Persons Unknown VS. The Secretary of State

On Wednesday the 13th of January the collective formally known as Video Basement, went to the Regents Park County Court on bicycles, looking like the cast of Fame after they had been dragged through mud and frozen glitter. They were there to defend their current home, The Bath House no. 96 Dean St. And were being represented by Trevor Love, a member of the commune. They were accompanied by Michaela, one of Pauline’s friends who has lived in the same block for many years and is very angry about the way Crossrail have treated local residents and businesses. The case began with DJ Lightman asking Crossrail to prove how they own the property. He did this after reading the squatters defence which points to a paragraph in crossrail’s case where they state they have freehold f all properties in the block with some exceptions Green King Ltd, 96 Dean St being one of them, Veronica Glass, could respond with nothing but, ‘they just do.’ She looked embarrassed at the major mistake, that her firm (which had won 2009 Law firm of the year award) had made. DJ Lightman said that the best he could offer mistress glass was an adjournment and suggested that Crossrail contact Green King Ltd, the current legal owners, who would need to evict the occupants. The DJ then went on to praise the defendants saying and this is a quote ‘who wrote this case, it’s very good.’ Love replied that it was their handsome housemate Pauline. The judge then looked to make a new date for the case and after looking in his diary muttered 1st Feb, with DJ Lightman, that’s me. One the squatters laughed at this point, to which the judge responded angrily. ‘There is nothing funny about the law.’ But there most certainly is. Before the case was closed, Love requested to ask two questions ‘why was this case private? And, why were some of our friends turned away?’ The DJ said he had not been asked that question in a long time, and needed to look it up. He looked in his book of law and read that ‘since 1998 any case concerning landlord and tenant should be private.’ He then said that this being a squatting case, it should be public and that it was another error on behalf of Crossrail. The second question was 'Did Crossrail have permission from the secretary of state to act on their behalf?' This answer was muddy.They have 2 more weeks til they return to court.

Nature Reserve

we want to make our Crossrail site into


a nature reserve.

check this shit

WE NOW COVER CLASSIC HIP HOP TRACKS
up soon.

DEAR GUARDIAN WANKERS

Fuck off.

We are not interested in any sort of coverage from the mainstream media. Aside from the fact that they are usually factually incorrect, and make everyone come across as complete wankers, we see any news articles or similar as detrimental to the squatting movement. It is articles like this that have, and will lead to the laws being changed, making it much harder for squatting to exist at all.


Date: Wed, 9 Dec 2009 16:42:59 +0000
Subject: From the Guardian
To: videobasement@hotmail.com

Hello there
Helen Pidd here, I'm a reporter from the Guardian. I'm working on a piece about the different squatting groups around London, and have heard about what you lot have been doing this year. The idea of the piece is to round up all of the squatting activity to hit the headlines this year - the Da! collective, the Park Lane squatters, Mark Guard and his curious project, the Oubliette, plus the VHS Video basement.
I know you're currently resident in the Puss in Boots strip club, and wondered whether I could come along one day soon to have a chat to you about what you are doing and why. Is it an art project? Just somewhere to live? A political statement? All of the above?
Hope to hear from you soon,
thanks
helen

--
Helen Pidd
Reporter, the Guardian



2009/12/14 Pavel Velour :
Hi "Helen",

We have a "policy" that we don't respond to "major news reporting". In general, coverage of "squatting" has been predominantly detrimental to the movement, with for example the newer anti squatting laws introduced around the heyday of media coverage of the previous major squatting drive.

We understand however that your interest is in us as a "collective", and appreciate this and your interest in "us". Not sure what to say about what we "do". We're slowly drifting away from the arts and are drifting towards shoplifting and "petty crime" more recently.

Someone else has written an article about our "current space" which is quite relevant:
http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/news/article36886.ece#ixzz0WvdupiRx

I don't really know how to respond in emails, how to type and get my "ideas / feelings" across. Would you watch a video if we made it for you?

xx

"VHS" Video Basement?

Puss in Boots Strip Club
11 White Horse Street
Mayfair
London
W1J 7LL



Date: Mon, 14 Dec 2009 10:15:33 +0000
Subject: Re: From the Guardian
To: videobasement@hotmail.com

er "thanks"

From:	Pavel Velour (videobasement@hotmail.com)
Sent:	14 December 2009 11:36:53

Would you still like us to make a movie for you?

VHS Video Basement

---

AND WE ARE SQUATTERS.

Developed

Recipies for Disaster

This is a really great zine for 16mm crafts

CAMERALESS FILM

is easy.

Things you need
- some clear/ blank 16mm film avaliable on Ebay cheap
- a 16mm projector, available for hire here or you can get for as little £20 on Ebay.
- then you need stuff to put on the film (can use anything as long as it runs through the projector and does not cover the sprockets)
*india ink
* bleach
* hole punch
*lettraset
*found footage (if you have a projector in which the sound works you can make OPTICAL SOUND, used by Guy Sherwin)


Mothlight by STAN BRAKHAGE
made after seeing a moth fly into a candle

VISION

So we have another week in the strip club... On Monday we have a short film making workshop all day from 10am.
Bring a camera.
The theme of the workshop is Riot .



In the morning each group will pick two restrictions out , so they should think about these these as weLL
eXAMples

1. Riot
- a film longer than the time you have left to live
- shot with no sound

2. Riot
- a film backwards
- a musical

Tuesday we have Bring YOUR OWn shorts from 8.30pm, but we want the theme of a holiday. We want you to bring anything to tell us a 5 minute story about your holiday. So either video footage or a photo slide show, come narrate the visuals live. It could be a month long trip to India or a day trip to your grandma, as long as it was a holiday it's great. We're still showing shorts as well so bring those too! PLus the films made on Monday.

And, on Thursday there is an acting improvisation workshop from 3pm and then films from 7pm
LA HAINE and BATTLE OF ALGIERS in preparation for Copenhagen...
The discussion will be around violent resistance.

See you in the week!