IWGB Protest UCL outsourcing
St Mary's Hospital Strike For Equality
Support Chilean protesters
Algerians call for free elections
Assange - Tell the Truth BBC
Iraqi solidarity with Iraq protesters
UFFC 21st remembrance procession
End Family Courts aiding violent fathers
Against compulsory relationship education
Catalans say release Political Prisoners
Lumsdale & Matlock
Matlock Town Walk
Cuba leads on climate say RCG
March for a People's Vote
Windsor
XR demands Murdoch tell the truth
XR defies protest ban
Protest defends freedom of speech
XR No Food No Future protest
Rally supports Bolivia's Evo Morales
Against Ecuadorian President Moreno
Solidarity with Rojava - Kurdish Syria
XR Strength in Grief Procession
Brexit unfair for EU citizens
Trade Unionists join the Rebellion
Brick Lane Night
Bangladeshi students protest campus violence
Extinction Rebellion Day 3
Biofuel Watch - Axe Drax at BEIS
All Rise For Climate Justice
Stirling Prize for Architecture
Extinction Rebellion continues
XR Rebels marry on Westminster Bridge
Extinction Rebellion occupy Westminster
Sheffield, Yorkshire
Unstone, Derbyshire
IWGB at Mayfair club Loulou's
Saudis support killer Prince MBS
Justice For Jamal Khashoggi
january |
Other sites with my pictures include
london pictures
londons industrial history
hull photos
lea valley / river lea
and at my >Re:PHOTO blog you can
read
my thoughts on photography.
Security officers, cleaners and porters at UCL London University in the Independent Workers Union of Great Britain demand to be directly employed by UCL.
As outsourced workers they get get lower pay and far worse terms and conditions
than colleagues employed by UCL, with no occupational sick pay, meagre holiday
entitlement and low pensions and say UCL treats us as a second class workforce.
The protest began with a rally and IWGB members were joined by other students
and staff, with UCU members, students and other trade unionists speaking
in support of the IWGB. Several striking workers also spoke before the protest
moved off, going into UCL and stopping briefly in the lobby where UCL founder
Jeremy Bentham (1748—1832) still sits in a cupboard before going out
into the UCL Quad. There were more flares and a short speech by IWGB President
Henry Chango Lopez before the protesters marched on down Gower St where
I left them to go home.
more pictures
Outsourced workers at St Mary's Hospital Paddington belonging to the Unite Voices of the World union protest noisily and dance on the first of 15 scheduled days of strikes.
Around 200 cleaners, porters and caterers, all migrants and mainly women employed by the highly profitable multinational SODEXO are paid £6-10,000 per year less than their NHS colleagues of a similar grade, get far inferior legal minimum terms and conditions, and the company has refused to meet its legal obligations to vaccinate them.
They demand equal pay, conditions and treatment to workers employed by
the hospital. Workers who had been on the picket line since early morning
were joined by supporters including a hospital patient in a wheelchair for
a noisy lunchtime protest in front of the hospital main entrance, with chanting,
short speeches about their demands and music, with the rally ending in a
conga line around the barriers in front of the hospital doorway.
more pictures
Several hundred Chileans and a few British trade unionists protested in a lively rally with speakers and music on the South Bank.
The protest was in solidarity with the huge protests in Chile which have
brought Santiago to a halt calling for the resignation of President Piñera.
At least 16 have been killed in the protests in Chile, where there are 20,000
police on the streets of Santiago.
more pictures
Algerians protest outside the Algerian Embassy in London demanding free elections and a civilian government.
A presidential election has been announced for 12th December, but demonstrations continue in Algeria calling for Ahmed Gaïd Salah and other members of the former Bouteflika government to resign and for a boycott of the election.
Protesters called on the BBC to report the facts about Julian Assange and called for his extradition trial to be dropped as the political offences he is charged with by the US are specifically excluded by the US-UK Extradition treaty.
