Jobs, Education, Peace Protest March & Rally
Labour Party Conference, Brighton. Sunday 27 Sept 2009
Three orange marine distress flares were set off opposite the Labour Party
Conference
more pictures
Around two thousand marchers, including a large group who had come on a specially
chartered train from London as well as many from further away, made their
views clear to the Labour Party in a march and rally outside the centre where
the Party was in conference at Brighton on Sunday. Called by trade unions
and pressure groups - the UCU, NUJ, PCS, NUT, CWU and RMT, Right to Work,
Stop the War and Unite Against Fascism - they demanded a change
in direction over proposals to cut public expenditure.
The big news for the march was that the strike at Tower Hamlets College by
members of the University and College Union to save jobs there had been successful.
After almost a month on strike, an agreement to avoid 25 compulsory redundancies
there was reached in talks at the arbitration service ACAS and announced the
previous day. The proposed cuts would have reduced or closed services to some
of the most vulnerable and disadvantaged people in our society. The message
from Tower Hamlets was clear "We Fought & We Won."
Also at the front of the march and in the marchers thoughts were workers
from Vestas Blades, inexplicably abandoned by the government when
the management decided to close this vital green industry down in the Isle
of White and move production to the USA. The UK needs to take a great leap
into wind power over the next few years - and could become a net exporter
of electricity across Europe using newly developed low-loss DC transmission
technology on a new super-grid. This clean green technology is already proven
to work - while the government seems committed to gamble on the unlikely pipe-dream
that the dirtiest of power-generation technologies - coal-fired power stations
- can be tamed by 100% carbon capture and storage.
Although it was predictable that this march would be peaceful and without
incident, and the organisers were cooperating fully, the police were taking
no chances, with hundreds on duty and walking with the march. The bill for
policing the conference at Brighton runs into millions and was one item of
public expenditure that the marchers would have readily seen severely trimmed.
There were a few short speeches at the start of the march a few yards east
of the entrance to Brighton's one remaining pier. Among those speaking was
a woman from the campaign waged by cleaners and other low paid workers in
London for a living wage, and another from Youth Fight For Jobs as well as
a final speaker from Brighton and Hove District Trades Council welcoming us
to Brighton. Then the marchers moved off along the seafront road, chanting
noisily and with many union and other banners.
A short way behind the front of a march, a group mainly of students marched
behind a banner proclaiming 'STUFF THE MARKET - TAX THE RICH' and they periodically
halted to allow a gap to develop in front of them, working up their chanting
to a crescendo before rushing forwards to fill it, scattering the photographers
and videographers in front of them
Approaching the conference centre, the police had routed the marchers on
to the promenade, putting a low hedge and a further row of barriers between
the march and the conference. When this group halted, three orange flares
were let off to the accompaniement of considerable shouting and waving of
fists.
The march continued to the 'Peace Statue' a few hundred yards further on,
and then went down to beach level, walking back along the lower promenade
to an open area not far from the conference centre, although more or less
out of sight, for the final rally.
Speakers were Sally Hunt (UCU), Martin Reed (NUT), Mark
Flowers (former Vestas worker), Pete Murray (NUJ), Weyman
Bennett (UAF), Caroline Lucas MEP, Jeremy Corbyn MP,
Richard McEwan (UCU Tower Hamlets College), Lindsey German (Stop
the War), Tony Kearns (CWU), MIchael Bradley (Right to Work),
John McDonnell MP and Mark Serotka (PCS).
The speakers all called for changes in government policy that would create
jobs rather than unemployment, and most stressed the importance of green jobs.
The government had poured billions into supporting the 'casino' activities
of banks and paying for obscene bonuses, but had declined to support Vestas.
Internationally governments have failed to take the decisions necessary to
separate the essential banking functions from their risky speculations and
to firmly regulate their activities.
It was important that workers fight to keep their jobs, and actions such
as that in Tower Hamlets showed that it was possible to win these fights.
Several called attention to the rise of the BNP and the need to oppose this,
regretting the decision of the BBC to feature the BNP leader on 'Question
Time' and there was a call for a demonstration at the studios when this was
taking place.
Several also referred to the wasteful spending on the Iraq invasion and the
continuing war in Afghanistan, calling for an end to the wars, the abandonment
of the Trident replacement and of ID cards.
Several unions are considering the possibility of supporting trade union candidates
in elections - the RMT has already done so in the Euro elections - because
of the abandonment by New Labour of its working class base. Those at the rally
were urged to attend a meeting afterwards organised by Bright supporters of
No2UE-Yes to democracy to explore the issues involved.
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Gordon on the Gravy Train etc
Labour Party Conference, Brighton. Sunday 27 Sept 2009
The 'Vote for a Change' campaign's Westminster Gravy Train - and David Cameron
in a blue tie at the back
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Party conferences are at best rather boring beasts, and given the current
state of the Labour Party and Labour Government, the event currently under
way at Brighton is more desperate than most. Fortunately there are always
a few things happening around the edges to brighten the day, and Sunday outside
the conference hall was certainly a splendid day with a clear bright blue
sky that contrasted with the mood inside Fortress Brighton, surrounded by
armed police and anti-tank obstacles.
On the promenade opposite the conference centre itself was a reminder of
a blot on our and the US government's conscience, the continued detentions
in Guantanamo Bay. The orange clad figures stood holding letters spelling
out the message 'BRING SHAKER HOME'.
Shaker Aamer is one of two former British residents still at Guantanamo.
A 42 year old Saudi national, he has a British family who live in Battersea;
the UK government made half-hearted requests for his return in 2007, but have
failed to follow these up and he is still under detention. Ahmed Belbacha,
an Algerian asylum seeker who lived in Bournemouth, has been free to leave
Guantanamo for two and a half years, but has chosen to stay there rather than
go back to Algeria, where his life would be at risk; our government has refused
to allow him to return here.
Other protests on the sea front included a call to boycott Israeli goods
and against Control Orders with their use of secret evidence and Kafkaesque
violation of human rights.
Christian Aid's cyclists rode along the seafront with posters declaring
that climate change could push 250 million sub-Saharan Africans into poverty
by 2020 and asking Gordon to "Lead the way" at Copenhagen in December.
Delegates entering the conference pass a number of people handing out magazines
and leaflets, some on serious and worthy issues and others more on the eccentric
fringe. Given the current housing problems particularly for many families
on lower incomes - which have provided a major area for the BNP to exploit
with racist myths - a return to major investment in council housing to make
some inroads into the massive waiting lists would seem an excellent idea,
and one that would provide a much-needed economic stimulus. But however much
we may approve of Abraham Lincoln's sentiments on sustainable smallholdings,
the idea that 'Domicile Allotments' are a simple solution to climate change
is frankly lunatic.
