Any preventincentives for finding alternatives to able death is deplorable, but to the regular medical care are obvious stimuli, person suffering the bereavement it is but a major study in this country i s not a one per cent death rate (or whatcurrently being written u p b y David ever) but a hundred percent death; a Robinson. point which Iam sure will be close to Self Care is a complicated area and, Tom Graves's heart. I am sure that there without an underlying model t o fall are very few women who would be willback on, it is easy to be confused. The ing t o go through a ninemonth planned basic difference between the two conpregnancy an take a chance on losing cepts is that self help relies on a common sarily so as to avoid the the baby unn bond of disadvantage between its group 'loneliness and inhumanity of a big membership whereas self care perceives hospital'. But surely that is not the real no such link. Self help groups consequentissue. Let us look at the hospital versus ly have a very simple set of objectives home confinement argument. which are almost invariably related to the When the Government in i t s infinite perceived disadvantage and the most up wisdom decided that hospital confine to date evidence suggests that when the merit was the only safe way for childobjectives are met the group disbands birth, it did so with insufficient informawithout its members necessarily joining tion (because none was available, not other such groups. There are clearly because it ignored some timid voice in the two basic types of activity that such a wilderness) and'at a time where many group could undertake and these can be homes were severely substandard. Those loosely termed service and persuasion. readers who are sufficiently ancient will The second type of group i s the one remember Aneurin Bevin's stirring speechwhich finds favour in Ms Versluysen's es about British housing and the private paper because of its political implications, landlord system o f tenancy after the but is she correct in believing in these?

Second World War. Adoption o f the Clearly such groups do act as political policy did in fact reduce mortality rates irritants but does this mean that they tremendously. However, times have represent some sort o f political demochanged. Medicine has changed too. Not cracy which can be generalised to only is more housing than ever before encourage participation in the truest suitable for domiciliary confinement, sense by the wider community or do but also obstetric or paediatric monitorthey act merely as pressure groups along ing can save more lives than ever before. the rather conventional and stereotyped The problem is that Medicine i s a very lines that such groups tend t o adopt. conservative profession and at best we Given their.restricted objectives I would forget those options which in different suggest that they are not a way to spread circumstances had been rejected out o f the message of community participation hand though for good reasons. A forthin politics; even if they could undertake coming report examines this whole the activities suggested for them by the argument and comes up with the solid author of the paper. recommendationthat when decisions are to be made about maternity care, on .

Self Care which does not rely on a about health matters in general, previousspecific disadvantage in i t s adherents is ly rejected options should always be clearly a much more potent political re-examined in the light of changing force, and it is at this point that much circumstances. of the Woman's Health Movement enters.

John Bradshaw has made the second The latter tends to substitute for medical, classical mistake that I have noted in or for that matter professional, care but thisreview. He has confused the place it should also be recognised that self care of care with the content of care. Does he which supplements medical care also really think that if a woman gives birth exists (egs. self-monitoring of blood to her baby at home she will be treated pressure, patient control of drug dosage any differently by the medical services? etcetera). Many excellent publications The evidence appears to be that obstetrihave been produced by self care movecians are miniaturising their gadgetry so mentsand perhaps the best known are , that if a change in policy does come those of the Women's Movement, though . $ about, they will be able to go t o the Ms Versluysen does an injustice to her patient's home with all their paraphernalsisters on this side of the Atlantic in not

-

3%~

,.

i.I s that a gain? Dr Bradshaw is arguing or greater humanity in obstetric care nd for greater autonomy by the patient. toctors and nurses areslowly waking p to this fact and something may happen I the next few years, but changing the idace of delivery is not going to help. 'erhaps we should start tookin at the onventional hospital delivery (with i t s sepsis, sterile-type labour wards, cold iles, hospital noise etc) and see how that auld be improved safely. We might learn lot from Dr Leboyer's work on noniofent delivery. Then we might look

at the effect of having the whole family is easily attacked by antagonists, they around during the birth. Endless possibilmay lessen the chances o f a rational ities are there, and they need to be tried debate. The ease with which I could h, out. What we want is more experiment dismissed these papers is even more and less polemic. ¥alarmin when you consider that it is Overall 1 do not disagree with very (&people like me that your authors are much that lies behind any of the articles ying to convince. At least I presume published in Undercurrents 19. But the that your magazine does not exist mer way in which they are argued and the ly to preach to the converted. Bui evidence on which they are based are enough said. Let your readei open t o dispute. Whatever people want t e whether or not 1 have beer say they should be able to say, but they even correct, and let us see wht. should also recognise the fact that, if of debate can be sparked. they express their views in a way which John William

COMING UP FOR EIRt Ine of the more sinister aspects of Doris Lessing's Memoirs o f a 'urvivor was that the remainina urban dwellers never heard anv news bout people who had 'escaped' to the countryside. Just to prove that hings aren't quite that bad, yet, Chris Walker in Ireland, and Di and Arthur Humphrey in Scotland, report from the Celtic fringes. .?

In East Clare 1 noticed thatch on the smallest sheds and gates and huts mads of natural wood. The Forestry Lommission can supply timber for building purposes and there are five or six sawmills in East Clare, and two in We r land;its better to have litti good house rather than plenty 01 nd no buildings, unless you are a Her. In the west many farms y a portion suitable for arable, therest is just rough grazing. Common age is found in upland regions and goe! with the surrounding farms; a place m:

RURAL IRELAND-is a curious contraIreland, it is relatively simp iction: side by side one may find a mostagents naturally have an in 1 self-sufficient traditional farmer and a prices, b u t can give an idea o f property techanised 'progressive' one. A few still values in an area. Itis the buyer who ¥aa life that disappeared elsewhere in .pays the agent's-mission,&& is ritain fifty years ago; that is, the only '3%% &4% in t o m ) . look for achinery they use% a bicycle and menti i n the provindal papers, both in >mefactory-made utensils. Otherwise the small ads and the-property pages, or ley dig their own turf, take a horse and place one yourself. Exchange and Mart ut to the creamery every day, use solid circulates in Ireland and deals i n iel stoves and paraffin lamps. Between property. If you want a typical smalllem and the totally mechanised farmer holding make sure it has access towatef in early summer, leave it to dry, turn ii ringjn a modem bungalow there are and fuel. The ideal is ahouse with lots -and storeit under cover or in a long I grades o f self-suffiotency. I suppose I ' of outbuildingsin good enough repair t o live inand yet cheap: A walled garden stack for the winter. Nearness t o a ve in the 1930's as Iuse a motorbike is useful for starting crops when there creamery and coop shop is useful, for i d a radio. What passes for self-sufficienthe slightly cheaper hardware and , are no fences on your land. Orchards y in Britain wouldn't even be noticed tend t o be neglected: one can keep oneere. The saddler, blacksmith and groceries they may sell, and for buying self in apptes from deserted orchardsin milk when your cow goes dry. It i s the arpenter can be found in m a w towns .West Cork. See a place TO winter-add you daily meeting place of local farmers an 1 the West, along with the cobbler, natcher and wheelwright in lesser will know how darn@& gets;you should so a source o f information. Do not get umbers. also find out if the well dries up Hi a dry too far from a country town; about fiv summer, though a l o t of water can be ' At the beginning of the century the miles i s far enough, so you can takea caught off roofs. Generally, proximity trap into town and back in a day. lea was t o make Ireland* nation o f to the sea is expensive and Iadvise you Property is expensive i n West Cork and easant proprietors and small farmers chose produce would be co-operatively 1 think gets cheaper as you go up the to avoid the West o f Cork like the plague, ~arketed.The national Gaelic revival West coast, till you find bargains i n especially the Hizen peninsula west of Leitrim, R o m n o n , Mayo and Ferrnai W e d both the peasant poet and the Bantry andshibbereen. 'Beautiful' inded writer. For a time it-seemed that agh. Ireland tends to attract the dregs scenery attracts the sortwho build eland might become another Finland, bungalows with large w'ndo "have of British society. People committed to alternativesare few and far between ith a genuine language and culture, It large pensions and pay anytmhg the and outside o f Dublin, no alternative iteresting to compare almost totall locals ask. I know as Ihave spent we information exists. The main preoccuatholic Eire with Protestant Finlan last best part o f four years in,the area. pations in the country are the dole, do i d wonder what the former might h Empty holiday homes d& the rural and sex, in that order. The rural com:come. Even comparisons with Welsh community quicker than any famine. munity would be even.smaller if it wen leaking Wales are not t o .the benefit ' Mountain areas away from main roads not for the small farmers' assistance wt F Ireland. The peasant smallholder are cheaper. Trees are,essential for the small farmers in certain counties are ilture needs to focus on a national d b e i n g of land andpeopleand Ihave entitled to. A lot ofEfl$iSh smatlhokk entity embodied in a deVatera or a noticed adifference between the people ' , o f a treefess windswept area an$ those Sepend on it too. Without it far& annerheim. o f Irelandwou,ld be totally depopulate of a <yell-fwested f!ÇflpN,aplh , !S^>-*-4-<*12 products of their &rt%meht &idthe . Grants and subsictie's&.available f o ~ " inding a place '-many agricultural and building activitie harsh stunted growth of parts of West,;,; Cork produces likeminded inhabitan&-dA-:"4and can br found listed in the yearly As for finding a place in modern

-

one.

area:

-

indbooks of the county committees 'agriculture. There are also grants for aft workshops and equipment. Artists id writers pay no income tax, and rmers little or none. Rates on farmland . e low, but services are usually nonexistent. The train advantage of living Ireland now is the orice of land: there nothing like the social or alternative ructure that can be found in Wales. ;ow to buy it I& for the procedure of buying land: hen yog have found a suitable place, get contractdrawn up by a reputable ticitor andpay a 25% deposit t o the odor's solicitor. Never give the deposit i thevendor if you want tosee it again. our solicitor will check that the vendor is title toseil the place. It may be xsible t o do conveyancing without a ilicitor i n Britain but Idoubt ifit is ngble in Eire, y e t The solicitor wtlf ake the necessary searches in Dublin ith the Land Registry for folio number, aps and land registration. As this may bke months, you may be able t o get a uetaker's agreement to move in till the .Ie is closed. Once closed you must pay ie rest of the money in within 14 days ,you may forfeit the deposit. Verbal treements t o buy and sell are not inding. The buyer pays for any surveyig necessary for maps. The Land Com~issionhas to sanction most rural land ansactions, and there used t o be strictions on non-nationals buying lore than five acres, but Ithink they ill cease quite soon. It is possible thati e Land Commission will offer a place ) local farmers before letting you buy . Anyway that is roughly the procedure, lit you can check with a solicitor. and ownership is more widely spread nong the population than in Britain, i a third of the nation live on the land. he sad feature of Irish life is that iother third o f the population live in i d around Dublin, the centre of olitical and economic power. It is an ample of governments and rulers using ie principles of geomancy to suck the eople off the land and into the city. My wn solution t o Ireland's problems is 1 divide the country into four indepenent provinces as it used t o be in lediaeval times. A United Ireland is as itolerable as a United Kingdom across ie sea, and local self government . ~ouldrestore initiative and enterprise J the Irish regions. Otherwise the lepublic, which is already declining, r i l l eventually disintegrate, as people 'alise their own interests are conflict ith those of the Dublin government. I n West Cork the settlers look to Bristol and London for cheap food and contacts far more than to Dublin.

,

.

.

in

Ă&#x201A;ÂĽelanthe real A l b i o n There i s great scope for getting energy om natural sources in Ireland. Average ind speeds are from 12 to 16 mph, ifficientto for small aerogenerators, i d one has been built recently in West ork. The remains o f extensive use o f aterpower for milts, distilleriesand-

.. --

by Celtic men on their stone monuments. At a later date the energies wen collected and dispersed b y the mandari Anglo-Irish class in the same way as the Chinese landscape was controlled by the principles o f geomancy. This energy can s t i l l be experienced with almost stunning force at some o f the great houses and gardens o f Ireland, an at some circles as well. Seeing the cove of Undercurrents 20, 1 realised that that vision o f Albion is a reality in Ireland. Everything in that picture, except the windmills, exists here, and Ihave been drawing similar scenes fror life for years. In fact the traditional way of life in Ireland has been taken f< granted so much that it has become unfashionable. If you want t o see Irish farming at 'rts chemical worst get a cop of the Farmers'Journal. However, for various reasons, I think Albion is more likely to happen i n Wales, though the two islands of Britain and Ireland are cosmically linked, regardless o f politic:

metal workshops are s t i l l to be seen: I passed aJarge undershot waterwheel on the Galway'Dublin coad the other day at Kieggan. It must be twenty feet in diameter. A t Monard near Cork there are the remains of a waterdriven workshop for making iron shovels and tools.

I've never come across a windmill of the traditional sort in Ireland, though they may have existed, but certainly n o t on the Dutch scale. A domedwelling is being built in Cq. Cork by an English settler and Ibelieve the County Engineer was most impressed by it. John Seymour may advocate people building their own homes but it certainly hasn't worked with the Irish. Buitding your own home i n Ireland means constructing one of the two types o f bungalow whose plans are available from the authorities. Not that anyone would notice very much if you did up a ruin which had gable ends standing. Planning permission is quite strict on the sea side of the tourist routes; you must have green or purple slates and that sort of thing. Bungalows are being buitt with large panoramic windows on windswept headlands without any regard at all for insulation or conservation o f heat, which i s almost a crime. Celtic consciousness is best expressed through stone as anyone who lives in a stone house must know.

Modem city architects must take a lot of the blame for what their buildings have done to human energy systems.

The earth energies as portrayed in Guy Underwood's book The Pattern o f the Past wye. the forms inui~divelymade

-

.-,--

- L.Z- --.--

.,/

.:

Communities There are a few communities and groups i n Ireland. In Wexford is the headquarters of the Fellowship of Isis at Huntingdon Castle, Clonegal. Here i a temple dedicated t o Ins; it i s a New Age and healing fellowship, with sever hundred members worldwide; they publish books about the Eastern gods and temple rites. They are perhaps a little elitist in approach; this i s easier to understand when you realise how authoritarian apd - unipirinal offia

.

,I

--;:z,

- *.

-

,-

--

* -

the

a "+,

<

-

-

-

-

Â¥kzo-fu

-I\-'

[m n e w f t w i w s * ~ P(ÑTÇ/MI ~ a -a'% 0

t

"'T

:..-

suppose they are any more unusual than any commur-i h-..""

C.-:*:A. "X*..

181 f l W S Ill 8 D i i U X I bNY, lough t o bring out the rice and hostility o f Irish pie. Down i n West Cork settlers use the t h l protestant primary schools or nime rather than send ../.h../ile . . . . ~ SMivuia. ~ ,I a..,awwusv, ~ ~ children to c.,&,.I:^ in due course free schools and-play

'own' a sea-cliff and can gather driftwood for fuel from the rocks. Next month we will cut our first peats. We have alreac grown whole meals for ourselves and E@ eaten fresh eggs from our own hens. Tt nearest town is Wick, eight miles away.

It has a cinema, folk-club and booksho and there is more going on locally than we have time to share. Local oeoole art guardedly friendly to incorners. Their family ties are close and they need no help from us but there is a working ne work of incomers (there are manymore than we realised at first) that helps to get dry goods wholesale and provides a workforce when it is needed.

Property here, as elsewhere, i s risin in orice and crofts like ours are hard t coke by. The local farmers prefer t o use the older houses for storage and to build residences. There is, however, one on the market not two miles away from us, a K habitable house and 14 acres. Offers c over £7,00 are invited.

Although there are big farms of hundreds and even thousands of acres in

~

,

~

children will

smallholders of modes.. , uv,, wish t o discourage people from settling in ..E .i I . 7%":* c*i i c i c 0 luuii, lUi several millic.. ~l mnw neople along the West, and by the end (>fthe century this -. c-x- -~.u-r . i~ay .., ~ n n walker s

..**-

.

.. . .

-. -.

ue LU scnooiing ana rural , ..

I have not visnea inem ana I aon't

. ..

..

'place, which makes things easier for Of course we miss our friends, the chance to eo to conferences or to nio miles to Inverness. On the whole, though,

 - - -

AITHNESS would no? be many le's first choice when lookine for a llholding. We confess it was not ours. after nearly twelve months in t h i s treeand windswept corner of Scotland we honestly say we have no regrets.

A chance visit in the summei o'f 1975 shown us that here at last we could rd to buy the land we needed to try t a new wav of livine.

We but in an . r r for stone cottaee - a - two-roomed - - .. .- . . water andelectricity but wi$a re-order - . on . .it, .together ,... with 8% s ot fertile black soil. Houses are in Scotland by a 'hidden auction' the Legal Note below) and our bid eded by a mere £2 margin. bought a large cheap caravan to longside the derelict cottage and set ork. The first season we ploughed ne-third of an acre and planted a ws of vegetables to tide us over the while we worked on the house. ytted it of rnouldering plasterand wormy wood, Grayed the earns with Rentokil and took up agstones to lay a damp course and ire the electricity. Then we put in a

..

.

We are now working on the downstairs living of - - -area- - After - manv - s hours - reooint-ring and whitewashing we are nearly finished. This summer we shall demolish the lean-to kitchen and build another, plus a bathroom and bedroom, all of concrete blocks. Then there will only be the cess-pit to dig and we'll be able, officially, to move into the house and claim the £1,85 grant Outside, every fine day, we work on the land. Herbs and rock plants will; we hope, provide us with marketable commodities in the future. We are also putting in a greenhouse. More land i s under the plough t h i s year and we will plant enough 'corn' (oats) and 'nbeps' (swedes) to keep our three goats and the proposed sheep and pony through the winter. The remaining pasture wiU-again h--.. *he* -..-h--.. rvc nupc uIab UUI ucca be cut for ha"y. ,a,L --..:--.. :-,A .L:- ..--y i e i u U I I ~ycai, will produce d- nenvici now that they are acclimatised.

Have we found what we were looking for? It's difficult to say, as we've been too hecticallyr wt "a, ~y . ,.W";I+UhI "UI n o , v :--,d;-Â¥+ 111111ibuiai.v . .. problems to look tar aneaa. ~ertainiy we are sure that we prefer even this mode of existence to town life. Here we have

. ...

times feel isolated but we never feel trapped as we used to.

This time we have written onlv of n t i s all we feel ourselves. ~ t ~ r e s ethat competent to 'do. We've learnt to distr generalisations about other people's behaviour! We hope to be able to say more about local conditions in a later article. We hope that people will come and see us and offer their experience 2 skill. We welcome visitors so please call in and see for yourself our croft, the puffins, the brochs, etc, etc.

Di & Arthur Humphrey

It is imnortant therefore:

necessary searches and enauiries re vou out in a bid.

^

1 1

/

PARANOI POWER of and the delusion

white uniforms and festooned with ribbons i n the colours o f their native villages, resolved that at all future battles, they, 'The Clubmen', would interpose themselves between the rival armies, cunningly set down trestle tab and insist that both sides sat down t o gether for a drink. Cromwell had three o f them shot for their cheek.

In the early 1870ns,the hill was use for mass meetlngs o f Joseph Arch's Agricultural Labourer's Union, numbe ing on one occasion 9,000 local people The greatest mass meeting ever on Har Hill was in 1879. when 12.000 natives gatiieted atop the hill to await Mother Shipton's prophesied end o f the world Among country people, whose most popular reading was almanacs and printed prophecies, 3,000 more put their trust in Mother Shipton for their salvation than in Joseph Arch.

