Meet mischief-makers Josh Pieters and Archie Manners, who recently pulled off a brilliantly executed prank at a Just Stop Oil banquet. With orange helium balloons and panic alarms, they mockingly disrupted the event, sparking widespread attention and ridicule for the controversial protest movement. They were also responsible for the ‘Just Stop Pissing Everyone Off’ protest last week, which successfully stopped the eco-militants disrupting traffic. Is this the way to stop Just Stop Oil? The Telegraphhas more.
All it took was a fleet of orange helium balloons and a few panic alarms tactically placed at a Just Stop Oil banquet to disrupt it. In a matter of minutes, the group that has blighted our summer had been given a taste of its own medicine. Or as one commenter underneath the video of the stunt online put it: “Great idea, I did this at Eton in 1997.”
In many ways, it was a textbook muck-up day prank, just the kind of childish scene that plays out on the last day before the summer holidays in schools up and down the country. But with the simplest of moves, Josh Pieters, 29, and Archie Manners, 30, had done what no one else had successfully managed to – they’d made a mockery of Just Stop Oil.
On Tuesday, in an artfully dilapidated church decorated with swathes of orange fabric and trailing plants (making the whole affair look like something between a summer soirée hosted by Fanta and a Christian influencer’s wedding), guests sat down to a (vegan) banquet. A harpist played as people sat at long tables. Then four paid actors burst in, setting off panic alarms attached to helium balloons which promptly floated up to the eaves.
“I’m slightly nervous we’ve given them an idea,” says Manners of his prank, which has been viewed nearly 450,000 times in two days, and was designed to mimic the sorts of antics that JSO has made their bread and butter.
In recent months, JSO has been an irritation at every public event, from the snooker to the Proms. Now, if you turn on any sort of sports match or concert (or, indeed, find yourself attending the wedding of a former member of the Cabinet), you find you are in a constant state of alert for that spray of orange. Their determination to continue blocking roads and disrupting perfectly inoffensive games of cricket has already turned many off their cause, but the public’s growing impatience hasn’t yet been enough to see them off. Perhaps it’s because until now the feeling towards Just Stop Oil had been, broadly, one of anger. And what is a more powerful tool than rancour? Ridicule.
“[The event] was a party, there are no two ways of putting it,” says Manners, who with Pieters is a YouTube comedian and professional prankster. And it was the snooker stunt that was the final straw in his eyes. “It was hardly attended by big oil execs.” That and reports like this week’s, that the group’s protests have cost the Metropolitan Police £7.7 million since April.
Thanks to Manners and Pieters, a counter-movement has been building in recent weeks. For £13.99 you can order a T-shirt in signature JSO orange with the words: “Just Stop Pissing Everyone Off” emblazoned across it. “I want to donate to this cause,” says one commenter, “keep it going, guys.”
“The people that they’re targeting are not responsible for their cause,” says Manners. “A single mother trying to get to work to feed her kids during a cost of living crisis, who might be on a zero hours contract, who might be late for work and therefore earn less money. That achieves precisely nothing when it comes to solving the climate crisis.”
Stop Press: Camilla Tominey, writing in the Telegraph, points out that the Just Stop Oil protestors are all middle- or upper-middle class and the targets of their ire are working class. Is this just rampant snobbery?
You’ll need to set up an account to comment if you don’t already have one. We ask for a minimum donation of £5 if you'd like to make a comment or post in our Forums.
Sadly, just to let everyone know, these two young chaps do actually believe there is a “climate crisis,” which somewhat undermines their efforts. Still, at least they gave JSO some payback so well done for that.
Off topic! Sue me now! Randy Miesner dies!
“Take it to the limit” Eagles” highest human note every recorded! Rip Mr Eagle! 77 years old, part of my informative years!
Ooh you rebel you! I saw that in passing earlier actually. Was there any mention of cause of death? No apologies for this being my default mindset these days, especially for the younger folk…
RIP indeed.. a great singer and musician.. ‘Take it to the limit’ was an incredible song.. I loved it and still do. Lots of special memories tied up with that song.. So long Randy..
Did you say “believe”? ———-Believing things is religion not science. —-But Heretics like you and I know that already.
Jabby Mcstiff
1 year ago
It isn’t about a climate crisis. Were we ever brought up to think that the climate would stay the same forever. The growth of crisis cults at the end of empires is nothing new and perfectly understandable from a psychospiritual point of view. You imagine that you are thirteen years old now and trying to be an optimist, You would need some serious serotonin levels.
Jabby Mcstiff
1 year ago
There is the sulky admission that somewhere in the last few years we diminished in power. No government will ever mention those points for obvious reasons but that they have shut our mouths against speaking about them is quite something. Not entirely of course and obviously our side has the best and the brightest on side. But the audacity of the attack should never be forgotten and that the last three years have been horrible but the next three years will be on an entirely different level.
And of course there is a climate crisis that will destroy civilisation. It’s called ‘climate change’.
It’s been going on for millions of years.
It will kill all of mankind eventually.
But the betting is that we will have done that to ourselves long before climate change, hot or cold, asteroids or anything else can do their worst.
