The other day, I discovered.......

[Ste]

i thought I would start a thread for you to describe things that you had experienced that were quite profound and caused you to change your attitudes, the first time you did something unusual...whatever.

I will start the ball rolling

This is called "The day I joined a picket"

The other day I read about a people who had been kicked out of their homeland by British colonial deceit and cunning. It was the Times. Friday's. On Saturday morning, for some reason, I decided to read it again. It was eleven something and to be truthful, I was going to go back to bed having had a very, very late night doing some legal research. In fact I felt sick. I knew also I had to be at Hammersmith Town Hall early before the evening dance, so I knew I just had to have a kip. I am rubbish when I haven't had a decent night's kip (ie 95 % of the time!).Then I saw it. In the middle of the article. It said that these disenfranchised people (unwilling British citizens) were going to picket Downing street...TODAY! I thought, for once in my life I will try and do something for someone else apart from me. I got my flask ready, my camera. my mac and off I went.

I didn't even know where Downing Street was although I recalled that it was near the Houses of Parliament. Still couldn't find it. I asked several coppers and to my surprise, they seemed to know about this demo. I looked and looked and could see some Asians milling around. But where were the Chagos Islanders? Judging by the photo in the newspaper they would be dark skinned but not (to me) exactly like Africans. I struggled to identify them.

Then I saw them. There were about 20 of them. All ages. Fixing their home made banners and posters on to the railings opposite Downing Street. They were with a bunch of white people who were obviously southern, political animals. Kind of 30's to 50's looking, in old Student Union togs.

The white people seemed to be in control. Handing out leaflets and collecting and selling newspapers, leading the chanting. I found out that they were with the Workers' Revolutionary Party. Altogether there were about 40 of us. I handed out quite a few leaflets. Begging, cajoling, exhorting, sometimes pushy, sometimes incredibly polite. I ran across the road and found this to be a more profitable exercise. This was my first day as a demonstrator.

As a kid I remember making my own poster denouncing the National Front as a response to the would be style nazis who saw facism as adding a bit of flavour to their Motorhead leanings. (I liked Motorhead but I didn't like nazism). I stuck it up at school and incredibly the teachers did not take it down. One even ticked one of my boxes. I still have it somewhere. In the sixth form I collected signatures on behalf of SWAPO, campaigning against Rio Tinto Zinc. But after Uni and working life I kind of lost interest and became mildly tory with strong anti colonial tendancies (not militant).

Now, 30 years later, I was back in the protestor groove. This time middle aged and feeling my frailty. No longer the zit ridden idealistic kid who was in the top five in his year with an obsession on becoming the next Freddy Mercury or Jimmy Page and juggling several crushes at the same time.

I looked across at a sister demonstration. Against Musharref. I would have done that one too. Pakistani flags with faces. Imran Khan, Bhutto. I felt the pain. The anger. The sheer raw passion. I remember watching scenes on TV of Pakistani lawyers demonstrating against Musharref's meddling with the judiciary and I have to admit that I wept. I saw a bespectacled officer violently push a small Asian off the road, telling him to get out of the way. It was rudeness bordering on violence. No wonder sometimes people react angrily against the police. Power does corrupt. Historically and in my recent work I have been supportive of the police and had to work with them. But not that particular copper.

But I was here for the Chagossians. I managed to hand out a leaflet to Mr Khan the Lawrence family lawyer and chatted to him (he used to work in a firm down the road from me) and introduced him to the Chagossian spokeswoman for the group. A very tall young lady whose father had been featured in the Times article.

I met Peter Tatchell as well.

One thing I noticed. Despite the supposed support from all parties, nobody seemed to be here from any major party except the Trotskyites. (Subsequently I met a labour MP Jeremy Corbin or something who turned up for about 30 minutes or whatever). The latter tried to get me to join them but I complained that I was a tory and non political. “You are political” was the reply. To them, their passion for a revolution was like a religion. They had the buckets, the leaflets, the slogans. They also had the sandwiches and drinks and gladly shared them with me. They were generous, kind and intelligent. People take the pee out of the Wolfy Smiths, the revolutionaries, the Workers' Revolutionary Party. But these were the only non Chagossians who had the balls and the conviction to spare a few hours in their precious weekend to support the Chagossians and for that I salute them.

They even forced me to be their North West correspondent. Apparently, I have to report on marches up here. Weird. I didn't have the heart to refuse.

So what have you discovered recently?

NB If you are interested in supporting the Chagos Islanders their details are:

Hengride Permal, Chagos Islanders Community Assoicaiton, 10 The Boulevards, Crawley, West Sussex RH10 6EL. Tel 07789 116729 Email:cica@chagos.org.uk
Make all cheques to: Chagos Islands Community Association.

[Dreadful Scathe]

nice one Sir, you are the man.

[rubyred]

Ste it reminds me of the days when I stood on the picket line supporting the miners.

[thainmaggiet]

You have made me feel very humble.and impressed!!

[Ste]

So, what have you discovered recently. The best combo is...I am really aged now but I discovered something that I should ahve done when I was younger.

I spent ages last night posting on how I have recently discovered Radiohead but it hasn't appeared.