Sunday 10 February 2008

ePetition reaches 400

Over 400 names on Darren's pro-wild camping ePetition now.

I'm starting to look at TGO magazine in a new light - seeing if there's any "incitement to cause civil disorder", by mentioning wildcamping without giving the land owner's contact details The only mention that I can infer is in Eddy Meechan's superb article about using a vapour barrier similar to the Inuit's clothing.

As I read the arguments from folks against making wild camping legal, I think on what super-hiker, Andrew Skurka, says "I want to experience the backcountry of the Scottish Highlands and understand that culture a little bit more" (TGO, p74). Culture - people have a different culture up here in the Highlands than down South. As I'm on a downer just now, perhaps we should have a passport system up here - why the heck should we have these whinging NIMBY's up here when you can't be bothered having the same rights in your green and pleasant land. Good enough up in Scotland, but not down in England & Wales. Well, whoop de do.

What's the wild camping equivalent of the Boston Tea Party? Sodding immigrants coming up here and taking up our wild camping spaces. Equal rights for wild campers in the UK. "Don't tread on me", indeed.

Like I said, I'm on a downer just now.

Oh, and there's a new target for the ePetition: 1350 signatures. It was the same number of responses that were received in Scotland before wild camping was introduced legally under the Access Code (source).

Less than a thousand signatures to obtain from somewhere now. Perhaps some from English & Welsh TGO Challengers who are hoping to come and wild camp in Scotland later in the year? But I guess that many will have already been far-thinking enough to have been in the first 400.

Am I picking on TGO? Nope. I just can't be bothered mentioning the so-called populist magazines with their NIMBY attitudes. Life's too short and, quite frankly, I really don't care enough about them. They have their corporate lawyers who must consider everything that they write. In these days of "blame culture" (or more accurately, "excuse culture"), they have to watch what to make sure they don't encourage people to break the law. So they end up being middle of the road. Heck, if it is good enough for Phil Collins, why not the populist press.

I'll wait for the punk magazine, TAC, to release their next edition.

Never mind the blox.

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

looks like some-one woke up on the wrong side of the bed this morning. 5555555

AktoMan said...

I'm tired o' people making life difficult and not thinking of the greater good. If something is wrong, don't whinge and moan about it, do something about it if you can. The ePetition gives people a chance to do something about one wee thing, but nooooooooooooooooooo, that's too difficult, or that'll eat into their happiness, or there's some big conspiracy behind it.

I'm just need to get out and enjoy a couple of nights of civilised, legal wild camping. In my own country.

I lived and worked in England for some years, and got further south to find it isn't a North/South divide, it is London vs the rest, or even Town vs the Country. I don't know the answer, and gave up looking for one. I really try not to care, as the issues don't affect me.

Other people don't care either, and hide it behind excuses and arguments, fear of the future if change happens, and fear of freedom of speech. Fear of change.

Change happens. How you deal with it as a human being is down to your strength of character, your personality, the knowledge that you possess, and (maybe) your faith in humans.

The latter being shown by an incident this afternoon. A drunken Wegie comes to the door of my flat wishing to use my toilet as he was "fit to burst". I turned him away as I was not allowing a drunken unknown male into the flat. Did I show faith in humans? I think that I showed faith in the fact that he could turn nasty - something I worried about as he went door to door in the block.

The same incidents can happen to landowners when faced with approaching an illegal wild camp. by legitimising wild camping, part of the stresses of modern life are minimised. Not all landowners are shotgun-toting burly rugby-players.

Big Kev said...

I saw The Sunday Post for the first time in years, today. The headline was something about Scottish ministers wanting to push the border 20 miles South. I thought to myself, "Yes. That's a start".

AktoMan said...

That'd be this one, Kev: link.

Oor Berwick, Your Berwick, a'body's Berwick.

Big Kev said...

Jings! It's the Lib Dem's. Who'd have thought it? :o)
First we take Northumbria and then The Lakes will fall. It's a good plan.

AktoMan said...

But it'll be scunnered by PC Murdoch caving in Soapy Souter's skull wi' his ASP before Wullie can set the pipe bomb off in the Berwick Cooncil Hoose. It'll be more than a clip round the lug from his Pa as Sharia law comes tae Auchenshoogle.

x-ref