Everyone enjoys a good stiff dose

o f paranoia - official, government par noia, which fc entirely a 'bad thing', an unofficial, underground paranoia, of both left and right, which, I will argue, is by and large a most healthy, bracing and wholesome phenomenon.

-

:

.

.

.

-

Something which governments, revolutionaries

the

public have in 60mWlOtl id @ weakness f o r ' p ~ i aand su**bnIn the first of two articlesJohn Fletcher recountsdie lonfforious history of * mspiracies, phrophecies and The Truth, culminating in some modern cis of quaint faith.

HOT Hill in Somerset was a Celtic Iron kge Fortress, It was taken by the Romans, retaken by the Celts, conquered by the Saxons, and finally seized by the Normans, t has been a traditional meeting place for

the common people of South Somerset and Dorset. In 1645, with the countryside alternately waged by patliamentarI and royalists, a mass meeting of lGdy~rnen and peasants, dressed in Ă&#x201A;ÂĽ'*

^

Official f e r n Governments don't need t o climb o high hills in order t o air their insecuriti since, already having risen t o unnatural heights, they suffer from paranoia as inevitably as everyone in the cinema, except Harold Lloyd, suffers from vertigo. Since the beginning of time government has been, by definition, a conspiracy, so i t never takes any time for it t o start imparting t o its opponen similar behaviour. Norman Cohn, in hi book Europe's Inner ~emons', descrik medeival and Renaissance witch hunts which are a perfect example o f how governing elites (state and church) con jure up within their own minds totally bogus crimes (in this case visions of mass nocturnal devil worshippings and orgies), and then, on the justification o f evidence suggested and obtained under torture, launch mass show trials and executions of innumerable innocel

most fears. Thus the English authoritie in the early fifteenth century attempte t o suppress the Lollards as a subversive organisation. I n reaction, the Lollards became precisely this, and attempted revolution in 1w . The Reformation was a god-given gift to governments (it mattered not a whit whether they wen Protestant or Catholic) t o bring their own particular subjects into centuries o f conformity. That devout Catholic General Franco went to his grave convinced that all evil in the world was caused by a conspiracy o f freemasons.

Among Protestants, the authorities we

jetting mileage out of anti-papist fears "o much longer than most people se. Here is a Times leader o f Novem15th, 1839, on the subject of the 'atholic Church: 'She will commit and dory in another Massacre of Saint she will no. more tertholomew ~esitatethan in 1605 to engage in a so iniquitous and abominable as y to transcend belief, and t o make ill human evidence useless - a base and me1 - treacherous - cowardly and liabblical plot - t o blow up with gunpowder the QUEEN, Lords, and Commons -the nobility and gentry o f this mighty Empire - and heads o f Church and State'. It should be explained that this venerable organ had got i t s knockers so badly twisted because of the recent ' abortive Chartist uprising in Newport, the Chartists being most firm allies with the Irish Nationalists. Effigies of the Pope continued to be enthusiastically paraded around English towns by mass 1;- --< -7* processions on Guy Faux night until : - ;> almost the end o f the century, when these huge public charivari were sat up heavily by the police.

The Jews were tailor-made t ruling class demands for a min be paranoid about. Before the anti-semitismwas a left wing p much t o do West since 1940 aon, the Jewsbeing identified with'the fact that we have continuously national monopoly finance, an intrigues beforeand during the wa the advent o f Bolshevism, howevet modern anti-semitism became an

&'â

...

RENORE A RECONWMT

EN

-

CONSULTANT CES D O W M

wbad

ies in America later, but the importance that the American Establishment

King Hemy H-<hÈ

ideological differences between'Sol shevism and Capitalism (the ease with Which leading capitalist bankers and industrialists and senior C.P. officials in +Moscowmanage t o sit down t o business -together would seem t o belie Ihis), has been a heaven-sent opportunity for both sides t o be able to discipline their awn people with horrifying tales o f foreign bogiesand domestic subversives.

Would either be able to survive without HÃ other? As Randolph Bourne once --said, 'War i s the health of the State', and -+be relative prosperity o f both Eastand

Helmut Sonnenfeldt, Kissinger's supremo on Eastern European affairs, t o an American ambassador in London in December 1975. Kissinger had started by stating that that democratically-elected communist governments i n democratic by statingthat non-communist governments in Eastern Europe were unacceptable t o America - to say nothing of Russia! The thought o f communist governmehtsin France and Italy probably gives the Kremlin the colley wobbles.

'Stability' is thus seen t o be important than 'ideology'.

the Endifhpeiauitt wiO liw DI> against him' (They didn't).

Undercurrents 22

To finish this brief summary o f government-induced paranoias and witch hunts, we should take Britain, since its political establishment has always been hailed as a paragon o f livel-headed moderation. In the iast thirty years, the most peaceful i n our history, the establishment has successively decided that mass bread 1 riots in the streets were possible. (May 1946), that "a small army o f militant extremist plan t o seize control of certain highly sensitive installations and buildings i n central London" (The Times, Sept.

1968), that the entire economy i n 1972 had to be reinflated because the Chief Constable o f Glasgow said that

"public order could no longer be guaranteed" (New Society, 12.6.75), and that unless Britain was granted a loan by the lMF,in 1977, pox, piles, . and a heavy vengeance would fall onto the entire country unto the ninth generation. The ironical position is thus reached that Cabinet Ministers, the Institute for the Study o f Conflict, and the most revolutionary splintered Trots are all working t o precisely the same social scenario.

Enter the people The other side of the coin consists o f popular paranoias, which historically

Then he dreams that the clergy will attack him. (They didn't, either.)

expressed themselves most often in the form o f prophecies, achieving mass underground currency by word o f mouth. I may be wrong, but historically the monotheistic Jews, i n a society i n which religion and politics were identified, seem to have been particularly vulnerable t o outbreaks of mass paranoias and prophesyings. The less-inspired, less-visionary prophets and seers who were kept on tap by the powerful in Jerusalem in order t o terrorize the ever-wayward Children O f Israel with horrendous and bloodcurdling visions of what would happen t o them if they did not return t o the straight and narrow, became a selfperpetuating industry. Later minor prophets continually harked back to previous ones t o show how accurate their predictions had become. (People like Billy Graham still make a very respectable living out o f reheating hacks like Habakkuk). Inevitably, i n times o f social stress and disintegration, prophesy ceased t o be a weapon o f just the powerful, and innumerable rival and counter sects set up their own private~rophecies.In the century o f Christ's birth, Palestine was a seething morass o f Maccabeans, Essenes, Zealots and Primitve Christians, all alight with their own prophets and apochryphal texts foretelling Armageddon and paradise on earth.

Christianity in turn picked up on the millenarian aspects o f Judaism, and the spread o f Christianity inevitably spawned a multiplicity o f prophetic sects, Gnostics, neo-platonists, Pelagians, whose texts i n turn would re-inforce later millenarian writings. Even the conventional Christians themselves, while s t i l l fighting the political power o f Rome, utilized such prophecies o f the instant millenium and overthrow o f the Great Beast in order t o galvanize and inspire their own followers. The Book o f Revelation has remained a happ) hunting ground for Jehovah's Witnesses, UFO and Pyramid freaks, and amateur apocalyptics of all denominations unto the present generation, although, having achieved power, responsibility, and their concomitant paranoia, the Church inevitably attempted t o suppress all previous, private, subversive paranoias and prophecies. Underground, however, they continued t o thrive.

A t this stage, I will try t o define more precisely the nature of these popular prpphecies. Recurrent gnoses, or the same gnosis, have continuously rocked Western Society i n the first, fourth, eleventh, fifteenth, and twentieth centuries. The gnosis or heresy is, roughly, that Man and God are not separate, but one and the same, and that consequently, man as god can create paradise here on earth. The expression of this gnosis comes i n the form o f a prophecy, that the separate God, the anti-God, represented by the state and/or official religion with its built-in interest in human sinfulness, is about t o be overthrown, and that men will come

Undercurrents 22

.into their natural birthright, as gods i n paradise here on earth. The threat such concepts hold for established power i s obvious.

The second coining Norman Cohn, in Pursuit o f the Mlllenhm, chronicles the massive peasant messianic movements inspired by . visions in medeival Europe. Popular peasant prophecies and the genera millenarian expectations they unleashed seemed to have been largely responsible for creating the atmosphere in which Luther could first receive a hearing, and then gain vast popular support.' The intellectual humanist Renaissance ob- tained its great inspirational impetus from the re-discovery o f classical gnostic texts, neo-platonic, hermetic and cabbatistic, which were practical guides an how t o transform man into a god, and engineer the building o f paradise on earth. The early inspiration to ern pure and applied sciences, -...mined in such individuals as Ficino, Bruno, Dee, Fludde, Bacon, Hartlib, Cohnius, and the youthful scientists during the English Civil War who later Formed the Royal society4, came from such esoteric texts. The writings af such neo-platonkt scholars as Nicholas of Cusa and Ficino rapidly lecame available to a huge readership an all levels of European society, and 'he resulting intellectual explosion, aused by the mising of millenarian lopes with scientificand occult techliques, resulted i n mass executions md book burnings b y the authorities tgainst such 'unoffical' scientists, ' h equalled the ferocity o f earlier 1 hunts. 'Official' scientists like icartes and Massenes, who touted correct political line o f moderition andargued that science should lot dabble in politics, received masive public backing and boosting from he a~thorities.~ In England, the authorities were bartly to blame for their difficulties, or they had themselves produced heir own prophecies to outbid their iopular underground rivals. T o legitinize their tyranny, successive Norman nonarchs not only traced their ancestry hrough such fine old English stalwarts s Brutus, (the last king of Troy and irst of Britain), Julius Caesar, Arthur nd Alfred, but repeatedly discovered heir own glorious .reigns miraculousJy oretold in all the popular old Anglo axon prophets. These popular lrohecies, purporting t o come from uch diverse figures as Merlin, Bede, iiidas. Edward the Confessor, Thomas Becket (an Anglo Saxon), ~haucer, , gnatius Loyola, Nostradamus, Old tother Shipton and all, were suddenly wamped to have portended the reigns f both sides in the Wars o f the Roses, lenry VII, Perkin Warbeck, James I, liver Cromwell, the Duke o f Monp t h , Jimmy Carter and so on.

5 Ropaarnda prophesy The authorities, however, in their ypieally clumsy fashion, q - o & _ e-

^,

attempting to kt with' an already Similarly, when boats were wrecked wildlysuccessful popular custom in on our coasts until well into the nineorder, as usual, to suppress it. "The teenth century, literally thousands o f English, o f all nations," as a foreigner country people would descend on the noted, "are most taken with prophecies." wreck en,masse, and could dismember Through the Middle Ages and well the entire shin in one low tide. The into the nineteenth century in most standard-excuse when stopped by and the twentieth in the West officials, with a wagon bulging with C ntry, the English nation divined booty, was to claim to be a mere its future first in the entrails o f superstitious country man, and that prophecy. Tied closely t o political lying abed one had had the most appaland social unrest,-up until the sixline niehtmare. in which one had seen teenth century it w& a capital offence this noble shipdriven aground on such to prophesy against the crown, and and such a rock on a certain day, and many people were executed for it. sincexhe dream had been so vivid, it The recusant Lotd Montague was was only natural to turn up t o see if executed in Henry Vtll's reign for it had been true, and lo and behold, possessing "beokes of prophesie" and widely reporting his dream th King and parliament Henry would die froma wound in -leg, "and then we shalk have merry ith the Civi 1 War, the nation daily expectation o f the stirring." Similarly at Milbourne Port in Dorset in 1605,Richard Butt coming of the Lord, (Milton referred was arrested for saying that "he could to Christ as "the shortly expected tell divers things, andwithin three King") and the English became hours he could know anything i n alarmed and even half-dead with London" that at a fair in Sherboume prophecies", according to Edward ' there was one catled him aside t o a wall Hyde. With the collapse of censorship, and told him (hat the 6th o f November there were mass printings of prophecies Sir Walter Raleigh should be in danger

by Merlin, Nostradamus, Mother Shipton, of his life, but notwithstanding he will (whose Two Strange Prophecies o f 1642 escape and come to greater matters had become Fourteene Strange Prophethan I will now speak of, and there will cks by 1649), Ignatius Loyola, and be a rising in the North, and at a Lilly's wildly successfulA Prophecy Banquet there will be a great falling out o f the White King; and Dreadful Dead among the noble men. . . this was a -Q# Man Explained, which sold 1,800 beginning, but you shall hear of greater' ^"'^ copies in three days. Keith Thomas6 matters before Christmas next, and that writes that "political prophecies tended he could say more, but he would not at to be invoked at a time o f crisis, usually that time." Ifthat might be taken today to demonstrate that some drastic change, as bar room gossip, at the time the either desired or already accomplished, authorities considered it serious enough had been foreseen by the sages of the to clap Butt in jail for a long period an past. I n t h i s way, prophecies were felt t o provide a sanction, both for resistance t o established authority,and for the consolidation o f a new regime."

Both parliamentarians and royalists regularly consulted astrologers, (like all factions, even the communist, in the recent civil wars in Laos), with the result that harassed popular astrologers like William Lilly repeatedly had to lay not only thier reputations on the line their business with a built-in alibi to like modern political crystal ball gazers, an impatient Customs and Excise but also their necks. With the Great that he'd just been seeing ghosts.

=2Y

-';a

PlĂ&#x192;â&#x20AC;Ąyin canb depicting scenes born the "Pop* Plot*.Pmnda about Catholic conspindes shored up fix English eitibluhment from the refomation until well into the nineteenth century.

-

1

Undercurrents 22 clispe o f 165 1, much-heralded as the political and religious millenium, the rich left London in numbers only t o be equalled by the Chartist uprising of 1848 and the near General Strike f 1911.

With the Restoration, prophecy antinued underground amongst the ippressed sects. In 1683, two years before the Monmouth Rebellion, with the whole West Country in ferment, an astrologer was whipped around Dorchester for prophesyingthe over- . throw of James II. An anonymous spy's letter was sent to a government official.four months before the rebellion concerning the revolutionary vanguard party, the Fifth Monarchists: "Sir, it i s much discontent amongst the phanatique party of a great moor beyond York where the say two Dukes (Jamesand shall fight for the Crown of England. . . and they say in this battle the Duke of York shall be slain and the Crown party totally routed.. .

Hollwell, it is said, did cast the late king's nativitie, and i s supposed to have cast the present king's. This Hollwell, it is said, went down to Yorkshire to take a survey of this moor, and has given, it i s said, a very ample description of it, and has likewise seen the stom which lies on that moore, which, they say, the crowe will s i t on and drink mens' blood." To counter such freelance prophets, the government started secretly slush-fundingand publishing 'moderate' almanacs through respectable front organizations, from" one of which developed Old Moore's, though in these days of slashed defence allocations, I suspect that it will have been taken over by the C.I.A. - wake UD, Philip Agee!

Jacobins mateur and friendlytlocal prophets i d sectarians rumbled on underground, irfacine at times of political and social rmoil. I n 1792, in the gradual movelent towards the crystallization of the ear political principles of Jacobinism, , Alchemists, Astrologers, Calculators, lystics, Magnetizers, Prophets and rojectors" and "all the eccentric modes,

on mouth)

Nostradamus, with this prophecies sectaries, visionaries, fanatics, enthusiasts, of the end o f the world i n the 1990's. and rationalists" arose from hiding and has enjoyed immense vogue in the last came out onto the streets o f London t o ten years. H i t records have been made discuss and haggle over their phi!osophies.7 and communities set up in the outer I n the agricultural ferment o f the 1830's, Hebrides,and hisname is on everyoneJ' there is the case o f Sir William Courtenay, lips. In London Town one issolicited the eccentric Knight of Bossenden Wood, openly by disciples of Scientology and who dressed as a Crusa&r.This individual the Children of God, all pushing their declared himself Jesus Christ and rode own particular brands of the apocalypt around the Canterbury countryside on end. A new Mother Shipton has just a white horse, which he claimed t o be beeh brought out to wide public acclaii the White Horse of the Apocalypse. He the final lines being especially debated: promised labourers 25 acres, for his kingdom was at Hand. The authorities started The world then tqan end shall corn to get worried and sent a man to arrest In Nineteen Hundred and Ninety Or him whom he brutally murdered. The She says the world is coming toan e faithful gathered around him in Bossenit is said, but does that necessarily meal den Wood, and as they'took the sacra" t h e end? In the old freak underground, menf fr& h ,,i he toid them that old ~rwheciesby the Shakers in conne bullets could not harm them. Believing on with Mother Shipton are being ren this they fell on the attacking army I mbered and recirculated: dervishes. Twelve died - more, as E.P. Thompson notes, than died at Dear Old Mother Shipton could nr* Peterloo. As we have seen, in 1879, more foretell, Somerset people were prepared t o put TTje end of the world, I know t h a h their faith in Mother S h i p t ~ ~ t h a n - j n I willsay that the end of the world Joseph Arch. Such apocalyptic millenwill be, arianism would seem t o have died out In the year of our Lord, 2003. with industrialization, when the people b With much diligent searching in th set their hopes squarely on the materialmurkier occult bookshops one cane istic ~illeniumsofcapitalismor marxism. uncover Such things as a flattering estiBut it hasn't. In the last few years there &ation o f Prince Charles as monach in has been the most astounding increase in popular millenarianism. . the dawning Age o f Aquarius, a lengthy dissertation on the thesis that Winston Modem forms Churchill was a Zen Buddhist who kepi To begin with, the old traditions a guru hidden i n 10 Downing Street, themselves have simply not died out, and theories that the dead Paul McCartney astrology in the form of 'Your Stars (he had bare feet on the Abbey Road Tonight' s t i l l commands a mass readeralbum over) is now an extraterrestrial ship. Old Moore's ploughs on. Gipsies still being. that ~ ~WedBwood.Benn t h tell fortunes, and our village S t i l l boasts isthgreincarnation'of King Arthur a somewhat elderly witch. Pbnet-r~lers (Da//yMail February, 1975), and an (astrologers), witches and 'cunning men' appreciation of the greatness of Bob were still.prosecuted in Somerset for a prophet, since his single Carter not only foretold the 'misleading ignorant country folk' regularly up to 1914. The role such g of Jimmy, but that Jimmy people played, closely akin to a priest f (LC.) is the reincarnation of at confession, could be seen when my someone else. Cribbing his eschatoloav wife, o f swarthy Arab complexion, fairly openly from ~ o h nMichell, ~ a z d recently opened a tent atthe local fete Bowie has made a highly successful as Madame Sosdstris, and within two career out of, and introduced a whole hours had had every significant village generation to, a world view in whict scandal of the last fifty years confessed the Gods will descend from their Ul to her by witling clientele. and,.iathe near future, supermen 7 stalk the world once more.

John Fie '

.

-

-

-

(Thisessay on modern prophecies, paranoia; and conspiracy theories will be concluded in Undercurrents23)

References 1. Norman Cohn, Ewope's Inner Demons

(Paladin).

2. Norman Cohn, Pursuit of the MiOenium.

(Paladin).

3. Past and Present (No 72, Aug 76), Medieval Prophecy and Religious Dilseni 4. Undercurrents17. .5. F.A. Yates, Giordano Bnino, (Routledge Kegan Paul).

Keith Thomas, Religion and thes Decline of Magic. (Penguin, 1973).

W.H. Reid, Rise of the Infidel S ocieties.