Rather more serious, but also considerably more amusing is the 'Westminster
Gravy Train' offering free transport to conference delegates by the Vote
for a Change campaign. Following on from the MPs allowance scandal, this calls
for a break with the "voting system that has left parliament unaccountable
and unrepresentative" and calls for a referendum on electoral reform.
The 'Gravy Train' - a Thomas the Tank Engine tribute - was crewed by masked
figures including Gordon Brown, David Cameron, Hazel Blears, Alistair
Darling and Jack Straw as it made its way along the seafront road past
the conference centre and stopped for photographs in front of Brighton pier.
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ABoD Lord Carson Memorial March
Temple Place, London. Sat 26 Sept 2009
Flute bands play a large part in Orange marches. UVF Regimental Band
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Each year the City of London Campsie Branch of the Apprentice
Boys of Derry holds a march in memory of Lord Carson and to lay wreaths
at the Cenotaph in memory of the 36th Ulster Division, formed after
a meeting between Lord Kitchener and Sir Edward Carson from
men who already had some military training (with 30,000 German rifles brought
illegally into the country) in the Ulster Volunteer Force. By the
time they were demobilised in 1919, the division had suffered 32,000 casualties
and gained nine Victoria crosses and many other awards for gallantry. Recognised
as one of the most effective fighting units of the war, it was badly let down
by the lack of organisation and ineffective tactics of the British Army.
I was brought up a Protestant, though most of my relatives thought my parents
excessively liberal; we were Congregationalists while they worshipped at a
Baptist church where the pastor was a friend of the Rev Paisley. At least
one of my ancestors was said to have been imprisoned - like John Bunyan -
in Bedford Goal for his stubborn adherence to the Protestant faith. My first
girlfriend was Catholic and I would not have dared take her to see my relatives
-but was saved the decision when her uncle, a Catholic bishop, discovered
she was going out with a Protestant and immediately took her back to Malta.
Since those days, even in Ulster, things have changed (though perhaps not
in Malta.)
The presence of the London Somme Association and the Harbour
Somme Association from Belfast, along with other reminders of the First
World War brought back memories of my own father, who after running a machine
shop full of women making munitions when he was underage for service, volunteered
and served in the Royal Flying Corps (later the Royal Airforce.)
The march in London was a ceremonial event and very much a family event too,
with many coming from Belfast, Glasgow, Airdrie, Liverpool, Bootle, Corby
and elsewhere to take part in the event, in which wreaths were laid at the
Cenotaph.
Unlike last year, everyone was friendly to me as I took pictures, and several
mentioned having seen last year's pictures on this web site. Unfortunately
other committments meant I had to leave the march, which had started late,
before it reached the Cenotaph.
Lord Carson was born in Dublin and became Solicitor-General for
Ireland and then for England around the start of the 20th century. An Irish
patriot, he was opposed to Home Rule for Ireland and in 1911 he became the
leader of the Ulster Unionists. The following year, his was the first signature
on the Ulster Covenant in which men pledged to use "all
means which may be found necessary" to defeat home rule for Ireland
(women signed a shorter version without this promise.) Also in 1912, he was
one of the founders of the Ulster Volunteers, a unionist militia
which the following year became the Ulster Volunteer Force, and in
1914 received 30,000 rifles and ammunition, bought in Germany and brought
to Ireland where the UVF took over Larne to prevent the authorities stopping
the gun-running.
Carson remained the unionist leader until 1921, influencing Ulster to opt
out from Home Rule. He declined to stand as Prime Minister of the newly formed
Northern Ireland Parliament as he felt he had few connections in the north,
and he resigned as party leader, retuning to work as a judge in London. He
was then made a life peer.
Although Carson had became an Orangeman at 19, he was always critical of the
culture of Orangeism. When the Northern Ireland parliament was set up in 1921
he warned Unionists not to alienate the Catholics with the words "from
the outset let them see that the Catholic minority have nothing to fear from
a Protestant majority." History would have unrolled very differently
if those in Ulster had followed this wise advice.
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Camp Ashraf Hunger Strike - Day 60
US Embassy, Grosvenor Square, London. Fri 25 Sept 2009
The Bishop of Oxford talks to hunger strikers
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Camp Ashraf or Ashraf City is an Iranian refugee camp in Iraq established
in 1986 as a home for members of the People's Mujahedin of Iran (PMOI), one
of several sites given to this major Iranian opposition group by Sadam Hussein.
After the US invasion, US forces took control of the site and a few months
later they seized all the weapons held by the PMOI. Those living in the camp
were designated as protected people under the Geneva Conventions, protecting
them against being deported, expelled or repatriated.
On 1 Jan 2009, the US handed control of the camp to the Iraqi government.
The US retained a military presence there and gave promises to the camp residents
that they would be treated humanely according to Iraqi law and that none would
be deported to any country were they had a "well-founded fear of persecution."
Following demands from the Iranian regime that the Ashraf residents be extradited
to Iran, Iraqi forces entered the camp on July 28-30 this year. According
to reports the US forces at the camp simply stood and watched as a variety
of weapons - including batons, axes, water cannon and live ammunition - were
used to attack the 3500 unarmed Iranian refugees, who include a thousand women.
Journalists were kept out of the camp, but according to Amnesty, film footage
shows Iraqi military Humvees being used repeatedly to run down residents.
Eleven residents are reported to have been killed in these attacks, with
around 500 wounded. 36 men were taken away and are still held without trial
or charges being laid. They are reported to have been tortured, and most are
now on hunger strike and in a critical state.
A camp was set up outside the US Embassy in Grosvenor Square London by families
of the victims of Camp Ashraf. Twelve Iranians are on hunger strike there
in sympathy with those deatined in Iraq, and today they were on the 60th day
of this protest. Several have already been taken to hospital because of critical
organ failures, but are continuing their protest.
Daily, hunger strikers from the camp at the US Embassy go to 10 Downing Street
to urge our government to take action, but so far there has been no response
from the British or US governments to their demands. The hunger strikers ask
for the release of the 36 detainees and a withdrawal of Iraqi police from
Camp Ashraf and for access to the camp for lawyers, journalists, doctors and
relatives. They want temporary protection by US forces until an international
force can take over, and the immediate stationing of an international monitoring
team at the camp by the United Nations Assistance Mission for Iraq.
