Police pay demonstration 23rd January 2008-01-23

Had a chat with Tony Ben.
He’s been bugged by the police over his career but still finds the time to turn up at the demo in their baseball cap.
He was voicing his surprise at the current policy of alienating the police force.

I took my kid to see him talk many years ago when she was two.
After I asked her what she thought of him. She replied that he was’ ruff and sticky’.

Had the urge several times to shout 'Anyone have the time?' during the march.
The pubs round westminster did not know what hit them by lunch time.

A strange day?On a scale of 1 to 10 it was a 23.

Police pay demonstration 23rd January 2008-01-23

I was very interested in what would happen when we entered the demonstration exclusion zone, the sky didn’t fall down but it was full of choppers, you could cut the atmosphere outside the home office with a knife.

Police pay demonstration 23rd January 2008-01-23

Risky..

Try something new today.

Police pay demonstration 23rd January 2008-01-23

Nick Robinson looking genuine thrown as a tsunami of white baseball caps swept around him. I think he was trying to find one of them to talk to him.

Police pay demonstration 23rd January 2008-01-23

There was such a feeling of uncertainty, like watching a giant pack of sheep dogs herd each other.

I had been in a riot after a demonstration on the same spot that was police charged on horseback.
They took to it like ducks to water.

Police pay demonstration 23rd January 2008-01-23

Over policing of demo.

Police pay demonstration 23rd January 2008-01-23

The joy of photograping the police.

Police pay demonstration 23rd January 2008-01-23

'Hallo...Police?

Police pay demonstration 23rd January 2008-01-23

Weirdness alert on red.

I was invited to come and observe the march by artist and WPC ‘X’.
On the way down to London on the coach, my national express bus was passed by coach’s full of hung over, confused, jolly and apprehensive police.
They were unmistakeable.
The people that will walk into rock clubs with creases in there trousers.
. A text exchange with ‘X’ confirmed that her coach load of cops had already been mooned at by another coach load of cops on the motorway.

As I came round the corner of Achilles way, It’s hard to describe the shock of being among so many policemen.