~

RE WE a movement for mass social change, or are we a group of hippies producing food for ourselves and our friends? I f we are the. latter, we are achieving our goals: if the former, we are failing badly', HAT'S how the British Columbia coative movement, in a recent article in its newsletter, assesses the choices facing co-op members as their movement enters a new stage of relative economic and organisational stability. , The co-op food movement has probably been one of the more lasting contributions of the North American counterculture. But its initial idealism as a perceived engine of revolutionary in change has given cases,to A 'small business mentality' that - emphasises up to 20 per cent savings for its members.

In B.C., the co-op movement has grown to include more than 50 co-ops and worker-controlled production units spread Out over a mostly mountainwsarea the size of California. The co0 ~ are s mainly small groups of consumers, some i n city neighbourhoods, the rest in the country, while the production units are collectives turning out canned and baked goods, granola and other food stuffs. ' The B.C. movement with an estimated 5,000 members, is the largest and most politically-advancedin Canada, but it's only medium-sized in terms of North America. Its co-ordimating body is the Fed-Up council, which has its own distribution warehouse in Vancouver and which handles about $600,000 worth of goods annually. Fed-Up economic links with i t s w n t e r part in Toronto and with federations and co-ops down * the U.S. West Coast.

-

at Fed-Up; this builds links among the various co-ops and keeps the warehouse from becoming too distant from the Neighbourhood Collectives people i t serves.

The basic unit o f the co-op i s the The very nature o f a members run neighbourhood collective;usually conco-operative, inwhich sharingthe work sisting of 1 5-to-30 he collec- is a requirement for membership, limits tive, generally meeting in somebody's its appeal. Most working-class families, house, acts as a small-scale co-op. lt , particularly if all the adults are working take5 orders from individual members, .-.":4&hours per week, whether paid or groups the orders and submits them unpaid, want to get their fo to an area co-op or directly to Fed-Up. minimum o f work.

Food i s distributed in the reverse order.

Since money is handled in the same Limited Incomes way, the s & m removes the need for In the main, the membe capital and rent co-ops consists of individuals on limited Some co-ops run storefronts. These fncomeS. Most of them chose be Poor usually operate in the cities, sometimes when they dropped out of the system with part-time paid staff. They generally some years back. But now many are serve a larger group of people, keep finding that,'with the Current high unregular store hours and have an inventory employment, it's harder to drop back in. on hand much like the stores-for-profit Without i saleable skill, and lacking even Fed-up buys in bulk from producers much saleable job experience, they find throughout B.c., and as far away as they are marginal t~industry'sneeds are California. ~~~tof the suppliers and must make do with poorly paid small, independent operations. Purchasseasonal or temporary work, or with ing policy is to seek out foodstuffs grown welfare. under relatively natural conditions, and to avoid highly-processed products with ' Through their mutual activities, people began to look to the co-ops chemical additives. The selection l i s t as a means for making social contact. includes 700 items, ranging from bulk Working together and sharing an onfoods,,to canned goods, but not includgoing project enabled people to ing meat develop a sense of community. This Fed-Up i s governed b y a council people who felt isolated or, as i

crete problems o f running a democr organisation which people depend on for food. Questions raised include the relationship between leader and led, worker and consumer, and the ftindamental problem o f how to get people to be active participants.

The co-operative movement will never be able to supersede capitalism on its own. It still ultimately depends on corporations; direct Mnks between the producers and the co-ops are tenuous. However, the co-ops are a 'propaganda-bydeed' organisation. They demonstrate that people can come together t o meet their own needs. This creates the awareness that perhaps we don't need the State or the capitalists. Participation i n

write to them at 304 E.1st Ave, VanJohn Thomas

^ I^_-

rection. Armed with pipes and other makeshift weapons, CO members descended in full strength on the warehouse and gave the non-CO workers a half hour to leave. One woman who put up some verbal resistance was clubbed before she and her co-workers were evicted.

The CO had already withdrawn $6,000from the North Country bank account before the occupation. Co-op members gathered at the warehouse, confused as to what t o do. The police were called and sent away. A 'third force' arose supporting the CO's criticisms but condemning its tactics.

4

NORTH COUNTRY used t o be the nost extensively developed alternative conomic system in the US. But in more ecent days, the Minnesota co-operative novement has been kicky to make ends neet.

It wasn't that North Country couldn't nake a go of it in the world of business ind finance, or that the co-op members ;ot drained of their energy. Trouble .ame in the form o f the misnamed :o-op Organisation (CO), a self-styled darxist-Leninist-Stalinist outfit that ias attempted to force its hierarchical )rganisational forms and its authoritaran political style onto an unwilling o-op movement for the past two years.

What started as a debate over the co-op movement's class orientation and its internal policies eventually became a complicated series of mass meetings, position papers, weupation$< arson, sabotage, threats and violence.

In the process, the CO's escalating provocations and sectarian tactics virtually tore apart a 400se, decentralised federation of more than 30 coops, warehouses, bakeries, cafes and other enterprises doing two million. dollars vtorth of co-operative business annually.

6 The CO initiative was launched in early 1975 during a time when many co-op members were questioning"' why the co-op movement had failed to widen its base from i t s 'hippie' origins to bring in working people.

CO members, many of whom had been actively involved In North Country, were obviously frustrated by the unwillingness of the working class t o accept their leadership, arid, ironically, they carefutfy laid plans to reach workers through the muchdespised counter-culture institutions by taking over North - Country.

The strategy of the CO was twofold. First, to infiltrate the key institutions, including 'the means of production' (The Peopled Warehouse).

Second, to push every debate into a metaphysical 'two-line struggle', with the opposing line being labelled fascist and reactionary in order to force people to clearly take sides in 'the dassjtrug@~';,.,^;, -:- :-- ~his'aufhoritaria'nf o r k $ con resolution actually involved debates around practical issues, such as single 'mark-upvs. dual mark-up, balk vs. p*ocessedfoods, etc - disputes with valid arguments supportingeither side. In a position paper prepared by co-op activists, anarchists and feminists, it was pointed out that the two-line struggle tactic represents an 'attempt to farce reality to fit qbtract theory. Of course, this is'the

-.

'

opposite of a dialectical approach, which is open-ended and rooted in the concrete'. ,

Community Contra1

Effective A c t i o n In the end, the only effective action was taken by the co-op members themselves. They reorganised nearly all the co-ops in the network and established a new distributing warehouse, which was eventually formalised as the Distributing Alliance of the North Country (DANCe), an acronym taken from the Emma Goldman quote, 'If I can't dance, I don't want t o be part of your revolkion'.

Without the co-op's business the occupation collapsed in a week, but CO people were allowed t o remain in control of the warehouse operation. which was now in a weak financial situation. As one co-op member said, 'They (CO) thought that they had taken over the focal point o f the coops, but now they found that the focal point was expendable, we were capable of regenerating what we need'.

CO then started to work against DANCe, first by calling for the new warehouse to turn over its assets, and then by embarking on a campaign o f hooliganism, including firebombing one co-op, destroying a truck and othe acts of sabotage, and beating up co-op members.

CO's last gasp was an attempt to sabotage DANCe by getting the San Francisco Common Operating Warehoi (SFCOW), the primary broker for the region and an avowed Marxist-Leninist organisation t o put pressure on the co-op. Again, solidarity among co-ops prevailed, and SFCOW was dropped as the midwest broker - cutting its total business by one-th'ird.

Purges have weakened the CO, and the People's Warehouse is in process of being sold to pay off the CO-incurred debts. North Country is hoping for a period of relative stability in order to recover from its bout of authoritarian socialism and to rebuild itself as the model of the new, non-hierarchical society.

Keep in touch with North Country through Soil o f Liberty, PO Box 3840, Loring Station, Minneapolis, Minn.

The CO branded its most preminent opponents as 'bowgeois', a* said they hatf'instteitetfa e t f u l line.- coflimuhity control to maintain itt class ideology and control o f the system'. This unprincipled attack completely ignored the fact that, while all the co-ops mettogether to form some common policy, each coop was independent and run by a collective o f its own members.

As one of those victimed (>y the CO's attacks explained law, North countrywasbuilt openness, trust and comradeship. N o wonder, he said, it was 'susceptible to any disciplined, uwrinci@ed In early May 1975, the CO attempted a putsch. CO members circulated a ' plan callingfor restructuring of the co-ops, installing democratic centralism and themselves as the new Wolutionary leadership. The CO claimed*e People's Warehouse would go broke unless the hippies abandoned their anti-profit mentality. In a new twist 55403. on the two-line struggle, the CO said there's nothing wrong with profit, as long as it goes t o benefit the % a , chew articles otÈNorth workers rather than the ruling class.¡ When its demands were shelved,, --food co-ops arc taken from open (See reTfew section.) the took the road of -violent insur-

-

?-B.&w~

a

-

-

. ,.Â¥-

-

>

-

COSMIC Po

WER HOUSE Ã

, , Undercurrents 22 spreadeagled on a mattress on the floor.

Then the patient was asked to talk, but not permitted any normal defence (such as mumbling, shouting, wisecracking, intellectuallising, even.weeping). Sessions would start when the patients wished and go on as long as they wanted. Even t h i s was not enough, so for three weeks patients were denied all the distractions which normally prevent us from recalling our childhood horrors (conversation, sex, reading, T.V., company and so forth).

After the three intensive weeks, when primal memories had started t o surface it was found that patients could continue the process of exorcising their past in evening groups.

The PrimalScream, by j anov, descrit his early hopes for the therapy, based < scores of patients and a handful of therapists, each of whom had had thei~ own Primals. (Janov and his wife Vivia helped each other.) A t that early time looked as though patients relaxed in ambition and lifestyle, and it also st then that sexual monogamy became natural, but Janov now prefers to talk about physiological changes, since the mental ones vary so much.

Changes

Dr. ARTHUR JANOV's 'Primal Therapy' has created a great deal of interest in the United States, but so far it is not oenerallv available in f Britain. Tim Eiloart d& the development of'the treatment, its basic methods. and the attitude of primal therapists to other forms of psychi-

Beginnings Nine years ago a Californian psychoanalyst asked one o f his patients to call out for his mother. The young man did so, very reluctantly, but then with more and more c o n v i c t i o d ~ i voice s became childlike, he writhed and sobbed, clearly retiving a scene from his childhood although still conscious. Finally he broke down completely and yelled "with a scream that rattled the walls of my office". The therapist, Dr. Arthur Janov, wasmuch surprised t o find the patient feeling better. But another patient had just the same experience a few months later, and again seemed far better for it.

Janov knew that Freud had provoked very emotional memories in some early patients but never realised that patients could re-live early scenes. He also knew of a common treatment for shell shock, rediscovered many times sine ethe American Civil War. Thousands of zombie like sufferers have been cured by the use of drugs or alcohol - re-living the horrors that have been haunting them, with terrible violence, As they recover consciousness they find that their fears and horrors have left them. Soon Janov realised that all his patients could r e enact scores of terrible events from their early years. Often, after such an episode, they would realise that they had been suffering in very specific ways ever since

the original event. Early hunger might haveled tower-eating and obesity or to abstinence and meanness for example.

Slowly it became clear that the normal Arnericanchildhood i s a deeply damaging process of coercion and neglect. Children, even as infants, would start to shapetheir behaviour to try and get their parents approval, or would despair of getting the attention they craved. In the meanwhile their souls were deeply scarred, and they had to reexperience earlier and earlier scenes, like a film unwinding backwards,.. to undo the damage.

Dangers of Insight The therapists who joined Janov found that they had to stop interpreting the patients experiences. Either a patient made a 'connection' between a long-term hang-up and an early scene or you had to wait. Guessing on the part of the therapist was no help. A rigfft guess had no curative effect since the link had to be felt really deeply. Wrong guesses would destroy the patients since ftpy were highly suggestible and terribly vulnerable.

When interpretation stopped, so did 'transference' (the patient's deep emotional feelings for the therapist). The skill of therapy lay in eliciting the first re-living of an early grief (for which Janov coined the phrase 'primal', used as noun, adjective, or verb). Therapists would sit by their patients who lay

i As time'went by the therapy cha Patients now lie relaxed, not spreac eagled. For their three weeks they &.isolated rather than allowed to live in a cheap hotel. One of them pointed ou that smoking is a defence against feelin It became clear that sexual fidelity may be increased but is not absolute. While most patients slow down (pulse, blood pressure, temperature fall) a few who have been permanently depressedin functioning, speed up. The events that people recalled went back earlier and earlier until it became clear that most American babies have a terrible birth and need to re-live it many times. Vivid details of forceps, strangulating umbilical cords, breech presentations, artificial delays were always confirmed. A number o f patients showed birth marks or bruises again for the first time ever.

Another patient suggested that evening groups were very painful if everyonf waited for their turn. So everyone is mitted to primal when they wish, a scene like bedlam, with two or three therapists picking their way between many different patients, some weeping, some yelling, many in apparent anguish. "For the therapist it's the most demanding therapy in the world, and they are the best paid anywhere because I don't think they last ' very lone, even though they take a lot of time off, the work is terribly hard on them," he told one London audience.

Medical evidence showed that people pulse, alpha voltage, temperature and blood pressure always rise alarmingly at first then fall to bebw their earlier valu during aprimal. ,

Other Therapies The fact that alpha voltage is decreased by primals and increased by Trartscendental Meditation, makes Janov feel that TM people are just putting a more soothing balm on their old wounds,

ither than lancing ~ uthe t pus. He conimnsTM and other therapies which" to be a question of using deodorants than soap.

ative Effects ./cry one.of

1

the patients from the rim& Institute lists impressive changes I their physical well-being; posture, peathing, digestion, skin condition, reast growth, and so forth, but the ierapy is likely to be judged far m'ore by - psychological problems or chronic ical conditions it dispels. There are D precise statistics, but all the patients ho have stayed with the therapy have een improved radically. Their main Wctions have been varied, and included all the common neuroses such as impotence, alcoholism, frigidity, anxiety, eoression. and homosexuality. Janov is unpopular with gay liberation people >rsaying that he agrees with his patients ho find homosexuality an "illntes ither than a wellness" and by no means mate. "For every homosexual patient iere i s a different root trouble, but for I of them there Is a root trouble."

Even medical problems like stuttering, soriasis, asthma, and migraine are most invariably relieved, while there ave been four cases o f grand-mat ~ilepsy,one of narcolepsy, several of i y r ~ i deficiency, d three of angina, and iany cases of bronchitis, back-ache, alitis, and hypertension which have een effectively treated thanks to primal lerapy, More than 90 per cent of his atients do find relief from these types/of fmptoms. while the remainder either iel 'cured' too early, or quarrel with the .eatment and leave it However, lanov is ell aware that people who doubt his ns will turn a blind eyeto statistics. , he doesn't want to present the ierapy as a cure-all. Moreover, even if ie cures are accepted the cases are bviously self-selected, since people have >volunteer to be treated. ,

?b

-

sorrows. There is mention in the books and the Primal Journal of ways, such as the need t o tell some patients how they are defending themselves and conversely to build up the rational functioning o f others who are too decomposed t o risk primals, the use o f artificial birth canals, of adult-sized cots, and of music that i s particularly meaningful to the patient But one gets the impression that the most important factor is a really safe situation in which no-one will play at guru and tell the patient what is what. . . quite the reverse of normal psychoanalysis. After a few months the patient will often tell the therapist that they arebeing too gentle or pushing too hard.

Therapists have had to accept much criticism.8Within a year or two patients often find that they can primal alone.

Therapy was a result of a parent's deliberate or accidental act. It seems likely therefore that all children have been unwittingly traumatisd by parenoften following the best medical advice For example, Dr. Spock tells you to 1 the baby cry for up t o half an hour ify want some peace from it. Primal peopli think it i s essential to sleep in the same bed as babies, so the question of letting them cry in their own cot or in a separ; room does not arise. A huge number of primal patients have re-experienced horrifyingly the timesthey were altowe tocry unattended, particularly right afi being born. Janov thinks it quite impossible to spoil a young infant, whil Spock seems in no doubt about the dangers, Janov admits that parenthood likely t o seem hard, especially at first, t those that will not let babies cry ifthey .

Patients and Therapists can possibly help it. Buthe is convinca lanov calls his latest book Primal Man, that the benefits of totaliv devoted cart a progress report, which would have will more than compensate in the end. certainly been a good description of the babie< do not harbour a maà of cruel first, The Primal Scream. But he is not at memories they become far easier childr all apologetic that patients can be as As they grow older their inclinations w insightful as staff, "When there is acrisis almost certainly have to be frustrated ii regarding staff in this therapy we bring they are no to faH out of a window or patients into the meeting." Patients may burn down e house. "Take away his be helpful but one therapist pointed out matches, but don't take himself. Even that the work is none the less terribly with the most liberated parents it's real exhausting. ". . .fike final exam day hard to let their kids cry. Let the kids every day, and YOU know how keyed up have their anger and grief, then take thi you were then? Every single day and that in your arms. Picking up often stops wears you out. You can't come in there a child admitting to feeling, but the lim dreaming about something else. You are is very, very smooth between showing right there with the patient You're conthat you still love the child, and first centrating. It's like every faculty you have letting him discharge the feeling he has. available, all the feelings you have ever also depends on the circumstances. If felt, all the things you have back in Your- , a child gets a bad experience at school, ¥selare running at maximum; one the sort o f pain you can't avoid, then i1 hundredwcenkand it has t o belike " you come home and throw yourself in that for three weeks. Even when you-are your Mummy's arms, then that's a lot not seeine vour natient vou take it home better. It wouM be nice if~ e o ~ofl eant dealing with the' e could have their feelings without u with life." aling them."

h

A

:.

Child-rearing

Self Help

~ u i t often e psychiatrists in America, h o have not been through the Primal herapy, put their patients into primals nly t o find that they have driven neurotic totally insane. For t h i s reason inov is very cautious about describing 1e methods he used at t h e Primal wtitute to bring people to their former

The treatment is disturbing, since it involves acceptance, probably in every Western adult, o f such a well of closed-up emotions ready to be re-lived, in ways which are indistinguishable from a total psychotic breakdown; something that few balanced citizens may wish to admit to in themselves. Even more disturbing for most balanced citizens is the realisation that almost every event recalled in Primal

Only the well-off can afford Primal Therapy and far more of them apply th can be admitted. Janov recommends people to try doing it in amateur group rather than allowing any 'expert' to acl the master. If you cannot afford to buj the five books and the back numbers o the Primal journal it would seem foolhardy to try it (cost about £50) Tim Eila

WOV VERSUS THE REST ~ a ~ view ~ vof 'other ~ therepies is never very vourable unless they are closely similar to ¥imatherapy. He approves of the physical element of Reichian ther-y but regrets that the mind may be barely engaged. Anyone .who devises a therapy which explains the emotions of all his lor her) patients, according to a scheduIe leg. Freud, Jung, AdJerI seems quite at sea, according to Janov's finding with hundreds of patients. The very fact that these people so frequently have dreams that confirm their therapists view shows how much they are ¥windin to suggestion. The more their fst lays bars their defences, then the more tfanded and the greater the (unwitting) wrcion.

Encounter grwpscwld, but generally do not w i d e really safe wrroundings,and could, but inly seem to allow the patient the complete ck of interference, help, support, or advice

that will enable them to come to terms wiYh their shattering re-living of past scenes, (many members ere quite unaware of Ole risk, and very few groups lay bare such scenes anyway).

Janov does advise people to go it alone if they cannot pay for lorget into) primal therapy. He suggests that no one should play at Owu and indeed advises a pairing off rather like cocounselling. The difference lies in the fact that Janov finds i t necessary to steer people to the bitterest memories against which they ere most strongly defended. This is tough work, and w counselling allows peopte to avoid such memories indefinitely.

