A-Infos (en) Freedom 6404 22 Feb, 2003 - Right royal visit

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Pont-y-pwl
It's not every day you get a member of the 'Royal 
Family' visiting your place of residence and it's not 
usual for a council official accompanied by a police 
sergeant to call at your flat a few days before asking 
whether you're planning to hold a demonstration. 
"Actually I wasn't going to, but I might just hang a 
'stuff the monarchy' banner and a black flag outside 
my window" I told them and, after a brief dialogue, 
they departed.

Why was Princess Anne visiting Fairview Court, our 
'60s tower block? Our local council, Torfaen, were 
celebrating the fact that they'd actually done some 
repairs to the property by revealing a plaque, laying on 
a buffet and planting a tree. A nice publicity stunt to 
hide the fact that millions of pounds needs to be spent 
on the borough's housing stock to bring it up to 
standard. At the moment, many houses are boarded up 
because of the lack of maintenance.

As a rent and council tax payer I found it perverse that 
a member of a privileged elite, whose leisured 
aristocratic lifestyle depends on the public purse, was 
invited along to the 'celebrations'. After all, the 
tenants provided the funds for the council to carry out 
repairs and for Princess Anne to live in luxury!

In the event, accompanied by her bodyguards and 
various sycophantic council 'suits', the Royal Princess 
was directed to a 'show flat' (which is kept empty), but 
didn't visit any of the residents' homes. I suppose she 
wasn't interested in seeing how the other half live, or 
what it's like trying to live on poverty wages or the 
dole.

Some of the residents used her visit to highlight 
defects in their own flats, such as the damp that 
results from inadequate electric storage heaters. As 
the council had just announced they were putting up 
the council tax by 19%, some people went further too. 
'Fuck royalty' stickers were put up and a member of 
the Anarchist Federation put out a press release 
(which the council refused to display on the tenants' 
noticeboard).

Then came news that the local health centre, a 
valuable community resource, had been covered in 
paint by vandals. And guess who got the blame? Local 
anarchist Terry Banfield denied any involvement, but 
was still charged under Section 4a of the Public Order 
Act for his part in the alleged stickering.
Bryn Bach
Terry is in court soon. He needs help with his legal 
costs. Write to him c/o PO Box 7, Pont-y-Pwl, Gwent, 
Cymru NP4 8YB

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