No to the coup in Bolivia
Iranians condemn killings in Iran
UCU March for Planet, Pay and Pensions
Youth Climate Strike March
March Against Fur 2019
Carnaby Street Show
Stand With Hong Kong
Brixton
CAIWU protest at WeWork City offices
Kings Cross
Kick Boris out of Uxbridge
McStrikers demand New Deal
Stoke Poges Memorial Gardens
Funeral March for Chile Protesters
Remember migrants who have died
Don't Extradite Assange!
OAS Head visits Senate House
Queer Solidarity for trans and non-binary
March for Autonomy for Hong Kong
Defend Rojava against Turkish Invasion
Stop Hate Crime, Educate for Diversity
Against constitutional change in Guinea
Day of the Dead
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
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my thoughts on photography.
Protesters in Parliament Square denounce the right-wing coup against the democratically elected government of Evo Morales in Bolivia, supported by the US and backed by the UK and western media.
The protest in London was a part of a simultaneous European international
protest in solidarity with the elected government and the majority of the
Bolivian people, particularly the indigenous peoples who support them. Morales
was the first elected president from the indigenous community and under
his government they gained a great deal in terms of jobs, education and
the reduction of discrimination.
The military and interim government have issued arrest warrants for Morales
and opposition leaders and launched a racist campaign of terror, burning
the Wiphala and attacking people carrying it, killing over 30 protesters
and injuring hundreds. The Wiphala, a symbol of the indigenous peoples who
make up over half of the population, has been removed from all official
buildings in Bolivia, and cut off from military uniforms. The coup will
let multinationals including Shell and BP exploit Bolivia's reserves of
lithium and natural gas.
more pictures
Anglo-Iranian Communities in the UK and supporters of the People's Mujahedin of Iran's National Council of Resistance of Iran rally at Downing St in support of protests in Iran against the clerical regime.
Over 450 protesters have been killed in the brutal suppression of the Iran
protests by security forces, with 4000 injured and thousands arrested. There
were speeches and songs and a street theatre re-enactment of the killings
and but an attempt to deliver a letter to the Prime Minister was refused
entry.
more pictures
London UCU led a march by supporters and students in support of their 8 day strike over pensions, pay and conditions and in solidarity with the Youth Climate Strike also taking part in London today.
Supported by trade unionists and students they marched from Malet St and
met with the climate strike close to Parliament Square, but marched on to
a rally while the students continued their protest in the Square.
more pictures
Students meet in Parliament Square to march on Black Friday/Buy Nothing Day demanding urgent climate action.
They demand a Green New Deal to save the future, a curriculum that teaches
the future, for government to tell people the truth and for young people
to be empowered and their views heard. Over a thousand marched up Whitehall
but were stopped by police on Regent St, and led eventually back to Whitehall
and Parliament Square where they met the UCU led march for Planet, Pay,
Pensions.
more pictures
The annual march against fur in London met at Leicester Square for a rally before the march.
After the rally the several hundred protesters marched along the pavements
up Charing Cross Road, turning down Shaftesbury Avenue for a tour of the
West End and stores selling fur products, calling for an end not just to
using fur in clothing but against all exploitation of animals of all species,
whether for meat, dairy, wool, leather or other products.
more pictures
I paid a brief visit to Carnaby Street where 3 of my pictures were in the window of a shop called Size?.
This was a temporary display, for one week only, tracing a little of the
history of a trainer, the apparently iconic Nike Air Max 90 introduced in
1990 and since with many variations, and back in 1990 I made a picture in
Notting Hill in which a pair of these trainers can be clearly seen - at
top right above. The picture to its left, from a later year at Notting Hill
can also be seen inside the shop, looking rather blue on a large screen.
There were a total of ten panels in the display, the other nine using later
pictures taken by other photographers.
more pictures
Hundreds of Black-clad protesters marched from Parliament Square to a rally at the gates of Downing St.
There were speeches and a delegation took in a letter urging the Prime Minister to act over China's breaches of the Sino-British Joint Declaration. They called attention to Hong Kong's humanitarian crisis, widespread injustices and erosion of autonomy and called for the Hong Kong protesters 5 demands to be met.
