3 April 2008
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50 years of CND
The Bomb Stops Here protest of 24 March celebrated 50 years of campaigning against nuclear weapons, taking place on the anniversary of the arrival of the first march to Aldermaston in 1958.
Thousands of protesters went to Aldermaston to surround the base which produces the warheads for the Trident nuclear weapons system. Coaches from more than 50 locations brought activists from as far as Aberdeen and Penzance, with many international campaigners also coming to Britain.
With parliament voting in March 2007 for a new fleet of nuclear-armed submarines, and with the construction of facilities for a new generation of nuclear warheads already underway at Aldermaston, it was time to send a clear message to the government that 50 years is enough!
Bikes Not Bombs
Our small group from Wrexham joined the Bikes Not Bombs London to Aldermaston cycle ride between Slough and Reading on Easter Sunday. The 15 or so cyclists who had come all the way from central London the previous day had set off from the Ramgharia Sikh Temple in Slough in falling snow on Sunday morning, but by the time we arrived it was a pleasantly sunny afternoon and all traces of snow had melted away.
Soon after joining the group, we were off the road and cycling along river and canal towpaths, which made for a much more enjoyable ride until we met with some serious flooding and retreated back onto the road for a while. Cycling in a group is great fun, especially with a sound system, and we pedalled along to punk, reggae, electro-folk and lots of other great music, including cycling classics like Anita Ward’s You Can Ring My Bell.
Once in Reading, we toured the town centre, announcing the CND demo, handing out leaflets and eventually arriving at Reading railway station with a puncture to be fixed. The concourse at Reading station is huge, and on Easter Sunday was more or less deserted, until some leafleting in the station brought out the station manager, her assistant and a couple of security men. They were objecting to our presence on their private property: How would you like it if we turned up at your house and played our music? We couldn’t quite see the analogy, but tried to remain friendly while insisting that we would be staying until the puncture was fixed.
A sticker ‘assault’ on the station manager’s hi-vis jacket caused the Transport Police to be called in to assist, but after a few mild warnings had failed to send us scurrying off the private concourse, the cop decided to engage us in conversation rather than carrying out his threat to have us all arrested under railway by-laws. He advised us on the best route from
Reading to Aldermaston and regaled us with anecdotes while the station manager looked on, still fuming, and one of the security men accused us of being ‘pasta eaters’! As the station manager became increasingly irate, her assistant – who had been just as angry and aggressive to begin with – found out what we were doing, became instantly friendly and cheerful
and started chanting Ban the Bomb!
Eventually, with the puncture fixed, we tore ourselves away from this surreal scene and set off again. The cops, station managers and security men all stood in a line to watch our exit: round and round the roundabout and then off to find our bed for the night at Reading International Solidarity Centre (RISC).
It was a small victory for common sense over officiousness, I think, that a confrontational and hostile situation had been turned into a friendly conversation. However, the station manager, who had remained frosty throughout, had her revenge on the sticker culprit on Tuesday morning. When he turned up at Reading station to attempt to travel, she refused to let
him in and he had to cycle to Twyford to catch his train back to London.
Cyclists at RISC
At RISC, we unloaded the bikes, warmed up with plenty of hot drinks and an excellent vegan curry, had a couple of meetings to plan the next day’s itinerary, and settled down to a participative drama evening with Atomic Replay Theatre. The participation involved acting out scenes from situations we have previously found ourselves in and using this ‘replay’ process to learn something new about the situation: how a confrontation could have been more effectively resolved, for instance – interesting stuff.
The Bomb Stops Here
The bike ride reached Aldermaston at around 11 am on Easter Monday. We were ready for an early picnic lunch, after which I cycled round the base to keep warm, and to get an idea of the overall size of the demo. Each gate had its own atmosphere and it was lovely to read so many wonderful peaceful messages, admire the colourful banners, laugh at the prohibitive and warning signposts all over the place, enjoy the music and theatre and general camaraderie. As always on these events, it was also great to catch up with old friends.
When it came to surrounding the base, I have no idea whether it actually happened, but people seemed to spread out a long way from the gate I was at. Tired and a bit chilly, we set out for home not long afterwards. I was glad I’d taken part.
50 years after it was set up, I wish there was no longer a need for a Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament, but there is, so I’m glad it’s still here and thriving.
Happy 50th birthday, CND!