Natal therapy, which hinges entirely upon reliving the birth experience, fails to uncover the many later traumas that lead to neurosis.

Abreaetiort Ithe treatment for shell-shock! only discharges emoti'ons that have bmn botded u& recently. I t do& not get back to the far earliw If

scenes that made recent onesso shattering. I abreactions of childhood events, which hew been used by some psychologists with considerable success^occur while unconsciousa do not seem to be very helpful because the connection between early trauma and later neurosis is unlikely to be made.

Janov is increasingly concerned with physi logicalexplanation rather than with theories about the mind. He now adduces so much evidence a b w t age of trauma, development the brain at that age, likely symptoms and dreams, effects of different uppers and dowi (i.e. drugs1 on such people, sympathetic and parasympathetic stimulation and so forth th most people will find it very hard to grasp exactly what he is saying. The effects remeii simple as they were but few other therapists have touched upon explanation of the effecl , in the same way.

Iethods

-

..

unaercurrents

.

of Eurovillains, because of their tough THE FOUNDATIONS of theproblem stance over both oil and fish. The negoturning tc are familiar: increased demand for fish has waters in increasingnum. ,~ tiations were stalled because the Irish 1 demanded exclusive rights in its coastal made the fishing industry &re internatio hers recently.

- The technology of fishin,; has become al and fiihin'g trips longer. The British fish waters, without granting anything t o . ing fleet has always travelled t o distant much more sophisticated, especially over ;.: other fleetswhich hadhistorically fishec the last five years. Ships are larger and wateti such as the rich Icelandicfishing -there; something o f a blow for the UK .more automated, with smaller crews; grounds, leaving the poorer pickings deep watir@et.- Irish waters had been more and more fish is being processedat around Britain @the much smaller inthe biggest;desti"ifion after Iceland and sea, especially in the big Russianships ~, theFaroeiSo the UK threatened to go re fleet,theBelgians and other less which have caused immense bad feeling . - to 2W.mile limits unilatera1ly~'atthe Ne! . A i o u s nations. This status quo among the fishermen of SW England in which made cheap fish and chips for the Year tf the EEC talkswere incqclusive. :: masses part o f popularculture, has been the last few summers. Worldwide, the ..- . allowing Crosland (IateForeign Secretar .. move to 2Wmile limits see@ inexorable.: and Grimsby MP) tostrike asuitably abruptly upsq byrecent and rapid -., The USA recently imposed a 200 mile -. changes in the politics and technology historic pose in the House, Irf the event. .!-., oftheindustry: ~..:-; ' limit, banned all foreign fishing within the UK gave in t o the Irish, hoping that ~. it,and inaugurated the n e w h w by arrest- . ~~ rightswhi-ch could be-negotiatedwith The most importantchange is simply . .~ ing a Soviet trawler. Cubahas done the that fish i t i n demand. The fish. arethere Iceland, Norway, Canadaand theUSA. same, a s has japanand Several other for the takingand more and more nations which wouldkep the British fleet busy =., countries. But, worst ofall has been the . and happy.-Shortly after, the last British aregettinginon the act; actual pressure news that the Faroes are to make the on food resources in somecountries has vessels leftIcelandic waters, leaving the Iread move.Apart from Iceland; Faroes : . iF become partofthe problem in recent 1 go e iri Office with egg on its face; it watera i re the UK fleets' main historical had promised last summer that a new . years: in particular the USSR is chronical? , ly unable to feed its people and many. destination. (However it seems that the - deal would be worked out before the -arrangement patched up during the ? .- . Soviet trawlers have appeared in European limit won't be imposed for some time.). &.. waters in recent years. Also fleets from The recent history of the British fishing Third Cod War expired on December 1.

5 other EEC countries and Japan have been waters is complex, mainly because of the Now the real diplomatic issues beeam ~

~

~

~

~

%

~

~

~

~

'

~

'-

~

nt; first, that the UK Parliament t through a Bill not of the British iment but o f the EEC Fisheries ission, although the Bill referred ) UK and foreign vessels without ling the latter. Second, that the vessels which had been taking . itches, chiefly in the Channel, ere a major political issue in terms of ie USSR's refusal to recognise the EEC. nd third, that the fish issue related to any other marine resource issues hich were hardlv k i n e raised at all itil very recently.

- -

the Soviet one, the main one i s within the EEC itself, as readers of The Times, recently treated to pictures of our gallant lads inspecting fish on a Danish trawler, and later to reports of a £250 fine on a Danish skipper at Lewick will appreciate, On December 1 i t appeared that a solution to the intra-EEC wrangles was being found, in good time to head off the unilateral U K and Irish moves. The EEC had to start negotiations with Iceland shortly after, as the temporary agreements arrangine mutual rights between the two were to expireat thehew year.

Britain's fishing limiB (white sea areç extend to 200 miles except where they meet other countries' limits halfway.

Britain will defend its m i with t h e frigates, sixteen protection veuelfand four Nimrod jet aircraft. The Nimrod* are at present photographingthe 2,000 foreign trawlen which regularly fish in Butnh waters. An indexed photo library in London will help to identify rogue boats.And from the Hze and equipment of a tnwter experts will be able to tell whit kind of fall and how much - it is out to catch. David Mudd, Tory MP for Falmouth and Cambourne, has stated that present patrol plans 'resemble PC Plod on a pushbike'. (Sunday Times)

-

The Soviet issue was the stickiest, but e EEC has seen ways of turning it to i advantage; the USSR at first refused, I deal with the EEC as it reeards it. as ho does not, as-a capitalistconspiracy id prefers to deal with individual mem:r states. But as time wore on, it became parent that the USSR was willing tq. igotiate with Crosland in person as UK areign Secretary (and incidentally as lairman of the EEC C9uncil of Ministers) nce then the EEC. anxious as ever t o get some progress towards the United States of Europe, has got even closer to Soviet recognition. In early February the Soviets agreed to negotiate with the EEC but made the fatuous condition that this did not involve recognition, which fooled nobodv. even after the considerable edging and hedging which had preceded i t There wasn't a lot o f choice for them, as there are still, at the time o f writing, some 60 Soviet trawlers in EEC waters which even the Community would soon have had to throw out if the USSR had persisted in not negotiating. As i t is, the negotiations will go on for some time and the fleet will be allowed to fish by virtue of extensions and postponements until a settlement is reached, as it surely will be, so that there is no cause for alarm amongst our fish-eating Soviet readers. In addition, there i s abundant reason to suppose that the Soviet fleet had increased its catch to far above the level the Russians want, as a bargaining tool, to ensure that a take of say 250,000 tons of EEC waters, compared to 1976's 500,000 tons, is finally agreed.

So the mess associated with the UK'S fisheries is resolving itself in a number of diplomatic directions; and apart from

Britannia rules the waves A week later talks had collapsed in disarray: the main obstacle was again the Irish insistence on special treatment, and an exclusive 50mile fishing zone, qs most o f the 'Community' waters are around Ireland and are traditional Irish fishing grounds. This led the UK Government to put a unilateral ban on Icejanders fishing in UK waters on the 29th, to the fury of the EEC authorities. And thev couldn't have been mollified t o see theBritish press usher in '77 with the most preposterous show of chauvinism since the Battle of Anguilla, replete with pictures of Nimrods, frigates and helicopters. Rumours even circulated that the Navy was trying to buy some trawlcuttine eear from the Lancashire firm whichsupplies them to the Icelanders.

By the end of the month an Icelandic Captain had been fined £20,00 for fishing no less than 1.45 miles inside the limit, north of Shetland. The EEC talks with the USSR and the Comecon countries have proceeded with glacial rapidity, enlivened by arrests of Soviet trawlers and subsequent fines and confiscation o f catches and gear. The arrests have been mostly in UK waters but by no means all the offending Reds can be caught. Two luckless Spanish skippers were also done for £10,00 each plus nets and catches in Shetland as we closed for press.

By the date of writing, the prospect of a settlement with Iceland has drastically improved, because o f the moral pressure placed on the Icelanders by the Comecon countries' willingness to negotiate. Likewise, the EEC's position has been thoroughly legitimised

by the role which it has been able to play. All in all, it is likely that a settlement will be reached with all the nonEEC countries whereby they will be allowed to take appreciably less fish than they would like, and they will be forced to fish the less attractive ocean waters outside the 200 mile limits being remorselessly imposed by everyone from the USSR to the Bahamas. The EEC countries will be able, under the February 15 agreement, t o continue lifting about as much fish as ever, so that the only real losers are the Third World countries whose fish resources, near and far, will be placed under even greater pressure by the overspill of high-technology fishing vessels from the USSR, Poland and the GDR. But from the domestic point o f view the most important consequence has been on Britain's property rights to conshelf resources. The Island of Rockall Act 1972, for instance, was passed as a sly piece of expansionism; it incorpoi ates that seagulls' convenience into Invemessshire,of all places, and thereby grabs thousands of square miles o f seabed and potential oilbearing rock for the UK. &an assertion of State power, i t s one sentence says more than many books. But the Act was also used as a pretext to put the same waters within UK fishing limits and that, these days, means EEC fishing limits. So what will happen when the EEC makes its next move for a say in UK oil resources is hard to imagine, except that its position wil be that much stronger, and its determination that much greater; this Fourth Cod War may rebound on the UK i n the most horrendous manner imaginable.

The EEC's signing o f a 250 mile fishing limits pact with the USA on our behalf strengthens their hand for the future.

The severity of the EEC limits in term's of the fish which it i s permissible to catch, and the season forbringing them in, is so draconian,and the provisions so unenforcable by the EEC, that the Economist floated, as it were, the idea of an EEC navy. This proposal, although distant, cannot have been unwelcome in Brussels. , The people to come out of it all best, surprisingly, are the military. The! started with a long history of complete unreadiness for the various cod wars which they have fought from the other side. But, with the aid of a little money spent on fisheries and oil protection ships and aircraft, they have become ' North Sea policemen with far more enthusiasm than they ever showed for being arctic burglars. Considering that fish have been far more of a concern. of the postwar Navy than the red mena ever was, one shouldn't be surprised; but after years of ignoring the obvious about the way in which war was going, the Navy's change in role is the most ,mgible indication of a new and more home-oriented role for British diplomacy. Would it be too far-fetched to ' call this a marine kitsonism?

Martin Ir

Undercurrents

I

conveniently, if somewhat arbitrarily, divided into two kinds: those cultivate in cold water (below 20°C) and those cultivated in warm water (above 20°C The cultivation o f Saimonids (trout eti

PRACTICAL FISH FARMING "hough vegetarians may demur, it seeins pointless to go chasi round the North Atlantic if they could be farmed quite efficiently 1 onshore ponds and lakes. In the first of two articles Paul Bryant argues Fiat recent technical developments have made this a real possibility.

The practice of fish cultivation throughut the northern hemisphere has very ncient roots; pond raised fish are shown I Egyptian bas-reliefs, and some Roman sh ponds are still in existence. For * inturies, the peoples of the Indoacific regions, and above all the Chinese, ave reared fish. From the second uarter of this century, the pressure of icreasing population insuch countries s China, Indonesia, Cambodia, Vietnam, idia, Pakistan and the Philippines, all 'ith traditions of fish culture, has imulated the modernisation o f existing ~sbandrytechniques and their applica- on to an increasing number of fish ecies. In Europe, the recognition o f È as a valuable source and efficient .oducer of protein has started a great >om in the fish farming industry, with ie injection of large sums of money and chnological expertise.

America and Japan were the fittt auntrim to apply modem farmfpg'= lethods oft a comnfcrciaf scale, but there v currently many pilot schemes in urope. The industrial research'and trials )at have been carried out so far have roadened thescope o f fish farmingconderably, and also helped to take some f the trial and error approach out o f aditional aquaculture. The FAOjs :tively involved in research and devetopent, not least because fish farming presents a way in which marginal land the Third World unsuitable for agritltural development may 6e brought t o production. Although large scale h cutturt may be undesirable from an T viewpoint, nevertheless, the backound research into pathology, * itrition, selective breeding, etc, cannot ~ l but p be useful to those interested pisciculture for self-sufficiency. john Seymour, in his Complete Book SelfiSufficiency, dismisses~commercial h fanning in one sentence as '. .ecoto$ lly unsound and requiring absurd inputs expensive feed or fertili~r'.Although ' is may be true o f some farms pactis3 extremely bad husbandry, itis certain. not true o f the fish farming industry &whole,ttmaybe&rsnicaltofeed ~ r t i f i c i a ~ d ito e t luxury species of fish A

warm Water Spe

with value when the mark price is high, but those farms prod for the commercial market in competition with others must make as much use of natural food sources as possible.

Obviously the main commercial aim is to produce as many fish in a given body of without artificial water as possible, feeding of some sort, this willnot be I'.-

-

very many. Many farms now prefer and practise polyculture, the simultaneous stocking o f compatiblespecies o f fish .withoverlappingfood requirements. husbandry e m k n o w l e d g e f, thp food available in-theponçt and of the-so{ogy < ~the f fishspeciesc-r~d.

Most of the economic criteria applied in the choice of fish species for commercia1 farming s t i l l apply when stocking the family pond for consump. tion. The species chosen must: thrive on the natural food available, (i) and also on abundant and cheap artificial food; (ii) Prove satisfactory to.theconsumer; (iii) withstand climatidpond conditions; (iv) successfully reproduce under the conditions o f rearing; (v) have sufficiently hi&^rowth rate; (vi) support a fairly higH"population 'density in the pond; (vii) be resistant to disease; There are few species which" fulfil most of these requirements, and none which really fulfil them all. Over the years, a smaH number of fish species have proved suitable and these have been subject to selective breeding, mainly directed to condition (ii). New fanned species are cop.$& tastes change,

but*

*theheat

at the moment. Farmed species may be

'

In Britain, the Principal cultivated fish species for the table i s the rainbow troi This choice i s mainly determined by th prevailing cool climate and the"relativel large amounts of fresh water available, ease o f reproduction and the existence of a ready market. The rainbow trout, however, is not the ideal species for backyard prodliction. It has a high diss ed oxygen requirement which necessitc tes a rapid flow o f fresh or recycled water; hence the location o f farms in Scotland or the Cotswolds, where thert are supplies of fresh spring water and natural trout streams. The rainbow tra is also a voraci.ous feeder, and is genera fed on artificial food rich in protein, which almost defeats the object of raisi the fish. The profit margin of these fan is much lower one would expect from the high price of trout became of the fw4. * Fish for home consumption thatthr in turbid water with a low oxygen content include carp, tench and roach, but the growth o f tench and roach is dowel than that of cavs -^he useof carp, despite its suitability on most counts, is hindered by the problem o f reproduction, To spawn, a summer temperature o f at lea; 1g° is required, and wild carp may no reproduce atall duringcool summers i r the British Istes. This can be overcome by the artificial fertilisation and induce spawning of just a few fish, becamof their high fecundity, but the p r p s s is rather difficult for the inexperienced farmer. I shall deal with this in more de in a later article.

Carp

is

The mirror carp by faf t h e g 5 t f i s for pond culture in Britain. It is hardy, has a relatively tow oxygen requireden1 and'will therefore do well in muddy p a water, grws rapidly despite the fact th its growthoptimumoeetits-ata fairly high temperature, feeds on natural fooc

I

$l'a'w'tde variety of artificial diets, and oak& excellent eating. It has a short ood chain, yhich means that the cornerion of its food t o flesh occurs with [laximum efficiency, and it does not taste Its energy in overactivity. I t will ' Iso thrive at a high population density, ependent only on the available food nd the oxygen content of the water. krp has been the mainstay o f the m i l y pond for many centuries, and it a great pity that it has fallen out of ivour as a food fish in this country: From egg to adult, the rearing o f arp In Europe takes about three years; ley are described as being one, twr r three summers old, as they only row in the summer. The raising of ngerlingcarp, i.e. carp o f one summer, squires the use o f a series of ponds, , amely spawning, first rearing and icond rearing. The'raising of first year arp will be discussed in the next rticle.

In the Far Easkthe family -fish pond, ke the pig in Western Europe, disposes f domestic refuse productively. A ond area of one to five acres (1 are = /40th o f an acre) is the most satisfac~y size for a family carp pond. Below are, production is too small t o be rorthwhile, while above 5 ares it is too. ifticult t o practise intensive farming. mall ponds have no real value unless 3me form of intensive rearing is mployed, and this means at least daily %ding. The pond should be as near 3 the house as possible, sothat it is ot too far to carry the food. / In Britain, it is probably best to have m r ponds, when keeping carp o f one nd two summers for fattening purposes. ieally, these would consist of .two -3 are main ponds, one 112 are,pond a- wintering the two summer old carp, nd one 112 are holding oond for tile iree summer carp ready fpr consumpon. The two main ponds are. drained M cultivated I during the winter ~onths,while the two small ponds are eptdry q d cultivated throughout ie summer when the main ponds are I use. The fattened two ycat old carp pe m o v e d from the wintering pond idplaced in'lhe thud-year fattening d,while the other main pond is stocked with fingerling carp of one immer:Thelwintering pond is then, rained, and the holding pond for t$e Èir year carp ready for eating is rained as soonLasit is empty of fish. ' deep, The main ponds should be 3 that the water i s warm during the immer months, while the wintering ond and holding pond shoutd be in ie region o f 5'-7' deep. In these mds there will be nogrowth; in fact ie fish will probably lose weight as ley wit) be lethargic during the c@d . let]. They should be disturbed as Me as possible.

Water supply to the ponds Airing the summer should be just slightly, ore than that necessary to wmpenfor loss by seepage and evaporation. water needed by carp to breathe j~ippfbJxqbeen calculated tpfce ' bout 60 rnfsfrfiin; thisTi-a very low

flow indeed. Flew through the wintering and holding pond may be even less. because o f the lowered evaporation losses and the even low& respiration of the fish in cold water. It is desirable to limit the water temperature to 3OC .in both ponds, as this temperature will result in the least loss of weight during the period of inactivity. The greater depth protects the fish if the surface o f the pond freezes over. It . also keeps the temperature of the water down in the holding pond in the Spring, reducing weight losses in the fish ready for eating.

The main ponds may drain into each other or be supplied separately, side by side, depending on the suitability o f the terrain. Arrangements must made for emptying o f the ponds, so the; pond bottom should slope gently to the point of evacuation, with deeper ancillary channels in the bottom of the pond in which the fish may collect The water fall should be just great enough for the water to flow, minimising the problems of siltation and erosion.

How t o make a fishpondDikes must not be too narrow else they wiil be undermined by the water.

A width of 6 feet i s usually adequate. although the lighter the earth, the wider the dike. If the ground on which the dikeis t o be'built i s sandy, gravelly or marshy, it will be necessary to dig down to watertight foundations. Sandy soil may beused for the dike provided it is tied in to watertight foundations with a 20 inch clay core, and the width of the dike proportionatety increased!

Sandy clay the best dik;material; do not use turf;humus or peaty earti; d& i eliminate-stonesw other-coarse material that might soften out-orrot.

The dike should be built up of layers 8-12-inchesthick, each one rammed down hard before the nexL'Dry earth should be moistened, and very clayey soil should be made workable b y adding humus. The dike should be built up to about 12 inches above the water level; sinking should be taken into account at this stage; it may be necessary t o add as much as 16%t o the desired height The steie o f the dike should fee about T:l OB theuti'Si&,a~dabovt 3 ~ 1 %on ' the Inner. A drainageditch about 12" deepshould be constructed alongside the cBfce to draw o f f water, leading away downstream. The finished dike should be covered with turves or grass s6ed'to prevent cracking, and this should be cut regularly. The clippings may be thrown into the pond as fooiMor the fish.