These were on some large yellow posters some of the protesters carried; they demand complete withdrawal of the Extradition Bill, a retraction of characterising the protests as riots, withdrawal of prosecutions against protesters, an independent investigation into police brutality and the implementation of Dual Universal Suffrage.
I left the protest after a number of speeches had been made in front of
the gates of Downing St. Afterwards the protesters marched to the LSE and
dispersed there.
more pictures
I called in at Brixton and took a short walk on my way in to central London.
Bon Marché, immediately north of the railway on Brixton Rd has a fascinating history which you can read about on Brixton Buzz. Built as it says in 1877, it was based on the Paris department store of the same name and was the first purpose built department store in Britain, and possibly the first steel framed building in the UK, some years before the Royal Insurance Building in Liverpool.
Around the corner in Ferndale Road is another building for the same company,
an ornate accommodation block with over 100 rooms for staff accommodation.
Not only did it have separate male and female dining rooms, but there were
also separate underground tunnels to the store for men and women.
more pictures
Cleaners and Allied Independent Workers Union (CAIWU) give out fliers at a noisy protest outside the 1 Poultry site of global office rental company Wework.
This site in the centre of the City of London is one of Weworks's 47 London locations, and the cleaning is carried out by employees of the cleaning contractor CCM. Most of the cleaners are members of CAIWU, who were calling for an end to the victimisation of union members; 5 CAIWU members have been dismissed in recent months, without proper process. The union says that Wework uses its contract with CCM to press for their dismissal because they are union activists.
At the start of the protest, two CAIWU protesters walked into the office
foyer and began handing out leaflets, with a megaphone turned to siren to
make an impressively loud noise. Security officers asked them to leave and
they did so, continuing the protest on the pavement outside, where the protesters
ignored requests for them to move further from the entrance and to turn
off the siren. Many of those entering or leaving the offices at lunchtime
took the fliers, as did people walking past, and the protest was still continuing
half an hour later when I left.
more pictures
I had time for a short walk to the north of Kings Cross, one of London's larger new areas.
I had gone to Kings Cross hoping that CAIWU would still be protesting outside the Google offices there against poor working conditions and victimization of union members. I was rather late as I had an appointment at the health clinic before I could catch the train so the protest there had finished by the time I arrived, although there still seemed to be rather more police and security around than usual.
I walked up through Pancras Square and on to the canal, then wandered through
the new development to cross over the footbridge and come back down Camley
St and walked back past Google to Kings Cross to catch a bus to the City.
more pictures
Protesters from FCKBoris in orange knitted hats came to Uxbridge to campaign to campaign against Boris Johnson whose majority in the 2017 election was only just over 5000 votes.
They walked through Uxbridge shopping centre handing out fliers urging everyone to register and vote against Boris Johnson and kick him out for his racist, elitist politics. Boris hasn't been very popular with local voters as he has spent little time in the constituency and although he opposed Heathrow expansion as Mayor of London and even promised to lie down in front of the bulldozers, the party under his leadership now supports building a third runway.
There are 12 candidates standing for election including the former Lord
Buckethead who is now Count Binface and a new Lord Buckethead from the Official
Monster Raving Loony Party, who both have about as much chance of being
elected as the Green Party and Liberal Democrat candidates (and the other
5 Independents and the UKIP candidate.) The fight is between Johnson and
a young, dynamic and local Labour Ali Reza Milani, and could well be very
close.
Brunel University has approximately 10,000 British and EU students but it
isn't clear how many of these are eligible to vote. EU citizens can't vote
in a general election and nor can those under 18. But many of the students
will be eligible to vote and can register both in their home constituency
and from their term-time address, though of course they must only vote in
one of these. But if many students could be persuaded to register and vote
(either in person or postally) for Labour in Uxbridge then Labour could
win.
The small group of anarchists who had come on the protest also wanted to get rid of Johnson but had a different scenario in mind. As one of their posters read: 'Why Vote? Revolt! Chile Haiti Iraq France Lebanon Hong Kong Barcelona Athens Berlin Why Not Here!??' Uxbridge seems to me an unlikely place to start the revolution, though Class War had intended to field a candidate in the election, but for various reasons they left it to Lord Buckethead and al.
