Hundreds attend NBTA Hackney Protest Picnic
BOATERS, local residents and land-based supporters turned out in force to attend the National Bargee Travellers Association’s (NBTA) Hackney Protest Picnic.
It was held on Walthamstow Marshes opposite the Anchor and Hope pub. On a day lit by glorious summer sun, the capital’s boating community came together in a joyous show of solidarity and celebrated their life on the water with conversation, live music, mural painting, refreshments and a vegan barbecue.
With hundreds in attendance, the event was a chance for local, land-based residents to learn more about boaters and to hear about the lively and ongoing campaigns to preserve their way of life.
Marcus Trower, NBTA London branch secretary and one of the event’s organisers, said: “London’s boater community have endured years of attacks on their way of life. This protest picnic was an opportunity to not only draw attention to the issues that boaters are facing from the Canal & River Trust, but to also celebrate our unique community, way of life and contribution to Hackney’s own rich public life.
“Those of us that have moored in Hackney consider spending time here to be an essential part of London’s boating culture and one of the joys of making our lives on water.”
The protest picnic came at a time of uncertainty for many and was the latest in a series of campaigning events. NBTA London branch chairman Ian McDowell explained: “This continued disregard for the people who live and work in these new ‘no mooring’ and proposed paid-for mooring areas drives boaters away from their livelihoods and out of their homes.”