Drainage of the pond may be'effccted by a pipe inserted-through the dike, or by the construction o f a monk. This c o n s i s o f a U-shaped upright at the drainage end o f the pond. with the ope^ end o f the Ufacing towards the pond The water level is cofttrdled b y blocking up the open end o f the U wMh boards, over which the water f l o w in@the U. .

At the dike side of the monk, and at the b-;aç^i~Uçtth; the &&- . draining (foTnstreafi. Drainage or

-

lowering o f the water level in the pond is effected by removingboards from (he monk (see Fig 2). Sluices are equally effective, but may, if not properly constructed, weaken the.dike, as they reauire a comolete breach in the wails. ~ k r e e in np k l o f the bottom board i r f t h e i a o n k y i l l prevent the fish will also evacuate t h 4 &aping& cold water from thebottom of tht pond, but has the disadvantage of quickly becoming blocked with weeds' and detritus. A screen above the top board of the monk also eliminates the risk of Young fish being Swept over with the water outflow, but is subject to the same problem, and must be removed regularly and cleaned.

In case of flooding, it i s wise t o install an overflow in the pond, or alternatively a bypass channel before &he inlet A catching device after the pond outlet afeo aids in harvesting of the crop. This * may take the form of a deepened -channeldirectly in front o f the outlet, with perhaps a screen at its outlet to preventany accidental loss o f fish. Such a channel must hama stony bottom to prevent erosion. The carp is a bottom feeder and the main natural food consists of insect larvae and small crustaceans feund amongst the vegetation on and in the-bogtom; they also eat plankton and occasionally plants. The winter drying out o f the ponds and'their cultivation with cereals and gramTnaceae improves the water f o r t h organisms, producing abundant supplies of natural food. Grass cuttings and kitche-n refuse thrown i n t o the pond when ills under water will,, .decay and cause such crustacea as Aphnia, upon ch.the c w wiH feed ' to proliferate. u t take carenot to add ~

z"'

o much refuse that it endangers the % ixygen levels of the water. The ponds nay also be put under pasture for livetock until June every other year; the nanure from the animals will increase he natural productivity. These older echniques have been all but abandoned vith the advent of fertilisers, but they re the best type of husbandry for mall ponds.

The stocking density of the ponds lepends on the natural productivity, the legree of fertilisation practised and the imount and type of artificial food upplied. For an average pond, a suitable

stockingdensity for one summer carp fingerlings would be in the region of 50-70 nine t o twelve cm (50 gm) fish to the are. A mortality of about 10% may be expected, so that 100 three summer carp weighing between two and three pounds may be expected as the final crop, Commonly used supplemental feedstuffs for carp include sorghum, lucerne and soya, lupin, peas (dried pr green), rye, bran and various grains.

1 shall deal in more detail with the natural productivity of ponds, and ways of increasing it in the next article,

together with upkeep of the ponds, methods for calculatingstocking dehsi the artificial breeding of Cyprinids anc the problems likely to be encountered with diseases and predation.

P.L. "#,

References Bardach, I.E., McLamey, W.O., and Ryther Aquaculture, Wiley 1972.

Huet, M. Textbook ofFish Culture. Fishing News (Books) Ltd. Sang, S. Synopsis of Biological Data on the Common Car F A 0 Fish Biology Synopses 31.?."1966 Seymour, J. The Complete Book of Self Sufficiency. Faber 1976.

ORGANIC FARMING GUIDE lio-Dynamic Agricultural ~ssociation, troome Farm, Clent, Stourbridge, Worcestershire, DY9 OHD advocate organic farming plus special sprays, attention t o the hythms of sun and moon in planting, cultivating ah6 harvestig. Have their own Demeter trade mark for produce grown y their methods. A one year course in BiorDynamic farming nd gardening is run at Emerson College. Membership: about 00.

3rm and Food Society, 1Tanza Road, London NW3 founds profiteer making money from bogus free-range eggs. )riginally a pressure group, they are now mainly an educaional body concerned with rectifying maltreatment o f livelock on intensive farms. Produced a plan for the future o f griculture in 1974, and print an occcjsional newsletter for members. nternational Federation of Organic Agriculture Movements, Chemin de la Bergeris, 91700-Ste-Genieve-les-Bois, France. o r £2 a year they produce a newsletter giving a world picure o f organic farming, most organic farming groups in the JK are affiliated. Also organise international conferences. iternational lhstitute-for Biological ljusbandry, 2 Wilson Street, Fidbury Square, London EC4A 2BU ounded to act as a centre for the co-ordination and scientiic development o f Biological Soil Husbandry. An offshoot if Organic Farmers and Growers Limited, it provides organ;farmers with the advisory services and reserach programmes aken for granted by orthodo2 farmers. Will help.farmers hange to organic methods.

(other Earth, .O. Bpx 8, Malvern, WRI~~NQ ormerly the Organic Federation, Att embracing range of ctivities includes such unusual things as earthworm raffing, u t &eir main effort is to psist organic farmers p d growers. ublished a glossy Good Food Growing Guide, (David and hades, 1976, £2.95) intended forgardeners. Thoughtthey ay they assist farmers change to organic food production, nd have set up regional growers' associationsand marketing utlets, one wonders if their impact i s quite a great as they laim. Yearly subscription: £2.50 Membership: abotrt850. kganic Farmers and Growers Limited, ongridge, Geeting Road, Stowmarket, Suffolk, IP14 SBT. in offshoot of the Soil Association, they are the fastest lovers in the organic farming world. Set up by a group of :ading organic farmers as a farper owned co-operative t o ' i q k e t organic produce and t o supply.biological farmers with irvioes similar to those supplied by the Ministry and Trade 3 conventional farmers, turnover in 1976, at £200,000 was irice that of the first year.

Started with the help of a three year management grant from the Central Co-operative Council for Agriculture and Horticulture, it is not a charity. Every farmer has a £ share in the company. A levy o f 2% on grain, and 3% on cattle, covers their costs, and means that farimers marketing organically grown wheat, for instance, through the company received £19 a ton against £70-8a ton for conventionally grown wheat in 1976.

Grains marketed by them meet the standards required by the Soil Association's Symbol of Organic Quality. Demand for organic wheat exceeded the 1000 odd tons they handled i n 1976 by 700 tons. They also sold 100 cattle, 124 tons of tomatoes and several tons o f seed.

They aim to have organically grown food on the shelf of every supermarket in Britain. With their present rate o f growethis shouldn't take long. 20 farmers joined in the first year, and m t h e r 27 i n the second year. Farms range from 1 - 2800 acres in size.

Organic Food Service, Ashe, Churston Ferrers, Brixham, S. Devon.

Produce a Directory o f ~ r o & r s and Producers in the British Isles, listing. bv county, gardeners and smallholders selling organic fresh fruit&dvegetables, free range eggs and Main object i s t o enable consumers to call and collect fresh produce, and for growers and producers t o get together with consumers.

The Soil Association, Walnut Tree Manor, Haughley, Stowmarket, Suffolk IP14 3RS Perhaps the best known of all groups promoting organic husbandry, it was formed i n 1946. Started and funded the Haughley Experiment, the only investigation of its kind into health + a n f i t h e r effects of soil-plant-animal-manrelationships of different farming methods. Members receive a quarterly itview which i s more informative and useful than many more p tentious environmental magazines; advises an@educates. s $w produce a series o f pamphlets to spread the knowledge ; of organic methods. Developed their own t r de mark for organic products. Membership: 4,500.

.

% r

f

.

Working Weekends on Organic Farms, e/6?'19 Bradford Road, Lewes, Sussex, BN7 1RB. Okie year older than Undercurrents, it exists to put their ftve hundred plus members who wish to gain experience of ~rg%icfarming in touch with the hundred and forty farmers on their lists who are willing to give instruction i n return .i for help on their farms. Farms average 25 acres in size.

Membership fee of £ lets you use the service for a year and brings you six newsletters.

List compiled by and Pat Dodd.

e Smith with help from Dave Baldock

5'

y,<-=:

T/MD/OSTA TION OCCUPIED ;* : * Striking metal workers occupied. the great hall o f the radio station of Naples and held a meeting there. A dekgation to the station's manager demanded more detailed reports on ,-the motives and aims o f the Italian metal workers' strike.

March 1973. (11 .,

',

..

.

BERTOLD BRECHT ON R 1932 "Radio must be changed from a means of distribution t o a m e w s o f communication. Radio would be the most wonderful means o f communication Imaginable in public life, a huge linked -system - that is t o say, it could be such if it were capable not only of transmitting but o f receiving, of allowing the listeners not only t o hear but also to speak, and did not isolate them, but brought them into contact. prealizable in this social system, ivalizable in another, these proposals, which are after all, only Ifie natural msequencies o f technical dew&+ mnt, help towards the propaptim ,and shaping o f that other system. . If you should think this is Utopian, then I would ask you t consider why it is Utopian." (2)

'

;,,!30%

..

--

.$

2

..a

4

..

IN 1974 the broadcasting monopoly of the Italian state was.suspendedby a court decision in favour of privateowned, commercial broadcasting. This decision led t o a run on the free frequncies by local businessmen, right-wingers and the church. But other people were busy too: '. . . the first broadcast o f "radio bologna libera" has taken place. There $ere 7 hours o f programming, 3% in the morning and just as much in the afternoon. The first broadcast was undertaken by a workers' co-operative with"out commercial aims. The equipment used was very simple: one amateur %?d/otransmitter in a trailer, an antenna wd tapes. The improvised radio station, ' located on the hills, cost less than £50 to produce. The transmitter covered the whole city o f Bologna and the surrounding area. The broadcast included dis-

.

-

autonomously. Among these groups :* ;p -! cussions and interviews with districtcommittees, students, workers and citlare committees of workers, soldiers .'4 =' 3d zens on themes like housin and rents, and students, citizens' action grotTps, -2 the "assa inteyaziones"(wages * d ., , the tenants' union Unfone Inquilin; ., ã,,r- 7 short-time work), the frustration at and groups from the women's movework, the anti-fascist engagement. ment Controradio in-Florence has a w This initiative also sees Itself as a daily programme of 4 hours made up *. entirely by women for women.

- gs symbolic action t o demonstrate that ' The news at f.adio Alice, Bologna, . -' everybody could have access t o the was compiled by volunteers who arrived 34 '(3) instruments o f mass media i f . at the station early in the morning and -4 In 1976 the Italian supreme court combined important news from the -4 upheld the earlier decision. The numb a press with information on politiof newly created stations soon exceed cal events hushed up by other media.

400 - most of them commercial.

Radio Alice tried t o speak the languBut after Radio Bologna Libera, the age of everyday life, the language people 4 first real attempt in alternative Italian use in discussions on the street, at home Fbroadcasting, succeeded, many stations and at work. This soon provoked a ãrG; ,+a sprang up with the intention of serving hostile obscenity campaign by the their communities and of trying altemalocal press. Even Unita the newspapel tives t o both the commercial and stateof the Italian Communist Party joinel controlled stations. in calling the station "Radio Porno".

Among the founders of these alternah r c o Dio! At another occasion 6 tive stations were members of left-wing participants of Radio Alice were imprisorganizations, autonomous workers1 oned for 4 weeks, convcited of "incitegroups, students, citizen's action groups, ment t o violence". The alternative feminists and many other people with radio stations have a large following, no other means of gaining access especially among young people. the medium. Their aim is to Some stations like those in Milan, speak counter-information and of over 150,000 listeners. The stations working-classstruggles w . are listened t o during housework outside the workplace an and workers tune in their sets, if the boss the building of a counteris outside!

Alice, a station located i Although the operators on many example, defined itself as a tool for stations are volunteers, they still need people strugglingfor "alternative selfmoney to keep going. Some stations sell management of their lives" (oestiwe small shares t o their listeners and there alternative! delta vita). are also fundraising meetings and The alternative radio stations other activities. But in some stations then operate on the FM-band with a local are commercial meetings and other activirange. Some operate from 7 am till ties. But in some stations there are midnight ( e.g. Radio Torino Alternacommercial spots too. Thse include ads tive, FM95),others try t o operate all for feminist meetings, left-wing bookshop day and night (e.g. Milan9 Centrale, and publishing houses, second hand shops FM 101). Most are run by co-operatwe and record companies. i .

Radio Torino Alternative i s run by@ The alternative stations belone t o a the Cooperative Medianow and tht--national organisation, the ~ederaiio Milan station Canale-96 by the CoopRadio Emittente Denwcmtlche erative CulturalSempione set up by (FRED). workers in the electronics industry.

The actual programmers of the alternaDieter Brunn tive stations are partially produced by professeional radio and newspaper : Re journalists (working unpaid), but mainly by amateurs. But most important are Md&&e4&t, T k o v of&do, 1932F%z2 various local groups who get free time (2) on the air, (spacio libero) where they * (3) Robeso Faenson,Wir Fragen nich ; : ; can broadcast their own regular programs *,. mehrus Eriaubnis, Berlin 1975.

- %'...g

Undercurrents

Any AT pundit will tell you ing pastime, as our t e m p a t

11 got the idea from the Handbook o f %me-Made Power: scale everything town and make a mini-methane plant.

For a week I foreswore the toilet in favour of an airtight plastic bucket in the shed at the bottom o f the garden.

I had diarrhoea that week, a lucky areak, that: ready made slurry! I l e f t it for a few weeks of hot summer, until the house's kids discovered the bucket ind had great fun throwing bricks into it. But what I salvaged did seem to be active with something; the lid ind sides b u l ~ e ddramatically. How to tell the hydrogen from methane?Well, lope for the best i s the watchword o f DIY, so I just spooned the lot into a 2 gallon cider flagon anyway, while my Friends watched from a distance. t added the rubber bung and piping from 1 wine-making kit, connected it via a

he wisdom o f experience.

1 remember reading somewhere 1 that home-made digesters don't m e up t o expectations. Well, I'm 'leased with mine. Living away from nost o f it in rural Ayehire surrou 'y pasture, apart from putting the m m y strawberries and other crops, here's nothing to do with the cow dung wt digest it.

Ifyou keep your eyes open, large oil Imms (45 gallons) are easily found. rfter I'd made up my mind, -Ident out nd found one on the beach, one in a iver, and one beside the road. I've eard they're Ă&#x201A;ÂŁeach new. If you have choice, be careful in your selection. ome of the more modern drums have that appears to be an interior antiorrosive coating just like a tin can.

They'll need cleaning. 1 used parafn, then strong detergent. The paraffin issolves the oil and then the detergent %. spends the paraffin. When using Wafn, two washings out are better than one, ven if you use only the same quantity f paraffin. I was very careful to clean ut the last trace o f detergent, iared it might upset the little gpect they're fairly tolerant, The screw caps on the ones Iha 'ere made of what my mate Pete ills monkey metal (I think). This suited in a mess of motten screw ip when t -triedto so& a length o f

fire hose in a cliche comedy, the pq reared, thrashed and flailed, splatting hot liquid shit in a wide spray ail over my room and all over me, spatspatspatspatterspat! A thumb over the loose end just increased the pressure and hence the range; I watched the door five yards away take on a rich maho tan. Quickly 1 worked the bung out the flagon, and stood back dripping

nections can't slip off! Use wire twisted round instead o f a mini hose

-

4 stakes round to make it ri and true. The water surface has a layer of oil over it, to cut down eva oration.

I placed the two digester drums bricks, as I was thinking about insulating them. Be careful where you them, as once they're full, they wei about 4 cwt. Ttie two T-pieces

fun. Find an old

Undercurrents 22 And after all, it was all guaranteed organic, I mean, I knew where it had been.

As for the rest of the story, the matted-haired wild man seen at the launderette (you know how they never open the windows there), the fumigation saga (not to mention the ostracism of a pioneer by his fellows), well, that's for another time. What I want to say is, it worked, didn't it?That must have been quite some pressure bottled up in there. Eureka, as someone said drily.

Eureka somethin' awful.

Robin Johnson

it up nearly to the top, probably unwisely, as the pipe could clog with scum, I guess, but I wanted to drive ' out as much air as possible. I flushed the system out with carbon dioxide.

You could use the C02 from wine or beer fermentation: there's a use for everything!

So, I had the thing all set up. I got a deck chair and lay back to watch the gas holder rise. After four weeks nothing had happened. This was last summer. I went round the joints with a paintbrush and weak detergent searching for leaks.

None. Then, almost overnight, up it went I took the stuff to work and found 10%C02 and no oxygen. That evening I connected up a bunsen, opened the taps and applied a light. It worked. 1 found that 8 or 10 bricks on the gas holder squeeze the gas enough to give a useful flame; it's about the same as mains gas pressure.

I use the stuff for soldering in the shed. There's enough there for that.

Justas I expected, the system has hibernated for winter. Perhaps it won't start up again when it warms. Perhaps there's an inch or two of scum on the surface inside. Mind you, I've never seen any scum trying to get up the pipes coming from the digesters.

I hope to get round to lagging the digesters or shrouding them with poly bag greenhouses, or piling dung round the outside to keep them warm. And I , can't wait to get the slurry on my garden.

Apart from being a research centre and a permanent exhibition of A T hardware, the Centre for Alternative Technology also acts as a meeting place for people to discuss the wider implications of the movement.

Nigel Dudley describes a recent weekend course.

IN FEBRUARY, Howard Liddell of Hull collegeof Architecture combined with the members of the Centre for Alternative Technology to put on a Course at the Centre, for some of his students and a few of our own visitors that had expressed an interest in learning more.

Whilst none of the six speakers said anything radically new they presented in total an interesting history of the changing attitudes to AT, and highlighted some of the problems of community living.

The first speaker was Graham Caine of the Street Farmers, who opened on the Friday night with a rather downbeat talk about the experimental house and other activities going on in London a few years ago. He seemed to take the view that things were quite fun to try, but the practicability of them was not all that important, and the projects were abandoned when interest waned. Robert and Brenda Vale followed the next morning with a broadly similar theme, albeit on a more sophisticated level. Having completed their part of the studies on the Cambridge autonomous house they are working on a new building of their own and an attempt at rural self-sufficiency.

All three speakers were concerned with the viability of personal self-sufficiency.

This contrasted sharply with Howard Liddell's own talk, in which a number of experiments in community selfsufficiency were examined. These included a Canadian simulation study, a Scottish valley, Gibraltar, and his own study on the resource potential of Hull.

This development seems to mirror a lot of AT thinking. In the beginning, a few people were interested chiefly in personal survival. This attitude hasnow been accepted as impractical for large numbers of people, both from the physical aspects of space and resources, and from the social point of view of being cut off from everybody else. This was confirmed by the fourth speaker, John Seymour. Surprisingly, the original self-sufficiency king was not too interested in this on a personal level, and would much rather see a self-sufficient community. Seymour also stressed the need for a devolutionary philosophy. 'If the Farmers Weekly carry on with their present policy they'll end up with only one reader', he stated cynically, and called for a rational approach to the distribution of resources, citing the example of his adopted Pembrokeshire, where grain is imported from Canada, and their own wheat is sold elsewhere.

