I was on my way to celebrate a birthday at the Angel Rotherhithe, but had deliberately come early so I could walk part of the way there along by the river and take a few panoramas and other pictures.
As I reached the river, it started to rain, and there was a heavy but fortunately fairly short shower. I sheltered for a while, then as the rain eased off a little came out and took some pictures - with some fairly dramatic skies. A few were ruined by rain on the lens.
A few minutes later it was bright sun again, and we were able to sit outside
the pub for a few drinks. I took some pictures at the party, and posted them
in a private group on Facebook for the group of friends who were there.
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A Demonstration called by Help4Refugee Children, Syria Solidarity Campaign, Calais Action & RS21 in Trafalgar Square called for refugees to be treated as human beings and be given the rights defined by the Refugee Convention and later agreements.
They say treating refugees in the inhuman way we currently see is unacceptable - no human is illegal - and they should have the same human rights as our own and not refused asylum, or harassed by police and herded into shocking, subhuman conditions such as the ‘Jungle’ camp at Calais.
There was a short misunderstanding between one of the entertainers on the North Terrace who felt that the protesters came onto his pitch too quickly as he was ending his his, and that they had earlier got a little in the way, but it was quickly ended and the protest continued. A gust wind made keeping some of the posters on the pavement in place difficult, with the tape used not stopping them being blown away.
A small group of protesters marched around London, ending at Trafalgar Square in protest against the trade in cat and dog meat for human consumption.
The trade is mainly in the far east, where live animals are deliberately
and sadistically tortured to death in the scientifically unfounded belief
that inflicting pain on them produces more tender meat, increases the virility
of men who eat it, and helps people to keep cool in hot weather. The trade
is to be debated in parliament next month.
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Practitioners of Falun Dafa (also known as Falun Gong), an advanced Buddhist
practice of moral rectitude, meditation and exercise founded by Mr Li Hongzhi
in 1992, meditated in Trafalgar Square as a protest against the continuing
torture and repression they have experience in China since 1999. Practitioners
there are subject to forced labor, psychiatric abuse, torture and even execution,
allegedly carried out to supply human organs for Chinese transplant operations.
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Couriers for UberEats food delivery service and their supporters demonstrated outside the company's offices in Bermondsey after cuts in the rate per delivery by the company mean some drivers fail to earn the minimum wage.
The workers who deliver food from cafe kitchens across London are employed on a 'self-employed' basis many see as bogus, and are supported by the Independent Workers Union of Great Britain - Couriers and Logistics branch. They demand a guarantee they will be paid at least the London Living Wage, together with costs for their vehicles, insurance etc. Most of the couriers work on scooters or mopeds, but there were also those on pedal cycles, as well as a number of supporters on foot.
The drivers had come to Bermondsey in a large block from Aldgate, and arrived rather later than expected. Staff at the UberEats offices had been telling people that the protest was not happening, and tried briefly to stop people entering the yard.
The noisy meeting in the yard outside the offices was watched and photographed by some of the staff on the first floor inside, and one manager opened a window to briefly shout insults. He moved away and then came back, and I just missed getting a picture of him giving the finger to those below.
The drivers get their assignments using a phone app from Uber, and Imran Siddiqui came to show the press how he had been sacked without notice for his activism by being locked out of the app. There is a petition demanding his re-instatement.
Security staff would not allow the protesters to go into the offices, but eventually agreed that a small deputation could go inside. Six were chosen and allowed in but came out almost immediately to tell the protest that the managers had refused to talk with them as a group and had attempted to separate the to deal with them as individuals. They refused as this would allow managers to intimidate the drivers and discriminate against them.
The drivers present at the protest decided to stick together and to go in groups to restaurants requesting deliveries from them that evening and picket to persuade other drivers to join in the strike. One of the big problems in organising effective action is that the drivers all work as individuals, and their bogus self-employed status makes it hard for them to organise together.
Uber in June promised the drivers they would earn £20 an hour; now
they have switched to paying per delivery, and some drivers have ended up
being on call for a day and only getting one delivery and earning only £9
- with £4 of that going for petrol. They are demanding to be guaranteed
the London Living Wage, currently £9.40 an hour.