The protesters marched with a sound system on a bus to Brunel University to persuade students, but they didn't appear to have much idea of what to do once they arrived. A few disappeared, others wandered around the campus for a while, but on a Saturday afternoon there were few students visible. Eventually most returned to the bus which then drove off with them walking behind, and I think were going to return to the town centre - where there were probably more students than on campus as well as other Uxbridge residents.
But by this time I'd had enough, and the light was fast falling. I sat
down at the bus stop to wait for a bus to start my journey home.
more pictures
Workers striking at McDonald’s branches in London hold a rally at Downing S demanding a New Deal for McDonald's Workers.
A rally by strikers from 6 South London McDonald’s branches and supporters at Downing St demanded £15 an hour, an end to youth rates, guaranteed hours of up to 40 hours a week, notice of shifts 4 weeks in advance, recognition of the Bakers Food and Allied Workers’ Union, and to be treated with respect and dignity at work.
The BFAWU strikers were supported by War on Want and other groups including the IWGB union, Global Women's Strike, Women Against Rape, Unite Community and Jewish Voice for Labour.
Speakers at the rally which took place in the rain included BFAWU's Ian
Hodson and Ronnie Draper, TUC's Frances O'Grady, Jo Grady of UCU. Asad Rehman
of War on Want and John McDonnell as well as two McStrikers.
more pictures
Some pictures from a family walk around the splendid Memorial Gardens at Stoke Poges. These images are not available for commercial use.
Our monthly family walk was a fairly short one, around the Stoke Poges Memorial Gardens, a Grade I listed garden of remembrance on an estate set up in the 1930s to preserve the area close to Stoke Poges Church where Thomas Gray composed his 'Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard' in 1750.
The gardens were created to the designs of landscape architect Edward White and adjoin the historic Stoke Park, now a golf course but at one time owned by Elizabeth I and later the Penn family, and landscaped by Capability Brown and Humphry Repton. The extensive gardens are now maintained by South Bucks District Council with volunteers helping the five staff. Many leaves had fallen but there was still some remarkable colour on the trees.
The gardens are for the burial of cremated remains and anyone can apply to purchase burial rights here, irrespective of faith, religion or where you live. There are strict regulations with standard small plaques and all urns containing ashes must be biodegradable. These rules enable the gardens to remain as relatively uncluttered gardens rather than becoming like a cemetery despite the 8,500 people whose ashes have been deposited here.
Despite a rather poor weather forecast it remained bright and sunny for
our visit to the gardens and the adjoining church. After our visit we found
a local pub that served decent pub food (and beer) in Stoke Poges.
more pictures
Protesters dressed in black march from the Chilean Embassy to Trafalgar Square in protest against the state violence in Chile.
Police attacks on peaceful protesters have over 20 and injured thousands since protests began in mid-October. Many have been blinded and protesters wore with a gauze pads on one eye. They call for President Piñera to go. The protests have met with human rights violations including torture, sexual abuse and rape and thousands have been arbitrarily detained.
The march halted at Parliament Square where a group of women dressed in black performed in protest against the sexual abuses, smearing fake blood on pairs of white pants which they then removed and held above their heads.
I left after their performance as it was getting dark and I was rather
wet as it had been raining steadily all afternoon.
more pictures
Lesbians and Gays Support the Migrants host a ceremony at the Ministry of Defence with other groups the day before Remembrance Sunday to remember all who died fleeing war-torn countries to seek refuge in the past year.
There were speeches and a silence and they held placards each naming one
of the 39 Vietnamese who died in a container in Essex. They then covered
their faces with pink gauze and marched slowly to the Cenotaph to lay wreaths
to remember those who died seeking sanctuary.
more pictures
A large crowd in front of the Home Office waved glow sticks and called for Julian Assange to be freed and not to be extradited to the USA where he faces life imprisonment.
They called for an unbiased judge at his next hearing and praised Assange's publishing record. Judge Emma Arbuthnott, Chief Magistrate and Senior District Judge for England and Wales, is married to Lord Arbuthnott, a Conservative peer and former chair of the Defence Select Committee which oversees the Ministry of Defence and British armed forces and security services, whose criminal operations were exposed by WikiLeaks.