On Sunday the theme of 'small i s '-* beautiful' was continued and expanded

by Leopold ~ o h r These . six speakers showed were AT has come from, and where it i s now: intensely interested in the small scale, and the community as ar autonomous unit. The difficulties in this were expressed by the last speaker, Phitil Brachi, late of the BRAD commune, wh< spoke very honestly about why the community had failed and where it had gone wrong. In many ways BRAD (Biotechnic Research and Development) was a precursor to our own CAT. Set up by Robir Clarke in 1973, it was to research variou! forms of alternative technology and communal living, centred on a large farmhouse in qjd-Wales. Although it ei ed after only three years, the legacy it l e f t behind i s probably greater than any of-the participants realised; we get their mail now, which still averages half a dozen letters a day. Philip spoke about the internal frictions that had split the commune, between those that simply wanted to experiment with the technology and those that wanted to investigate the community aspects and the interrelationships of the group.

This sheds interesting light on thi Centre's own history, and its success so far, and on the problems o f other autonc mous communities. Until now, we have been working so flat out on getting the Centre together that we have never had time to examine the community aspects to any depth. From what Philip said, this i s probably why we have survived.

It seems to be a case of the less said the better we will get on!

I n addition to the course, the Hull group arrived a couple of days early, and lived and worked with us for that time.

As well as promoting the informal attitude that we always aim at, the studei felt they had learned more in those two days than they did at the actual course, which i s interesting as they only did very manual work, and most of that in pourin rain. As we are thinking of running more courses in the future, this i s of especial interest; we have always believed that tall. without actually doing any work i s of limited use, and it is good to see other people thinking the same. Perhaps in the years to come we'll all retire from actual work, and spend our time taking money from potential students who will come t( do i t for us!

Nigel Dudle

.

For anyone who didn't read about us in Under currents 19. we are o6en to the visitors everv day, and also sell information sheets, DIY plans and other books, but please enclose an SAE with anv enauiries. as we're still verv short of timeandmoney. The Centre is at ~ ~ ~ ~ e ' ~pawys, u e

.

t

ROTESTING about a plan to build a lorry park on allotments in East .ondon; arguingin your union branch that the Lucas stewards' 'alternaive production' plan has relevance to you; campaigning against nuclear nergy or for new forms of co-operative industry; trying to make econolists allow for 'external diseconomies' in transport planning; having a uiet word with a politician or trade unionist. Tony Emerson of SERA tows how these activities can be integrated into an effective strategy for hange, which he calls ripple revolutionism.

I n I S IS our starting point: letters or rticles i n the press; resolutions at neetings; timely contributions from he floor at conferences; pub conversaions; selling literature. Unless we get cross some basic information, people till not get involved in our campaigns. )ur information and arguments seem nost effective when we concentrate In issues directly relevant to people: x a l industrial hazards, pollution roblems, juggernaut traffic, etc. Overmphasis on predictions o f global atastrophe brand you as an eco-nutter.

However, someone will soon say we eed motorways, or Concorde, or uclear power: (a) for economic xisons, (b) because they create jobs. a) should start a debate about the bsurdity o f capitalist economics beware o f the trap'of concluding that othing can be done before 'the :volution'). (b) is often simply untrue: a s much was invested i n public tranaort, energy conservation and alternative nergy systems, and invalid vehicles, as 1 motorways, nuclear power and Ioncorde, more jobs would be created.'

SERA is preparing a major public atement using this argument and calling 3r investment in job-creating, skillitensive, socially and environmentally npropriate industry. By relating this t o !veral topical issues (e.g. nuclear energy, rban decay), t o the 'alternative industry' impaigns discussed below, t o economic 'guments, and by obtaining 'newsworthy' gnatures, we hope for some press and V coverage (despite the built-in bias o f ie media against such arguments, which e discuss below).

But argument on its own is not ifficient on the jobs issue. Without lecific alternative employment projects, ivironmentalist measures would put irtain groups out o f work. If governlent simply decided not to build motorays, the saving on public spending 'ight lead t o more private consumer lending, which might be spent on item: iat would give employment t o the

motorway workers - but the blokes working on the M3 will naturally be sceptical o f their chances o f a job, given all those 'mights'.

Sykes, (formerly with the Industrial Common Ownership Movement), spec cally t o help such common ownership firms t o set up and t o advise on questions o f finance, siting, management, marke^mo etc. The first o f these firms, an electric ians' co-op, is about t o start work.

Such industrial initiatives may not explicitlv aim t o use environmentally appropriate technology. But local ' industry means less transport, less energy-intensive high technology, mor' direct involvement o f workers and local people in decision making (the : essence o f socialism), as well as the jobs gain.

SE London SERA are pressing for similar action by Lewisham ~ o u n c i l . ~ We are involving local activists, trades councillors, council members and employees i n our campaign; and two o f our members talk t o unemployed workers every week outside the labour exchange. By collecting detailed information on recycling, insulation and rehabilitation, alternative energy, etc, we hope t o give the ecologically sound technologies a decent chance o f being selected for any enterprise eventually set up. (Smallness and local democracy are not necessarily beautiful. Yugoslavia shows that such firms can have a nasty environmental impact. We have t o take active steps to build i n the use o f 'eco-sound' technology.)

Birmingham. N E and SW London branches o f SERA are considering similar campaigns. Birmingham are starting an 'energy information service', seeking support from the Job Creation Programme, the education service and the local labour movement. Judy Bartlett o f Earth Resources Research i s doing a study on whether four disused sites are suitable for environmentally appropriate small industries.

Similar campaigns, aimed at setting up local co-operative industries or services, are afoot in Milton Keynes, Swindon, Pimlico (London) and Leeds, under the aegis o f local organisations.

Developments in the public services are closely related t o those in big and little industry. SERA'STransport Working Group (which includes George Saville o f ASLEF and Bill Measure of NUR) points out the need t o decentralise industry and services if we are to reduce freight and commuter transport as well as the number o f cars and lorries. Only big business gains by the increase in motoring; for the econo-

'

Action The importance o f the Lucas stewards' 'corporate plan' for alternative employment on socially useful production cann o t be over-emphasised. This initiative has now inspired similar campaigns in other recession-prone firms: Vickers, C & A Parsons, Scraggs (Manchester).

Stewards at Chrysler and AEI (Trafford Park) are also looking at this approach.

Mike Cooley and Dave Elliott addressed a meeting in November o f stewards from Parsons and other northern firms affected by falling demand for electricity generating equipment. Less directly, various 'Jobs and Environment' conferences are preparing the ground for such initiatives. Trade Unionists are also involved in the Birmingham Green Bans Action Committee.

But the 'internal conversion' o f a firm through the use of T U bargaining power is not 'the only way forward'.

Its potential in the strongly-unionised workplace (usually in big industry) is enormous. But what about the unemployed and those without effective trade union power?

Campaigns to create new jobs takea variety o f forms i n different high-unemployment areas. Most prominent is Wandsworth Council's scheme t o sponsor small 'common-ownership' or worker co-operative firms.

They have promised t o make money available to groups o f workers who form themselves into producer co-operatives, provided they show evidence o f efficient management, have a marketable product, etc. Money may also be raised from the State under the Industrial Common Ownership Act or the Job Creation Programme, but the amount available is rather limited. Wandsworth have appointed an industrial oreaniser. Manuella

,

media as newsworthy, and the form and language in which they like press releases.

Second, we try to apply direct pressure on ministers, MPs and councillors.

After our Commons meetings with Tony Benn and Ken Marks, we have arranged another with Peter Shore, at which we shall underline the relevance to inner city decay or investment in the type o f industry we advocate.

Third, we are campaigning for support within the Labour movement, to get some 'muscle' behind our campaigns.

mically weakgroups such an increase means all costs and no benefits. They are also looking at the employment implications of public, less motorised, transport systems.

Government departments and local authorities can do a lot t o help or hinder initiatives such as those mentioni d above. Planning permission may be needed, as may cheap sites or education and training facilities. Public orders may be needed to buy the output o f the . 'alternativeenternrise': the Lucas stewards' would need contracts from the Departments o f Health, Energy and Transport; the Wandsworth electricians' co-op will need work from various public bodies i f it i s to be viable.

a) Local industries mean decentralisatioi -less freight and commuter travel; b) 'alternative' industries competing for the direct and indirect public subsidies at present so lavishly bestowed on the motor industry; c) local industries directly competing with the motor industry - e.g. producing cyclomobiles; white-car or whitebike schemes; repair shops for existing cars; d) people actively engaged in such enterprises atid campaigns might be less susceptible to the consumerist demand creation on which the motor industry depends: if you have real control over your own life, you don't need substitute satisfactions; e) a general public attitude is being fostered which is less tolerant of pollution, environmental destruction and inhuman or unsafe working conditions; f) motor industry trade unionists, often forced t o add their voices t o the roads lobby at present, might see that there are attractive alternatives t o working on pr uction line. Other institutions mig t face similar challenges This then is the ripple revolutionary strategy. Derek Shearer in the US and Andre Gorz in France term it 'nonreformist reformism': campaigning for reforms which in fact lead to a fundamental transfer of power and control to ordinary people, away from establishment institutions.

The initial obstacles to be overcome are lack of numbers, organisation, and confidence. Later on, with success, we must be prepared to face much more direct (even brutal) opposition. The Lucas management gave a firm NO t o the stewards' proposal on paper.

What happens when the stewards flex their muscles? Or i s Arnold Weinstock of GEC going t o sit around and have his business taken away by a load of insulation co-ops?

Tony Emersc

Economic changes

Campaign strategy: two important principles 1. All socialist campaigns must be based on involvement o f all those affected by the issues, and on organisation. Ordinary people do not have the wealth to buy off the decision makers or public opinion. If an organisation like ours concentrated solely on influencing 'top people' without getting widespread 'grassroots' support we'd-get nowhere.

2. We must start where people are at, rather thanwith our favourite issue.

Lucas stewards did not start with the evils of military aircraft or the beauty of solar energy. They started with the issue of jobs. The Birmingham 'Green Bans' campaign began with preservation of the Post Office building, not an issue of great ecopolitical significance in itself, but important t o local groups. In SE London we are 'sounding out' activists and unemployed rather than preaching Small is Beautiful.

This approach need not mean diluting It means listening t o the your ideas and ~rinciplesof others first, so that they are more likely to listen t o you.

We hope to apply these principles i n 'Energy 2000', the trade union energy group which SERA has launched.The first aim is t o sound out trade unionists with an interest in energy use or conse'rvation. This includes all those involved in insulation, district and-solar heating, or 'energy savers' like public transport and telecommunications. How does present energy policy affect them? What would be the employment and political advantages of a coal plus conservation plus 'renewable' energy policy? HOW do we penetrate the amazing pro-nuclear alliance o f the left in the AUEW and the right in the EEPTU, based on the (largely fallacious) belief that nuclear energy ' means a jobs gain? Arthur Scargill of NUM is our most prominent ally on this, a n d Jim Murray of Vickers stewards is interested.

To back up the local and the specialised campaigns, pressure i s needed elsewhere. First, for wide public support we need to use the mass media. Journalist supporters can help to penetrate the media's built-in pro-establishment, procommercial bias. This can be done by identifying issues defined by various f

In the existing system the dice are loaded against the above schemes. 'Free enterprise' economics favours the firm which pollutes or otherwise externalises its costs. And even if a big firm cannot make money like this, it knows how to squeeze government, as did Chrysler.

So we campaign for a range of measures: direct grants or subsidies to socially productive industry, or services in kind (free sites, trainingservices, etc); effective controls on pollution, waste dumping, road transport, raw materials, and non-renewable energy. These measures would put non-polluting, decentralised industry at less of a disadvanta e relative to the industrial nasties. (We have now come round to demanding pollution control as a job creator!) Income redistribution would mean less demand for luxuries, and more for social production. Selective import controls would protect against nasties abroad and might also encourage goods from countries like Tanzania.

We also call for a concept of 'economic viabilityBwhich takes into account social costs; and we justify the right kind of subsidies on the grounds of dole money saved, road traffic, health and problems reduced, etc.

We concentrate on specific, positive, constructive proposals.This has an inherent popular.appeal in an age dominated by moaning or doom-predicting pundits (whether from the CBI, TUC or Festival of Light) and narrow REFERENCES economism. Proiects concerned with 1. There is no shortage of literature pointing such issues as the quantity and quality out how and whv the modern profit and of employment, with socially-useful growth-motivated production system exploits both manand nature: but two 'musi production, with environmental welfare, my opinion are The Closing Circle' by with the size and control of institutions-Ñ%> -if in Barry Commoner (Jonathan Cape) and strike a chord with many people. çs"'+ 'Socialism & The Environment' by Colin It i s possible that the developments Stoneman and others (Spokesman Books). we are talking about could be implement-2. Detailed reiearch evidence presentedin thi US publication Environmentalists for Full ed on a wide scale without fundamental Employment (1785 Massachusetts Ave, N. social and political changes: the ripples Washington DC). Issue No 2 shows how may not turn into waves, but simply fade little employment is created by energy away after smoothing the most disturb generation relative to almost any other industry or service; how legislation'muire ing features o f capitalism. But if t h i s refundable deposits on bottles led to a net strategy gets a significant number of in in employment;how the same was t n people involved, engaged in democraticf r many other environmental and pollutii ally controlled productive activity, control measures; how public transport satisfying the needs of their own c ~ r n - ~ &creates ~ ~ more ~ jobs than private and road munities making demands on the state *ansport;and many other well researched examples. for resources and for political and 3.

The SERA Transport Group Report and tl economic changes t o facilitate their . SE London SERA report 'What Jobs' are particular initiatives, then the conse3 ¥availablat 1 5 each, ~ post free quences could be quite revolutionary. ,È._,,,^ Details of SERA, and the publications Look at some possible implications mentioned can be obtained from Tony for the motor industry, for example, perhaps the commanding height of the 312 DevOnshire Rd, london SE23. Tel01-699 1464. Membership costs , modern economy'. only £2

1

.

-

Gx

-

Radio ather brought home our first telly in 1963. Abandoned, the wireless gathered coffee-rings in a corner, and Pop, after attaching i 6d meter t o the side o f the TV, abandoned us too (in spirit that s). No more family gatherings over steaming cocoa to listen to rhe Archers or journey into Space - the rot had set in. Skipping he next bit (14 years) we rejoin the story as the radio reappears: vhat better way t o pass the day, between the interviews and ejection slips? After a brief bout o f promiscuous flirtation Radios One, Two, Three & Capital), I have returned t o my irst love.. . that everyday story o f countryfolk, (Radio 4).

Which didn't, at first, seem to have changed at all: the voices )f Doris & Dan (now 140 and 132) may have altered over the 'ears, the lines have not. But the lesson o f 1966, when Lilian's llegitimate offspring (or was it Jennifer's) sent listening figures o an all-time high, has not been forgotten. Life in/on the village/ 'arm i s Not What I t Was, and i f you can sit through milk fever, heep scab and Jethro's gums, i t becomes clear that even Ambridge ias i t s seamier side. Sid plans sheep's-head dinners t o attract the Arabs, Shula hunts on the dole, Sid & Polly are having trouble vith squatters, and the Voice o f Freedom seems t o have been orever silenced with the resignation o f Simon Parker from the iorchester Echo. But do Jill's attempts to preserve the hedges .nd Jennifer's Jacobs (the four-horned variety) signify a new lirection for the Ambridge farming community?

Self-Sufficient Farming (Radio 4) has turned out t o be another me of those Life in the Country Is One Big Load o f Fun pro,rammes. We have now heard the sounds o f corn being threshed .nd butter being pounded: Next week, to quote Radio Times, we liscuss with Major Smedley Sweeney the kinds o f equipment you ieed to be truly self-sufficient. No doubt we will hear that in ction, too.

Hedgerows cropped up again. The Vole, a new ecological nagazinc, comes out this autumn, and Editor-elect Richard ioston, of The ~uardianand Real Beer, will be discussing the lifficulties o f reconciling two worthy aims: our desire t o be selfufficient i n food, which means larger more 'efficient' farms, .nd our desire to save our vanishing wildlife, which means preservng every bit o f hedge and woodland we've got. Perhaps someone hould tell him. All this and Robin Hanbury-Tenison's trip t o iarawak (Good Luck Robin) t o advise on forest conservation hese, and similar curiosities, are occasionally to be found on 'Mat 5PM (Radio 4), filling the space between the headlines.

To judge by the News, Britons continue t o worry about the Iconomy: the effects o f strikes on the Economy, o f the budget in the Economy, o f wage demands on the Economy.. while he Rest of the World provides but a few entertaining disasters: he odd hijack and minor earthquake. What o f the recent decision if the German High Court on nuclear power station construction, nd the fuss over the nuclear deal with Brazil? What o f the local lections in France, and, most importantly, the 'Green' party in 'aris? Barely a mention have I heard. Except on the BBC World ervice, where the Rest O f The World has at least some ontologial status.

If the BBC World Service is the most overrated underrated tation on the air (everyone recommends i t few actually listen), i e real candidate for underrated station must the LBC ('Where lews Comes First') where a GLC man has been heard to utter i e now-Establishment formula 'Small-is-beautiful'. Phone-in lows are just possibly a genuine service t o the community, and ertainly by now an institution. Not all, however, are o f the ime standard. On LBC, Brian Hayes' practice o f opposing the iews o f his callers o f f e n at least a chance o f genuine discussion: point that Radio London's limp and generally assenting Dave

.

Simmonds mieht have noted bv now. Between nine and five Radio ond don is about as exciting as a wet potato: an inferior concoction o f LBC, Radio One and Woman's Hour. Why not try the Real Thing (R.4)? You might have heard Shirley Abicair, after being reminded that she once owned a zither, admit that she now grows mushrooms in it. The Complete Urban Farmer was n o t as complete as we thought.

Marine vollution -1 hose who can't make up their minds about the reprocessing o f

nuclear waste at Windscale might like t o ponder on the fate of the Cavtat. As a result o f a collision this ship sank in 1974 in the narrow sea between Italy and Jugoslavia and since then has been the cause o f bitter dissension among those two countries and the British shippers of the cargo. I t was carrying 900 drums o f highly toxic lead alkyls used as anti-knock compounds in petrol. Some say that i t was also rtfnning contraband and arms t o Jugoslavia and that the captain deliberately sank the ship after the accident rather than risk asecond brush with the Italian authorities over his smuggling activities. This intriguing sub-plot has not, of course, figured in the self-justifying handout issued

by Associated Octel, who were shipping the drums to the petrol industry o f Jugoslavia.

But there is no need to speculate about arms smuggling as a reason for the reluctance o f the two countries and the company to accept responsibility, (the Italians claimed at first that the ship was in Jugoslav waters, the Jugoslavs that it was in Italian; the company washed its hands o f the whole business), for there i s enough t o worry about in the next decade with those900 lethal drums at the bottom of the Adriatic. So far only one drum o f those on deck, in the hold or scattered on the sea-bed has been recovered. A t 95 metres, retrieval, especially o f those i n the hold, is, as the company has said, 'difficult and possibly dangerous'.

Salvage of the entire ship is thought impossible. Covering i t with cement t o prevent leakage has been rejected for the time being as too expensive (up t o Ă&#x201A;ÂŁ million, say the company), and toe uncertain in its efficacy.

So unless the Italians change their minds as a result of the salvage o f the one drum, the ship is likely t o remain on the sea-bed with the drums gradually releasing their contents. They are substantial containers, o f steel plate 2.5 mm thick, sprayed with zinc and painted; the company estimate that they will corrode and release their contents, in about ten years. As this will not happen t o all the drums at the same time the lead will leak away gradually and the 130 tons o f it will be an insignificant proportion o f the 24000 tons estimated t o be already in the Adriatic.

As for the fish, the company says they will swim away (do the fish know that?), and there will be no harm done t o marine life or to human life on the coast. They point t o another similar accident t o a ship called the Seafarer o f f the coast o f South Africa some years ago, where no ill effects were reported.