The protesters are appalled by his treatment in Belmarsh prison which have
clearly affected his mental health, and feel that his recent court appearance
was dictated by US personnel present in the court and that the judge failed
to take any notice of the evidence and submissions about the case. They
say the attempt to hold his next court appearance at Belmarsh which only
has room for 5 members of the public is a denial of justice and that the
whole trial is political and an abuse of law.
more pictures
Iraqis protest outside the BBC over their failure to report accurately on the brutal repression of peaceful protests in Iraq.
Many wore white face masks with a target marked on them as police and government
forces are deliberately targeting peaceful protesters with live rounds,
rubber bullets and tear gas. 42 are said to have died and over 2000 injured
in the latest anti-government protests in Baghdad, but in a week of protests
at the start of the month more than 150 died and 6,000 were injured.
more pictures
The United Families and Friends Campaign (UFFC), a coalition of of people killed by police, in prisons, in immigration detention and in secure psychiatric hospitals march slowly from Trafalgar Square to a rally on Whitehall opposite Downing St.
Although thousands have died under suspicious circumstances since 1990,
not one of those responsible have been convicted of murder or manslaughter.
This was the 21st annual procession by the UFFC, and included many from
families whose loved ones have been killed. Members of a number of the families
spoke at the rally on Whitehall, and as in previous years, a deputation
went in to take a letter to the prime minister calling for justice for the
many dead.
more pictures
A rally in Parliament Square calls for the Domestic Abuse Bill 2019 to be strengthened.
The protesters want courts not to allow violent and abusive fathers to contact children and for courts to accept evidence from all sources, including taking children's allegations of sexual abuse seriously. Legal Aid should be restored for all family cases, the courts should be open to public scrutiny and abused women should be protected and given resources to stay together with their children.
They say mothers and other family should be supported to look after children
rather than have social workers take them away and put them into care, often
because mothers are poor, made homeless or otherwise not given support.
more pictures
People protest in Parliament Square against teaching material which reflects modern society, including same-sex couples and parents.
They say religious beliefs should allow parents to opt their children out
of lessons as their objections should override equality laws. One woman
stood in front of the protest with a transgender flag, which confusingly
appears also to be the colours used by the OCOFOR movement (Our Children
Our Faith Our Right).
more pictures
Catalans protest at Piccadilly Circus calling for the release of Catalan leaders given lengthy jail sentences by the Spanish court for holding an independence referendum.
Protests against the sentences in Catalonia have been met by violence from
thousands of Spanish police sent into the area.
more pictures
A short walk from Matlock up Lumsdale and then across and down back to Matlock.
We walked out of Matlock on the Alfreton Road and took a footpath to Lumsdale, walking up beside the Bentley Brook, a small stream which apparently never dries up, walking by the ruins of the small mills that it once powered. I'd walked up here last December, but Linda had missed that walk.
Having reached the remains of the top dam we went down Asker Lane to the
Duke of Wellington pub on the Chesterfield Road for lunch, then going along
Wellington St, up a narrow footpath to Cavendish St and coming back down
on another path to go down Rutland St and Bank Road to Matlock Bridge.
At the top of Rutland St is the former tram depot. Cable hauled trams running
in pairs, one going up and the other down were powered by a steam engine
and boiler in the depot. They took passengers three-quarters of a mile from
Crown Square, near to the railway station 300 ft up the steep hill of Bank
Road and Rutland St towards the Hydros close to the top of the hill, the
largest of which, Smedley's Hydro, is now the Derbyshire County Council
Offices. The tramway, fare 2d up and 1d down, opened in 1893 and closed
in 1927, being replaced by a bus service.
more pictures
Linda and I had to go to Matlock for a few days to look after grandchildren
On Monday we walked with them to school, and on the way back from there I took a few pictures, then later went for a walk on the road up the hill we could see from our bedroom window, Bank Road, a steep street that goes up from Crown Square close to the bridge over the River Derwent to the Derbyshire County Council offices in the former Smedley's Hydro (and continues up the hill as Rutland St.)
