Summer of News
Well summer was exciting, one of the most interesting I’ve had, I would say. Though it’s hard to compete with the time I had at 4creative in 2008, this year I got to work with the fabulous reporters at Isle of Wight County Press, got to know the people at VentnorBlog, and even chatted to the guy from the Isle of Wight Gazette.
This entire summer was driven by the protests that occurred at the Vestas factory, itself driven by some brilliant people who came down from the mainland, inspiring some very usual islanders, to do some very unusual things. Originally I went to photograph the events as an impartial observer, my photos first appeared in VentnorBlog a little while back as I experimented with a camera I borrowed from a local Youth group. Appearing in the County Press when I got a photo of Jaymie Rigby jumping off the balcony (that the workers had been occupying for weeks). See below (complete with trademark County Press spelling antics).
I was drawn into the protests and getting to know genuine honest people who took part in them, I went down every day, even witnessing/taking part in an invasion of the factory grounds on the day after the big jump, (See my photos of that here) that no big media, not even the County Press, covered. It was covered by VentnorBlog.
What followed this was my week at the County Press, which I don’t think I can talk about too much, it was interesting working with the reporters, in a paper that (when the national media is being rocked at the foundations) is still alive and well.
Also notable was the big Bestival bus crash, where I accidentally ended up writing the story for VentnorBlog, (unexpected but exciting), and providing photos.
Finally, I kicked back from being a unwitting-newsman to take my usual photographic holiday at the Bestival at Robin Hill. You can check out some highlights of that in this set.
Feel free to follow me on Flickr, where I seem to post far more often than on this blog, and I hope this gives you a brief summary of my summary, it’s by no means complete, but see Flickr for a bit more. 
A Break-in at Vestas
Food is a scarcity at the occupied factory on the banks of the river Medina, not because the Isle of Wight is some kind of remote British dependency with no shops, but instead because the owners of the factory, Vestas of Denmark, think it’s a great idea to starve their employees out. True, they provide some food, like a quarter of a pizza to each one in the evening, but it’s not exactly what you’d call a balanced diet.
The factory is contained within a barrier of fencing, which surrounds the site and prevents the colourful, empassioned protesters camped on a roundabout from venturing in, but every so often, a group dares to break through a send through some decent food. Can they get passed the private security?
That’s what one brave crowd did yesterday evening, and I caught it on camera. Amongst some other goings on.
Vestas Dispute Continues
The Vestas factory dispute I recently wrote about on this blog continues, creating a great opportunity for more amateur photo-journalism (hah), plus I have taken quite a few shots of the actual real journalists covering the whole event. Today was meant to be the big court day for Vestas, but numerous technicalities mean that the companies request for a ‘Posession Order’ to take back the factory has been postsponed until the 4th of August. Good news for those occupying the factory and good news for those supporting them. I have added my most recent batch of photos to Flickr again, and as I’m kind, I’ll link to them here as well.
Check out the images here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/pseudowhis/sets/72157621762165383/
Fancy a slideshow?
Spare a thought to thwarting ThWART!
The Isle of Wight is a lovely place, but it’s residents are largely old and set in their ways, it has often been seen as the perfect sight for wind turbine development, something that would help our country get off its addiction to foreign gas and oil, and also add a new aspect to the beauty and reputation of the Island.
Unfortunately for too long the older residents of the Island have been able to voice their backwards opinions at meetings and to our local paper, the County Press, making it seem like the entire island hates the concept, now I don’t know about you, but every young person I’ve talked to would love to have wind turbines on the Island, and the same goes for me.
The existing anti-turbine group on the island is called ThWART (The Wight Against Rural Turbines), and has gained way too much publicity for it’s few members, and finally an Island born initiative for the young and pro-Island turbine people has reared its head! The group is called ‘Thwart ThWART’ but run by the Island Turbine Action Group and was started by one of my friends on Facebook, and is rapidly gaining membership!
Please join (even if you’re not an islander!) and see if you can help! The group can be found here or search for “Thwart ThWART” on Facebook.
Also, even if you’re not on Facebook, you can sign the teams petition to Number 10 here. Don’t forget to check your e-mail to confirm! Thanks!
The Isle of Wight Soapbox Derby 2007 – The Video!
I have just uploaded the first major bit of content to the site! New in the media section, our first feature, is a 15 minute film about the Isle of Wight Soapbox Derby, that took place in early June 2007.
Check it out here. And please leave your comments on this post! 