Peter Marshall | >Re-PHOTO

Students March Against Fees Increase and Cuts – 2010

Students March Against Fees Increase and Cuts: On Wednesday 10th November 2010 around 50,000 students marched through London in a lively but largely peaceful protest against the plans to increase university fees and make cuts to education.

The event, organised by the National Union of Students (NUS) and the University and College Union (UCU) was larger than expected and because of numbers the march began early with crowds already marching down Whitehall when I arrived.

Over two hours later there were still people marching down Whitehall and I was still photographing them going through Parliament Square and on towards Millbank where a rally was taking place outside the Tate Gallery.

Many of the protesters got no further than Parliament Square, and it was still filled with students dancing when I left for home, having moved aside the temporary banners around the grass there.

People on the protest were angry, and it showed very much in some of the posters. People were particularly upset at the actions of the Lib-Dems who had campaigned resolutely against fees in the General Election and had signed the NUS pledge and made a manifesto commitment to abolish fees but now in the Lib Dem-Con coalition government were supporting them.

The great mass of marchers were intent on peaceful protest and there were only a few minor incidents with flares and sit-downs on the main march, but a small group of protesters had other ideas when they reached the Conservative Party headquarters on Millbank, which had been left virtually undefended by police. They rushed in and occupied the building.

Police reinforcements then carried out a brutal attempt to evict them and there was fierce fighting in which some protesters smashed the large plate glass windows to let others in. A number of the journalists and photographers were also batoned and punched by police along with the protesters, but I was still in Parliament Square photographing the marchers coming through.

A few protesters gained access to the roof of the building and hung down banners, but most stayed in the courtyard where some started fires, setting light to placards and when I arrived had been joined by hundreds of marchers mainly simply standing around and watching.

There was one seriously dangerous moment (which I didn’t see) when a stupid idiot threw an empty fire extinguisher from the roof; fortunately no one was injured, but it could have killed a police officer or a protester, and the whole crowd began a chant against him.

The march stewards and NUJ officials tried to keep marchers walking past towards the rally and not join those outside the Tory HQ, but it was this action by a few there which made the news headlines, turning what otherwise would have been a small and insignificant paragraph or two into major news – but with little discussion of the real grievances that led to the protest.

I heard about what was happening at the Tory HQ from one of the marchers while I was still in Parliament Square; he had got a tweet from his mother who had seen what was happening on TV. I rushed to the scene where there were still clashes between police and protesters going on. At the time I wrote:

"When I arrived later, more riot police were arriving to stand in front of the now broken window and protect the offices. A couple of yards from them was a crowd who were mostly simply standing and watching, with a few occasionally shouting at the police and arguing with them. "

"Occasionally various objects were hurled from further back in the crowd towards the police who parried them with their riot shields; fortunately they were largely harmless - light sticks from placards, screwed up placards, plastic bottles - just as well as many fell short and landed on photographers and crowd rather than their intended target. "

"I was hit by a few objects and sprayed several times by fire extinguishers - both soda acid and dry powder - and again the police were better protected. At one point a woman's shoe came through the air and landed at the feet of the police, followed a few moments later by a furious woman with one stockinged foot who came to collect it after one of her 'friends' had thrown it."

The protesters were still on the roof, and made a statement for the press from there stating their action was an expression of solidarity with public sector workers and the poor, disabled and elderly who would be harmed by government cuts and was a call for direct action to oppose the destruction of public services and state education.

Police later said that they had made over 50 arrests.

You can read more of my account of the events of the day on My London Diary and see many more pictures at NUS/UCU March – Fees Increase & Cuts.

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Remembrance for Migrants & State Violence in Chile – 2019

Remembrance for Migrants & State Violence in Chile: On Saturday 9th Nov 2019 Lesbians and Gays Support the Migrants held a ceremony in Whitehall to remember all the refugees who had died fleeing violence over the past year. I then photographed a Funeral march from the Chilean Embassy to Parliament Square against state violence against protesters after a state of emergency was declared against massive demonstrations and riots in Santiago and other cities.

Remember migrants who have died

*People lay orange wreaths at the Cenotaph for the migrants who died in the past year*

Lesbians and Gays Support the Migrants hosted a ceremony at the Ministry of Defence with other groups the day before Remembrance Sunday to remember all who died to seek refuge in the past year.

The event began outside the Ministry of Defence where there were a number of speeches and a short silence and people held up posters with the names of the 39 Vietnamese people found dead in a container on a lorry trailer in Grays, Essex on October 23, 2019 – 28 men, 8 women, and 3 children.