The atrocities during the attack on Camp Ashraf and the continuing detention
of the 36 (despite two legal decisions in Iraqi courts that they be released)
have received little attention in the international press, while in the UK
news media have chosen to ignore the protest outside the US embassy.
Organisations including the Law Society, Amnesty International and the Church
of England have lent their support to the campaign. While I was visiting today,
the Bishop of Oxford was visiting the camp in Grosvenor Square and he will
report to the Archbishop of Canterbury, who earlier on 20 September issued
a strong statement: "The continuing situtaion in Camp Ashraf together
with the fact that 36 people taken from the camp in July have not been released,
constitutes a humanitarinan and human rights issue of real magnitude and urgency."
He also supported the demands for UN monitoring, calling for a response as
a matter of urgency.
This is another issue that has received little coverage in the media. The
interest in the UK protest taken by the Archbishop of Canterbury has however
meant some interest from the religious media, and it has featured on the early
morning BBC radio religious 'Sunday' program.
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LGBT Solidarity at Serbian Embassy
Belgrave Square, London. Friday 25 Sept 2009
Rainbow flag at the Serbian Embassy
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A peaceful protest took place at the Serbian Embassy in London on Friday
25 Sept to show international solidarity with the LGBTQ community in Belgrade
following the cancellation of Beograd Pride, due to take place last Sunday,
20th September. As is quite often the case I was the only journalist to cover
the event, and posted a short report with pictures on Indymedia and
Demotix.
Around 40 people, including supporters of Outrage!, the NUS
LGBT group and Queers Without Borders protested on the embassy steps,
handing in a letter to the ambassador expressing their deep concern and urging
the Serbian authorities to show determination in pursuing individuals and
organizations who are associated with criminal acts against LGBT people or
venues, to protect those who have given public support to Pride and LGBT people,
to work with LGBT organisations to create a more positive attitude in particular
to allow Pride 2010 to proceed normally in Belgrade.
The letter reminded them of the importance of protecting the human rights
of its population, including the estimated 5% LGBT people, and of the importance
of protecting the democratic rights of citizens in view of the country's aspiration
to EU membership.
Belgrade's first gay parade in 2001 had to be abandoned after violent protests
on the streets of Belgrade.
It took eight years until Serbia's LGBT community felt it was possible to
hold a second parade. But mounting threats from nationalist ultra-right groups
and football fan clubs - including offensive graffiti and posters threatening
violence on almost every street in the city centre - led the authorities to
decide that they were unable to protect the marchers - despite earlier promises
to do so being repeated by President Boris Tadic the previous day.
The day before the march was due to take place, the organisers met with Prime
Minister Mirko Cvetkovic who suggested that they move the march away from
central Belgrade and when they declined to do so, the march was cancelled.
The Serbian government were clearly embarrased by the coverage this got around
the world and have promised that there will be a Pride march in Belgrade in
2010 - but then they promised it would happen this year.
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Autumn Equinox: Druids at Primrose Hill
Primrose Hill, London. Tuesday 22 Sept 2009
A dog with a stolen rubber chicken in its jaws runs across in front of the
druid procession
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We don't know a great deal about the druids who were already ancient when
the Romans came. Roman historians described them as wise but bloodthirsty,
given to human sacrifice that stained the altars of Angelsey with blood, and
although the evidence of conquerors is always untrustworthy what little archaeological
evidence there is supports the cruelty (but not the wisdom.) Fortunately today
the members of The Druid Order are peace loving. free-thinking and rather
photogenic in their white robes, and their main aim is to develop themselves
through being rather than through intellectual learning.
The Druid Order celebrated the Autumn Equinox (Alban Elued) with a ceremony
on top of Primrose Hill in London at 1pm in their traditional robes.
After processing up the hill to form a circle, a long horn was sounded to
the four corners of the world and then the sword was held aloft to each in
and pulled loose with the call "Is it Peace?" and on receiving the
reply "Peace", pushed back.
The lady, representing the Earth Goddess Ceridwen then requested permission
to enter the circle with her two attendants, and it was granted. They brought
a horn containing cider and a basket of fruit and flowers, the harvest of
the earth to the chief druid. The cider was tasted, then carried around the
circle with libations being poured onto the earth. He also received the basket
of fruit and flowers and this too was emptied out as he walked around in the
circle.
The names of companions of the ancient order no longer with us were read
out, including that of the artist William Blake and other well-known historical
figures. We all observed a minute or two of silence and their was a fairly
long address. Near to the close of the event, the druids joined hands around
the circle and renewed their druid vows. In a final act of the ceremony, four
druids came to the centre of the circle and raised the hands in turn to proclaim
peace.
Everyone present was thanked for coming and an invitation issued to those
who want to find out more about the order to attend their regular public meetings.
The druids then left the circle in order through a gate made by two of their
number and processed away down the hill, again forming a circle briefly before
beginning to disrobe.
I walked back to the top of the hill to sit and admire the view - and to
eat a delicious apple from the fruit they had scattered there.
The Druid Order was formed, along with a mythic history linking it back to
earlier times, around a hundred years ago by George Watson MacGregor Reid.
The 'history' links it back to a call by John Toland on Primrose Hill at the
Autumn Equinox of 1716 for a meeting of Druids at the Apple Tree Tavern in
Covent Garden a year and a day later. According to the Fifth
Mount Haemus lecture by Dr Adam Stout in 2005, their first recorded appearance
appears to have been at the Summer Solstice at Stonehenge in 1912, although
Macgregor Reid may have been there in 1909. A photograph from 1912 shows him
striding through the stones in Indian dress leasing his "Universalists."
The following year he was back, describing himself as a High Priest and "the
direct successor of the Chief Druids who have been" and dressed in a
very similar manner to that still adopted by The Druid Order.
MacGregor Reid was, it appears, in many respects a remarkable character,
involved in virtually every aspect of the counter culture of the late 19th
and early 20th century. He was a trade union agitator, into oriental mysticism,
labour party activism and of course druidism and the establishment of a universal
church in Clapham.
Although he was not the earliest or the only latter-day druid to celebrate
the Summer Solstice at Stonehenge, it was his repeated annual celebrations
at or close to the site, often despite its owners or, after it became national
property, the Ministry of Works, that established its current preeminence
as a symbol of alternative culture.
