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The collection of 13 tents houses a group calling themselves Occupy Exeter, in tribute to similar movements which began in New York and spread around the world.Ah, well, fair enou... Wait, what? Exeter? For fuck's sake, why Exeter? Was the train fare to London a bit out of reach or something? The grass a bit warmer on the bum than the cold slabs of paving outside St Paul's?
It comes after widespread criticism of the ongoing demonstration set up outside St Paul's Cathedral in London, which last month forced the building to close for the first time since the Blitz.
The protesters did not disrupt either the Remembrance Sunday service or two minute silence held yesterday, which attracted hundreds of people to the cathedral's main entrance, and laid their own 'Occupy Exeter' wreath covered with poppies next to their camp.
One of the group said: "We don't want to antagonise people at the service. We have removed any placards which might have caused offence today.
"We are making sure the site is clean and we are recycling everything."
Jeez, I thought Occupy Melbourne was a bit lame. Don't get me wrong, I love Melbourne - I came ten thousand miles to live here - but despite a few banks and trading companies here I don't think it's really what you'd call a major hub of the financial world what with the Australian Stock Exchange being based in Sydney and all. Still, Sydney is 500 miles away and you can understand that that's a bit of a trip. But Exeter? Nothing against Exeter either, but if I can't put my hand on my heart and say Melbourne is a financial hub of teh ebil capitalist societeh then Exeter sure as hell isn't, and it's only a couple of hours or so on an express train from one of the most important financial centres in the world. Can you get much more tame without descending to the level of Occupy Budleigh Salterton or Occupy The Cricket Green, But Out Of The Way Just Behind The Sightscreen? Or, since on a worldwide level they're almost certainly as much 1%ers as the ebil banksters they're protesting against, the unbeatably slacktivist Occupy My Own Bedroom For A Bit?
Protest when and where you like by all means, but if you want to be taken seriously I'd suggest training, hitching or biking it to London and being in the place where the thing you're complaining about actually is, which I thought was the whole bloody point of the Occupy thing in the first place. And if it means the inconvenience of travel and the discomfort of cold concrete I have good news - there's a handy spray which can help.