People holding the names of the Vietnamese dead then covered their faces with purple gauze and picked up orange wreaths for a slow procession to the Cenotaph to lay the wreaths to remember those who died seeking sanctuary.

Remember migrants who have died

Funeral March for Chile Protesters

*Women display white pants with fake blood in a protest against the sexual abuse of protesters*

The ‘estallido social‘ (Social Unrest) in Chile began in October 2019 as a protest against fare rises on the Santiago Metro and other cost of living increases and continued until March 2020.

*In front of the Chilean Embassy in Old Queen St*

Over 36 people were killed and thousands injured, in particular many blinded after being hit in the eye by rubber pellets fired by security forces. As Wikipedia states, “Bandaged eyes had become so common that they become a symbol for protesters.” Human rights organisations reported cases of excessive violence and torture, sexual abuse and rape of protesters.

Many of those taking part in the protest wore gauze pads on one eye and at the front of the protest three people carried black coffins.

The march made the short distance to Parliament Square where they stopped for a rally.

A group of women dressed in black performed in protest against the sexual abuses, smearing fake blood on pairs of white pants which they then removed and held above their heads.

It had been raining steadily all afternoon and I was beginning to get rather wet and cold and I left before the rest of the rally.

Funeral March for Chile Protesters

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Shut Down Racist Immigration Prisons – 2014

Shut Down Racist Immigration Prisons: On Saturday 8th November 2014 I went to Harmondsworth for a protest by supporters of Movement for Justice calling for immigration detention centres such as the two next door to each other on the Bath Road on the northern edge of Heathrow Airport to be closed down.

The hundred or so protesters included quite a few who had at some time been held in Harmondsworth or Colnbrook immigration centres or the others around the country. The two at Harmondsworth had recently been brought under the same management as Heathrow Immigration Removal Centre, run by Mitie.

Although organised by MfJ, this and other protests at detention centres are supported by a wide range of organisations and one of the banners was full of their logos.

Back in 2014 over 30,000 people, 85% men, were held in these prisons. The name is misleading as over the years less than half of detainees who left them were actually deported. Most who leave them are on immigration bail while their claims for asylum are being investigated.

Around a third are imprisoned for relatively short periods of 28 days or less, but this is indefinite detention and at least one person was kept in immigration jail for a day under three years with 2-3% being held longer than 6 months.

When Mitie took over the management of these prisons they told police not to allow protests in the the roadway between the two centres and around the side and back of Harmondsworth which are on land owned by the Crown where they could be seen by some held on the upper floors of the centres which are surrounded by 20ft fences with a solid metal lower half.

Instead the protesters were confined to an area in front of the administrative block of the Harmondsworth Centre, out of sight of the detainees, but their noisy protest could be heard inside both blocks. People inside, locked away without a release date, often feel they have been forgotten by the outside world and this gives them some hope.

*Many of those who spoke were former detainees*

As well as calling for the closure of detention centres, the protesters also expressed shock at the decision by the EU to stop rescuing immigrants crossing the Mediterranean, and a placard read ‘Refusing to Rescue is Murder – End the “Let them Drown” policy’.

Some of those held have mobile phones as they need these to pursue their asylum claims, and the protesters were able to contact some of those held inside and relay their views over the public address system they had brought with them.

The detainees say they are mistreated by staff, given poor and sometimes inappropriate food and suffer from a lack of proper medical care,. But overwhelmingly they complained as I wrote in 2014, “that although they had committed no crime (and in most cases were victims of crimes in their own countries), in the UK they were treated as criminals and locked away. They say Asylum detention is worse than prison for detainees because they have no idea when it may come to an end – some had been held for well over a year – and the detainees feel under a constant threat of being forcibly returned to the country they fled because they feared for their lives or had been tortured.”

Shut Down Racist Immigration Prisons

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West India to Blackwall – 1990

West India to Blackwall: More pictures from my walk wandering around the Isle of Dogs on Thursday 12th April 1990 in the week before Easter. Parts of the area had by then been fully demolished but there were still some of the old buildings remaining along with the new and plenty of building sites. It wasn’t always easy to know exactly where I was or where I could walk.

*Marsh Wall, West India Docks, 1990, 90-4k-62*

This new building is in what is now Lawn House Close and I was standing close to the east end of Marsh Wall. The cranes are on South Dock.

*Manchester Rd, Isle of Dogs, Tower Hamlets, 1990, 90-4k-63*

At the end of Marsh Wall I turned into Manchester Road where these houses still stand. A banner states ‘L.D.D.C AND THE COUNCIL – THE BLIGHTERS OF THIS TERRACE’. This is Glen Terrace, built in the 1880s after the dock company sold the land to help fund new docks at Tilbury, and named after the Glen Shipping Line which had previously occupied some of the site. These houses were completed in 1890 and in 1891 were renumbered as a part of Manchester Road. Around 1920 the South Dock entrance lock was lengthened to allow for larger ships, and the main route of Manchester Road was moved a few yards east to its current route.