At the top of the hill is a large circular memorial plaque to Iolo Morganwg
(1747-1826), an important figure in the re-invention of a Druidic tradition
and marking the site of the first meeting of the Gorsedd of the Bards of the
Isle of Britain on Midsummer's day 1792. He invented descriptions of Druid
ceremonies and added these, together with some of his poems, into the translations
he made of medieval Welsh manuscripts. The memorial was unveiled earlier this
year on Midsummer Day 2009, and the Welsh Gorsedd continues as a part of the
national Eisteddfod. Morganwg also introduced the 'Awen' symbol with its three
'rays' still used by the Druid Order.
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Urban Green Fair
Brockwell Park, Brixton, London. Sunday 20 Sept 2009
Explaining the advantages of the Brixton Pound
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There was much of interest at the Urban Green Fair, but little that I really
felt I wanted to photograph, but it was a pleasant afternoon. One of the oddities
of this event is that it's very hard to get an alcoholic drink there, though
I did manage to track down a cup of cider. The food too didn't look very appetizing,
and I was glad I'd brought a sandwich. There was organic produce, bees, an
apple press and bicycles, as well as rather a large zone offering massage
of head, feet and elsewhere and other nutty fringe offerings of no interest
to me.
The Brixton Pound - accepted by many of the small shops in Brixton - seemed
a good way to encourage local business, including some green businesses, but
not of much use if you don't live in Brixton (and I don't.)
Apart from the bikes, there seemed to be little about green technologies,
though there were some greener computers on offer (low power consumption seemed
to be the main feature) and one example of a wind turbine.
The highlight for me was the performance by Mark Thomas, and I took a front
row seat to take pictures. I've met and photographed Mark at a number of demonstrations,
and of course heard him on radio, but this was the first extended performance
- almost an hour - by him I've actually been at in person. When I get time
I'll certainly read his book "Belching
Out the Devil: Global Adventures with Coca-Cola" which is both a
serious piece of investigative reporting and hilarious.
Afterwards I went to visit the Community Garden in the park, which was also
interesting. I'd tried to see it on my previous
visit, but it had been closed.
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Bermondsey Street Festival - Zandra Rhodes Birthday
Bermondsey St, London. Saturday 19 Sept 2009
Andrew Logan, Donna Maria and Zandra Rhodes
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Old and new Bermondsey came together for a lively street festival on Saturday
19th Sept on Bermondsey Street, one of the oldest streets in the area.
Donna Maria's Maypole, dancers based in South London, entertained
in the main arena in Tanner Street park, with her colorful recreation of an
ancient English tradition.
At the end of their first session, Zandra Rhodes (b 1940) came to
open the festival, and was presented with a birthday cake, pink and in the
shape of the letter Z, which she cut. Both she and artist Andrew Logan
joined in the maypole dancing with Donna Maria.
One of the key developments of the new Bermondsey is the Fashion and
Textile Museum founded by fashion designer Rhodes and opened in 2003.
She is the patron of the Bermondsey Street festival, now in its third year,
and as well as opening it also had a stall on the street.
The events on Bermondsey Street culminated in an hour long fashion show which
featured dresses by leading designers now located in the area, including dresses
by Zandra Rhodes with jewelry by Andrew Logan.
Bermondsey used to be one of the more notorious areas of London, though massive
redevelopment in the late nineteenth and first sixty years of the twentieth
century replaced its slums by council flats and other social housing. Now
it is filling up with expensive flats, designer dress shops and trendy cafes
and is one of the more lively up and coming areas of the capital.
When I published an Industrial Archaeology walk around West Bermondsey in
1992 the idea of guided walks around the area was novel. Today, guided walks
led by Blue Guides were on offer in the festival as well cycle tours led by
Southwark cyclists and tours of the church.
The redevelopment of Bermondsey Square, completed in 2008 has changed that
area completely, but does still include a large open space which was also
in use for the festival, along with the church of St Mary Magdalen, parts
of which are medieval.
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Save Vestas Action Day
DECC, Whitehall Place, London, Thursday 17 Sept 2009
Darren Johnson, Mark Flowers and John McDonnell at the rally
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Events around the country marked the Vestas 'Day of Action for Jobs and
the Planet' on Thursday 17 Sept. The TUC conference in Liverpool passed
a motion of support and in London a demonstration was held outside the Department
of Energy and Climate Change in Whitehall Place.
Speakers at the rally, which was organised by the Campaign Against Climate
Change, included John McDonnell, MP, Darren Johnson, Green
Party spokesman on trade and industry and chair of the London Assembly, trade
union organisers and Mark Flowers, one of the sacked Vestas workers.
The rally demanded that Vestas reinstate the sacked workers and give better
redundancy packages to all of their staff, and that the government must take
over the Vestas factory and create green jobs across the country.
Several speakers commented on the bitter disappointment felt at the TUC conference
at Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change Ed Miliband's total failure
to express any practical support for Vestas when he spoke to Congress yesterday.
Although talking about the need for green jobs he continues to ignore the
most obvious and direct way he could support this.
Earlier in the day PCS activists from the London branch had organised a lunchtime
rally outside the DECC - and some also came to the later demonstration. In
the evening there was a public meeting organised by the NUJ with speakers
from the NUJ, NUT and UCU as well as a Vestas worker.
Outside London, there were also events taking place as a part of the Vestas
day of action in Birmingham, Manchester, Newcastle, Newport, IOW, Rotherham,
Southampton, Warrington, Chatham and Cardiff.
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Miliband Faces Climate Critics
DECC, Whitehall Place, London, Monday 14 Sept 2009
Minister Ed Milband listens to a tough question on climate change and his
government's response
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Minister Ed Miliband came out to meet Climate Chaos Coalition
(CCC) protesters who had gathered outside his Department of Energy and
Climate Change offices this evening to urge him to put a stop to the use of
"climate-wrecking dirty coal power." He responded to some
critical questioning about the government dragging its feet over renewable
energy with claims that he was working hard on a similar agenda to the protesters
and was very aware of the challenges we face over climate change.
Although many were unconvinced by some of his answers (and may suspect that
government policy in this area is more driven by the Treasury and the Department
for Transport than the DECC) everyone present was impressed by his willingness
to come and spend almost fifteen minutes in the rain talking with the protesters
and making a genuine attempt to answer the questions and criticisms.
He ended by thanking everyone for raising public awareness of the issues
by taking action in the way we have, and also stressed the importance of groups
such as the CCC keeping up the pressure in the run up to the UN climate summit
in Copenhagen in December, where decisions taken will be crucial for the future
of the planet.
