April 1st 2009 - G20 Meltdown

I didn't go to work and I didn't go to school (well, college).



1st April 2009 was Financial Fools Day in the City of London. I took the day off college to get on a coach (at 5am) and make my way down to London to take part in the G20 protests going on in the city. I have always felt strongly about politics and being 17 I've changed my views a number of times. I started out as a Tory at the age of 13 then a modern liberal until June last year then a Social Democrat and now I feel more aligned to Trotskyism and Socialism.



The march I was on begun at London Bridge and was one of the 'four horsemen' of the economic apocoloypse which was due to converge on the Bank of England at midday. When I got there at about 11am there were plenty of protesters and press around, a few banners and I was ready to go.

We marched across London Bridge, over the Thames, down King William Street and into the large area outside the Royal Exchange and the Bank of England. This is the heart of the British financial system. Our Wall Street if you like. The march was really good natured, I was stood behind a brass band and the banner that said "Capitalism Isn't Working" (a take-off of a Conservative political poster from the 70s saying "Labour Isn't Working"). Plenty of office workers came out of their buildings to wave and say hello and I was having a great time.



As soon as we arrived I noticed something fishy going on. The police were closing off all the streets in what is known as Kettling and so I decided to get out before I got trapped. I made my way up Poultry (yes that is the name of a street) and to Mansion House tube station. I did what I always do which is to retreat to Foyles bookshop and immerse myself there. I had a coffee and a pain aux raisin and made my way back to the tube around 3pm. When I got back to Bank I noticed the police cordon was massive and very strong. They'd blocked off a large area of the City. When I managed to get inside the cordon I was told of the violence that had happened earlier with people breaking into RBS. Something I definetly don't condone and it really does nothing for our cause as could be seen later when all the papers went with the story of violence rather than the actual message of the protest which was about providing another, fairer way to manage money and people.



By this point the area was much more relaxed and there was a reggae band playing. It was incredibly surreal to sit in the middle of Princes Street which would normally be crowded by buses and taxis and just read a book and chat to this lovely guy from the SWP. I walked around for a bit and up Poultry the anarchists were causing trouble with the police which was to be expected really. It got to around 5pm and I needed to make my way back to Victoria Coach Station so I found my way through a couple of back alleys and out down to Cannon Street tube station, by the time I got there the police were shutting off the station and the streets around it in anticipation of some kind of riot (which never happened) but I just managed to jump on the tube on time to get back to Victoria for my 18:30 bus getting back at around midnight to Yarmouth.



For all my trouble the college wasn't very happy (at all). I'd taken the day off unauthourised and this is quite a serious thing so I am now being chastised for the fact and I get the feeling that it probably wasn't the most sensible thing to have done. Still, I don't regret it that much, I had a great time, I met some amazing people and I finally stood up for something I believe in.

All the photos I took can be found on Flickr here and I've included a few in the praxis for you but the formatting is really off so I sorry about that. Does anyone else have real trouble with SF0's parxis editor? I can never get them the way I want it.