The G8 (Group of Eight, most industrialised nations) Summits are hosted, on rotation, by the group's member states. In 2005 the Summit is to be held in the UK at Gleneagles in Perthshire, Scotland (less than an hour north-west of Edinburgh). The G8 mobilisation will be the largest anti-capitalist mobilisation this summer. There are three main groups mobilising: Dissent, G8 Alternatives, and Make Poverty History, and many smaller groups.

1. Dissent and the Scottish Situation:

The G8 (Group of Eight, most industrialised nations) Summits are hosted, on rotation, by the group's member states. In 2005 the Summit is to be held in the UK at Gleneagles in Perthshire, Scotland (less than an hour north-west of Edinburgh). The G8 mobilisation will be the largest anti-capitalist mobilisation this summer. There are three main groups mobilising: Dissent, G8 Alternatives, and Make Poverty History, and many smaller groups.

The Dissent! Network: has formed to provide a networking tool to co-ordinate radical anti-capitalist and anti-authoritarian resistance to the Summit. The network was formed in the autumn of 2003 by a group of people who have previously been involved in radical ecological direct action, Peoples' Global Action, the anti-war movement and the global anti-capitalist movement which has emerged around meetings of those that rule over us.

Dissent has no central office, no spokespeople, no membership list and no paid staff. It's a mechanism for communication and co-ordination between local groups and working groups involved in building resistance to the G8, and capitalism in general. It hopes to exist long after the world leaders have returned home in the early summer of 2005. There are currently over twenty-five local groups across Britain from Aberdeen to Brighton. The local groups in Edinburgh and Glasgow go by the name Reshape! There are also working groups that focus on logistics, action, and many more.

Dissent! is open to anybody willing to work within the Hallmarks of Peoples' Global Action (PGA). Some groups believe that the PGA Hallmarks to not encompass or create a movement in of themselves, and these groups also participate within Dissent if they wish. Also the Hallmarks were just seen by most as convenient starting point, to forming loose common basis from which to develop the mobilisation.

1. A very clear rejection of capitalism, imperialism and feudalism; all trade agreements, institutions and governments that promote destructive globalisation.

2. We reject all forms and systems of domination and discrimination including, but not limited to, patriarchy, racism and religious fundamentalism of all creeds. We embrace the full dignity of all human beings.

3. A confrontational attitude, since we do not think that lobbying can have a major impact in such biased and undemocratic organisations, in which transnational capital is the only real policy-maker.

4. A call to direct action and civil disobedience, support for social movements' struggles, advocating forms of resistance which maximise respect for life and oppressed peoples' rights, as well as the construction of local alternatives to global capitalism

5. An organisational philosophy based on decentralisation and autonomy. Dissent has held bimonthly meetings. There will be ones in Scotland regularly in the month up to the summit, that will likely transform itself into a near daily information sharing and consensus meeting process as days before the summit.

All Dissent-wide decisions must be made at Dissent consensus meetings, however, local groups and working groups can make decisions and even speak to the media if they wish as local groups. Reshape will be making various maps and a guide for radicals visiting Scotland, to be available before the summit. There is another large network called the South East Assembly that will be mobilising around the G8, based primarily around London, and shares many local groups with Dissent.

Dissent: http://www.dissent.org.uk Reshape (Scotland Local Group in Dissent Network): http://www.reshape.org.uk Southeast Assembly: http://www.resistg8.org.uk

G8 Alternatives: G8 Alternatives is a mostly socialist coalition that only organises in Scotland. They have monthly meetings that anyone can attend, and have attracted attention from locals in places in Scotland where Dissent has not. Although their numbers are small, the unorthodox Trotskyist Socialist Workers Party dominates the so-called consensus meetings, making all decisions behind closed doors in an anti-democratic manner while pretending to have consensus. The Socialist Workers Party openly co-operates with the police, and is known for their deceit and will do everything possible to disrupt anarchists and direct action. However, parts of G8 Alternatives like Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament (CND) and many of the membership are sympathetic to Dissent, so while we should be hostile to the Socialist Workers Part (SWP), do not dismiss the rest of the activists in G8 Alternatives. Their plans are to hold an alternative summit in Edinburgh and a march on Gleneagles in co-operation with the police without any direct action. http://www.g8alternatives.org

