march for the alternative March 26th 2011
On the tube in the dark with the bustling travellers who are mostly oblivious to the events unfolding up above in the City of London. Feeling excited as we ascend the escalator to Temple Station and the outside world by the river Thames. The day is mild though cloudy and quite favourable for marching. Already the people are thronging together in a huge body. They pour down the streets in torrents of smiling humankind. All ages and ethnic groups joined together by common aims. The little ones with their happy faces steal the show before it has begun.
We have all come to tell the ConDems that the cuts are unfair, unfounded and will remove services vital to the most needy in the land. Of course they know that and most of us know it will take more than a few thousand people marching to deter them from enacting some of the most detrimental fiscal policies for many years.
People have come from everywhere across the nation and I feel at home with the firemen from North Wales, the nurses from Bradford, off duty police men from Liverpool, youth workers from East Devon, doctors from Scotland, social workers from Somerset and the pensioners, students and the other groups from all over the UK. It is always good to be one of many, united in a common cause.
Over time our little group came together and we set off down to the river to join the main body of the march. The walk along the north bank of the river Thames was slow but no one minded. Some of us were very glad of the gentle pace. We halted for several minutes at a time, at frequent intervals, due to the massive crowds that grew rapidly as we marched. We were among the last to set out because we waited until our group had assembled. One of our group had travelled from the midlands to be with us and was delayed. Still the people poured on to the back of the march and when I looked back it seemed the column of marchers stretched another mile into the distance.
One group had music pumping out of a bicycle powered sound system. Others played bagpipes and a host of other instruments. We meandered along Victoria Embankment towards Parliament Sq, scene of the Student demo in December. The atmosphere was amazing. People chatted with people from opposite ends of the country and I am certain many friendships were forged here and many networks expanded.
We marched on and after the best part of a couple of hours we had made it from temple tube station to the houses of parliament.
I have never been in a happier crowd. Every one was good natured. The police were chatty and relaxed. Even the police guarding the Territorial Police Headquarters on the embankment were relaxed. No one abused them nor they us though the chants against the government were derisory and tough, as you might expect. I heard no bad language nor did I see any conflict of any kind.
Two little girls played among us in the space people made for them instinctively. People took turns to push people in wheel chairs and it seemed every one was looking out for every one else. It really was a magical place to be. The sense of solidarity was very effecting and powerfully uplifting. I wanted to live there, where there is hope and a tenacious clinging to the simple idea that fair is righteous.
Things really slowed up and so by the time our little group reached Trafalgar Square we had been on the road for three hours and we knew we wouldn’t get to the rally before it finished. We voted to get a cup of tea around the corner at Charing Cross station. After having rested for a little while we decided we had represented, flown our flag and stood up to be counted and our tired old bones ached. So now we would all head off in our different directions. I know none of us will forget this day and I feel sure we will come back and soon.
I spoke with some police who were sitting in parked vans by Trafalgar Square. I tentatively suggested that they’d had an easy day. They told me they had been on duty since seven am and would be until the early hours. This proved to be the case as the few hundred rampaged in the West End long after the March for the Alternative ended.
The policing of the march was a relatively easy task for The Metropolitan Police and The Territorial Police were not needed at all until the violence broke out in the evening. This is where the police appear to have badly failed in bringing these events to a timely end. They didn’t cope at all well.
What ever the press say about it all it was a massive triumph for peaceful protest. This was just the beginning. The fight to prevent some of the most damaging cuts is a long way from over. For an example see the link below.
If you were there please share your story in the comments section.
photos by Ivan Millest
p.s. An interesting take on the power of your pound see link below. Please note the link will first open at the Guardian website and then re-direct to the post.
peace