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Activists from the International Alliance Against Mandatory Detention protested outside the Australian High Commission in solidarity with a national day of action in Australia calling for the immigration detention camps on Nauru, Manus Island and Christmas Island to be closed immediately, and the detainees be given their rights under international law and settle in the Australian community.
As well as posters, the protesters carried a banner for Omid Masoumali, an Iranian refugee who died in a Brisbane hospital two days after setting himself on fire in front of visiting officials from the United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) after learning that he would be held in the island detention camp of Nauru for another ten years.
The protest took the form of a full reading of The Nauru Files, first published
by The Guardian, over 2,000 leaked incident reports which detail assaults,
sexual abuse, self harm, child abuse and terrible living conditions in the
camps, amounting to routine dysfunction and cruelty. The reading was expected
to take around 8 hours and ended in the early evening long after I had left.
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A protest outside the Stock Exchange called for an end to plans for open-cast mining at Phulbari in Bangladesh by British company, Global Coal Resources Management and for the company to be de-listed from the Stock Exchange Alternative Investment Market.
Protests in Bangladesh have prevented mining for ten years. The protesters lit candles and held a silence as a vigil for three villagers shot dead and two hundred injured at a mass protest in 2006. The mine would displace 130,000 farming families, destroy 14,600 hectares of fertile land, threaten clean water resources and have a devastating impact on one of the world’s largest mangrove forests and UNESCO heritage site, the Sunderbans.
Two protesters wore 'coal devil' masks and held posters to show they represented
Global Coal Resources Management CEO Gary Lye and the Chair of the
Board of Directors Michael Tang. There were some arguments with police who
wanted to keep the pavement clear, but the protesters insisted on laying out
a banner with the names of the three villagers, Alamin, Salekin and Tariqul
with the message 'Your Deaths Were Not In Vain' and placing flowers, candles
and lumps of coal on it.
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Unite Hospitality Workers launched their 'Unethical London' report into the bullying, harassment and victimisation of workers in London's top hotels, where management deny the right to join unions and bargain for better wages and conditions with a protest close to the London Eye and outside the nearby Holiday Inn hotel.
The group met on the Embankment close to the London Eye and were harassed by security working for the London Eye who told them that the public riverside walkway there was private property and that they were not allowed to have banners or placards or hand out flyers there.
After some argument, they moved onto the public open space of Jubilee Gardens, where they were than harassed by 'South Bank Patrol' Enforcement Officers who told them they were not allowed to protest there. The patrol is a private security force employed by the South Bank Employers Group which has recently been granted limited police powers through the Community Safety Accreditation Scheme.
Jubilee Gardens used to be a public park but is now apparently privately owned by the Jubilee Gardens Trust, who have a long list of regulations including banning its use "for any meeting, rally or gathering involving any political or other protest or demonstration of similar purpose including delivering public speeches, addresses and affixing notices (please note this list is not exhaustive)." In the past the gardens have been used for such events.
One of the 'enforcement officers' tried to grab a banner as the protesters walked out of the park, but a police officer who had come with them was rather more friendly, and tried to calm things down. The protesters walked to the pavement outside the Premier Inn on Belvedere Rd (where apparently they were also not permitted to hold a protest, but the protest was allowed to go ahead.)
Obviously the hotel was aware that the report launch was to take place outside their entrance, and had employed a small squad of security to stand and watch it, though it was an entirely peaceful event.
Two thirds of hospitality workers earn less than the London Living Wage. The Unethical London Report "exposes what goes on at the rotten heart of top London hotels" and Unite is calling for all London hotel workers to be paid at least this rate. They also ask tourists using hotels to tip directly to staff rather than pay discretionary 'service charges', as these often do not go to staff. They also ask hotel guests not to leave their rooms in too much of a mess, as often workers are threatened with losing their jobs and forced to work beyond their paid hours to complete unreasonable productivity targets. They workers also say that they are often not provided with essential safety equipment at work
Unite also say that "Hotel chains still act unethically by reneging
on their global commitments to respect the rights of their workers to freedom
of association and collective bargaining. Workers who seek to exercise their
human right to organise are regularly bullied, harassed and victimised."
