The Faslane Peace Camp

The Faslane peace camp (and, more recently the Faslane 365 crowd) has been a blight on the landscape of Helensburgh, Scotland comparable to the San Francisco parks from the 1960s - and just about as clean - since 1982.  More importantly than that though, is what a horrible effect it has on the surrounding community and how they frankly just don't give a damn about anybody but themselves.

Most recently the protesters have been so incredibly difficult - things like keeping school kids from reaching school on time most days, but also their very stressful and super important exam days - that many in the surrounding area have started a group and protested against the protesters.  Good on them.  As my father said to me today about liberal protesters in general, "The bigger the issue and the less they can do about it, the more they whine, cry, scream and protest."  I would also add 'and do more to hurt those that have nothing to do with it, and not get anything done in the process.'

Now that you know how I feel about that (!) here are some photographs of the peace camp that I have managed to aquire:

It's plaid! All kinds of style.  More below!

The red sign actually says: Resistance is Fertile.  V. clever eh.

The plea for saving the planet is ridiculous after seeing this place in person.  It's a dump. 

25 years resistance... and having accomplished nothing.  That'll be nice for them when they die of old age not, say, a terrorist attack because believe it or not those sexy sleek black nuclear subs are a pretty damn good deterrent.

You could go visit and they would welcome you.  I just wouldn't stand next to that recycle dumpster thing.  You just never know. 

I personally enjoy the potted plants just thrown about!  The one to watch here is the 'Sabotage the Base' sign.  What a horrid group of people.  They do try at times, and one or two have been successful at sorta getting on the base... but again, nothing of any merit is accomplished.  And I gotta tell ya, I wouldn't want to be caught on that base because the people that do the catching are the Royal Marine Commandos.

Quite possibly my favorite photo.  I love the bright and bold hypocrisy of 'Smash trident not windows' whine whine whine we can do it but you can't.  I am taken aback by 'Bring our boys back home' -- what about the ladies?  Guess they don't care...  And lastly, the trash.  Oh the trash. 

'Bomb the base'

Be happe y'all!

Good ol' defacing property, wouldn't be a "peace" camp without it!

Stolen sign - check (stolen M.O.D. sign = bonus points!)

The grand ? entrance ?

They don't miss a beat: peace sign - mushrooms - stolen cones!

The best part is that even with their protesting, the base isn't affected.  Now that's what I'm talkin' about. 

To see more Scottish anti-everything protesters (not that that's a fun thing, well, unless you're making fun of the way they think) click here.  They are of a march Royal and I ran into on a visit to Glasgow.

That concludes our lesson for today.

On another note: Obviously I finally figured out how to clip a post and hide it. So from now on long photo or video posts will be clipped! 

Comments

[BB]

"And I gotta tell ya, I wouldn't want to be caught on that base because the people that do the catching are the Royal Marine Commandos."

On that topic, I used to do Karate with a guy who was in the RN, based at Faslane.
He told us that they had to take their turn guarding the base too, but when it came to the protesters, their hands were effectively tied.
They all had to carry a laminated card, detailing the actions they could take in the face of an incursion into the base, which were very limited as the protesters, of course, all know their rights inside out.

Writing this has just reminded me, a couple of guys I did Karate with also went on to join the Marines, and are both still in, as far as I know.

[Pat or Pi]

I wonder what they do in real life?

[bullnav]

I had the opportunity to pull into Faslane for a couple of weeks in April-May 1998. The first night we got in and headed into Helensburgh for some...liquid refreshment...we drove by the peace camp.

And laughed our asses off. I could not believe that there were still folks around that would do that. Great to see they are still there, making a stand, lowering property values all around and just in general being idiots.

Good pics...it has grown in the last 9+ years.

And I am still laughing...

[kath]

BB: great to hear from you! Royal was a black belt in Karate as well and even assisted in instructing before he entered the Marines. It is sad that the soldiers protecting the base have such a hard time of it, but if the job needs doing they'll do it.
Pat: Who knows! I've read that many are lawyers, if that helps :o)
Bullnav: Welcome to the site! Loved your comment - nice to hear from someone that has been there as well... and sad to hear that the camp has grown! I've heard they generally leave the soldiers and workers alone, except for yelling mean things (and silly things such as "Every time you enter that base you lose sperm!". Well, silly to me. True story).

[Janet Cassie]

The Faslane peace campers have reached a new low. Residents living next to the co-op in Rosneath have been complaining that the peace campers were arriving late at night and breaking into the locked bins to steal the out of date food that the shop was disposing of. At about 6pm on the 9th of November they were seen breaking into the bins. They were in such a hurry to avoid being confronted that the car they were driving rammed a member of the shop's staff's new car causing a large dent on the front wing and removing most of the bumper. When the police caught up with the driver at Faslane peace camp he was charged with not having a driving licence, no insurance and carrying an offensive weapon. Faslane Peace Camp are always saysing that local supporters donate food...doesn't seem to be getting any support if they are reduced to thieving from bins. Peaceful people ....my a**e

[Kath]

Hi Janet, thanks for visiting! What a horrible thing, though not surprising. I certainly hope that the car gets fixed without much trouble and somehow the protesters have to pay. Also of course, that the protesters leave without causing any more trouble!! Enough is enough.
Really, thanks for sharing this and I hope you come back.

[Jordans 4]

everytime you hear the rolling thunder
You turn around before the lightening strikes
does it ever make you stop and wonder