Make Poverty History: This is one of the largest conglomerations of NGO (Non-Governmental Organisations) ever, who plan to protest the G8 by marching the weekend before in Edinburgh in hope of lobbying the G8 to take on poverty issues in the "Third World". It is led by groups like Oxfam, their organisers are estimating 100,000 people will march. The current media focus seems to be on groups of anarchists disrupting the march and attacking the Scottish Parliament, which as a tactic has never been mentioned by anyone in Dissent. The march organisers are quite afraid of this possibility as well. Already the media is casting "Make Poverty History" as the "good protesters" and Dissent as the "bad protesters". http://www.makepovertyhistory.org

Scotland:

Scotland has a rich tradition of resistance against capitalism, and offers a unique combination of advantages and disadvantages to the anti-G8 mobilisation. The anti-globalisation movement has never had a large presence in Scotland. Yet, most Scottish people are sympathetic to the problems caused by neo-liberalism and openly hostile towards Blair and Bush. There is a long tradition of non-violent direct action against the storing of all Britain's nuclear weapons in Scotland, and an earlier history of class war from rent-strikes to non-payment of taxes. The war against Iraq was even more unpopular in Scotland than in England, with virtually no support for the war. On the day war broke out there were unprecedented scenes in both Edinburgh and Glasgow when hundreds of school students went on strike and blockaded roads and then thousands gathered in the city centres and closed roads, and school children and anarchists even stormed Edinburgh Castle, defeating the police. However, for the most part many Scottish people are not not aware of anti-authoritarian politics or direct action. Bored children from poor neighbourhoods burn cars for kicks, but activists seem content to march around in circles without taking any action and the majority of adults are not involved in radical politics. It should be clear that Scotland is not England, and although Scotland is politically part of Britain, culturally and historically it is different. Scottish people in general should not be called English or even in many cases British and doing so can somtimes spark a negative reaction. The Scottish accent is very different from the standard English accent, and even many who understand English may have difficulty with some Scottish speakers.

The G8 in Scotland

The G8 is having their meeting in Gleneagles, a golf-course in the middle of Scotland off the A9 highway (one of the only two major highways in Scotland) between Perth and Stirling. It is about an hour away from the two major cities in Scotland, Edinburgh and Glasgow. Gleneagles is not an urban environment, but a golf course in the middle of a rural glen next to the village of Auchterarder. Gleneagles is not even a town, but just a large golf-course and expensive hotel. Due to its limited size, it is unlikely to be able to hold the entire staff of the G8 Summit, and so staff will travel from one of the nearby towns (Stirling, Perth, Glasgow, Edinburgh) to Gleneagles. Gleneagles is right next to a highway, and to north of uninhabited hills, except for a farmhouse.

Travel to and in Scotland

Police are already talking about restricting travel to Scotland, so the best idea is to come as early as possible and travel in an inconspicuous manner. It is easy from most places in Europe to get to London, and the low-cost bus system Megabus (10-15 Euros) goes to Glasgow. In general, public transport is very expensive from England to the Scotland (typical train tickets costing 80 Euros and typical bus tickets costing 40 Euros from London to Edinburgh). Luckily, the Southeast Assembly is booking their own trains directly from London to Edinburgh for the G8. See http://www.resistg8.org.uk/ for details on how to get a seat on the train. Hitch-hiking is possible in the UK, although crossing the Chunnel (Tunnel between Calais France and Dover England) often results in long waits and an actual passport check, and unless a sympathetic driver lets you in their car, and thirty-some Euro fee. For those that do not care about the harmful effects of flying on the ecosystem, there are also a number of low-cost airlines that go direct to Scotland, and due to government tax breaks / aid these prices if booked ahead of time around can be as little as thirty or forty Euros. Ryanair ( http://www.ryanair.com ) has their main base in Glasgow Prestwick, about an hour north of Glasgow, and regular flights from all over Western Europe go there, including Rome, Barcelona, Milan, Brindisi and Franfurt-Hahn. Easyjet ( http://www.easyet.com ) goes from London and Edinburgh to many other locations and is cheap. Air Scotland is another low-cost airline that goes directly from Athens to Glasgow ( http://www.air-scotland.com ). Also there is a ferry that goes direct to Scotland, Rosyth near Edinburgh, from Zeebrugge, Belgium. http://www.superfast.com/ Dissent, as discussed with many internationals at the International Networking meetings, will help set-up border actions against people preventing from entering the UK, and a phone number set-up to help those who have been stopped available at the website soon.

