Categories: uncategorized
Date: 27 September 2007 23:18:59
I didn't get in the photo, but the blue arm in the corner is me.
Yesterday I was looking at the news about burma, and I recieved an email - there was a demo planned for the next day. I use planned in the loosest sense of the word - near to the end of the time we were blockading I had this conversation with a police officer :
PC - who organised this
me - no one organised it
PC - who was here first
me - no one, we all came together
PC - but there must be some leaders, who are they?
me - there are some people talking to the press, some people talking to the police, some people playing Samba, but no one is our leader
PC - but someone must have organised it.
The truth is noone organised it, a proposal was made and over 30 people turned up - hearing about it from facebook, emails and word of mouth. In less than 24 hours. There was a hurridly painted banner, hand made signs and colouring on the forecourt of a petrol station. And it wasn't just the usual suspects. Carrying the banner and sitting next to me on the road, learning samba and handing out leaflets were people who had never protested before. It was fantastic.
For the most part car drivers supported us - only one van got throught the blockade that we didn't grudginly allow - of the other cars we let through one drove a car for a firm that had an account there and waited patiently whilst we decided to let him through - he left saying he would present our case to his firm (I don't know if he will or not - probably not), another was a truck driver - and I mean one of those big articulated lorries. He drove into us. We were holding our hands up so he couldn't give the excuse that he couldn't see us. The Police officer who was there lost sympathy with him when the driver called him a tosser. He had an account there too, so we let him through. It was one of the most good natured protests I have been too. Most of the people we stopped going to just turned around when we explained to them. Passing drivers sounded their horns and some gave us thumbs up (just a pointer, if you're ever driving past a protest you support, when sounding your horn make a thumbs up - because a horn can either mean that people support you, or that they think you're a bunch of wankers.)
And this evening I babysat for two little girls, the kids of the 'ranting vicar' mentioned in the article - and it was lovely and I'm feeling all warm and fuzzy and excited about going to Faslane on Sunday!