On Tuesday 20th November we made our presence known to Keylet, owners of the Bute Dock Hotel and the largest estate agents (property racketeers) in Cardiff, that we had squatted their pub, on West Bute St, Cardiff Bay.

Two people from our welcoming committee of a dozen visited the executive offices at around 10am, located behind our hotel, to inform them of our occupation. Due to the layout of the building(s), which includes an inter-connecting corridor between the offices and hotel, it was effectively explained to them, with title plans and legal notice included. In summary which part of the building they still had possession of, and which part they had recently lost to us.

At first they were offered coffee by staff and greeted with their well-known false politeness, but when Peter (Viddy) Vidler, executive director of Keylet and chairman of the Association of Letting and Management Agents turned up, he had an epic tantrum. After ripping up the documents delivered regarding the occupation, he demanded the squatters left within two hours “or else”, and that the visitors left his office immediately, which they did, thanking staff for the delicious coffee.

Within half an hour, Viddy returned (still flustered) with a pack of meatheads from Specialist Security with intent to evict. As more arrived, a first attempt was made to enter, but after opening a padlocked plywood door, they were greeted by deadbolts, a locked mortis and yale, two squatters on the roof and supportive neighbours hanging out of their window. Intimidated by a legal observer filming, a local thug from Specialist snatched the camera, instigating a bit of a scuffle. The camera was eventually retrieved by its owner, after intervention from the welcoming committee.

See also: Communique from Bute Dock Hotel squatters

Recent articles from Cardiff: Anti-prison demo on Guy Fawkes night | Anarchist movement grows after month of resistance | Timeline of anti-deportation resistance in support of the Saleh family | Video Communique from the Gremlins | Communique :: The Gremlins are still resisting | Gremlin Alley EVICTION RESISTANCE happening now

Brought to you by HacktionLab, BarnCamp 2011 will be three days of workshops on topics ranging from renewable energy to foraging for food to citizen journalism to using free software for activism, up to three nights of camping, open space sessions, evening entertainment and great food on a beautiful farm co-op high in the Wye Valley.

2011 will mark the fourth BarnCamp convergence at Highbury Farm in the Wye Valley (Wales) where people interested and/or working in the areas of alternative media, renewable energy, on-line video distribution, free software and any other form of activism that utilises technology come together to share skills and discuss experiences. Based on feedback from the previous years, we are deliberately continuing to keep this year's camp less geeky than the previous years by having a more open range of workshops and open space sessions, but we are also inserting an extra day to allow for more, longer workshops - some of which might be geeky! Check-out what we got up to in 2008 2009 and 2010.

Costing just £30 in advance, BarnCamp takes place on the 10, 11 and 12 June this year, so for full effect best to turn up on Thursday 9th.
More information at  http://hacktivista.net/barncamp and to book visit http://registration.hacktivista.net

Climate Camp Cymru writes: Climate Camp Cymru near Selar and Nant-Helen opencast coal mines, Glyn-Neath in South Wales was brought to a premature end on Saturday afternoon with a massive police incursion to evict the camp. The camp was expected to last until Tuesday 17th August.

From the outset on Friday there had been a massive police presence. On Saturday a spokesperson said that there were at least 15 riot vans and numerous mounted police in the area around the camp.

One activist said they were planning to take direct action against the fossil fuel corporations such as Celtic Energy, who own nearby opencast coal mines Selar and Nant-Helen. (1)

“Our economic system is based upon an addiction to fossil fuels and ever increasing consumption to create profit at the expense of people and the environment” said Tim Jones.

Full Story | Welsh Climate Camp is Go | Climate Camp Cymru Meetup Point Announced | Ffos-y-Fran Coal Train Blockaders Sentenced | Bath and Bristol Rising Tide Stop Coal Train | Action Snaps: Ffos-y-Fran Coal Train Blockade |

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UPDATE: Welsh Climate Camp is Go The Site of Climate Camp Cymru 2010 has been taken and is situated near Dyffryn Cellwen, North of Glyn-Neath

Climate Camp Cymru writes Climate Camp Cymru 13 - 17 August: Opencast is trashing the south Wales landscape - it's time to take action...

From midday on Friday 13th August you are invited to a convergence space in central Cardiff. The location of this space is Cardiff Quaker Meeting House, 43 Charles Street, Cardiff. From here people will be directed to a train station, where minibuses will be available to transport people to the the site. Experienced cyclists may wish to bring bikes and cycle to the site. NB: you will need £4.50 each way for the train fare.

The location of the site will be announced at approximately 2pm on Friday 13th August.

At 2pm on 13th August people will be sentenced at Merthyr Crown Court for the lock-on to the railway line between Ffos-y-Fran and Aberthaw power station. It would be great if people could go to the court to support them. Transport will be arranged to the site after.

The convergence space in Cardiff will be open until 5pm. We encourage everyone who can to reach the site on Friday night, although the minibuses will be available throughout Saturday from the train station.

Please watch this space for more detail.

Full Story | Ffos-y-Fran Coal Train Blockaders Sentenced | Bath and Bristol Rising Tide Stop Coal Train | Action Snaps: Ffos-y-Fran Coal Train Blockade |

How To Contribute Articles A Brief Guide | Publish an Article/Event | Help Guide | Calendar | Indycycle | Bristol Just Living Positive Guide to Bristol | Get Involved with Bristol Indymedia | @bindymedia