Assange's father was one of the speakers. Vivienne Westwood read a speech wearing a mask along with two others holding a string of banners, though it was hard to see these because of the TV cameras in front of the stage.
The highlight for many was when British Sri-Lankan rapper, singer and activist
M.I.A performed several ear shattering numbers bathed in rapidly flashing
coloured lights. I left after her set, though rapper Lowkey was supposedly
on his way to perform.
more pictures
Latin Americans and RCG supporters protest at Senate House against the visit of Luis Almagro, head of the Organisation of American States (OAS), who was speaking there.
Almagro was speaking at Parliament and the protest had been planned for Parliament Square, but when the protesters learnt he was coming to speak in the university in the evening they moved the protest there.
The protesters moved inside the car park and went to the entrance to Senate House. Security officers tried to stop them protesting there, saying they must protest on the street outside the gates to University property, but the protesters decided to defy them and protest where they were. The gates are some distance away where their protest would not be heard.
The protesters say the OAS (in Spanish the Organización de los Estados Americanos, OEA) is a "puppet of US imperialism" and turns a blind eye to human rights violations by the US and Latin American right-wing regimes, but supports attacks on socialist countries that stand up to the US, such as the attempted coup against president Maduro in Venezuela where US sanctions and blockade are said to have resulted in 40,000 deaths.
They were still protesting noisily when I left over half an hour later
to go to another protest.
more pictures
Protesters in Soho Square opposed the activities of a new hate group which promotes transphobia, calling itself the 'LGB Alliance', claiming it is protecting LGB people.
The protest by the Bi Survivors Network, London Bi Pandas, Sister Not Cister
UK, BwiththeT and LwiththeT pointed out that trans and non-binary people
have always been a part of the gay community and played an important part
in the fight for gay rights and there is no place for such bi-phobic and
gay-separatist views in the gay community.
more pictures
Protesters almost all dressed in black and many with black masks meet at Marble Arch to march along the pavement of Oxford St in solidarity and supporting the five demands of the Hong Kong protesters.
They want complete withdrawal of the Extradition Bill, a retraction of
characterising the protests as riots, withdrawal of prosecutions against
protesters, an independent investigation into police brutality and the implementation
of Dual Universal Suffrage.
more pictures
People met at Marble Arch for a rally and march in support of Rojava in North-East Syria against Turkish invasion.
The Kurdish-led democratic administration in Rojava has put ecological justice, a cooperative economy and women's liberation at the heart of society, enshrined in their constitution which recognises the rights of the many ethnic communities in the area.
The Kurdish people's defence forces with the assistance of US air power
led the successful fight against ISIS, but Trump's withdrawal of US troops
allowed Turkish Prime Minister Erdogan to invade their territory. The Kurds
have been forced to ask President Assad and his Russian allies for assistance,
which risks the future of their country.
more pictures
A rally at Downing St by Stand Up to Lgbtq+ Hate Crime condemned the increasing incidence of hate crime and bigotry against LGBTQ+ people and defended the teaching of lessons which feature LGBTQ+ families and relationships.
They called for everyone to celebrate love, inclusion and diversity and say No to Homophobia, Islamophobia and Transphobia. Before I arrived they had held a brief protest together with the Guinean protesters against hate crime and welcoming refugees.
I had to leave before they set off to march to Eros in Piccadilly Circus
to hold a rally speaking about their own LGBTQ+ experiences in schools.
more pictures
Guineans protest at Downing St against a constitutional change which would allow President Alpha Conde to seek a third term in power.
The protesters were from the National Front for the Defence of the Constitution
(FNDC) , and they called for Conde to go. The London protest followed massive
protests in Guinea in October that led to 11 deaths. The protesters are
angry that their funerals have been delayed as the government has not released
their bodies to the families yet and they call for all political prisoners
to be released.
more pictures
I briefly visited Columbia Market which was having a festival for the Mexican Day of the Dead.
It had been pouring with rain, and I was rather early, arriving exactly
as the day was supposed to start and very little seemed to be happening,
but I took a few pictures of shop window displays, hoping to come back later,
but was too busy with other things to do so. I've included a few pictures
taken walking there from Hoxton Overground station an a couple on the station.
more pictures
Pictures from my various journeys around London.
to follow