Leaders of some of the organisations in the CCC had earlier met with the
minister to impress on him the vital importance of abandoning coal for power
generation unless and until 100% efficient carbon capture and storage can
be proven to work. The public consultation on a new coal-fired power station
at Kingsnorth closed last Wednesday, Ed Miliband has now to make his decision.
Other speakers at the vigil included Ashok Sinha, Director of the Stop Climate
Chaos Coalition, while Christian Aid provided a fine campaigning choir in
clerical garb which performed a number of well known tunes with new climate-friendly
lyrics which others present joined in - and for once everyone was really singing
from the same song sheet. The coalition involves virtually all of the major
environmentally concerned groups in the UK, including Friends of the Earth,
Greenpeace and the Campaign Against Climate Change, as well as faith groups,
aid agencies and many others - a total of over 100 organisations with a total
membership of more than 11 million.
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Al Quds Day March
Marble Arch to Waterloo Place, London .Sunday 13 Sept 2009
Marchers approaching Piccadilly Circus
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he annual Al Quds Day (Jerusalem Day) march in London has aroused
increasing controversy over the years, and was met by several small counter-demonstrations
from individuals along the route and several small groups of protesters at
Piccadilly Circus. After a series of violent clashes at anti-Islamic demonstrations
involving right-wing groups, most recently outside the Harrow mosque on Friday,
police were prepared for trouble when these groups, including the English
Defence League and March For England, called on their supporters
to gather and protest against this march.
Other protesters included Iranian democrats, royalists and socialists, particularly
incensed at the recent rigged election results in Iran and the demonstrations
that followed, with Neda Agha-Soltan being killed and others who died in jail.
Although Al Quds Day was initiated by Ayatollah Khomeini when he became Supreme
Leader of Iran in 1989 as a day on the last Friday of Ramadan (the London
march is on the following Sunday) to oppose the Israeli occupation and control
of Jerusalem, and several of more prominent groups leading the demonstration
in the UK have links with Iran, the event has support from a wide range of
organisations including the Muslim Council of Britain and the Respect
Party.
Several thousand marchers left Marble Arch, led by Muslim clerics and two
Neturei Karta anti-zionist Jewish leaders. Before the march there was an announcement
that although as usual women would march in the centre, led and followed by
the men, it was also made clear that those who wanted to march as families
were welcome to do so, and many, particularly the younger marchers, took advantage
of this.
Along the route people chanted the familiar slogans, which were printed for
convenience on the small Palestinian flags many of the marchers carried, calling
for an end to the occupation of Palestine and Israeli violence. Some carried
pictures of the Israeli atrocities of the war in Gaza and there were calls
for the end of the building of illegal settlements on occupied territory.
One of the main messages was for people to support the boycott of Israeli
goods, which appears to be having a real effect.
At Piccadilly Circus, the police had erected a large pen for the counter-demonstrators,
which would have held at least twenty times the small number there, and it
was ringed by several times as many police as protesters. Surprisingly photographers
told me police simply watched and refused to take action when they were assaulted
and pushed out from the pen by the hooligans there. Some of these also refused
to be penned, and police followed several groups who left around the area.
I saw four young men being stopped near Hyde Park corner and one was questioned
and searched while he hid under his jacket before they all ran off away from
the demonstration.
As the demonstration passed the waiting groups in Piccadilly Circus there
was considerable shouting from both sides, but police kept the march to the
opposite carriageway and together with march stewards, held back marchers
eager to go and confront the opposition. Another row of police - in places
a double row - kept the protesters behind their barrier and held photographers
a short distance back. As well as shouting insults at the Muslims, they were
also making threats, gestures and shouting at the photographers, and I was
glad not to be too close although the police bodies made taking pictures difficult.
The police had also insisted that the march not continue to Trafalgar Square
for the rally as in previous years. In view of the small number of counter-demonstrators,
this was perhaps an unnecessary precaution, but the crowded venue in Waterloo
Place did give the event a greater intimacy than it would otherwise have had.
Among the speakers before I had to leave were Roland Rance, Taji Mustafa of
Hizb ut-Tahrir Britain, Yvonne Ridley of the Respect Party and Neturei Karta
Rabbi Ahron Cohen.
more pictures
Photographers Flash-Mob at Canary Wharf
Canary Wharf, London. Saturday 12 Sept 2009
Photographers at the Canary Wharf Flash mob
more pictures
I'm a Photographer not a Terrorist! was inspired by a poster campaign launched
by the Metropolitan Police that suggested that anyone with a camera was a
terrorist as well as the increasing legislation against photography and the
harassment by police and others that photographers face when taking pictures
on the street.
Hardly a week passes by without another story of a photographer being questioned
and sometimes arrested when photographing shops, bus stations, footpaths,
parks or other public places. In the face of clear advice from the Home Office
(recently strengthened) that photography is legal in public places and that
anti-terror laws should only be invoked where there is a clear and reasonable
threat of terrorism, police, PCSOs, council officials and others continue
to take action against photographers, often citing laws against terrorism.
The Canary Wharf estate is one of an increasing number of 'public' spaces
in cities that is privately owned - including many shopping centres and some
office areas. Photographers who try to take pictures here may be asked to
leave and risk being abused and restrained by security guards, although tourists
taking pictures are usually tolerated. At various times at Canary Wharf, security
guards have stopped me or attempted to stop me when photographing a war memorial,
demonstrations and a violent assault by security staff on a member of the
public as well as when taking architectural and urban landscape images.
At 3pm on Saturday 12 Sept, around a hundred photographers descended on Canary
Wharf in London for a flash-mob protest around the clocks in the square below
Canary Wharf Tower. They produced cameras on the stroke of three and began
photographing everything in site - mainly each other. Security men stood around
watching the protest from a distance but took no action.
more pictures
DLR and River Thames
Limehouse & Isle of Dogs. Saturday 12 Sept 2009
On the Docklands Light Railway you can pretend to drive
more pictures
London's underground system was in more or less total collapse, with planned
engineering works closing down over half of the lines and signaling and other
problems messing up most of the rest. The few remaining services were hot
and crowded. I needed to be sure to get to Canary Wharf for 3pm, but neither
the DLR or Jubilee was running there from Westminster where I was.
I'd hoped to drop in at the rally at Aldgate to support the strike at the
colleges in Tower Hamlets, but there was no Circle Line and District Line
services were stopping at Tower Hill. Traffic was bad, and the chances of
getting there on a bus, and then getting the bus on to Canary Wharf after
a short stop seemed pretty low, so I gave up the attempt. Buses to Canary
Wharf are always slow and timings unreliable so I took the DLR to Westferry.