It's a street that contains many of Matlock's more notable buildings, mostly
dating from the late Victorian and Edwardian period, when the town expanded
greatly largely because of the many hydros which attracted visitors to stay
and take the waters. Smedley's, the largest, was built in 1853, four years
after the railway came to the town (and 10 before the line went on to Manchester.)
I'd learnt a lot about the history of the town from the walls of the Wetherspoons
on an earlier visit, most of which I've now confirmed from other sources,
notably Wikipedia, which has an fairly detailed description of this small
town. I didn't have time to follow the town
walks, which contain rather more information.
more pictures
The Revolutionary Communist Group hold a street stall at Oxford Circus before going on a rolling picket protesting outside businesses on Oxford St.
The RCG say Cuba leads the world in cutting carbon emissions, now around 1/5th of UK levels per person. While capitalist production leads to extinction, in Cuba, despite punitive US sanctions, socialist planning has greatly increased the well-being of the people through sustainable measures including organic agriculture, reforestation, energy efficiency and renewable energy and investment in education and health.
A surprising number of people took their leaflet and stopped briefly to
read them and watch the protest and a few actually bought copies of their
'Fight Capitalism! Fight Imperialism!' newspaper (which usually has more
interesting and better written articles than other left-wing papers.) I
sat on a convenient pillar next to the crossing and watched them, resting
and taking pictures, and was sorry when they moved off down Oxford St.
I went with them and took pictures outside several shops with a high carbon
footprint, including phone store EE, fashion store Zara and Boots, as well
as at the Brazilian consulate in Vere St. At each location there were one
or two speeches about the organisations particular contribution to climate
disaster as well as some noisy chanting of slogans.
There had been some light showers but as we reached Zara there was torrential
rain and the protesters were getting very wet. I was able to spend some
time sheltering in doorways, but after the next couple of stops was pretty
wet and my cameras were beginning to get wet too. I decided it was time
to leave and took the tube from Bond St. The RCG continued their protest,
ending outside the Esso garage on Park Lane. They write: "Esso is owned
by ExxonMobil, the US oil and gas giant, which is suing Cuba by using criminal
US blockade legislation. It is fitting that ExxonMobil, the second biggest
polluter in history, is attacking Cuba, which leads the world in sustainable
development."
more pictures
A huge crowd, estimated by some at over a million,meets at Park Lane for the People's Choice march calling for a referendum on the Brexit deal negotiated by Boris Johnson.
They say that now we know more about what Brexit would mean the public must be asked to make an informed choice on whether to leave Europe. Many made clear their desire to stay in EU which they say is a far better deal than Johnson has negotiated and that they did not trust the Tories not to pursue a 'no deal' exit if allowed to go ahead.
After photographing in the crowds on Park Lane and some of the speakers
at a left block rally for over an hour I found that the march had begun
earlier than expected, and rushed to Piccadilly to try and catch up with
the front of it, but by then it was well in the distance. I stayed for another
hour photographing marchers as they went past me before but there was still
no end of the march in sight when I walked away as Green Park Station was
closed due to overcrowding. Some of the protesters had also marched by a
different route, going down Constitution Hill to try to get to the rally
in time.
more pictures
We went to Windsor to celebrate a birthday and were disappointed when our trip on a 'Duck' was cancelled as the river was too fast-flowing.
Instead we went to the Windsor Museum and had a tour of the building before going on to the Chinese Restaurant for the meal we had booked. It made a pleasant enough day out.
Ducks get their name from their General Motors manufacturing code (D for
1942, U for amphibious, K is all-wheel drive and W for dual rear wheels)
making them DUKW, and they were first used during the Allied invasion of
Sicily in 1943. Over 21,000 were produced before manufacturing ceased in
1945.
The original Ducks were never suitable for rough conditions and there have
been a number of accidents in which tourists have been killed using them
- and there were some disasters on D-Day as the waves on Omaha beach were
too much for them to cope with when heavily loaded. Modern replicas are
considerably safer.