2. Mobilisation and Schedule of Events:

Although the mobilisation against the G8 is very large and diverse, we will in the following schedule focus our attention on events and spaces that are organised by or will have a significant presence of anti-capitalists and anti-authoritarians.

Rural Action: Shut Down the G8

On a large scale, this protest resembles the previous 2003 G8 Summit in Evian. The summit was similar because the protest was decentralised around several large cities with the main target, the G8, meeting on a remote mountain top with a few main roads leading there. This also is similar to the situation at the 2003 EU Summit protest where part of the protest was held in Halkidiki. It was felt in general that the 2003 G8 summit protests were a moderate success, as it featured direct confrontation with the police and delayed the summit for several hours. The situation for the G8 2005 protests is similar, with the main meeting taking place in Gleneagles Hotel, an hour north from the major Scottish cities of Edinburgh and Glasgow with only one major highway accessing the road. However, with the main target being difficult to defend due to its large perimeter and being much closer to large urban centres, Dissent feels it is possible for the anti-authoritarian movement to gain a major and inspiring victory against global capitalism by directly shutting the G8 down by blockading the roads going to Gleneagles while other groups go over the hills to enter Gleneagles directly.. This is not ridiculous since the last G8 Britain in 1998 in Birmingham meeting was effectively shutdown by being surrounded by Jubilee 2000 members nonviolently holding hands and a wild anti-capitalist street party. For information about previous summits prepared by Dissent see the "Days of Dissent" publication available at: http://www.daysofdissent.org.uk.

All details of the mass actions can be changed at consensus meetings before the action. At the previous Evian G8 2003 protests, there was a large camp-site and convergence centre called the "VAAG" that many felt was a great success. It was an autonomous village run by consensus that promoted radical action and thought. However, it was in France while Evian was in Switzerland, so it's main weakness was that it was too far from the actual target of protest itself, and many people found it difficult to make it from the VAAG to the actual protest. At this protest, the aim is for main rural convergence centre to be as close as possible to Gleneagles itself.

Urban Actions:

It is also recognised that if the police make it difficult to directly shut down the G8 in Gleneagles, then the protest will simply go to another location after the attempted shut-down. The climate change group in Dissent is planning a large action against the root causes of climate-change in a location yet to be announced for security reasons. We believe this action will be large and inspiring, and done on a scale never before seen. There will also be many decentralised actions on the capitalist system before, throughout, and after the days of the summit.

Schedule of Events

Copies of this schedule beneath "Action" on http://www.dissent.org.uk

June: The protest will be begin building with the 'rural' convergence centre opening in June, Stirling. This 'rural' convergence centre will be within striking distance of the hotel and will be capable of giving camping space to thousands of protesters. Then, in late June and July, smaller convergence centres will open in Edinburgh and Glasgow capable of holding large meetings and having workshops. A small amount of sleeping space has been booked in Glasgow and people are looking for sleeping space in Edinburgh. A number of decentralised actions and initiatives will begin in Edinburgh and Glasgow to build momentum for the G8, like the Cre8 Summit.

Saturday July 2nd The "Make Poverty History March" on is expected to be the largest march in British history over globalisation issues, with over 200,000 expected. However, the march is reformist and even endorsed by elements of the British government.

Sunday July 3rd A tour in Glasgow to visit places of visible and invisible borders, places of migration control. http://www.makebordershistory.org/

Monday July 4th The Faslane Blockade with Trident Ploughshares will be a non-violent blockade of the Faslane Nuclear Submarine Base outside of Glasgow. Although many may not agree with their strategy, we should respect their tactics and if you plan to attend this demonstration you will have to operate by non-violence (pacifist) guidelines.

Festival of Full Enjoyment in Edinburgh. A day of actions to resist social cuts, privatisation, precarity, workfare and increased pressure on those in employment being imposed throughout Europe and beyond. http://nodeal.org.uk/

Wednesday July 6th This is the Global Day of Action Against the G8 including public blockades of the delegates as they arrive.

