Stoke Day of Action in memory of Keith Brown

Around 15 of us from Ashfield, Amber Valley, Broxtowe and Derby made our way to Stoke yesterday morning to provide support for the Day of Action organised to highlight the disgusting sentencing handed out to Habib Khan after he murdered BNP activist Keith Brown. As I said previously this was not a one of incident, this is happening with alarming regularity up and down the country, racist crimes which sees non whites as the perpetrators and whites as the victims being hushed up and conveniently swept under the carpet. This has to end and today is the day the British people say that Enough is Enough, this cannot be allowed to continue. We are not asking for anything extra, no special treatment just recognition from the police, the courts and the British media that racism is not exclusive to whites and when a crime is committed by a non white they are brought to justice in the same way if it were the other way round.

The planning for the whole day appeared slick and professional, the only problem I heard about was more people turning up at the rendezvous than had been expected, which put the organiser in a brief panic. All groups were given pre arranged meeting places, as we arrived at ours we were immediately greeted by a security car and driver equipped with maps and leaflets we loaded up and off we went. We all reported receiving a warm response from residents in our designated areas. We found out afterwards that around 50 members of the public had stopped and asked if they could help out, I have yet to find out how many people joined the party yesterday, but several activists reported that they had received enquiries and our Birmingham Organiser told me afterwards that soon after he pushed a leaflet through a letterbox a guy rushed out of the house waving the application form at him wanting to join on the spot. I hope we find out how many enquiries and new members were received throughout the day.

After three solid hours of leafleting we met up and were taken to the rendezvous point for the rally, after a brief detour due to a brand new road and my TomTom not being updated, we eventually arrived and were immediately greeted by a sea of flags and placards. I would estimate easily around 500 people already there when we arrived with several more car loads arriving long after. We stood briefly on a grass bank overlooking the main A50 where we saw Keith Brown’s widow being interviewed by Simon Darby and witnessed several passing cars sounding their horns and cheers in support.

As we made our way over to the Truth Truck, we saw the Party Chairman Nick Griffin and one of the Stoke Councillors, Alby Walker, being interviewed by what we assumed were local reporters. It was then I realised I had not taken many photographs. The only way to do this now was to hold my camera in the air, aim and hope for the best, the results not being too bad I think. All photographs were taken from different angles which shows how many were there and shows the left and media report that only 300 turned up look like the usual deliberate underestimation.

The speeches from Alby Walker, Michael Coleman, Simon Darby and Nick Griffin were made from the Truth Truck which had made its debut appearance that day. The two fantastic Stoke Councillors spoke poignantly about their personal memories of Keith Brown and how the Brown Family had turned to the BNP when all other authorities in Stoke refused to listen.

All in all a successful, eventful but extremely tiring day was had by all.

Red, White and Blue 2008

2008’s Red White and Blue Festival has to be, on all accounts, the most successful yet, despite the extreme left wing and media campaign to stop it.

Several comments I have read claim that there were only a handful of people attended this year because there were only a few cars parked in the field which is used as car park. Wishful thinking on their part, the simple truth is that an extra field was made available this year for camping which meant many attendees were able to park their cars alongside their caravans and tents. From what I've heard, the number of wristbands sold throughout the entire weekend was well over 3,000.

This year the Broxtowe stall included a selection of soft drinks, fresh fruit (supplied locally) and gollywogs, (which caused so much of a stir they managed to get a mention in the Sunday Star) together with Charnwood, Derby, North Kesteven, Melton, Leicestershire, North West Leicestershire, Ashfield, Amber Valley and East Lindsey, the East Midlands Region managed to scoop second prize for the most varied marquee. Plans are already being made to go for first place next year. Watch this space.

As the East Midlands marquee was situated right next to the Political tent, it was easier to keep popping in and out to hear the guest speakers whilst serving the steady stream of customers throughout the weekend. Along with Simon Darby’s opening address, the few political speeches we did manage to catch, from Richard Barnbrook, Arthur Kemp and Marc Abramsson from the National Democrats Party in Sweden, were outstanding. Apologies for not having a more detailed report of the weekend, we were kept extremely busy running the stall, which meant we didn’t get to visit other marquee’s. Broxtowe did manage to make a small profit, which will be put towards next year’s elections.

Even though the event had to eventually go ahead without a music or alcohol licence, there was entertainment galore, the ever popular Morris Men, fire-eating, a Punch and Judy for the children, tug of war, to name but a few. Despite a few spots of rain, the Saturday night was highlighted by the spectacular firework display by Stuart and Wendy Russell.

The whole weekend was rounded off with the entrance of Nick at his closing speech riding on the Truth Truck which was unveiled on Sunday afternoon. Nick’s speech was as rousing as ever and the site of him wiping away a few stray tears as he belted out Jerusalem, didn’t go unnoticed.

If you didn’t manage to make this year’s event, make sure you come along next year, you will be glad you did!