The Thames was pretty calm, but fast-flowing, and even the swans were having
great difficulties going upstream. Original Ducks had a top speed in water
of 5 mph and would have found it hard going. Those operating at Windsor
are purpose-built replicas that meet modern safety standards - and I suppose
it is reassuring that when the captain decides the river is unsafe the tour
is cancelled.
more pictures
Extinction Rebellion hold a vigil at Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp HQ at London Bridge demanding that his papers tell the truth about the climate crisis.
To the surprise of XR, this protest on the private area in front of the offices turned out to be legal as the blanket ban imposed by the Metropolitan Police on protests by XR across London only applies to public places.
Speakers called on the press to end its support of fossil fuel extraction,
climate deniers and unnecessary consumerism and instead actively promote
lifestyle changes to combat the climate emergency. The Murdoch press has
a particularly bad record of climate denial.
more pictures
An emergency protest in Trafalgar Square defends civil liberties and the right to protest.
Extinction Rebellion called the protest after London Police ruled that even two people standing anywhere in London advocating action on climate change is an illegal assembly, and Monday's Queen's speech lacked any response to the Climate & Ecological Emergency.
Police came and warned some of those sitting in the square before the start of the event that they were committing an offence and might be arrested, but I saw no actual arrests, though police did come and take away a tent from one man as carrying camping equipment is banned under laws made against Brian Haw's protest and Occupy.
Among those who spoke during the event were XR's Rupert Read and Donnachadh McCarthy, George Monbiot, Julia Steinberger, Professor of Ecological Economics and one of the authors of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) 6th Assessment Report, Science journalist Dr Emily Grossman, Green Party MEP Ellie Chowns who was arrested defending the right to peaceful public protest in Trafalgar Square on Monday, former police Chief Superintendent Rob Cooper, Green Party London Assembly Member Caroline Russell, War on Want Executive Director Asad Rehman and Friends Of The Earth Chief Executive Craig Bennett. At the end of Bennett's speech he was challenged by McCarthy over not failing to ask Friends of the Earth members to support Extinction Rebellion.
In his speech during the protest, George Monbiot talked about his resolve to get arrested and invited others to join him after the protest and XR General Meeting which was to follow it ended, when he intended to walk into the road in Whitehall and sit down.
The XR 'Red Brigade' made a spectacular entrance during the speeches, making their way slowly up through the crowd to stand at the top of the steps where they remained for some time responding to the occasion.
He carried out this intention and was arrested by police along with a number
of others including the Green Party Mayor of Woodbridge Eamonn O'Nolan who
had worn his Mayoral robes for the event.
more pictures
Following the police ban on any XR protests anywhere in Greater London under Section 14 of the Public Order Act 1986 a protest led by the Green Party took place in Trafalgar Square.
Politicians and others were appalled at the behaviour of the police, both in their expulsion of the protesters from Trafalgar Square late on Monday after they had earlier been told by police they could protest there, and at the draconian imposition of a ban against protests by the group across the whole of London imposed by police. This included a ban on two or more people coming together anywhere in London, who would form an illegal assembly.
A group of protesters gathered on the steps in the square and then walked slowly towards Nelson's column, returning and repeating this before a number of speeches were made on the steps. Police watched and as the first woman started speaking,and two 'Liaison Officers' came and appeared to be trying to intimidate her. Others gathered around her in support.
Among those who spoke were Labour MP David Drew, Green Party co-leader
Sian Berry, peace activist Angie Zelter and Extinction Rebellion's Rupert
Read as well as three British Green MEPs and an Irish and German MEP. They
accused the police of abusing the law and denying freedom of speech and
questioned the legality of the police ban. We heard that XR had begun a
legal challenge of the Section 14 order.
By the end of the protest they had been joined by over a hundred XR protesters
who sat quietly on the steps, some with posters. While I was there the police
had made no arrests despite the Section 14 Order clearly having been breached.
more pictures
People came to protest at the roundabout opposite MI5's HQ on Millbank despite a police ban.
The Met police had banned any XR protests anywhere in Greater London under
Section 14 of the Public Order Act 1986, but people still came to protest
outside MI5 on Millbank over predicted future food shortages. Police searched
activists and made an arrest when one man sat down in the road. Activists
were still arriving as I had to leave.