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I spent a week at the Big Barn, a holiday let on the edge of Craven Arms with friends, going for lots of walks including visits to Church Stretton and Ludlow. This isn't London, but I include it here for anyone who is interested.
Craven Arms is a small town, which grew around its railway junction, where most of the passengers were sheep, on their way from Wales to be eaten in Birmingham, London and elsewhere. Mostly it dates from the late 19th century, but there was a small older settlement called Newton at one corner. A mile or so to the south is Stokesay castle, a fortified manor house in good condition, mainly because it surrendered as soon as it was attacked.
It has a small museum of nostalgia, and no phone signal, though there were one or two places where I could get wi-fi. But most of the week I was on holiday and out of contact. There are some well-known hills around, the Long Mynd and Wenlock Edge. Its very easy to get lost on some of the footpaths around, as way markers are often overgrown or absent and paths marked on the OS map don't always exist.
Ludlow was an interesting town to visit, though
I don't think I'd like to live there, but you could follow my pictures for
a town trail, and there seemed to be several decent pubs. At Craven Arms there
is of course the Craven Arms and a couple of others. I wasn't impressed.
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I was walking to visit a friend when I say there were stickers all along the fence where luxury flats are being built next to East Croydon station. There were more stickers on the boards surrounding another new luxury development on the other side of the road. I only took a few pictures.
London doesn't need more luxury developments, and certainly not more which
have one entrance for the rich and another - probably around the back for
the small element of 'affordable' (i.e. not remotely affordable) flats. Though
most developers manage to persuade an expensive firm of accountants to get
them off their obligation towards any form of social housing by fiddling the
accounts to show it doesn't pay. It is illegal and we should be seeing a lot
of accountants and consultants ending up in court, but it seems very unlikely.
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A family walk took us a short distance from Wildridings to South Hill Park Arts Centre in Bracknell, before we walked back and drove a couple of miles for a pub meal.
I lived in Bracknell for around 3 years in 1971-4, and was there when South
Hill Park became an arts centre, photographing the resident theatre group,
'Call It Theatre Co' both in the theatre there and at an outdoor performance
as well as one in a pub in Harmanswater. And I had free access to the darkroom
facilities there in exchange for agreeing to show others how to use them,
but we moved away before I really got to know the place well, and I think
it has rather changed. I continued to work in Bracknell until 1980, but seldom
if ever visited SHP as it's a couple of miles from where I worked.
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A procession from Broadwater Farm to a rally outside Tottenham Police Station, part of a day of activities organised by Tottenham Rights & Mark Duggan Justice Campaign five years after Mark Duggan's death remembers his death and those of other members of the Tottenham community killed by police - Cynthia Jarrett, Joy Gardener, Roger Sylvester, Mark Duggan and Jermaine Baker.
It marked the 5th anniversary of the police response which sparked the 2011 Tottenham riots and the anger of the community at the many deaths at the hands of the police was palpable. Although most of those who have died in Tottenham were black, police have also killed white people, and the police and authorities generally collude in the covering up of deaths. The initial police reaction seems often to be to lie to protect colleagues, issuing blatant lies to the press intended to tarnish the character of the victims. Evidence is seldom collected properly, officers are not questioned, CCTV cameras are found not to have been working, officers are allowed to resign rather than face disciplinary procedures, inquests are delayed...
The body charged with investigating complaints against the police, the IPCC
is widely seen as unfit for purpose, staffed largely by former police who
often seem reluctant to investigate their former colleagues.
Only the most determined, organised and forceful campaigns have made any headway
against the system, often having to do themselves what should have been done
by police. The most successful so far has been the Rigg family campaign led
by Marcia Rigg, which finally managed to get an inquest verdict four years
after his death that police had used "unsuitable and unnecessary force"
on Rigg, had failed to uphold his basic rights and that police failings "more
than minimally" contributed to his death.