But however reassuring Associated Octel are, the incident is a poor omen for the transport o f irradiated waste and plutonium to and from Italy and Japan. There are differences o f course.

The amount of toxic material in one waste shipment would be much less than that (some 250 tons in all) carried in the Cavtat, though, o f course, much more lethal. The waste flasks weigh several tons and would, one assumes, take longer, perhaps twenty years, to corrode through, but i f i t i s difficult t o raise the Cavtat's tiny drums the prospect o f detaching the flasks from their cooling equipment in the hold and bringing them up must surely give divers nightmares. On the other hand it is fair t o say that should an accident attend a waste ship then much more effort would be made t o raise it. But there are limits t o present diving

technology, and one would like t o think that a ship could be raised even from the deepest waters.

With the seas getting more and more crowded (like Oxford Streetin the tourist season, some o f them) as the result o f such essential activities as carrying Japanese cars t o Britain cars t o japan, and with the number o f flask-journeys rising from 1000 in 1980 t o 15,000 by the year 2000 (the nuclear industry's figures), the chances o f an accident must be high. If

oh pn

@@

"^a

such a massive and sustained discharge; like Flixborough kveso such accidents don't happen till they do, then no-one is found to have thought o f the consequences.

And perhaps the most disquieting aspect o f the Cavtat is the ease with which all the parties, governments

Radiological Protection Board, ostensibly for our protection, inevitably has for its first duty the protection o f its own industry, the first consideration of B.N.F.L. would be t o the operations in which its intellectual and financial capital is tied up, rather than t o someone else's shores or marine life. It may be that the safest place, if the stuff i s safe anywhere, is underground and watched over, rather than on the high seas at the mercy o f any bit o f slapdash navigation or unexpected b i t o f bad weather. A lot has been made o f the difficulties o f looking after the waste and rightly so, or o f the dangers o f hijacking,

there is some

The.answer is to be found tucked away in thefootnotes. Ă&#x201A;ÂĽ--A

Me*--*

.

survey of travel behaviour, r one mile excluded? ntetviewer details of walks under on the tot day of die

-

nt these short walks?-

.

2-.3.,e-,

-. +.-s-.:,

=

.'AH of which leaves a b

-

Undercurl

Building Co-ops.

A STUDENT of architecture at Cambridge wants to contact all building co-ops (past and present) in Britain, with the aim of producing a directory forcirculation -, amongst them. He hopes to identify the common problems - which seem to be coping with capital, growth and size, and the present slump in the industry - and make comparisons with-the mature cooperatives in France, Spain, Yugoslavia and elsewhere. . Since he is writing the study for a School of Architecture, he is also keen to contact designers in the field. This will enable him to evaluate the potential for involving the designer as an integral part of building production, and the administrative problems thrown up by the present system to this.

Anthony Chamley, 28 Bateman Street, Cambridge, CB2 1NB.

'Resource' Co-op WEST CUMBRIA RESOURCE CO-OPERATIVE W C R O has recently been set up (using ICOM model rules) with the aim of enabling work opportunities. From September they will have available 3000 square feet of industrial space, in two separate units. One is a factory at present being built for them in Egremont under the auspices of the Economic Develop ment Committee of Cumbria County Council, and the other is a self-contained unit they will be leasing in the old brewery in Cleator Moor.

What WCRC need now is finance to purchase machinery; the expertise to develop and market a product; and people with the managerial skills necessary to develop a viable industry.

They are therefore convening a conference - hopefully in June and inviting organisations such as the Manpower Seivices Commission, Department of Trade, Department of Employment, trade unions, claimants unions, industrialists, local councillors, further education institutions and voluntary agencies.

The final result: hopefully a community founded, co-operatively managed, Industrial enterprise, manufacturing products of social benefit.

Teny Collins, WCRC, 81 Hi Street, Cleator Moor,Cumbria CA25 S8L

'Support' A GROUP of people with architectural and building skills who wish to promote socially responsible work in architecture, building, housing and planning have formed a new organisation called 'Support*.

The group say that 'Support' is designed to help 'community organisations, pressure groups, advice and law centres, and individuals - many of which represent low income people

'

1; The Making 4, the latest edition of our Directory o f Co-operative Projects, is selling fast - so if you haven't seen i t yet, now is the time to send for your copy (see subscription rates below).

Projects featured on this page are ones we've just heard about More will be in the first supplement to I T M 4, which is now being compiled. If you are involved in starting a project and would like an entry in the supplement, please write to us. We are looking for articles too: on any issue related to co-operatives/self-management/common ownership, or giving practical info about setting up ptojem.

intensively stocked witn pe Jersey cows, pigs and chick on outdoor;'low building cuat systems. The full potential of comfrey, to replace bought in concentraterations, will be fully exploited in order to maintain the animals' diet at highly productive level, comparable with orthodox farming where first class proteins are used to produce (via animals) f u t h first class proteins. .

At present, they are tackling the problems of what to do with bull calves, a large acreage of pea land and the need to produce extremely high quality winter fodder in a high rainfall area.

Experiments are being done with numerous different crops for animals and humans. They are willing to try any A.T. which can be applied to electricity and water pumping on the farm. The have endless supplies of timber and peat for all hbuse fuel needs.

The plan is t o start a dairy to manufacture milk into yoghui cottage cheese and cream, and to open a shop in Kilkenny to provi an outlet for these and other mil products, farm produced eggs, grain, fruit and vegetables from their garden and orchard;and home slaughtered meat; They are always in need of WWOOFERS(!) short and longterm - any volunteers?

Charlotte Colchester, Diumee Islands, Urhgford, C a Kilkenny Eire.

Brum FOE who have difficulty in finding sympathetic expert help, particularly when the design and construction of buildings are concerned'. A lot of ITM projects should qualify. &,~,,,,rt fm@nrofessionals7 to work on particula~projectsand organise discussions between experts and lay people aboutproblems such as finding funds for professional help, developing skills such as participatory design, the need for social chance and the need to demystify profekionalism, Support aims to 'increase t h e knowledge and self-confidence of groups, rather than build up a position of protective expertise reinforcing existing professional institutions.

More information about the group and their current projects and a few thought-provoking ideas too - can be found in their first newsletter available from: Suovort. CIerkenwU Workshops,27 cierkenwu CI MS, London EC1.

..

Women's Co-op TEESIDE COMMUNITY PRESS have been a women's coop and community press since September 1 Q76. The Press was

established 6 years ago and is the only community Press in Manchester. It is a non-profit making group which belongs to ICOM. They do a lot of work for the Women's Movement and also print for local community groups and organisations.

They use an offset litho machine which prints A3, A4 or A5 size pbster, pamphlets, leaflets etc. At the moment they have only one full-time worker and a voluntar~support group but they do hope to be employing more people in the future. They intend to start taking samples of their work out from thefress to show people what's involved and hopefully to encourage them t o write and print things for their particular organisations.

Since they started they have attracted quite a few women .;who have visited them to learn the printing process, includinw from Norway who want to start a women's press there. . Teeside Community Press, (Women's CO-OD^.21a Princess Road, ~ a n c h e s & r14. Tel: 061-226 7115.

Drumeen Islands THIS 60-ACRE FARM is organically and biodynamicaliy ran. The hope is that it will be

FRIENDS OF THE EARTH ill Birmingham seem to have a lo1 going for them on the 'alternathn scene'. One of their latest project involves a recycling centre - to include bike workshop, woodwork shop, wholefood warehoua and someoffices - run on cooperative lines. Hopefully the centre wiU produce sufficient surplus to pay several people and to support an 'urban AT centre', relevant to urban people's needs.

They'll be needing helpers, so you live in Birmingham and are interested - get in touch.

FOE BRUM, 6 Pasaey Road, Birmingham B13 9 N C

Community Co-op THE DURHAM COMMUNIT CO-OP has now been operating for six months. They sell fruit ant veg (with dftcount for OAP's) and the profits go towards financ ing expansion - they hope to bu; a vehicle and set up a trucking co-op. They also have a books section with a wide range of radical books, magazines and pamphlets. The aim of the coop: 'we are trying to interest peopk in radical ideas and opportunities, and of course action,via the basic services we are producing!

The Workers, 85 New Elvet, Durham City, Co Durham.

Undercurrents

Patriarchal Society is beginning to crumble. Many women today are realising that they k t find their own way as women. They cannot afford t o do otherwise. Woman's

Evolution gives women an understanding of their past and will enable them t o move Forward into the future with confidence. During Evelyn Reed's recent visit to Britain I asked her some questions relating to her book and t o her views spoken from the piatform: duction' because the ct&talists have What period of prehistory does raped our landandresourcesfustas they Woman's Evolution cover? have raped the working people who The 'maternal clan system' of social produce their wealth. We are going to organisation (LewisMorgan's term) is get rid of these rapists, and then move popularly known as 'matriarchy'. This onto even bigger and better forms o f system covers the first million years of production - minus all the junk that is human history; i t developed out of the now produced by the profiteering was 'maternal brood'in the animal world andevolved through all stages of Its makers. progress through the 'hunting-gathering' 1 Do you understand why women epoch, reaching its highest peak in the been so silent about something as p first agricultural period about 8,000 tially lethal as nuclear power - is it years ago. Then came Its rapid decline sign that women have become so far 4 removed from the earth and from their md extinction with the advent of civilisation. We can trace its former past?

The frightening thing about nuclear existence through the survivals that remained in existence in more remote power isn't nuclear power but the profiteering capitalists who own and control comers o f the world up to the 79th it, uqd can da-what they will with it for century, with q few even in the 20th thejrprofits, not for the good o f the Cmmp people. I think working men and women The inability of most men (and some are gradually becoming aware of the women) to accept even the possibility dangers of leaving @ispower in the of a matriarchy is comparable with the hands o f absolutely untrustablepeopte. inability of most men to listen seriously Do you see women in the future being to women today. Is it,perhaps, a sign able t o form a new 'women's society' of the latent fear that men feel towards women? where, as i n matriakchies, there m i d be n w n e in power?

The-Ideathat there was a time - and bm4 10 the m ~ t f l w We are a very long period of time - when women chy; that period' is extinct*. We are going were the leaders and 'femalegovernesses' forward to a new egalitarian and corn&society threatens to overthrow the favourite myths propagated by the capstatist rulers and their spokesmen. &'sue thatprivate property and class divistons hew always existed and that women haveMs-been subordlnate to , men. Most men-feelthreatened by the 10x5of their male softremacy, which will be discarded along with alt the other baggage of capitalism. Being totatty uhPortugal, The Impossible Rev accustomed even to the idea of & ~ l i t y , by Philip Mailer, (Solidarity), they fear that what women mtIS . .. £2.95 a reverse deal - femqte supremacy e r Those of you who read the insi men. It will take time to re-educate-them. foreign pages o f newspapers might 0 As resources are becoming scarcer dimly aware that something has there is every indication that production happeningin Portugal over the las as it is today will have to change tosubthree years. This book charts and sistence production. As a socialist d o you envisage such a change or do you stilt analyses the country's developme from the heady daysof April 1974 see the feminist socialist struggle p women participating fully in production when a SQWD of &my officers wereven ifthey would be producinguseless threw.& fascistdktatwihip which.'- 'i. !commodities fw.a cons . .... ffre notgoingto

.+-

-

a<.* -.; ... . >,,;,,a fe.-^.?t.-'-?.,-È,^si**- ...

.\

munal society on a much higher level than the past, and i& name is socialist Women will olav a very Important pa, In the creating of this i e w k i e t y . A J socialist I say that women cannot wir, full equality short o f winning a new socialist society, but I also say that we won't win such a society without masses , of women participating and even leading In it.

0 Spinning, weaving, knitting, crocheting, sewing are women's work and are called crafts. When Ispoke to some . alternative technology men about 'crafts' also being alternative technology they refused t o agree. I had insulted their technical intelligence. Can you pinpoint a time when different attitudes t o women' work and men's work appeared and how is it ever going to change? , In tapltalls society men predominate in ah realms technology; by the same token they also predominate in movemen& for alternative technology. Women are supposed to be the homemakers, despite the fact that they are entering the workforce in such vast numbers.

There was no inequality in primitive society despite the different kinds o f work done by women and men. All the members were equally provided for by the able-bodied members of the communiti~s.The 'sex role' attitudes about women's work and men's work come about when women were relegated to the home, doing the 'home' work while men did the social, cultural and intellectual work. This will change when we get rid o f this oppressive soc/et)/and with it all discrimination against women.

Fiona Cantell

^

-

*20& &atury forms of matriarchies me ~ ~ ~ ~ and (he new generations In kibbutzim who now to ou&i& (hdkiw,,t& w~ a tom of exogamy, the c m a n y i m in a matriarchy.

*,,I

-

I'

ed events of November 1975, whic stabilised the government as a socia democracy of'the Western Europea type. DuringThose eighteen months there was revolutionary ferment, with attempted coups and countercoups, rumoured or real, factory and farm occupations, and a substantial politicisation o f most people in a country which had previously sei ed quiescent and apathetic. .

The essence of the book iscontain ed in an irritated footnote right at t h e end, which, commenting on an 'expla

,

Undoubtedly Lisbon was an exciting. ace to be during those eighteen, ..-,ç¥ ,q s onths, but despite his attempts the democracy. The+kction%which&rt rthor has not managed to put the city held for a constituent assembly m the IIT the context o f Portugal as a whole, middle o f thisprrwrfgwe a solid particularly with the complete social m&-Pf@ for social democrats over the -contrast between north and south, left, even i n the south, and these. probably more extreme than i n ttaly, results were rhore or less repeated in w h i c h bedevilli:d any attempt to rule the elections after 'normalisation', t h e country. The north (an area of when the vote for the conservative small peasant farmers, little industrialparty increased at the expense of the isation, and a solid hierarchical social centre, but the vote fo the left remained the same. I agree that votes cannot catch a mood - feelings have t o be translated into a set of rigid categories which often bear little relation t o the Where class conflict was open and percei~edsituation but t h e issue has to be faced for the author's thesis

that the revolution was killed by its own supporters.

Where the book i s excellent i s in its analysis of the ambiguous role of the armed forces, whose involvement in a futile colonial war triggered the revolution i n the first place, and who ,never quite knew whÈt't dowith it afterwards as the initiative passed out of their hands. Th%ordinary soldiers' confusion caused many of the contra- _ dictory and bewildering shifts in events, as the army hierarchy persjsted alongside calls for proletarian solidarity and the leaders continued t o manipulate them for their own

-

reports on mergers, economic concentration, cartels, pricing-in steel, car, drug and bread industries, suppression of new technologi6s and so on. His FTC Staff .Report on The International Petroleum Cartel (1952) immediately became the guide for outsiders, particu,

assertions. Sampson resorted t o 'describing in human terms'some of the same story, using much material preViously written by Blair but excising the sustained critical force which the latter directed not against the men involved, but against structures and

-

.

Iran, and proceeds t o show how, ' . by of cartel arrangements . kt up in most of the world's consuming countries, the major international oil countries secured control over most of

: means of a web

*-

3 --w

-

it snappy tket o f the majors. ,Part111 is recent history. Libya ; i s first Libya avoided both coup 16boycott by hating wrth the majors it giving most concessions to indepensnts who had an interest in maximum itput w d getting from iftese ( articurty Occidental) a better did ah die ajors would give. The next chapter is 1out4heinternational majors' classic o~opolisticpractice of crippling dependent competition in marketing I refusing to supply them at any price hilethey engaged in price competition wn conks the1973 price rise and e media scare about the 'shortage" hich never hmoened. Blair uoints out at consumer government (ik.Kissinhopes that OPEC would coliapse cored.& fact that the countries and e companies producing oil had the me interests. He showed that ajorsin order toretain the sy 'control of the last fifty years, e lead in restricingOPEC prod 1975 to prevent independent mies fromforcing prices down. ithoutthen) ' ..OPEC would indeed' we brokendown, and oil priceswould / be fallen sharply'. Moreover ' . the . temaflonal majors.. .. raised the'profit @f~.'targetrate of return' which .'' regard as appropriate'j'and they . lifted the point'of profit upstream. . ittte~sideration wasgiven by either &.OPEC countries or the.major. .;. unpanies to the broad qmomic and cialconsequenceso f -their &ens. ;:' .. . mining away the foreign (xx~ptties'. feign exchangebalmc@, aggravating ., serinus worldwide recession. arid im!&ting the monetary basis world a&. At some time in the not too slant future the consuming countries ftt be forced to abandon their reliance

Photography by Richard Greenhill, Margaret Murray and jo Spence (Macdonald Educational), 96pp, £1.00 This compact touc-de-fwce coven the ethical, pictorial and technical aspects of photographic picture making. ' The authors have the true experts' kriack of presenting each topic so that you wonder why thehell you didn't um^tan$ it befiore -^it's all so simple;

Â

once YW e y e s h a v e

The kctiow on 'Advertising' and

- 'Ways of Emphasis' demonstrates how,

,

though the camera may not lie, the photographer can by directing your attention almost imperceptibly to what

,

she (or he) wants you to see using props, lighting, differential focus or sequences.

Needless to say, these are all superbly illustrated, with over 100 black andwh' '2Qcolmr ~ h o t wand , dozens of diagrams.

Whether you use a box camera or a Nippon Zoom-0-Matic reflex your pictures will be better after reading this book;but if you don't have a camera at all, you should still read it for the insightit will give you into'tkway advertising, fashion and news photograph,. ek work.

Dave Kanner.

sf)

.

..

'

,

.

,-

'

of

tries wduld halt

1

'

- ,#Witin), kstead'of'@'by Terence 243pp. Â1-00. t

consultant to OECD in Paris, i s a large "collectionof foreign examples.

1 was particularly interested by a scheme in Delft where pedestrian prior ity i s achieved attertain junctions by the simple expedient of having a continuous pedestrian pavement beside th(

of the mini-tram's rejection in a public consultation exercise in Sheffield and

ite his enthusiasm for tech-

ing that the real owners of the land ari not yet bofn'). It pays a lot o f attentii to the enormities of the Grand jury system in the US and to variousurban guerrilla movements. There are articles on Spain, alleging that anarchism there is 'growing like mushrooms after rainfall' and on Portugal, where 'the restoration of State power and the installation o f the social democratic order that exists today was in large part the responsibility o f the vanguard, elitist and sectarian Revolutionary left whitt ti& and time again interfered with and manipulated the true revolutionary

-

In the fourteenth title i n this useful

an that there are more than forty fferent varieties of tomatoes and that

certainlysocial rafter than there's nothing wrong with the machine, jut file way i n which people are, or* aren't using it Its 26ft brick tower was built by Structural Clay Products, who have recently published a 32-page illustrated booklet describing the windmill in detail. This is an interesting addition ' to the literature on windmill cons.ti-uc- + - 'i , tion, and can be had for £from SCP, 230 High Street, Potters Bar, Herts.

I n the light of the National Front's antics on St George's Day, the Penguin reissue o f R" hard Grunberger's Socia/ History o f t e Third Retch is timely.

History may be bunk, as Mr Ford said, but it has ~JI uncanny knack of repeatand mangrove home . i n Mf,and many o f the circumstances ¥f-s-$?::¥4 . surrounding the end of the Weimer Lamu: Asto@& Conservationby folkow the impact of Western influence.