Although traffic was still flowing across Lambeth Bridge, there were police
lines across the pavement and pedestrians were stopped from walking across
the bridge unless they could show suitable ID. I photographed a man showing
his passport to cross the bridge. Had anyone wanted to cross they could
simply have caught a bus as traffic was not stopped.
Before I left I was stopped by police from going down Millbank to where
a larger group of protesters was gathering in the area a little to the south.
Instead I left in the opposite direction as I knew a protest was about to
take place in Trafalgar Square and I wanted to be there.
I didn't manage to get back there later, but read reports that a protest
had taken place.
more pictures
Bolivians held a lively rally with music and dancers in support of President Evo Morales, who was seeking a fourth term in elections on 20 October.
Morales, the first Indigenous president, and his Movement for Socialism (MAS) have greatly reduced poverty, cut the influence of the USA and multinational companies and made Bolivia a model of economic growth. Opponents say he failed to act quickly enough to combat recent forest fires.
The Bolivian system for the presidential election begins with a first round
of voting, where a win requires either over 50% of the total vote, or over
40% with a lead of at least 10% over the next candidate. Moreno at 47% had
a narrow victory as he was around 10.5% ahead of the second place candidate.
The result was questioned by the opposition and some foreign governments
including the US, and there were protests in Bolivia calling for the second
round to be held. Morales has warned that a coup d'état is being
planned against his government.
more pictures
Protesters in Trafalgar Square called for the resignation of President Lenin Moreno who they say is their worst president ever.
Indigenous groups in Ecuador have been protesting for two weeks against leaving much of the capital in chaos after he announced an end to fuel subsidies, part of a series of public spending cuts imposed to get a £3.4bn load from the IMF and talks were taking place in Quito today between the indigenous umbrella group CONAIE and the government.
Many at the London protest held posters with the message in Spanish "we are all indigenous" or saying they had indigenous blood. After the speeches at the end of the protest the Ecuadorian National Anthem was played, with those present standing to attention and holding their hands over their hearts.
The following day Moreno announced the withdrawal of the International
Monetary Fund-backed package, Decree 883, that led to the sharp rise in
fuel costs and agreed to work with CONAIE to develop measures to cut government
spending, increase revenue and reduce Ecuador’s budget deficits.
more pictures
Kurds meet outside the BBC to oppose the Turkish invasion of Rojava, Kurdish Syria. After a rally with speeches from a Kurdish mayor, other Kurds and UK trade unionists before they marched through London in protest against the Turkish invasion of Rojava.
Kurds see the Turkish offensive, given the green light by President Trump when he announced the US withdrawal, as an attempt to free ISIS fighters and to ethnically cleanse Kurds from Rojava, the most peaceful area of Syria, a Kurdish-led democracy dedicated to equality, the liberation of women and ecological justice. It follows the invasion, occupation and ethnic cleansing of Afrin in north-western Syria in January 2018 and threatens the stability of the region.
ISIS was defeated by the Syrian Democratic Forces, mainly the Syrian Kurdish People's Protection Units, YPG and YPJ, and with the aid of US air power. Turkey bought oil from ISIS and facilitated the smuggling of oil to be sold to finance its operations, and it made use of former ISIS fighters in its invasion of Afrin.
The Turkish occupation of North-East Syria puts all its people at risk, not just the majority Kurds but the minorities protected under the constitution of Rojava, including including Arabs, Armenians, Chechens, Turkmen, Syriac, Assyrian and Khaldean Christians and Yezidi.
The Kurds have now been forced to make an alliance with the Syrian regime of President Assad and the Russian forces to defend their territory against Turkey which puts their continued existence as an autonomous region of Syria at risk.
After a rally at Marble Arch thousands marched from Marble Arch to Russell Square.
The funeral procession was led by XR's Red Brigade with skeletons, a jazz funeral band and many people finding ways to express their profound grief at the extinction of species taking place due to global warming and which threatens the future of human life.
