Small-town repression is not to be over-looked. Anyone who has ever visited the Northumbria town of Alnwick, is likely to remember the place as a quaint, friendly area with pretty scenery – and they’d be right to, only this image comes at a great cost to locals. An over-whelming proportion of Alnwick funds goes directly into improving tourist facilities and maintaining the town’s numerous landmarks. Because of this pre-occupation, Alnwick Council frequently over-look the needs and wants of its residents – particularly those outside the town centre, far from the gaze of our much treasured visitors. Roads are left in disrepair… street-lights stand broken and useless… and what’s worse, facilities for the town’s youth are virtually non-existent. Requests for skate-boarding areas, parks and a well-funded youth centre have all been ignored. Alnwick wears a mask of serenity, while beneath its fragile surface there breeds a growing discontent.

In reaction to this, a small anarchist group know only as ‘A.L.L’ left their mark on Alnwicks most treasured landmark, known as ‘the lion column’. Under cover of darkness, the group scaled the high fences encasing the column and carefully scribed the words ‘Know Your Enemy!’ on what seemed the most fitting place available – one of the lion’s buttocks. To continue the symbolism, the group also destroyed the spot-lights that lit up the column during the night.

The attached photo is taken from a local newspaper, who reported the story some three weeks later. In it, the graffiti was dismissed as an act of ‘mindless vandalism’ and condemned entirely. It was typical of the kind of biased reporting custom among passion-less journalists working for backwards regional publications – uninspired, formulaic, and, worst of all, factually inaccurate. However, no amount of lazy journalism seems likely to stop ‘A.L.L’ from continuing their goal. An immediate reply to the article was written and emailed within days to the paper – their reaction? To ignore. Though silenced, ‘A.L.L’ are determined to lift the lid and expose those that chose to suppress and ignore our youth. You can count on phase two coming to light in the coming weeks…


Anyone from the region intrested in aiding the cause, should contact the email address provided. Thank you.