In 2012 an external review had been set up into the IPCC investigation and
concluded concluded that the IPCC committed a series of major blunders and
that there had been "inappropriate conduct" by the Police Federation
of England and Wales. But despite what seems clear evidence of perjury, the
CPS decided not to prosecute - and recently the IPCC was been notified by
the CPS that it has decided no officers will face charges in relation to the
death of Sean Rigg.
It is hardly surprising given cases such as this - and the contradictory evidence
in the Mark Duggan inquest and other high-profile cases that large sections
of the community have little confidence in the police and the justice system.
And as they chanted repeatedly on the march and at the rally, " No Justice,
No Peace".
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London CND held a ceremony in memory of the victims, past and present on the 71st anniversary of the dropping of the atomic bomb on Hiroshima and the second atomic bomb dropped on Nagasaki three days later.
After a number of speeches and performances there was a two minute's silence
during which the Mayor of Camden and others laid flowers around the commemorative
cherry tree.
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Five years and a day after the killing of Mark Duggan a large crowd met in Altab Ali Park in East London to commemorate the many UK victims of state violence, including Duggan, Sarah Reed, Mzee Mohammed, Jermaine Baker, Sean Rigg, Leon Patterson, Kingsley Burrell and over 1500 others, disproportionately black, since 1990.
The event was called by BLMUK, a community movement of activists from across
the UK who believe deeply that #BlackLivesMatter but are not affiliated with
any political party. They called for justice and an end to racialised sexism,
classism and homophobia and a new politics based on community defence and
resilience. I left the rally when those present split into four large groups
to discuss future community organisation in North, South, East and West London.
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Campaigners from Foil Vedanta protest at the Vedanta AGM in London, continuing the fight by communities around the world against the mining giant, 69% owned by billionaire chairman Anil Agarwal and his family with a noisy protest outside and some holding shares went in to attend the meeting and ask questions.
The company was found guilty of water pollution in Zambia poisoning up to
40,000 people in 2006, and vast taxation frauds have been uncovered. In India
they lost a ten year battle to mine the Niyamgiri mountain, sacred to an vulnerable
indigenous community, for bauxite but are lobbying the Modi government to
reverse the decision.
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Disabled people and supporters from DPAC, Inclusion London and People First hold a vigil outside the Japanese embassy in London to mourn disabled brothers and sisters murdered in a care home at Sagamihara near Tokyo for being disabled.
Many of the mourners wore black and there were calla lilies for each of the
19 killed in the attack in which 26 others were injured by a former employee
who killed them because they were disabled. Representatives from the embassy
came out to accept the flowers and expressions of condolence.
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The London Guantánamo Campaign protest at the US Embassy and Marble Arch calling for the release of the remaining 76 prisoners still held in the prison camp and in solidarity with Chelsea Manning who faces lengthy solitary confinement after her suicide attempt last month.
US Army officials have denied her access to psychological services and instead
charged her with a series of bizarre 'administrative offenses' which are expected
to result in further indefinite solitary confinement - considered by the UN
as a form of torture.
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We met my younger son and his family for a picnic on Richmond Green and then
a short walk to a cafe where we had some cake and coffee. I took a few pictures
on the walk.
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Thames Path - Bermondsey
Human Rights for Refugees
End inhumane dog & cat meat trade
Falun Dafa protest Chinese Oppression
UberEats couriers strike for Living Wage
Close Australian Refugee Detention Camps
10 Years of Resistance to Phulbari
Unethical London Hotels Slammed
Craven Arms
Class War Stickers Croydon
South Hill Park
Tottenham remembers Mark Duggan
Hiroshima Day 71st Anniversary
Black Lives Matter London
Foil Vedanta at mining giant's AGM
Vigil for murdered care home victims
Guantanamo solidarity with Chelsea Manning
Richmond Walk
january |
Other sites with my pictures include
london pictures
londons industrial history
lea valley / river lea
and at my blog you can read
>Re:PHOTO my thoughts on photography.