There will be Beacons of Dissent (fires, although controlled as to not damage the ecosystem) lit on the hills in view of the the hotel the night before that should be visible to those in Gleneagles on the night of the July 5th before the action. Then hill-walking groups will look down on hotel and some will from the hills to A9 between then maybe onto the front door of Gleneagles, http://silver.j12.org

Thursday July 7th Call for an Anti-Authoritarian Bloc in Edinburgh. Not from Dissent. (unclear at moment how much momentum this has)

Friday July 8th The International Day of Action against Climate Change will feature a large-scale direct action on the major infrastructure responsible for climate change in Britain. Details will be announced closer to the date. http://cca.movingpages.org

3. Convergence Centre and Logistics: See website http://www.g8convergence2005.org (coming soon) for details.

Dissent hopes to have legal and safe housing for the protesters set-up, is co-operating with other groups in order to do so. Unlike Greece, there is no asylum at Universities in Britain. Unlike England, squatting is illegal in Scotland and it is expected that any squat will attempt to be shut down by the police as in Dublin MayDay? 2004. Therefore, legal housing is important if we want to focus on shutting the G8 down, and Dissent is committed to providing as much legal and safe housing for international protesters as possible. The legal convergence spaces need more money, so help with fundraising throughout Europe is needed. If the legal convergence centre does not happen or is shut down by the authorities, Dissent affliates will squat land and take over buildings.

Rural Convergence Centre:

The rural convergence centre will function as a group of autonomous zones, including a zone for Dissent and anti-authoritarians, which will likely be the largest zone at the rural convergence centre. Other groups such as the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament and People and Planet (an ecological student group) will also have zones. The convergence centre will be ran jointly by consensus of these groups, and each group will be wholly responsible for its own zone. Everyone except cops and mainstream media will be allowed on as individuals. Media will be kept off site at a separate media debriefing location, and no left politicians will be allowed to control a zone of the site. Free and cheap food will be provided. The rural centre will be ran on the "kitchen" system, with each kitchen itself being autonomous and capable of making its own decision. Groups from Greece like the Anti-Authoritarian Movement will be invited to have their own autonomous space within the Dissent zone. Many in Dissent hope the rural convergence centre will serve as an anti-authoritarian model of what we want.

Urban Convergence Centres:

The urban convergence centres in Edinburgh and Glasgow will be small and some offer sleeping space, some of which may be camping. It is unclear if food will be offered from the urban convergence centres, however, there are a number of cheap eating cafes and bars nearby. These convergence centres will be most useful for groups to do training and outreach to the public, to serve as an initial "welcoming point" for protesters, and distribute information about how to get to the rural convergence centre.

Travel from Urban Centres to Rural Centres

Dissent is hiring a number of mini-buses to go from the various urban centres to sites of actions and the rural centre, as well as from the urban centres in Glasgow to Edinburgh and back. We are also looking into hiring buses for the large days of action, like the buses hired to go to the EU Summit from Salonika for the EU Summit 2003 protests there. These buses are expensive and money is needed for them to be hired. If you are coming from anywhere and can drive, your skills will be needed. Also, if possible have your affinity group buy a minibus or van, or if travelling in large caravan, bring a bus!

How to Dress for Scottish Weather

The weather in Scotland is one of varity, and during the summer months it is warm and pleasant but can be very changable and rainy. Due to the proximity to the sea, weather in Scotland is milder than its latitude would have one guess, but also very unpredictable, so be prepared for anything. It will likely rain at some point so bring water-resistant clothing and boots that can handle mud. In July, there may be sunlight till nearly midnight and only a few hours of darkness before dawn. If possible, bring a tent for use with the eco-village, and other supplies needed for the outdoors. A sleeping-bag will be a necessity. A tent is also essential - consider buying a cheap one if you don't have one!

4. Indymedia Scotland:

http://www.scotland.indymedia.org and Indymedia UK http://www.indymedia.org.uk

There will be an Indymedia Centre opening in Scotland for the G8 protest, ran jointly by Indymedia UK and Indymedia Scotland. The main Indymedia Centre will open up in late June in Edinburgh,. It will have e-mail checking and video editing facilities for those reporting, with subsidiaries in Glasgow and the rural convergence centre. Unlike some Indymedia groups, both Indymedia UK and Scotland Indymedia are radical, anti-capitalist, and anti-authoritarian groups, especially compared to many more reformist Indymedia groups. Effort will be made not to video tape or otherwise use media that may incriminate protesters engaged in direct action. Some video footage will be used to document possible police brutality (as this video footage has sometimes saved activists from lies of the police in court) and also to inspire people around the world.

