I stood on the corner of Parliament Street and Bridge Street, in the shadow of what's commonly, if incorrectly, known as Big Ben, for half an hour. An awful lot of people can pass by in half an hour. I have no idea of how many more passed before I even arrived.
The atmosphere was fantastic. The section that were due to pass as I arrived were led by a percussive band. A deep bass keeping an incessant rhythm, coupled with whistles and klaxons got the adrenaline flowing. Throughout that time, my friend the helicopter hovered over my head.
The crowd was a wonderful cross-section of the British public. Although the majority were white, there were plenty of black and Asian. Quite a few people were Mediterranean/Latino; I heard three groups of American accents. Obviously, there were lots of students, but also many 30-50s in their suits, having come from work, many many pensioners, numerous nuclearfamilies, with children ranging from a few months, through the primary school age, to a large group of raucous teenagers. Most of the placards were Socialist Worker standard issue, but many more were home-made. Some worked, some didn't. Many Labour Party, Union, CND, and Church groups brought their banners. A whole group travelled in rickshaws, another group dressed as clowns. A few effigies of Bush and many pretzels were carried.
It was tremendously good natured - it seems that the fringe extremists bent on destruction forgot to turn up and sent the ordinary people instead. The police were clearly enjoying themselves, laughing and joking with the marchers and hangers-on (myself included).
I suppose that the calls of the protestors have fallen on deaf ears, and no doubt the Murdochian press will be portraying the marchers as marginal, but it is so important to demonstrate - literally, 'to show'. Not because we're 'lucky' to have free speech, but because centuries of Radicals have fought for these rights, and will continue to do so.
Tomorrow, Bush is off to Sedgefield, and I'm off to Councillor Steve's 40th. But if you, or another blogger you know, is going to Sedgefield, do drop a comment...
Now, I've got to do some photo-editing...