For many years a fire in one of the houses led to a much photographed gap in the houses which could give a view of ships in the dock. This was later filled in, which I think accounts for a plaque on one of the houses with the date 1974 and four sets of initials. The south end of the terrace was demolished under the LDDC as part of a road widening scheme and some of the houses replace by a small block of flats.You can read much more at the link above to the Island History web site.

Lovegrove Walk, Preston's Rd, Isle of Dogs, Tower Hamlets, 1990, 90-4k-41 — *Lovegrove Walk, Preston’s Rd, Isle of Dogs, Tower Hamlets, 1990, 90-4k-41*

Lovegrove Walk got its name from the former landlord of the Brunswick Arms pub at 78 Blackwall Way. The pub dating from 1837 closed in 2006 and was demolished in 2008. The water shown here was built as a part of the West India Graving Dock and was completed and opened in 1878. It later became the London Graving Dock and closed in 1979. It is also known as Blackwall Basin Graving Dock and there is more about it on the Isle of Dogs Life web site. The sculpture in the water is Leap by Franta Belsky, placed here a year or so before I made the picture

Lovegrove Walk, Preston's Rd, Isle of Dogs, Tower Hamlets, 1990, 90-4k-43 — *Lovegrove Walk, Preston’s Rd, Isle of Dogs, Tower Hamlets, 1990, 90-4k-43*

Another view of the Blackwall Basin Graving Dock. A graving dock is a traditional dry dock on the edge of a waterway linked to it by a caisson or watertight rages. On its bottom are support blocks which a ship settles on when the water is pumped out to allow it to be worked on from below. Graving meant scraping and removing barnacles after which the hull of a wooden ship would be repaired as needed and coated with tar.

This picture is taken looking east from the concrete bridge over the graving dock in the previous picture leading to new housing on the side of the dock.

Entrance Lock, Blackwall Basin, Preston's Rd, Isle of Dogs, Tower Hamlets, 1990, 90-4k-45 — *Entrance Lock, Blackwall Basin, Preston’s Rd, Isle of Dogs, Tower Hamlets, 1990, 90-4k-45*

Taken from Preston’s Road looking west towards building work taking place at Canary Wharf. Scottish merchant, shipowner, and politician Sir Robert Preston made a fortune working for the East India Company, later running a number of ships for them and working as an insurer. According to Wikipedia, “Preston is likely to have been the sole investor in the Saint Ann slave voyage which, in 1783, purchased 360 enslaved people from West Central Africa and St. Helena and transported them to Kingston, Jamaica.”

Known as “Floating Bob’ for his portly figure and marine connections, Preston owned land in the area and when the West India Dock Company built the road from Poplar High Street to the Isle of Dogs in 1808 it was named after him.

The entrance lock had lost its gates and was now lined on both sides by housing with street entrances in Bridge House Quay and Lancaster Drive.

Hydraulic Pumping Station, Duthie St, Blackwall Way, Poplar, Tower Hamlets, 1990, 90-4k-34 — *Hydraulic Pumping Station, Duthie St, Blackwall Way, Poplar, Tower Hamlets, 1990, 90-4k-35*

Hydraulic power was important in all of the docks, using a system of water pumped at high pressure to run much of the machinery. Fire was always a huge risk, particularly when handling powdered cargoes or combustible liquids. The first such public system was built in Hull in 1876 and a few years later the General Hydraulic Power Company had a system across the London, also powering lifts as well as cranes and dock gates etc.

There were also private systems and this hydraulic pumping station was built by the Midland Railway to serve their goods yard and dock at Blackwall in the 1870s in an Italianate style typical of their other railway buildings.

*Hydraulic Pumping Station, Duthie St, Blackwall Way, Poplar, Tower Hamlets, 1990, 90-4l-53*

A second view perhpas gives a better idea of the pumping station which later became the Docklands branch of Majestic Wine Warehouse and now has the address The Old Pump House, Preston’s Road.

*Blackwall Tunnel ventilation, Communications centre, Blackwall Way, Poplar, Tower Hamlets, 1990, 90-4k-12*

The ventilation towers were built for the second Blackwall Tunnel which was opened in 1967. They were designed in 1964 by GLC architect Terry Farrell.