Communication System for Mobile Phones:

There will be a communications network set-up by Dissent that uses text-messaging over mobile phones to communicate the location of the police and other news. Please bring or consider purchasing a mobile phone sim card that works in the UK. The number and how to subscribe to the communication system details will be distributed upon arrival at one of the convergence centres.

5. Repression and Scottish Law: Shortened version of more comprehensive text available from http://www.g8legalsupport.info/

Scotland, once being a separate nation, historically has had always had separate legislation from the rest of Britain as regards everything, including protests. There is not one clear statute or code setting out the different criminal offences, but everything is based on the interpretation of the judge.

Scotland is one of four countries that make up the UK, commonly referred to as 'Britain'. References to 'mainland Britain' are to England, Scotland and Wales. There are no border regulations between the four within the UK. Border crossings have also been used by British police and immigration officials to question people. To minimise the risk, travel as inconspicuously as possible (think about your clothes and means of transport etc.). If you are stopped, answering a few basic questions may get you in, but if you are detained then request a lawyer. We suggest the following: Bindman & Partners In England/Wales?: 020 7833 4433 and Scotland: Wilson-Mcleod in 'yellow pages'.

Ids, Weapons, and Drugs.

Once in Britain there is no requirement to carry ID. While when arrested and detained, the police have the right to ask for your name and address, you do not have to prove it to them. They instead Also, cannabis and other drugs are illegal and are a reason to arrest, as in drinking alcohol in public due to various bylaws. Carrying a knife (even in your pocket) in a public place is illegal. It is illegal to carry an offensive weapon, including carrying things like a large stick to a protest. An offensive weapon is an item designed to cause injury or something carried for the purpose of causing injury.

Stop & Search

There is no general right for the police to search you. There are exceptions to this, for example under drugs legislation, if they have reasonable grounds to suspect you of possession of illegal drugs. The police will often try to get people to co-operate where they have no legal power to compel them to do so. If you allow them to search through your bag, for example, anything they find may be used as evidence against you in any trial, even if they had no legal power to compel you to submit to a search. The police can only carry out a "pat down" search unless you have been arrested, and you are only required to remove outer clothing (e.g. a coat) in public. You are not required to give a name or address if you are searched, only if you are detained or arrested.

Conducting searches: Section 60 Orders

A Section 60 order is the power of the police to stop and search in anticipation of violence. The first thing to note is that actual violence is not required. If the police believe that incidents involving violence are likely to occur and it is necessary to do so to prevent their occurrence, they may given authorisation to stop and search people and vehicles within a specified area for up to 24 hours. It is almost certain that Section 60 Orders will be authorised throughout the G8 summit. Once in force the uniformed police of any rank can stop people and vehicles and search them for weapons or dangerous instruments. No suspicion of that person or vehicle is required. Anybody can take anyone's photograph in the U.K. Therefore the police can take a photograph of you and they may do this whilst performing a Section 60 search. You do not need to co-operate with this, unless you have been detained or arrested. You do not have to give your name and address, explain why you are there or answer any questions. The (uniformed) police can also require that any item be removed which the police think is wholly or mainly for concealing identity (e.g. masks). You have a right to be given a written record of the search, even without giving your name or address. The Section 44 Terrorism Act also works similarly to a Section 60 order.

Detention and Arrest

The police can either detain or arrest someone. The power of the police to arrest is defined at common-law so there are no certain criteria. Generally, if they reasonably believe you have committed an offence you may be arrested - like when practise you are caught in the act. Otherwise it is usual to detain you. Whilst you are detained you have the right to have a person informed of your place of detention (and so may contact the G8 Protest Legal Hotline). There is a legal support team set-up that will be running 24 hours a day, and have people on hand to attempt to visit people and vehicles to pick them up from jail and court. Addresses in the United Kingdom will be provided for international protesters by Dissent.

Detention

You may be detained if you are reasonably suspected of having committed an offence that is subject to imprisonment, which can be almost anything. You need to be told that: you are being detained and what you are being detained for. You cannot be held in the legal state of "detention" for more than six hours, after which time you must either be released or arrested. You do not have to give any information apart from your name and address. Give no comment to any other questions.

