Spreading The Word

IT'S possible millions of viewers and listeners now know that Titnore Woods and the green fields of Durrington are under threat from developers and what a bender is following BBC South's 'Inside Out' programme screened on Wednesday, 17 October 2007 and the debate / phone-in the following morning on most BBC local radio stations in the south of England.

Over the summer a film crew and presenter Joe Crowley visited the camp to see how the campers cope with the stress of facing a possible heavy-handed eviction from bailiffs armed with an order from the High Court. However viewers clearly saw that the campers weren't going to give up without a fight. Well defended tree houses - some 50 feet above ground and on three levels as well as a tunnel system were shown.

The programme also showed how community life was organised with the usual chores of shopping etc. However this wasn't the normal shopping trip. For instance sell by dates were ignored in the interest of waste not wont not (nip around the back of the supermarket peep into the skip and pull out a box of goodies one day past sell by. Oh and water, armed with a wheelbarrow laden with 5 gallon plastic drum, nip over to your friendly nearby home owner turn on an outside tap and bobs your uncle.

So what about the following day's debate and phone-in. Great, except local to Titnore, BBC Southern Counties Radio (SCR) somehow didn't carry it - dark forces at work have been mooted. Undeterred this writer tuned into Radio Solent (My radio is permanently tuned-in to that station instead of SCR now) and listened to an excellent discussion with the granddaddy of direct action Simon Fairlie - he the Twyford Down veteran, Joe Crowley and the station presenter on the reason why direct actions take place. I was also heartened to hear people being interviewed on the street full of support for what the campers were doing.

Clearly the Treetop Campers have won the hearts and minds of the general public - at least in Radio Solent land.

Then

On Tuesday 12 November 2007 as part of the 'Focus' series, Meridian highlighted the unfairness in the planning process by showing 4 cases where developers had destroyed either peoples lives or the countryside with monstrous developments. The clear message sent by the Titnore protestors in the programme was to fight developments with everything you can find, climb, or tunnel.

Also, on:

ITV, 8pm Monday 26th September 2005.

And

 Friday 21st July 2006. 

The 'Tonight with Trevor McDonald' programme, featured Titnore lane nationally on ITV as being part of the political scandal surrounding land grabbing developments.

They were programmes not to have missed.

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