*Blackwall Tunnel ventilation, Communications centre, Blackwall Way, Poplar, Tower Hamlets, 1990, 90-4l-65*

The building behind the ventilation towers, now Telehouse South, was built as Reuters data centre to process news and financial data in 1987–1992, designed by architects John Young, Ivan Harbour, Graham Stirk, and Andrew Morris of the Richard Rogers Partnership with engineers Arup. Initially there were plans for four buildings around a former dry dock, but only this one was ever built.

Justice for Palestine Committee – 2004

Justice for Palestine Committee: On Saturday 6 November 2004 the Justice For Palestine Committee organised a London march against the Israeli destruction and terror taking place in Palestine. The date was chosen to be close to International Al-Quds day, the last Friday of Ramadan. This march in 2004 was on the weekend before this.

Al-Quds day, the first ever international demonstration to be established in support of Palestinians and all the oppressed around the world, was established by Ayatollah Khomeini when he came to power after the 1979 revolution in which he became leader of Iran.The event in 2004 was 25 years after this.

As in later Al-Quds Day marches in London, the march was very much a peaceful family event. The marches themselves have always been well-ordered but have sometimes attracted violent opposition by small groups of Zionists, Iranian opposition groups and others including extreme right organisations.

In 2017 the police presence at the march prevented a 47-year-old far right terrorist and follower of Tommy Robinson from driving his van into the march. He had stated beforehand that he intended to kill both Jeremy Corbyn and Sadiq Khan who he wrongly thought would be attending it. Instead just after midnight he drove into a crowd of Muslims who had just left nighttime prayers at Finsbury Park Mosque, killing one man and injuring others. Saved from an angry crowd by the Imam, he was convicted of murder and attempted murder and sentenced to life imprisonment with a minimum term of 43 years.

In 2026 UK Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood banned the march in London after a request by police for “a month-long prohibition on marches, with the government citing public disorder risks linked to the “volatile situation in the Middle East”, and potential clashes between different groups of demonstrators.” Instead the organisers held a static rally which police restricted to the south bank of the Thames, with counter-protesters being restricted to the north bank, both between Vauxhall and Lambeth Bridges – and Lambeth Bridge was closed.

My post on My London Diary was brief and is in full below.

“The march against Israeli destruction and terror was organised by the Justice For Palestine Committee. It is supposed to be an annual event on or around Al-Quds day in London.

It was the late Ayatollah Khomeini who started this day to support the Palestinian struggle, and it has often been associated with Islamic fundamentalism and and anti-Semitism. The name is the Arabic for Jerusalem.

Although the march was very much against ‘Israeli destruction and terror’ and the oppression of Palestinians, the march in London did not appear to be anti-Semitic, although banners and chanting were clearly against the activities of the Israeli state and in particular, anti-American.”

I posted 26 pictures from the event, a few of which are in this post. You can still see the others on three pages of My London Diary, beginning here.

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Occupy, Jarrow & Syria – 2011

Occupy, Jarrow & Syria: On Saturday 5th November 2011 I began my work with Occupy at St Paul’s Cathedral where protesters were confronting an evangelical preacher who was calling on them to leave and repent. I went on the Temple to cover the final stage of march by jobless young people from Jarrow to London. At Downing Street Syrians were calling the British Government to show solidarity to peaceful protesters who were being shot at by the Syrian Army. Finally I went back to St Paul’s to march with protesters to a general meeting in front of the Houses of Parliament in Old Palace Yard.

Occupy London Respond to Preacher

St Paul’s Cathedral Steps

*What would Jesus Do? Jesus Would Feed the Poor. Jesus Would Wash Our Feet*

An evangelical preacher had come to the steps with a head set and amplifier preaching to the camp, calling on them to repent their sins, turn to Jesus and rely on His grace to achieve salvation rather than taking any political action.

*I wasn’t too sure about ‘Jesus will smite the Bankers!’ as smiting has gone out of fashion in religious circles*

There response was to stand in front of him holding up cards on which were written ‘What Would Jesus Do?’ and some of the answers, ‘Jesus Would Feed the Poor’, ‘Jesus Would Wash Our Feet’.

The preacher accused them of being ignorant of theology. As I commented, “I would be willing to bet that OccupyLSX has more than its share of theology graduates, and it would not surprise me to find the occasional theology lecturer or professor hanging around.”

Occupy London Respond to Preacher

Jarrow March Ends in London

In 1936 the Jarrow March stirred the nation’s conscience, but 75 years on the march by 50 jobless young people from across Britain in the Youth March For Jobs went almost unnoticed in our right-wing dominated media.

The marchers had set out on the 330 mile march from Jarrow five weeks earlier, campaigning on route at many towns calling for action over youth unemployment.

