EU its your move

TUESDAY 15TH - E.U it's your move
Our group has been split up by the monster queues and restrictions on NGO observers set by the UNFCCC. Some of our newest arrivals will not get to enter the Bella Centre at all. Worse than that, some people from Friends of the Earth International were queuing for up to 11 hours yesterday, outside in freezing temperatures, with no bathrooms, no food and no information about whether they could enter that day. When a few of us went out to bring them coffee and a sandwich we found hundreds of accredited delegates queuing and chanting 'UN-SHAME ON YOU' and 'LET US IN - LET US IN'. They had taken A4s from bags and improvised placards which asked 'Is this what efficiency looks like?". With three of us inside and five of us outside at the Klimaforum I feel torn about where to be.

I stick around at the Bella Centre until lunchtime for another flash mob style action. A signal is made and the blue ponchos are back in the Atrium. We block the walkway sitting in star-shaped groups of threes and fours, shouting the slogan on the banner that has been suddenly dropped from the high benches - 'E.U. it's you move - E.U. it's your move'. The attention from cameras and security makes it hard to keep shouting - but we continue for a few minutes and then quickly disperse.

I take the afternoon off from FoE and make a trip up to Ragnhildesgade, or 'Rag' as it's called by us non-Danish activists who are bad at pronunciation. It's the main convergence centre for activists from autonomous groups in Copenhagen, and today the bike bloc is training up for the Reclaim Power action tomorrow. All week people have been making and repairing hundred's of bicycles, training each other to move in tight circles or swarms, preparing two-wheeled choreography for holding space in protest situations. After the outdoor training a giant meeting brings us all together to make final plans and preparations, take on different routes and map sectors. My feet are freezing, I'm hungry, but this giant warehouse room is buzzing with energy. Finally we're ready and the pirate-like facilitator of the meeting calls all of to our feet and asks us to stand in a circle. As we move back and lined the walls of the warehouse I let out an involuntary - Wow. There are hundreds of us here. It's a beautiful, colourful sight. He asks us to join hands -both hands on either side of me were even colder than mine. But the giant, noisy, Mexican wave that came next sent a surge of enthusiasm through us that made up for my freezing toes tenfold. Mr. Pirate informs us - the police are raiding the Candy Factory, where the bikes were fixed up -'They are looking for 'The Machine'. But the machine doesn't really exist!' he cheers, 'it's the size of my finger!' More cheers. 'And made of Lego!'