Probably I could have gone on by rail replacement bus, but it wasn't in sight
and I just had time to walk, taking the more pleasant route along the Thames
path, and stopping for a minute or two to take some pictures. I made it with
around five minutes to spare.
more pictures
Cuban 5 - Political Prisoners in US
Angel, Islington, London. Saturday 12 Sept 2009
Break the Chains - Free The Cuban 5 - rally at the Angel
more pictures
Last Saturday was the 11th anniversary of the jailing of the Cuban
5, political prisoners in the US, and it was marked by events around
the world urging their release. In London, Rock around the Blockade
held a rally outside Angel Tube station in Islington across lunchtime, speaking
and handing out leaflets in the busy street. The rally was supported by other
groups including Fight Racism! Fight Imperialism!
The Cuban 5 are five Cuban men who infiltrated CIA-backed expatriate Cuban
terrorist groups based in Miami, Florida. They discovered that an extremist
group 'Brothers to the Rescue' was practising its plans to bomb Cuba
by dropping pipe bombs from airplanes, and the Cuban government passed on
the evidence of this illegal activity to the US administration.
The US response was to arrest the five Cubans who had discovered the plot
and to set up a trial in Miami where in 1998 three were sentenced to life
imprisonment and the other two to 15 and 19 years in prison.
A US court in 2005 decided in 2005 that their trial had been unfair and ordered
a retrial in a new location. The Attorney General had this decision overturned
and the convictions were upheld in 2006 and 2008. Despite an unprecedented
number of petitions from human rights organisations, jurists and others from
around the world, the US Supreme Court refused to examine the case this June;
Obama had urged them not to hear it. A retrial is to start shortly for three
of the men, but under the same judge who found them guilty at the original
unfair trial.
The whole prosecution is a part of the political war by the US against the
socialist revolution in Cuba which started in 1959. Cuba is seen as a threat
to their control and business interests in the whole of Central and South
America and determined to isolate and destroy it. The infamous 'Monroe
Doctrine' originated by President James Monroe in 1823 now means that
Latin American countries are free to choose any government they like so long
as it isn't too left-wing.
Apart from an abortive attempt at invasion - the Bay of Pigs, proposed by
Nixon, planned by Eisenhower, approved by Kennedy and turned into a fiasco
by the CIA, the main weapon used against Cuba for the past 50 years has been
a US commercial, economic and financial blockade, repeatedly condemned by
the United Nations, most recently by 185 votes to 3 with 2 abstentions.
more pictures
Memorial Procession for Victims of the Arms Trade
Victoria Dock, Custom House, London. Friday 11 September 2009
A wreath for victims of the arms trade was launched onto the dock opposite
the DSEi arms fair
more pictures
In 2005, local residents formed 'East London Against the Arms Fair' (ELAAF)
to oppose the government-sponsored Defence Systems & Equipment International
(DSEi) held every two years at the ExCeL centre in Canning Town, East London.
Organised by Clarion Events and the UK Trade & Investment's Defence &
Security Organisation (UKTI) - a government department, this is one of the
world's largest arms fairs, bringing together over a thousand arms companies
from around their world and clients who include many from countries known
for flagrant human rights abuses, as well as those actively involved in wars
and civil wars.
The deals made at ExCeL will lead to many people in countries across the
world suffering from repression, being injured and being killed. The money
spent on arms also distorts the economies of many countries, with money that
should be spent on development and meeting basic needs going to waste.
EELAF has held a number of peaceful musical protests against the arms fair
at the Excel site before the fair as well as making representations to all
those involved in the fair, including the owners of ExCeL, the state-owned
Abu Dhabi Exhibition Company. They held a number of protests this week, beginning
with a candle-lit vigil on the eve of the fair on Monday, and a day of action
at ExCeL and outside the UKTI offices on Tuesday. As the fair was coming to
an end on Friday afternoon, a small group of around ELAAF supporters led a
Memorial Procession from close to the entrance of the DSEi arms fair around
Victoria Dock to the south side. There they held a short ceremony of remembrance
for the many killed by arms sold at previous fairs and those who would be
killed by the arms sold at this week's event. A wreath was launched onto the
water of the dock opposite the warships moored outside the arms fair and a
minute of silence was followed by the singing of peace songs and the holding
of hands.
Unlike at protests held at the arms fair two years ago, the police were polite
and helpful, the officer in command coming to ask what the protesters intended
to do and promising the assistance of the police in maintaining their right
to make a peaceful protest. Although there was an obvious police presence
around the DSEi, police kept well away from the demonstration. ELAAF is pledged
to continue to hold regular meetings and protests until the arms fairs stop
being held in East London.
Climate Rush: Aylesbury Green Fayre
Kingsbury, Aylesbury, Bucks. Wed 9 September 2009
Caroline Lucas and Tamsin Omond at Kingsbury before the Green Fayre started
more pictures
Aylesbury was the most northerly point of the Climate Rush tour of South
West England. They were camping at Haddenham a few miles away, and came into
Aylesbury to hold a Green Fayre in Kingsbury, a pedestrian area in the centre
of Aylesbury with a few pubs and cafés as well as shops around its
edges, and a water feature with a number of small fountains.
Wednesday was one of the best afternoons of the summer, warm and sunny, and
although it wasn't crowded there were enough people around to make the event
worthwhile. As well as the Climate Rushers themselves, there were two other
attractions, with a chance to meet and listen to both Green Euro-MP Caroline
Lucas and celebrity cookery writer and TV performer Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall.
At the start of the event, Tamsin Omond and some of the other Climate
Rushers in the long white suffragette dresses and red sashes carried one of
their banners (EQUITY: Emission Quotas Must Be Per Capita;
The Rich Have No More Right To Pollute Than The Poor) around the nearby
busy market area and nearby streets, Tamsin announcing in a surprisingly loud
voice the chance to meet both the TV Cook and one of their Euro MPs.
Whether because of this or not, throughout the afternoon quite a few people
stopped to talk to Hugh and tell him how much they enjoyed his programme.
Others just edged towards him, stopping a few yards away phone in hand to
take a picture.
There were a few short speeches and quite a few people came over to take
leaflets and stopped to talk to the Rushers about climate change and what
they could do. A few children came to do some drawing, and some people wrote
notes about environmental issues to be sent to the local MP.