The march took place on the Day of Indigenous Resistance on the anniversary
of Colombus's landing in the Americas. There were speakers at Marble Arch
from the Global Women's Strike and others who spoke about the climate crisis
which is already killing thousands in the Global South as well as others
who spoke on the power of grief.
more pictures
Some of the 3 million EU citizens residents in the UK came to an event organised by the 3million organisation to express their love for the UK and to remind the Prime Minister of his broken promise made to them on 1 June 2016.
Vote Leave promised "There will be no change for EU citizens already lawfully resident in the UK. EU citizens will automatically be granted indefinite leave to remain in the UK and will be treated no less favourably than they are at present."
Clearly that promise has not been kept, and the government settlement scheme is full of flaws and many who have applied have not been granted settled status. Government minister Brandon Lewis has stated that those who have failed to gain settled status are at risk of deportation.
They protesters wore ponchos in the blue and yellow of the European flag.
They held up copies of Vote Leave's broken promise and tore it up.
more pictures
Trade unionists hold a rally in Trafalgar Square in the rain to show their solidarity with Extinction Rebellion and the school climate strikers.
They recognise that the Climate and Ecological Emergency means that the
very future of life on this planet is at stake and we need to take radical
action without delay to avoid catastrophe. Among the speakers was Ian Hodson,
National President of the Baker's Union BFAWU. After the rally they were
to march to join the main Extinction Rebellion March in Grief.
more pictures
I'd been at a book launch taking place on Brick Lane, and after the free drinks ran out came out onto the street to walk down to Aldgate East.
I'd been taking pictures at events most of the day, and had taken a few
at the launch in the gloomily lit bar where the launch was taking place,
so still had a camera around my neck. Although there were a few dark spots,
most of Brick Lane was significantly better lit, particularly from the lights
of the many restaurants and other shops along much of its length, and I
stopped occasionally to make an exposure.
more pictures
Bangladeshi students demand an end to violence on campus in Bangladesh universities.
They want a ban on the Bangladesh Chhatra League, the student wing of the
Awami League, the party of Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, following
the beating to death of student Abrar Fahad by BCL leaders at the Bangladesh
University of Engineering and Technology on 7 Oct 2019. BCL activists were
convicted of the murder of tailor Biswajit Das in 2012 and led violent attacks
on students protesting for quota reform and road safety in 2018.
more pictures
Extinction Rebellion's International Rebellion occupation in Westminster
continues into a third day.
Police continued forcing them off some locations, trashing some tents and
making more arrests, but there was still no traffic in key locations and
workshops and other events continued. XR demand the government tell the
truth about the climate and ecological emergency, act to halt biodiversity
loss, reduced emissions to net zero and create and be led by a Citizens
Assembly.
more pictures
Protesters at the Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy (BEIS) call for an end to the subsidies given to fossil fuels and biomass which produce climate destroying carbon dioxide.
They call for the closure of Drax power station which burns wood pellets
and coal, producing huge amounts of carbon while taking £2 million
a day in 'renewable' subsidies paid from our electricity bills and has plans
for expansion to also become the UK's largest gas-fired power station.
more pictures
As a part of Extinction Rebellion’s International Rebellion, Lawyers for XR read a declaration of rebellion against a legal system which is failing in its ultimate purpose of protecting and enriching life.
They call for deep and urgent changes in our legal system to deal with
climate justice and ecological collapse and provide true justice for all,
rather than privileging the rich and powerful individuals and corporations
who are destroying our planet.
more pictures
Architects for Social Housing (ASH) protested outside the Royal Institute of British Architects awards ceremony for the Stirling Prize.
Speakers from ASH and Focus E15 condemning architects for social cleansing,
council estate demolition and housing privatisation and calling on architects
to end wanton environmentally disastrous demolitions and to serve the needs
of citizens with socially beneficial, financially viable and environmentally
sustainable architecture rather than corporate profits.
A number of architects came up to talk with Simon Elmer of ASH and Oliver
Wainwright, the Guardian's architecture and design critic came to talk to
the ASH protesters on his way into the awards and spoke briefly. Other architects
rushed past trying to avoid the protest and one woman came up to shout abuse
and assault Elmer.