Arrest

You may, depending on the circumstances, be processed at the scene or taken to the police station. You will formally charged, asked a number of questions and photographed. You do not have to give any information apart from your name and address, and can just say "no comment" to the rest of the questions. Giving a false name is an offence, while giving the address of a place you are staying at in the UK (such as one provided by Dissent) is legal. We recommend giving "No comment" as the answer to all questions after giving your name and address. After this you will be put in a cell. At some point you will be taken out of your cell to be fingerprinted, to be photographed and they will likely take a DNA sample (using a mouth swab). You will be either released, asked to sign an undertaking (see section 7 below) or held until the next working day for court. Usually, you will only be held for a day. They can keep you in custody until a court appearance. They can release you with a report being sent to higher authorities m to consider whether to prosecute. Anybody who appears on a complaint (low-level charge) must be tried within a year of their first appearance.

For very serious matters you will appear "on petition" and may receive a jury trial. If you appear in court from custody you can apply for "bail" (an amount of money to guarantee your appearance in court)so that you remain at liberty until the trial (which may be many months away). Bail is more likely where the police can confirm your address in the UK. If you are from abroad you may be required to surrender your passport. The police do not have the power to deport people once they are in the UK. The Court may recommend deportation as part of a sentence, but it is unlikely.

Dissent is planning on having a series of jail solidarity demonstrations with any protester arrested during the course of the G8 protests, and maintaining long-term solidarity with internationals who are arrested.

Police Tactics:

Policing in Britain is via regional police forces - there is no large national force. However, an officer from any Scottish force has full police powers anywhere in Scotland and it may be that English police are sworn in Scotland for the G8. Some are certainly coming up to provide backup. This may lead to some conflict between Scottish and English police. The English police are only brought to Scotland in case of emergencies, the last time being the Miners Strike in the 1980s. In general, the police in Britain favour crowd control and surveillance tactics, often intimidate and control protesters. If this fails, they prefer to attempt to beat protesters with metal batons and otherwise physically break the protesters in combat. Although this may change, the police do not use chemical weapons. There are rumours of stun guns, but denied that these will be deployed.

Police in Britain are issued with metal retractable batons, which cause nasty head wounds but minimise the risk of brain damage or death. Long side handle (US style) batons are also in use, but less favoured. CS gas is issued, but not often used - guidance refers to life threatening situations. Pepper spray is used, not generally in crowds, but mostly when making arrests by spraying in the face. Water cannons have never been used on the British mainland but supposedly have been ordered from the Netherlands.

Horses are used for sealing off streets or to guard buildings and to break up crowds. Dogs are also used, mostly to protect key buildings and at roadblocks, but given the rural nature of Gleneagles they may be more widely used in the hills. Roadblocks and checkpoints have been widely used in the past and are to be expected around Gleneagles, especially on the Firth of Forth bridge between Edinburgh and Gleneagles.

In Britain the police favour close contact public order policing. The main tactic is to divide very large groups of people into smaller groups and surround and contain them, sometimes for hours, before dispersing one by one. Continuously moving about can make this more difficult for them. When they fail to divide groups, riot police are sent in lines to break up and disperse crowds, by hitting out with batons at peoples' heads. Mounted (horseback) police are also used in the same way. The police also use teams of snatch squads to make arrests. These consist of 6 officers in a triangular pattern, with the outer police protecting the arresting officer.

The police also make wide use of photographers, video camera operators, helicopters with video cameras (which take surprisingly clear footage) and evidence gathers, who record a running commentary. Forward Intelligence Teams (FIT) are police issued with photos of known activists, who they follow. Despite their title their main role is harassment.

The Scottish police force is not very competent compared to many of their European counterparts, having been outmanoeuvred by school children on a regular basis. There are also not many police in Scotland - only 12,000 by the latest estimate. The police in Britain most experienced in dealing with dangerous situations are those in Northern Ireland, however, due to political instability in that region they will not be used in Scotland. However, there will definitely be English police imported, and the general level of police preparedness will be high. They have been training on bulldozers to break roadblocks. Most of the police will not have ever seen an anti-globalisation protest. The police are primarily used to dealing with non-violent civil disobedience and marching, and so may be surprised by some of the tactics used by some protesters. Also, the police are likely to be surprised by any level of co-ordination, planning, and courage - so get ready!