Aylesbury Museum rose to the occasion, bringing their own stall on which
people could make paper bead necklaces, and more to my taste, bringing apples
and the rare Aylesbury plums from trees in their gardens to give away. Other
gardeners brought produce too, and we enjoyed eating them, including some
raw petit pois, with raw Jerusalem artichoke a special treat.
It really was a very pleasant afternoon, and as things began to quieten down
and I sat there drinking a pint of beer from the neighbouring pub, enjoying
the company and the fine weather, it was easy to begin to think that all was
well with the world. But of course it isn't, but this was a reminder that
the planet we have really is worth saving. And if we all take action soon,
possibly we still can.
more pictures
CAAT: Close UKTI DSO
Victoria St, London. Tuesday 8 September 2009
Dan Viesnik on his 100 hour Famine for Victims of the Arms Trade at UKTI with
the CAAT protest
more pictures
CAAT (Campaign Against the Arms Trade) had demonstrated outside the DSEi
arms fair at the ExCeL centre earlier while I had been following the autonomous
Disarm DSEi march around the city, and in the afternoon came back to Victoria
St to demonstrate outside the government offices of UK Trade and Investment
(UKTI), whose Defence and Security Organisation provides financial, political
and logistical support for the arms fair, channeling our taxes to help private
companies to profit from making the arms used to kill people.
To highlight the death, injury and deprivation caused worldwide by the arms
trade, Dan Viesnik was making a 100-hour famine at various government offices
and other locations around the city, and was outside the UKTI while the CAAT
demonstration was taking place.
more pictures
Disarm DSEi
City of London. Tuesday 8 September 2009
At the door of AXA Investments
more pictures
Disarm DSEi was a protest against the world's largest arms fair which opened
that day at the ExCeL centre in East London, and it targeted the city offices
of companies heavily involved in the arms trade. The protest stopped outside
a number of their offices for short speeches about the company involvement
and made a great deal of noise.
Disarm DSEi provided an excellently produced and well-researched 'infopack',
4 A4 pages with a map listing over 25 companies - including arms traders,
law firms, institutional investors and banks with heavy involvement in the
arms trade, from which I've used a few quotes below. They stressed that this
protest had "no organisers" and that it belonged to all those taking
part who would together decide on its course of action.
The event started outside the RBS in Aldgate ("the world's leading
creditor to the arms industry ... over £44.6 billion in the last ten
years including loans to producers of cluster bombs and depleted uranium munitions."
It also financed the purchase of Clarion who run the DSEi arms fair. From
there we went to Barclays "the largest investor in the global arms
trade with £7.3 billion in shares."
The next stop was at Legal & General at the top of Coleman St, where
people stuck notices on the doors of the building. They own "£795
million worth of shares in the UK arms trade" and around three times
as much in the international arms industry.
Opposite each other in Gresham St were Schroders and Lloyds TSB, again with
huge shares in the UK arms industry. Lloyds are "principal banker
to BAE Systems and QinetiQ " and "have given £33.3
billion in loans over the last ten years, including loans to produces of
of cluster bombs and depleted uranium munitions."
At the BT offices they made a rush of the door and managed to break through
it and go into the atrium for a short while to continue the protest inside
before leaving. Many of the staff and visitors in the building gathered at
balconies surrounding the atrium to watch what was going on. Although there
was a little damage as they pushed through the door and jumped over the security
gates (I slowly followed them) there seemed to be little if any deliberate
vandalism and no attempt to attack any of the people inside. "BT
hold £59 million worth of shares in the international arms trade."
Later at AXA Investments ("£2,259 million worth of shares
in the UK arms trade and &6,207 million investment in the international
arms industry") they pushed hard against the door which was held
by two security men, and smashed some of the glass with a reinforced banner,
but seemed to give up when the door finally appeared about to burst open.
Outside the Stock Exchange ("where all the dirty dealing gets done")
in Paternoster Square the march appeared to come to an end and the banners
were put away. L left to cover another demonstration against the arms fair
elsewhere.
Police made no attempt to stop the march and kept a fairly low profile throughout,
although at times I saw a FIT team taking pictures - and of course in the
city everyone is on hundreds if not thousands of CCTV cameras. The 'infopack'
included the advice "MASK UP!! Don't submit to police surveillance"
and many on the protest did so. It's something that photographers often find
adds interest to pictures too. But even when wearing masks a few protesters
still tried to stop photographers taking their pictures. Crazy if you want
other people to know about your protest and what you are protesting about.
more pictures
Climate Rush: Celebration of Community
Resistance
Sipson, London. 5 Sept 2009
Tamsin plays the villain BAA while Geraldine talks about
the NoTRAG campaign
more pictures
Activists from around the country came to give short presentations on their
campaigns, including those against Radley Lakes, Fos-y-Fran, Rossport, The
IMF/World Bank, Vestas, a message from Cathy McCormack in Easterhouse, and
finally Geraldine talked about the campaign against the third runway at Heathrow.
more pictures
Climate Rush on the Run
Hayes & Sipson, London. 5 Sept 2009
Climate
Rushers get tea and biscuits in St Anselm's Church, Hayes, before the London
Churches Environmental Network walk.
more pictures
The Climate Rush was organised to mark the 100th anniversary
of the 'Suffragete Rush' of 13 Oct, 1908, when more than 40 women
were arrested in as they attempted to enter The Houses of Parliament.
To mark this centenary, on the evening of Monday 13 Oct, 2008, women concerned
with the lack of political action to tackle climate change organised and led
a rally in Parliament Square, with the key suffragette slogan "Deeds
Not Words" calling for "men and women alike" to stand
together and support three key demands:
* No airport expansion.
* No new coal-fired power stations.
* The creation of policy in line with the most recent climate science and
research.
My pictures of the rally
and the rush on 13 October.
Since then the Climate Rushers have gone on to organise and take part in
various other events, including Climate
Rush at RBS, the Pedal
Power Bike Rush, a mass bicycle ride around London to Westminster Bridge
and a Palm Oil Gala
in Grosvenor Square, as well as a number of other protests I haven't been
at.
Currently the Climate Rush is "On the Run", on "a rollicking
tour of South West England", staging events, supporting campaigns and
"entertaining the towns, villages and hamlets" on their route. The
tour includes "16 Climate Suffragettes, 3 horses and 2 glorious caravans",
though not all of them were there for the first port of call at Sipson (and
the caravans looked more like carts to me.)
They aim to promote awareness of the great possibilities offered by a low
carbon future and to "inspire a nationwide campaign of civil disobedience
against the climate criminals who are holding us back - a campaign as stylish,
effective and unstoppable as the Suffragettes."
