Thursday, June 09, 2005

T in the Park

T in the park, Scotland's premier music festival, takes place at Balado which is a few miles away from the Episcopal Palace. Considering the huge size of the event it is perhaps surprising that relations with the local community are on the whole very good, with most local residents apparently quite happy for the area to be on the map for a few days each year.

This time however there have been a few rumblings in the local alehouse. Residents are still quite happy to for the festival to take place, but the concern is that the event will be disrupted by protestors looking for something to trash after the G8. The conference venue in Gleneagles is just over the hill from here.

The situation, which was already bad enough, has been made worse by an idiot politician (namely Frances Curran of the Scottish Socialist Party) encouraging protestors to come down to T in the Park, despite the fact that it has been sold out for weeks.
If a music event is part of the plan, there is a nearby venue in Balado which is used for the music festival "T in the Park", which protestors could make their way to after the rally.
You do have to wonder if this is an attempt to cause as much disruption as possible or if it's just rank stupidity. Curran is one of the organisers of the G8 protests and she seems to be going out of her way to create a risk to public safety. What does she think all these people are going to do when they can't get in? Jump on the bus home? She should be held responsible if it all goes horribly wrong.