Republic are analogous to our own GddaJI, (Cast African L i t e r a m k t adheres to its &d ways; the narrow situation. Worth £1.7 for sentences Bureau, Nairobi)184 pages, 2 colour pedeltrian streets are unpolluted by dates, 87 illustrations, / - like 'Repeating parrot-like arguments of motor dehi&, 4 life flows outfrom This is &pioneeringwork (Iwas , ,the houses into the thoroughfares authoritarian conservatism which' increasingly lacked relevance toevents, reminded of Hasan Fathy's 'Architecture -fostering that sense of c6mmunity wwhavqm singular^ tost in most ' the had remained obdurately opposed to the Repub&.'

- Penguin*h ~ ~ k ~ s t p a p e r b a ~ i k e d ~ - tK GaÈbtgrt s Money at 95p for 335 inii<h. Until recentty such * .

Pages. It is a tour-de-farce of show-off writing, it makes Bernard Levin seem have seemed misdirected, particularly like &candidate for adult literary classes to Hie Western mind, for, with the by companion, and is well worth reading exception o f Mesapotaria ipd-Ancient , that. I n addition there is a tot justfor Egypt, thesercountrieswere not^*+ - of useful m a r i a l about (none@ id aptace in the architectural schema <.' @lu@s recomdndations for devetopmatters. although it4approach^ worthy o f conservation. ' recentbistoty the content gets more . . ' mekt and reeve1q-t.

It outlids The book is based on a planning study commissiopd by the K w * m a r e s (plannfageuium~ US orientated and k r e ~afdiarfcofthe author*^pedonaf intefests. But as .and.bye laws) meant to encourage bernment'arid undertaken by Usam Galbrai h says, 'It is to the dollarthat : tourism but which at the same time Shaidan, Architect, assisted by a the hist ry o f money comes. It isas++% ITSOplinatygroup. Us subject is the, , p$iectAestnicture o f the town the doltar that, for the moment, fte Bfteerilh-century, in-shore islantUpwn a$% ÇlffaaRsyste 'from the adverse ' history of money ends.'

Also, it'twijrth if Lamu on the m a n g d I k d , 'coral effect of mass -by&&“EÈ (WW , wst of North Kenya The town l a p " is ihustrated with eÈÈCharrtings1ceteh ' bow the bbd.(Saftrgie's eon- . yiction that aq!one'canunderstand the pew into a major trading centre, but (there are over.20 beautrftel pen a d . intricacies of rodney works at;surprisi R perspectiverf and the recornmendi a ~ , f othe r last fifty ywfl or so, been , , n ingly welt, .ft ftis case, pdually declining. ed designs are simple, and fonn a ' The paperback o f Tony Banyan's Lamu overlooks the Indian ~ c e k , perfect fit with the existing low Political Police in Britain has now come -.

A xr which sail the ships carrying the energy fabric. out, published by Quartet at £2.5 goods (mangrove poles) which it trades. , I n the cwn&s of ~sia;~^tica =: Fhidis made possibleby die fortunate aid Latin America t h e à ˆ ? a tendency . (reviewed i n Underwrren~16). The titemat'ron i n the monsoon w i n d s . ' M ~ - to apply western solutions to.local . text i s somewhat updated and is, in ' ~fthe inhabitants,of the town or their ,' -problems of human seatemertfÂ¥fo generatj one O f those essential works. ineestors, derived from Arabia, .with which these tot always Ifyou 'haven't got the hardbads we L* suggest you race out pretty qukk,for which most of this commerce is stitl ..suited. tf 4s heartening to see $pro' . this edition -at least i t w i l l he@* ; fessiond statement which% tmts arriedon. With the immigrantsca&e heir religion, Islam, and much in @e . adopt an air o f erudition down at the awareness on.thepartof o f these nick tf they come for you. slamic wadition; but thereevolved , po ..

Intermediate ~edwiology~ublications Lamu a civilisation havingaAaracter . have brought ou.t an annotated biblior f . t e a w , @ t l e g s t b r e a p e e f ~ à ‡ .':' w h y Methane Gwenstion by Anoeroproblems01 solutions t o cur* urban grow* : bkfwwwtatlon,w\wd £1.5 plus 30p P&p from I T Publications, 9 King Street, Frank Andrew Nedir

-

Lamu

^

-% *--S&k&

.

-

~

cross

0

s3

.

-

.

-

-

'

W1W

,+

.

I-

.ondon, WC2. It is primarily intended or those operating small digesters in he Third World, Not very interesting s a general read, but a most useful eference work for activists. And just dived in England is the new edition if the Apprap[iate Technology Sourcgook by KenDarrow and Rick Pam. Volunteers in Asia, Box 4543, Stanord, Ca 945305, USA. Price $4, or 2,to local groups in the Third World. t is available in ttie UK from I T bbiications for £2.5 plus 65p p&p.) t i s a comprehensive and up-to-date lirefctory and, for an American book, arprisingly radical.

New Age Access is a friendly bunch of people {n.Norttiumberland vho seem to be enjoying their revoluion like it ought t o be and are, accordng to their covering letter, 'in a growth ituation'. They have a couple of self~ublishedtitles, Wind Over Matter, an itrductidn to the ins'n'outs of wmdlower (costs 25'p including p&p, and rorth it for the Gustav Dore engraving if Don Quixote tilting at windmills) nd One Mans Munch, which is a ollective recipe book o f organic goodis like banana bread, funky flapjacks, hocolate spice cake conspiracy and ~ t mok. s The 1976 edition o f the itter is now out o f print, but a new me is promised. Write to them at PO lox 4, Hexham, Northumberland, for [lore details. .

Cartoon comics are a seriously called Red House, but it seems t o h&e underdeveloped culture in Britain; gone missing, so maybe someone out American imports still dominate the there could send us another one, please. market and, more importantly, still Slate (40p from NAM, 9 Poland St. dominate the ethos. Sometime Stories London W1) is the organ of the New is a piece of tongue-in-cheek chauvinism Architecture Movement which seeks, with the motto 'Britain Hits Back', and . among other things, the unionisation deserves the attention o f all anarchicallyof salaried architects to achieve minded patriots who need pictures to 'architectural practice directly accounthe1 mread.

(This includes most of able to all who use its products and democratically controlled by the us!). It's a fairly typical goulash of apocalypse; popular cutture and selfyT-E-? workers within it'. And Support (apparodydrawn by Brett Ewim and patently free from 46 Church Road, Brendan McCarthy, and costs 45p from London NW10) i s the newsletter of a Hourglass Publishing, 26 Hillgate St, group of architects desirous o f socially London W8. We found them at the 'useful work and alternatives to the Festival for Mind and Body, o f all places. current professional set-up. But they These hallowed pages are far fro say 'we also have to explain that the the right place t o review fully Rider architect and other professional memPaperback's two recent works on th bers are bound up by law to work to iWphh; W a r , The Boots of Splendour a minimum fee scale. We may not agree with it, but we arenot yet confident ed'ttejf by-@dwm G Scholem (£1.75 and A Kobbalktic Unlveias, by Z'ev ben enough to pick fights with bodies like ShimonHilkd for the few . the RIBA'. Which is a little disappointing specialists who read fhe.-tna&.the former considering what a bunch o f constipated one is a good seteetfonaf rdh@ftoiw old toads the RIBA is. (No offence of the most important and inaccesa'bte intended t o i r r e ~ l aelderly r amphibians.)

Kabbalistic Texts, and thelatter i s a After a lorn)&fay there has been cosmological perspective- the ope^another i h e umber 6) of Humpty tion of the Tree o f Life. &@I are writ Dumpty, whi is a radical mental heaim worth a glance if you are into it,but magazine. This issue is mostly about the tatter, in particular, is pretty heavy politics and therapy, and costs 30p plus going.

1Op postage from 32 Parkholme Road, There has been a flutter o f activity London E8. Highly recommended t o on the radical architecture front hi the anyone interested in the personal growth last few months. We receivedamag movement

$£5,^

{£%a)

.

SCHOOL OF ARCHITECTURE BUILDING AND CIVIL ENGINEERING 2 appointments in Alternative Technology

*-

Senior Lecturer Bill Williams; Problemsof e andBill Gutterage. of more than thirty units and more details

Liberal Studiesin Science,

Salary £5,03145,95 (Bar) £6,41 Totake over as tutor of the group. Applicants should be disciplines and should have of Alternative Technology i

COPENHAGEN £2 plus worldwide economy travel f Art Commerce

SMALL ADS -

COMMUNITY

--

-

\

Undercurrents 2.2.

:= --.

- , 2p per word; Box Nos 50p. Copydate for No 23 i s June 22.

Please send copy and replies to Box Nos to our London office < .-

WE WOULD like t o contact people interested in startme a

HAPPENINGS

WE A R E t w o people a n d three children who want t o move awav

ETCETERA PRIMAL ther Y in aobmun-, ennronxnent. %nd personal d e w to Box PS.

PUBLICATIONS 'FIRST HAND; FIRST RATE' five dozen recipes and ideas a n d

gardening hinf for truly economi-

!EARE LOOKING for a famU to ve in the cottage on our farm. We h o W t an arrangement such as rcuk in return for rent might be IK.We have a 1 fawn on this nail ~dund (poti^So) We litre m e k i d i 6 4&d 2 andteach iem ounft~&sWe would like somene to d>are inour 'educationti ro'ect' probably people interniti in mlt¥mttictencas e n ~ ycasual ork Is available on the Idxnd.

cal living Le. within life supporting cycles and free of ex loitation ~f other men and of a d n a b . 40p Post tree Venn Society Dept F

47 Hishkuds Road, L e ~ k e ~ e i w i Surrey.

-

mniland Far

9-Y Orkney.

Pel. Rouny 27 )

1 For various reasons it is still difficult to o of our two distributors the number of frien certain of your copy of Undercurrents, ho door fresh off the presses every two months dm---

------------

PS, although thanks to the brave efforts sing.

The only way to &ke h will bring each new edition to your

-------

.---------

+ 9 &

:,y

1

0 I'd like a suoscriptionto Undercurrents beginning with issue number ........... If airmail, tick here 0 I'd like the following back issues of Underewrents tabs

posted to me. If airmail tick here

1 I* I I

I I I

UBSC :

I

8

9

10

11

12

13

14

1

16

16

17

18

19

20

21

I

I >

...................

NAME............................................ .."...........................

ADDRESS .....................................................................

I enclose chequelpostal order for :

COUNTRY ........................................DATE ................4.

Send this form to Undercurrents Subscriptions, 1 1 Shadwell, Uley, Dursley, Gloucestershire, England.

I I I

I

I I I

1

I

I I I

I

*-8

ANNUAL SUBSCRIPTION 7 .' g-3 British Isles * %sf *.-$ £3.0 c . £3.6 Overseas Surface Mail . " <k .

USA & Canada (Airfreight) 57.50 5h-e ez --Ã A : ' $ s > - '-.

AIRMAIL Europe. t.xgjy>',$ £5.4 Zone A (Middle East, North Africa) ff " £6.0 . yz £6.3 "Zone B (Africa, Asia) Zone C (Australia, Japan, Latin America) £6.9 SINGLE COPY RATES The current issue & all Air Mail orders cost one-sixth of the subscription rate. Back numbers will be ~ ~ D D l i e d world-wide by surface mail at our special cut &ice rate (see opposite).

-& .

AS

.

FOUNDATION FOR ALTERNATIVES

July 4 tcH6 THE SHAPE OF THINGS TO . COME. A Summer School at Lower Shaw Farm. Topics to include Health, Education, Business Organisation, Energy, Co-counselling.

SUMMER EVENTS

August 8 to 18

.:.-

THEORY AND PRACTICE OF NON-VIOLENCE

August 20 to SKILLS EXCHANGE September 3

,

Detailsfrom Dick Kitto, Lower 'Â¥*, Shaw Farm, Shaw, Swindon, WiltsTel: 0793 771080.

1

For details of these two events contact Stan Windass, Rookery North, Adderbury, Oxon.

Tel: 0295 810706.

FOUNDATION FOR ALTERNATIVES

SUMMER EVENTS

Finding

urrents

This i s a complete l i s t of shops outside London supplied b the Publication Distribution Co-op at mid-March this year.

Please tell us of other stockists and of other shops tint might like to stock Undercurrents. We would be particularly glad to hear of possible outlets in towns and cities not included in this list..

SCOTLAND

NORTHEAST ENGLAND

Boomtown Books.

167 Street, ABERDEEN. J.G. Bluet Ltd. 12 U Q Rirkgate A ~ ~ E ~ ~ E E N Beano Wholefoods i&p&ROad

Bowel & Bow- Bookthop Bradford UnlvertitY BRADFORD

- r G r p = ? O5 D ~ ~ ~ H A M

Better B o o b 11 For& Road

EDINBURGH

Clyde Books 292 High Street GL~GOW I John Smith & Sons 57-61 St Vincent Street GLASGOW Notuniths c o Helen Watson 17. Church s t r e e t ST ANDREWS John Smith & Sons Stir Univenrity Bookshop ~ % N G

NORTHWEST ENGLAND Aziamw

%!&%%%

-

Durham Cornmunit Co-o

=:-Kinf crou

A

Road,

HA IFAX Aurora Foods 54 Market Street HE'BDEN BRIDGE Peace Works 68 Wakefieki Road, Amley HI~DDERSFIELD

The Cornenhop 162 Woodhouae Lane, L2

LEEDS

Leeds University Stationary Shop Students Union LEEDS WE-p Road SHEFFIELD

MIDLAND ENGLAND

BIRMINGHAM

HoundStrt

road.

The Other Branch 42 Bath Street LEAMINGTONSPA e,? % = ,I-$ i

LEICESTER

Gate

Leicester University Bookshop LEICESTER Acorn 84 ChurchS MATON KE?~%S

OP treet News Frdfe^~owhere 41 Manchester Street

LIVERPOOL

Bowea 6 Bow- B o o k s h o ~ Univemi of East AngUa

NORWICH

Mushroom 10 Heathcote Street N~TTINGHAM East Oxford Advertiser 34 Cowley Road

OXFORD

Crabapple 16 St Mary's Street SHILEWSBURY

SOUTHERN ENGLAND Public House 21 Little Preston Street

BRIGHTON

Grau Roots 109 Oxford Road, M13 M&CHESTER

d, Ml-3

Azcturus Boofcafaop ForeaStreet, 'TOTNES Crtnki Wholefoods.

Fore Street.

TOTNES City Ditch Wholefood!

EXETER Ford'a Newgents.

2%%'22

WALES

Wards University BookshoP

&3%?%

AcomBooka

$J~@UIu. --b mae LS. Books 224 Digbeth ffith Street. *ih Comexv&non Book* B MINOHAM 228 London Road, Early.

READING Peace C e v 18 ~ o o rtee . ~ i n c w a ~ , d & & &W Prometheus 184a Alecettci Road, MosetOY. Woodstock Market BIRMINGHAM 308 Old FiWcett Road. Southtet PORTSMOUTH Saltley Action Cenq Alum Rock Road, B BIRMINGHAM WEST ENGLAND Suuzise World Shop 247 Dudle Road, B8 BIR~UING& SHERBOURNE T.U. & Sodalist Books Self-Sufficiene~SuppUel l?&-ywxia Road

Simple Su plies 2 Geor e 1tree.t

BRIGAON Lower Shaw Farm Shaw SWINDON

Miskin Street Bookthop 9 Miakin Street, Cathays LhDIFF 108 Salilbury Road CARDIFF Quicksilver Wallis K^%SSbftDwEsT Centre for Alternative Technology Uyngwern QWY Pant ertho MA&Y&ETH

n

. IRELAND and CHANNEL IS. Sassafras $ ;EA ; %n Rd Greenacres Wholefoods Gt Strand St DUBLIN Goodness Gracious The Brid e ST (GUERNSEY)

SAMPSONS

UNDERCURRENTS BOOKS Available from: 12 South Street, Uley, Dursley, Gloucestershire.

Radical Technology

by Godfrey Boyle, Peter Harper & Undercurrents, 304pp, A 4 illustrated, £3.5 including p&p.

'For people who still think about the future i n terms o f mega-machines and all-powerful bureaucracies, Radical Technology will be an eye-opener. There is an alternative. Radical Technology offers a fresh way t o think about tomorrow.'

That is what Alvin Toffler wrote about this large-format, extensively illustrated collection o f original articles assembled by the Undercurrents collective. The contents cover both the 'hardware'aspect o f alternative technology, and the equally important social, political and spiritual sides, too. There are chapters on food production, energy, shelter, materials, autonomy and communication; over f i f t y i n all, Radical Technology is widely recognised as the standard, comprehensive reference work i n the field. Anyone seriously interested i n alternatives should read it.

Practical Methane

by L John Fry. £3.5 including p&p. k This is generally acknowledged to be the best book on small-scale methane plants yet written. As the result of an arrangement with the publisher the book i s available to Undercurrents readers at this special price. Contents includes Building a vertical drum digester; a top-loader digester; a full-scaledigester; scum accumulation; gas holders; biology of digestion; raw materials; use of gas and sludge; safety precaution; glossary and bibliography. Anyone interested in the conversion of organic waste into a clean, useful fuel will find Practical Methane invaluable.

We like to think that Undercurrents is not so much a periodical as a growing collection of useful information, most of which retains its value long after publication. The following back-issuesare still available at 50p for one copy and 25p for each extra copy, and there's a form at the bottom of page 48 for ordering.'

I

Undeicunenta 16 Soecul Habitat teue Garden VilIages/Wood ~ o o G d u i d e 1 ~ 1~ ~ e ~o~~t~Setf-iufTtcient w Sola T-s/Lifesoan/Bvthe Plannen/Citizem' Band Undercunents 10 Joint loue with Reougence DIY Solar Collector Dcagn/Sward Gardeam/Anatchut Cities/Future of ATILand for the People/General Systems TheoryIAlternative ' Culture: Part 1 Undeicimeats 11 DIY Windcharger ~esign/~eekeapi&LeyHunting/Rammed Euth/ Autonomous House/Mind Expansiion/AlternativeCulture: Part 2 undercimenta 12 .

Lucas Auospacc/Biofeedback/CommunityTechnology/Comtek/ Alternative Medicine/Wind Power Part 2/Alternative Culture: Part 3 undaeiment* 13 DiggcrsJEncrgy & Food Production/Industry, the Community & AT/ Alternative England & Wales Supplement/Planning/John Fry on MethaneIAlternative Culture: Part 4 Undercurrent114 Jack MundeyIAT Round the World/Buildii With Natural Energy/ Insulation DIY Insulation/AT in Indii/Brachi on BRADIAT & Industry Conference Report

--

Uiwlffllimmtl17 innerTBchnalnfV(Hue Computer Ley ~untl~owie-~t-~o~self/~irlian Photography/dma Your Own Seed/Women A. t w h a Wren's BeehiveISavin. . AT/ Tcnettrial Zodiacs Undercur&& 18 Intomediate Technology lone IT & the Third World/Chtaew S&nce/IT & Second dan C t p i t d Supennackcr CiitoodLwhuntiiui: the Lineu DreamIHow to Make . a I& Detector

..

7

Undercuirents 19 Health Iraue Limits to Medicine / Politics of Self-Help / Babes in the Ward / Guide to Alternative Medicine / Fmdhom / National Centre for AT / Alternative History Undereuirents 20 Fifth Anniversary h e Tony Benn on the Digger5/ Farming: 'chemicals' or organic? / Mike Cooky / David Dickson / CTT interview / Solar Energy Report / Paper Making 1 Broadcasting / Canals

Undercurrents 21 The Fascist Counterculture / Motorway Madness / Nuclear Policy / Orgone Energy / Free Broadcasting /Good Squat Guide / Iron Age Farming / Laurieston Gardening / Print / Sailing Ships.