Radical Weekend

The Sheffield Social Forum opened to the global resistance sounds of Manu Chao. Sheffield Indymedia had a number of computers set up on the main stage complete with a wireless Internet node and help on hand for anyone who needed it - yet the basic human skill of putting pen to to paper was also encouraged by the copious amounts of sheets around the hall where you could write a poem, highlight a campaign, or just doodle! Several reminders of the avenues of protest and organising welcome to us were happening before our eyes as we were encouraged to brainstorm creative direct action, upload our own reports to indymedia, or even something as simple as putting graffiti on the rolls of paper on the walls.

The room was arranged not in the usual rows of regimented lines, but in clusters of chairs so as to facilate the smooth running of the workshops.

About one hundred people attended throughout the day, including many school students, some cool folk from WDM in London, SF folk from Manchester and Nottingham, Leeds ARC and others who had come to politics and social change through the AntiWarMovement. Others turned up from long ago struggles and campaigns but who had stopped for various reasons being 'active' as it were...

The day was definitely more than the sum of its parts: occasionally chaotic, sometimes amazing and sometimes completely stupid - something good happened. Whether good things continue to happen depends on us...

It was clear this was a different event to the traditional lefty ‘teach ins’.

Togetherness -- AmparoPerez - 31 Mar 2004 [The idea was to create subheaders if necessary using the words (3 words) people was asked to write down on form , 3 words defining the SSF... any other two words???]

A few spontaneously written lines with red marker pens on the hall sheets proclaimed:

"We want Human Rights for our children"
"We want a future Sheffield where our children have human rights"

What did these words say? Was there some real fear in the air, some real concern? A reflection of a genuine cry from thousands, millions of women and men who may see themselves gradually deprived of the very rights which are Britain's symbols -- and were also the US's, before September Eleventh? In the film room, this sense of living in 'interesting times' was heightened: talking heads spoke of the US constitution being torn up. Another voice told us that, had the Patriot Act been in force at the time of Martin Luther King, he would have been a domestic terrorist - and thereby had zero rights.

... but already there are many plans afoot. New ideas and new ways of working together are emerging, slowly. The workshops and networking spilled over into the pub as the sun set on the last dark evening of winter. This was just the beginning...

The Carnival

The first morning of British Summer Time dawned bright and clear, which made a change from the high winds and intermittent rain that postponed the lantern parade. It was originally meant to take place on the 21st of March. The Creative Action Network (CAN) had originally devised this parade to celebrate the vernal equinox, mothers (and mother earth) day, and to acknowledge the first anniversary of the start of the war in Iraq. Although the significant date had passed, the morning sun reminded us to "Wake up, Rise up, Stand up" as the posters proclaimed. Weeks of workshops with artists, students, schoolchildren, families and anyone else who showed an interest could be seen on the graffiti-adorned basketball court at Mount Pleasant Park. Lanterns stretched across the tarmac and were picked up, put on, and lit by participants and stewards.

A day-glo pink marabou-lined pram carried a speaker to provide the beats at the back, and the Sheffield Samba Band struck up the march at the front. The middle of the beast that began to snake its way through Sharrow was made up of lanterns, poi, bicycles, tricycles, and people of all shapes and sizes. As it progressed, the parade had everyone out of their front doors, and leaning out of their tower block windows. It could have been any community or neighbourhood in any city in the world. Children called out from balconies and got smiles and waves in return. A little boy asked a poi-twirler how to spin, and learned how to make his own poi. Bus passengers got an eyeful and most returned the grins. The traffic stopped, and red-amber-green was ignored. The only lights that mattered were the ones belonging to mermaids and centaurs, horned gods, fish, dragonflies and other creatures. Beautiful lanterns weaved through Sharrow, reclaiming the roads for a brief moment with something that no body could ignore, and that nobody could fail to smile at.

The carnival was a magical event and a true symbol for peace. It made Gil Scott-Heron's lyrics real once again:

You will not be able to stay home, brother.
You will not be able to plug in, turn on and cop out.
You will not be able to lose yourself on skag and skip,
Skip out for beer during commercials,
Because the revolution will not be televised.

(...)

The revolution will not be televised, will not be televised,
will not be televised, will not be televised.
The revolution will be no re-run brothers;
The revolution will be live."

Well the lantern parade may not be a revolution but it certainly wasn't televised or covered by the mainstream media. This lack of coverage, of what was a fairly large and significant local event, made it even more of a community event. It belonged to us and was not to be reinterpreted by non particpants and sold as commodity in newspapers, radio or TV.

Gill Scott Heron's song is not only linked with the cover text of SSF launch leaflet - the leaflet’s text is a reworking of the song’s lyrics. One could not help referring to poetry when trying to describe the night.

The parade gathered participants until the very end. The finale was the moment of silence for peace followed by an amazing light show of fire breathers, fire jugglers, smoke and flares. After this show many congregated in the general cemetery helped themselves to soup and snacks which were on offer thanks to the crew from BramblesHousing co-op.

The parade could be seen as just the tip of an iceberg - what lay underneath were all the relationships and friends made, all the people who had been making lanterns together in front rooms and community centres and church halls around Sharrow for months. Webs of connections that didn't exist before emerged on this day in a beautiful and positive way. Time springs ahead. For a weekend that was one hour short, Sheffield managed to get in two amazingly powerful events. Let's hope the illuminating ideas of Saturday and the symbolic lights of Sunday combine with the lengthening days of spring and summer to spark off an exponential number of communities, ideas, and future action!