I missed much of the fun on Friday at Sipson, including a kids activity session
and a tea party for local residents, and I'm told there was great musical
evening. The Sipson Airplot is also just a few yards from a great local pub.
The first event on Saturday was only attended by a very small group of Climate
Rushers who had made the short train journey to Hayes to join a service and
walk by the London Churches Environmental Network. The rushers had
to leave the walk after three-quarters of a mile to rush back to Sipson, getting
in some walking practice for the tour on the two and quarter mile stroll to
the Airplot.
Back on site there was lunch to be eaten and final preparations to be made
for that afternoon's 'Celebration of Community Resistance' (see above.)
The Climate Rushers tour continues with events at Haddenham and Aylesbury
(8-10 Sept), then Oxford (12-13th), Stroud (18-19th), Bristol (21st), Taunton
(24th), Exeter (26-7th) before ending at Totnes on 30th Sept. See their web
site for more details.
more pictures
Climate Rush Procession Heathrow
Sipson & Heathrow, London. 4 September 2009
Climate Rushers and local residents lead the 'NO THIRD RUNWAY' procession
at the airport perimeter fence
more pictures
The Climate Rush have started on a one month tour of South West England and
I was very pleased to be able to join them at their first stop at Sipson this
morning. Slightly less pleased that my own trusty steed, a 13th birthday present
from my oldest brother a few years ago, punctured a few hundred yards short
of the Airplot site where they had been camping over night.
Greenpeace bought the Airplot site in the middle of the site for a third
runway at Heathrow and invited everyone to join the plot as a beneficial owner,
alongside the four legal owners, "Oscar winning actress Emma Thompson,
comedian Alistair McGowan and prospective Tory parliamentary candidate Zac
Goldsmith and Greenpeace UK." You can still sign
up for your small piece of the site, and most if not all of us today had
already done so. The hope is that it will make it harder for the legal notices
to be served so for the development of the site to go ahead.
I first photographed the opposition to the further development of Heathrow
in 2003, when local residents organised a
march against the proposal for a third runway, and have attended and photographed
a number of protests since.
I grew up under the main flight path in use for landing a couple of miles
from touchdown. Although I was a plane spotter at an early age, all of us
living there felt the disruption it caused in our lives, even back in the
1950s. My teachers often had to stop and wait in mid-sentence for a plane
to go over. We could often smell the fuel, and see and feel the oily grime
although I don't think the term "pollution" had then really entered
normal vocabulary. At a deeper level, I still sometimes have nightmares about
planes going over in flames (as they sometimes did) and crashes, although
since Terminal 4 blocked one of the existing runways (Heathrow was built with
six though only two are now used) thankfully planes no longer shake my present
house as they come in low on landing or take off.
Although there are claims by the industry that planes are quieter now, noise
is still a problem for us - as it is for perhaps a quarter of Londoners. Partly
this is simply because there are many more planes, but also that many pilots
cut costs by making steep turns on full power shortly after take-off and fly
back over this area. Official noise measurements still seem to be made to
fail to reflect reality although possibly less blatantly than in the past.
My sister lives under the flight path at least twice as far from the airport
as me, but the noise there is often unbearable. Even very much further away,
at Vauxhall, noise is still a problem, as you can see from the recent
film by Jason N Parkinson.
Back in the 1950s we knew Heathrow was in the wrong place; it only gained
permission for development by pretending it was needed for military use (a
lie from the start.) Every further development there has always been obtained
by underhand means. When T4 was built, they gained permission by promising
they would never ask for a further terminal. At the enquiry for T5, they said
they would never ask for a third runway. It was only a matter of months before
the application came in. The plans for Terminal 6 (which of course they would
never need) were published in 2005.
Heath Row had some of the best agricultural land in Britain, and the surrounding
area was the site of some of the oldest settlements in the country long before
the Romans came for that very reason. Most of its prehistoric sites have been
lost, some under the airport, others under other developments or dug up for
gravel. My grandfather had a market garden and an orchard not far away, and
Cox's Orange Pippin, the finest of all dessert apples, was first recognised
as a chance seedling and cultivated by Richard Cox a mile or so down the Bath
Road. There are apple trees around the Airplot site of different varieties,
both eating and cooking apples, and we also ate damsons from a nearby tree.
Sipson to the north of the airport was one of several Middlesex villages
I used to cycle through as a kid, although development has been a little harder
to it than some. Neighbouring Harmondsworth, also to be destroyed if the third
runway goes ahead, has rather more of its original charm, with a village green
with a pub and church and, a few yards away, one of the finest medieval tithe
barns (2 pictures at bottom of this
page.)
The procession left from the Sipson Airplot, led by local residents from
NoTRAG, though most were at work today
- more were expected later in the day and at the 'Celebration of Community
Resistance' at Sipson tomorrow. Suffragettes (including a 'token' male) wearing
'Deeds Not Words ' and 'Climate Rush' red sashes carried three banners, Justice,
Equity and Truth; Equity traveled on a horse-drawn cart along with a violinist.
The banners read:
JUSTICE: Rich Countries must recognise historic responsibility
for climate change.
EQUITY: Emission quotas must be per capita; the rich
have no more right to pollute than the poor.
TRUTH: Emission caps must be set in line with the latest
climate science.
We went south down Sipson Road to the Bath Road, and across it onto the Heathrow
site, turning to walk along the Northern Perimeter Road outside the perimeter
fence. There we were joined by a police car, which stopped traffic for us.
A few hundred yards along we were unsure of our route, and Tamsin Omond who
was close to the front of the procession, rushed across to ask the police
how we could return to the Bath Road.
Once we were off the airport site the police left us to find our own way,
back up Sipson Way and Sipson Rd to the Airplot site. Altogether we had walked
around two and a quarter miles, and the one of the three horses pulling the
cart hadn't even raised a sweat. It was time for us - and the horses - to
eat some of the apples. A couple of the suffragettes climbed a tree to pick
some more, but they turned out to be cookers. The kettle had been hanging
over the embers of a wood fire and a few more sticks soon brought it to the
boil for tea.
I sat down to mend my puncture. Unfortunately I its a while since I checked
the repair kit in my pannier, and having found two largish holes found I didn't
have a large enough patch to cover the two of them and the rubber solution
had dried up. It was time for me to walk the six miles home.
more pictures
More on the Climate Rush at Sipson on 2-5 September:
Celebration of Community Resistance
Climate Rush On the Run! Sipson
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Peter Marshall 2009; to buy prints or for permission to reproduce pictures
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