(Almost) every day from Friday 11th to Thursday 24th February, a post (sometimes two) will appear on this site, to celebrate the Republic of Newtonia – a brief occupation of a site in Hulme in defence of Abbey Pond (near the Old Abbey Taphouse). In 1994, local people and environmental activists tried to stop the Council and the Science Park from filling in the much-loved pond. If you were there, and want to share your memories (and any photos or other material) please do get in touch via mcmonthly@manchesterclimatemonthly or on Twitter – @mcr_climate

Also, on Thurs 24th, the 28th anniversary of the Pond’s destruction, there is an online meeting, from 7.30pm, bringing together people who were at the Republic of Newtonia with campaigners defending green spaces now. You can book here (it’s free).

“The day before the revolution” is a wonderful short story by Ursula Le Guin, a prequel to her novel “The Dispossessed.”

Well, today was the day before the eviction (not that the campers knew it). What is interesting is that two different “powerful” groups had by this time come out in defence of the pond – we know this from two press releases, saved by Unity Kelly.

One was the Manchester Environment Forum, which had been set up by Manchester City Council in the middle of 1991 (the subject of another article at some point).

The second was … the University itself.

But behind the scenes, the eviction had already been planned…