A thousand flowers bloomed.

Cracking day out in town yesterday but now we will have to listen to all that guff about the Labour Party and TUC regretting and condemning the "small minority of troublemaker" hijacking peaceful protest etc; etc; I hope that all of those involved will see through the cynical attempts by the police, media and politicians to drive a wedge between the families with buggies and banners who had got up at some unearthly hour to cheerfully march through London and the spiky young Black Blockers who charged about with all the energy and fearlessness of youth.

For myself it was a case of a thousand flowers blooming. We started the day with a monster breakfast in the Regency Cafe before ambling up Whitehall and along the Strand, bade farewell to those members of the breakfast party who wanted to be involved in the Choir For Social Justice at the Law Courts (thousand flowers comrades, thousand flowers) and made our way to join up with the very lively Mallet Street Feeder. When this arrived at the Embankment we decided to make our way toward Trafalgar Square and were in time to see the Black Block storming up Charring Cross Road red and black banners flying. Onward to Piccadilly and Oxford Street. One of the nice things about the day was the fact that we kept bumping into friends and comrades and of course a few pints were involved as well. So if your bag was Samba Band and banners or a bit of mild redecorating of the West End - well done all.