Jabby Mcstiff
1 year ago
They are coming from a particular rasa. In Vedic philosophy there are nine rasas. Rasa can roughly be translated as mood but it is more the spirit in which you enter into things. If you had their spirit you would cling to climate catastrophism, it would fit perfectly. In England the demoralisaton is the same in the highest paying schools and the lowest state schools. They all get off their tits just with different substances. This current mood of the country simply isn’t up to the task it really does have to change. I have no prescriptions just the understanding of the lateness of the hour.
Jabby Mcstiff
1 year ago
Honestly all of this nonsense talk is going to seem like wasted breath in the near future. Just focus on what your heart tells you is important.
Mogwai
1 year ago
Another day another young person in peak physical shape declaring they’ve got a heart condition out of the blue.
It does state ”hereditary heart condition” for this lad, who happened to be from the same club. Hereditary heart conditions have obviously always existed but the obvious question everybody should ask nowadays in order to rule it out as a cause is ”did they get the Covid jab?” This news is just continuous.
Here’s my hat-trick. Best leave it there or I’ll be here all day! This one was just down to the stress of the World Cup apparently, although she won’t be playing now so there is that….
”Breakout World Cup star Linda Caicedo may not feature again in the tournament after the Colombian collapsed at training in distressing scenes that were caught on video.
The young gun, 18, was rushed to hospital and was unconscious for at least 90 seconds as medics and terrified team-mates rushed to her aid at the team’s base in Sydney.
The rising star was later released from hospital but is unlikely to feature in her country’s match against Germany on Sunday.”
To join in with the discussion please make a donation to The Daily Sceptic.
Profanity and abuse will be removed and may lead to a permanent ban.
Sadly, just to let everyone know, these two young chaps do actually believe there is a “climate crisis,” which somewhat undermines their efforts. Still, at least they gave JSO some payback so well done for that.
Off topic! Sue me now! Randy Miesner dies!
“Take it to the limit” Eagles” highest human note every recorded! Rip Mr Eagle! 77 years old, part of my informative years!
Ooh you rebel you!
I saw that in passing earlier actually. Was there any mention of cause of death? No apologies for this being my default mindset these days, especially for the younger folk…
https://twitter.com/CartlandDavid/status/1685016011773292545
Tony Bennett,
I left my heart in San Francisco
Have you got a big powerful buggatti royal? Ooooh!
Bugatti!
RIP indeed.. a great singer and musician.. ‘Take it to the limit’ was an incredible song.. I loved it and still do. Lots of special memories tied up with that song.. So long Randy..
And now tony Bennett
Don’t forget the emaciated Irish one hit wonder. How could you, she has dominated the headlines?
It could be said that rather than undermining their efforts it actually magnifies them. For CC Sceptics, this is popcorn time.
Did you say “believe”? ———-Believing things is religion not science. —-But Heretics like you and I know that already.
It isn’t about a climate crisis. Were we ever brought up to think that the climate would stay the same forever. The growth of crisis cults at the end of empires is nothing new and perfectly understandable from a psychospiritual point of view. You imagine that you are thirteen years old now and trying to be an optimist, You would need some serious serotonin levels.
There is the sulky admission that somewhere in the last few years we diminished in power. No government will ever mention those points for obvious reasons but that they have shut our mouths against speaking about them is quite something. Not entirely of course and obviously our side has the best and the brightest on side. But the audacity of the attack should never be forgotten and that the last three years have been horrible but the next three years will be on an entirely different level.
‘Is this just rampant snobbery?”
Of course it is.
And of course there is a climate crisis that will destroy civilisation. It’s called ‘climate change’.
It’s been going on for millions of years.
It will kill all of mankind eventually.
But the betting is that we will have done that to ourselves long before climate change, hot or cold, asteroids or anything else can do their worst.
They are coming from a particular rasa. In Vedic philosophy there are nine rasas. Rasa can roughly be translated as mood but it is more the spirit in which you enter into things. If you had their spirit you would cling to climate catastrophism, it would fit perfectly. In England the demoralisaton is the same in the highest paying schools and the lowest state schools. They all get off their tits just with different substances. This current mood of the country simply isn’t up to the task it really does have to change. I have no prescriptions just the understanding of the lateness of the hour.
Honestly all of this nonsense talk is going to seem like wasted breath in the near future. Just focus on what your heart tells you is important.
Another day another young person in peak physical shape declaring they’ve got a heart condition out of the blue.
https://www.thesun.ie/sport/football/11092304/premier-league-lars-dendoncker-retire-brighton-heart-condition/
It does state ”hereditary heart condition” for this lad, who happened to be from the same club. Hereditary heart conditions have obviously always existed but the obvious question everybody should ask nowadays in order to rule it out as a cause is ”did they get the Covid jab?” This news is just continuous.
https://www.bbc.com/sport/football/64284281
Here’s my hat-trick. Best leave it there or I’ll be here all day!
This one was just down to the stress of the World Cup apparently, although she won’t be playing now so there is that….
”Breakout World Cup star Linda Caicedo may not feature again in the tournament after the Colombian collapsed at training in distressing scenes that were caught on video.
The young gun, 18, was rushed to hospital and was unconscious for at least 90 seconds as medics and terrified team-mates rushed to her aid at the team’s base in Sydney.
The rising star was later released from hospital but is unlikely to feature in her country’s match against Germany on Sunday.”
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-12346941/Womens-World-Cup-star-grabs-chest-collapses-training-Linda-Caceido-Colombian-rushed-ambulance-losing-consciousness.html
JUST START OIL