The winning entry, widely lauded in the press as marking a new era in social housing is not as Elmer points out actually council housing, but built by the Norwich Regeneration Company, a commercial venture owned by Norwich council and will not be offering secure council tenancies, with nothing to stop the company raising the service charges or converting the social rent homes to 'affordable rent's in the future as he says so many housing associations are currently doing. It is also not clear how many of the homes are for social rent, though probably fewer than the one third in the original proposal. Also not mentioned in the press is the fact that council houses were demolished to build the scheme.
It particularly angered ASH that as well as being nominated for (and winning) the Stirling Prize Goldsmith Street was also nominated (and won) the new Neave Brown Award, supposedly honouring the recently deceased champion and architect of council housing at the Dunboyne Road Estate (formerly known as Fleet Road) and Alexandra Road Estate both in Camden - like all his UK works listed. To ASH this is an insult to the great man. The only thing that can be said in its favour is that the other nominated schemes would have been an even worse insult had they won.
Unfortunately the event began rather late, when early arrivals for the
free champagne at this very expensive event had already made their way inside.
By the time it really got under way the light was falling and I left tired
after a long day before many of the protesters arrived.
more pictures
Campaigners had brought 1000 native trees in pots to Old Palace Yard labelled with the names of MPs, world leaders and others, inviting them and collect their tree.
The symbolic action called on the government and MPs to plant billions of trees across the UK, and support the planting of trillions more around the world. Trees are the most effective method of carbon capture known, but a trillion new trees would only capture the last 10 years of global emissions.
A surprisingly large number of MPs did come and collect their threes, though
I only saw three or four of them on the two short visits I paid to the scene.
The trees that were unclaimed at the end of the protest were taken away
to be planted in the West Country.
more pictures
Extinction Rebellion's International Rebellion occupation in Westminster continues.
I made a tour of most of the locations that XR had occupied on the previous day. Police had managed to remove them from the Horseferry Road roundabout with Millbank at the west end of Lambeth Bridge and had made rather more arrests, but there was still no traffic in key locations and workshops and other events continued.
There seemed to be considerably more police than on the previous day, and there were larger groups moving determinedly along some streets and it seemed clear that they were going to make an effort to clear some of the sites. The police were telling people that if they wished to continue to protest they had to move to Trafalgar Square, but many were reluctant to do so.
The weather was turning against the protest too, and in the afternoon on Whitehall as a heavy downpour began a line of police walked up to surround the gazebos that had been serving food and offering information. Police tore a banner out of the hands of those holding it, and began to tear down the gazebos. There was some argument, but the XR principle of non-violence prevented any action to stop the police and people stood watching and shouting 'Shame on You' and other slogans at them as they destroyed the stalls.
A large group of police had surrounded those protesting on Birdcage Walk, but I think were less successful in persuading them to move. I walked on to Broad Sanctuary were the camp there was still continuing, then met a crowd of protesters marching along Marsham St. The speeches outside the Home Office were continuing, but I needed to go elsewhere, and walked back to Westminster to catch the tube.
XR demand the government tell the truth about the climate and ecological
emergency, act to halt biodiversity loss, reduced emissions to net zero
and create and be led by a Citizens Assembly.
more pictures
The wedding of XR rebels Tamsin and Melissa took place on Westminster Bridge as a part of the protest this afternoon.
Extinction Rebellion begin the International Rebellion by occupying eleven
locations at government ministries, Downing St, The Mall, Westminster and
Lambeth bridges, bringing traffic to a halt. They demand the government
tell the truth about the climate and ecological emergency, act to halt biodiversity
loss, reduced emissions to net zero and create and be led by a Citizens
Assembly.
more pictures
Extinction Rebellion begin the International Rebellion by occupying eleven locations at government ministries, Downing St, The Mall, Westminster and Lambeth bridges, bringing traffic to a halt.
They demand the government tell the truth about the climate and ecological emergency, act to halt biodiversity loss, reduced emissions to net zero and create and be led by a Citizens Assembly.
