Despite being branded a "a white elephant" by former chief scientific adviser Sir David King, plans for the third Heathrow runway steam ahead. With efforts to raise their case proving less than effective, protesters are now getting tough.
Like a bunch of latter-day Chuck Norris types, groups including Camp for Climate Action, Hacan and Greenpeace are planning a series of "militant technique" camps throughout September, teaching protesters the fine arts of wall-climbing, chaining oneself to a fence, and the correct method of wearing a balaclava and not looking like a muppet.
Campaigners will be instructed in "direct, non-violent action", the legal issues surrounding protests and how to deal with Officer Plod when he gets shirty at your antics, along with the more practical aspects. The idea is to form a cadre of protest-savvy folk (described by one local rag as a bunch of "grey-haired, middle-aged professors") who can mount an "autumn offensive" comprised of marches, demonstrations and even flash mobs.
Said one retiree who plans to attend: "I've always been a law abiding citizen... but some of the thing's I'd contemplate doing wouldn't have entered my wildest dreams". It seems the scourge of geriatric deliquency that we've diligently reported on this year will continue through the autumn.
Image from Simon-K's Flickrstream via the Londonist pool