I managed to get to some but not quite all of these 11 locations during the day and take pictures. Police hindered movement around the city to some extent, making me have to walk rather further than I wanted when they completely closed Lambeth Bridge to all pedestrians after XR had closed both ends to traffic.
Police were making a few arrests here and there but it was hard to see
any logic in their actions. Some people had locked themselves together but
generally I think the police were simply overwhelmed by the large number
of protesters. As before XR's 'Red Brigade' made a colourful splash and
like most photographers I took too many pictures of them.
more pictures
Some pictures from Sheffield on our way back from Unstone.
As usual we used public transport to make our way to and from Unstone. On the way there we had travelled by rail to Matlock, where we stopped off briefly to meet one of my sons and his two daughters (and go to their school harvest festival) before catching two buses to get us to Unstone.
Coming home we took the bus (hourly on Sundays) to Sheffield, arriving a couple of hours before we had to catch a train, time for a walk around. We went to the canal dock at Victoria Quays where Linda wanted to have afternoon tea, but the tea shop was closed. I wandered around taking some pictures before it was time to return.
Buying advance tickets it cost us a little less than half the normal off
peak fare, but did restrict us to the booked train. We had to go on a Cross-Country
service to Reading via Birmingham, which as usual was overcrowded but the
ticket includes a seat reservation. Others who had paid at least twice as
much had to stand for most of the journey; Cross-Country seem always to
run short and overcrowded trains and surely deserve to have the franchise
removed. Then it was a train to Ascot and a bus replacement service home.
It's always a mistake to travel on Sundays, but our journey went without
a hitch, though we did have to run rather a long way at Reading to avoid
half an hour's wait there.
more pictures
Pictures taken while I was attending a weekend at Unstone Grange, near Dronfield.
As well as taking some pictures of Unstone Grange, "a centre for personal
creative growth" run by a charity and volunteers as" a beautiful
place where people can come together to explore and grow in their understanding
of life, themselves and others" I went on a walk around the area with
several friends.
more pictures
IWGB Cleaners and Facilities Branch picket and protest at exclusive Mayfair private club LouLou's for kitchen porters to be paid a living wage, be treated with dignity and respect and given decent terms and conditions including proper sick pay, holidays and pension contributions.
Protests have already forced the club to agree to bring the workers back
into direct employment. Police harassed the protesters and failed to challenge
some heavy-handed security.
more pictures
Supporters of Saudi Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman (MbS) line the street opposite the protest calling for Justice for Jamal Khashoggi defending him from these accusations and pointing out the positive aspects of his rule.
They held up posters, placards, banners and giant screens showing images of MbS and listing some of the things he has done working to make Saudi Arabia "a modern nation and make his people more civilised." There was loud music, speeches and chanting, but mostly they stayed on the opposite pavement to the Khashoggi vigil, with just the odd person coming across the road to wave their Saudi flag and shout at those at the vigil.
I talked briefly to one of them who agreed with me that they were there
simply as a counter to the Khashoggi protest, but disagreed - if politely
- when I suggested that MbS had been responsible for dispatching the team
that tortured, killed and dismembered journalist Jamal Khashoggi in the
Saudi Consulate in Istanbul. Since seven of the 15 man team are said to
be a part of MbS's personal bodyguard it seems almost certain he was - and
CIA states with "high confidence" that MbS ordered Khashoggi's
murder.
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A small group of representatives of English PEN, Writers at Risk, Reporters Without Borders and PEN International hold a candlelit vigil at the Embassy of Saudi Arabia on the first anniversary of Saudi journalist Jamal Khasnhoggi’s horrific murder inside the Saudi consulate in Istanbul where his body was dismembered.
The event was opposed by a larger group of Saudis holding posters, placards
and screens supporting Saudi Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman widely believed
to have ordered his murder who kept mainly on the opposite side of the road.
more pictures
Pictures as usual from Nine Elms and Vauxhall, as well as Westminster,
the West End, Paddington, and a few odd images from elsewhere.
to follow