They called on the government to:

Create jobs
Bring back EMA & scrap university fees
Save youth services
Scrap workfare
Build affordable housing.

The march was backed by national trade unions – Unite, PCS, RMT, Bectu, TSSA, FBU and UCU – as well as various union branches, students and anti-cuts groups across the country.

*Hetty Bower had met the 1936 Jarrow Marchers as a young woman. Now 106 she marched with their successors*

Around a thousand people of all ages turned up for a rally at Temple and to march with them on the final stage to a rally in Trafalgar Square. Among them was 106 year-old Hetty Bower, who had met the 1936 Jarrow marchers when they arrived in London 75 years ago.

More at Jarrow March Ends In London.

Syrians Protest At Downing St

Syrians from the UK were at Downing Street calling on the government to galvanise the international community into action after yet more reports of Syrian government forces opening fire on peaceful protesters.

They called for freedom for Syria, with posters ‘Freedom lies in being bold – Our Syria will forever stay free.’

Syrians Protest At Downing St

OccupyLSX March to Parliament

I returned to Occupy at St Paul’s were many were getting ready to march to Westminster. A rally was in progress with speeches from a wide ranger of supporters of Occupy but particularly focusing on privatisation and cuts we were suffering in Britain.

Among the listeners was Green Party MP Caroline Lucas – the only MP I saw in my various visits to Occupy despite it only being a short tube journey from the Houses of Parliament.

*A woman raises both hands to show agreement with the speaker*

There were a lot of police around and before the march started there was a very loud but completely inaudible announcement from loudspeakers on one of the several police vans parked close by. We had no idea what it said, though I guessed it was saying that the march was illegal.

At first police simply concentrated on getting the march to move towards Westminster as fast as possible and it moved at a fast walking pace as far as Trafalgar Square. It was as usual an entirely peaceful march.

Things changed as the march tried to go down Whitehall. Police had decided to completely block the street with a large number of officers and a police van. A few marchers tried to push their way through but most just stood and chanted that this was a peaceful protest.

After a few minutes standing still the march turned up Pall Mall and then down the Duke of York Steps and into St James’ Park. Police stopped them again as they tried to go down Great George Street to Parliament Square.

The march then went on another long detour almost to Buckingham Palace, but I took a short cut. They tried again to reach Parliament Square along Victoria but police again blocked them. Another detour and they came back towards Parliament Square along Millbank, reaching Old Palace Yard opposite the House of Lords before they were again blocked. They decided to stop there and held a General Meeting there.

After a few minutes police sent a message that they would be free to leave along Millbank. I left to do so while the meeting was continuing and was stopped by police, but allowed to go through after showing my Press Card. Police had again lied to the protesters who were being kettled in Old Palace Yard.

I fail to understand the police actions during the march. As planned by Occupy it would have caused only very minor traffic disruption for a few minutes along its route, but the game played by police caused traffic disruption across much of central Westminster for an hour or two. Did they do it for the overtime pay? Or was it as I suggested in 2011 “some political paranoia … that Occupy LSX would come with tents and settle instead in Parliament Square, still closed off to the public many months after the grass has recovered from its previous occupation.”

Many more pictures on My London Diary at OccupyLSX March to Parliament

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City Panoramas – March 1993

City Panoramas: In March 1993 I was preparing for a group show and had decided that my contribution of a dozen or so pictures would be panoramic images made in the City of London. I can no longer remember which of these images made the final cut for the show which was with a group ‘London Documentary Photographers‘ which had been formed by Mike Seaborne who was then the curator of photographs at the Museum of London, although I think the show took place in Swiss Cottage Library.

*Copthall Buildings, Telegraph St, City, 1993, 93c3-06-31*

I worked on the project for several days in March and April, making over a hundred pictures. I think these were probably all made on the Japanese Panon Widelux F8 which I had bought the previous year, though in later years I preferred the much cheaper Russian Horizon.

St Olave's Court, Ironmonger Lane, City, 1993, 93c3-06-33 — *St Olave’s Court, Ironmonger Lane, City, 1993, 93c3-06-33*

Both cameras worked on a similar basis, with 35mm film curved around about a third of a cylindrical path and a lens at the centre of this cylinder rotating during exposure, a slit behind the lens exposing the film. The lens was powered by clockwork and the ‘shutter speed’ depended on the speed of rotation and the width of the slit. So the actual rotation might take 1/30s but each part of the film might only be exposed for 1/250s.

Because of the curved film the distance between the lens centre and the film remained constant – and so did the magnification of the subject. With normal wide-angle (rectilinear) lenses the lens to film distance increases as you move away from the centre of the image, producing a stretching of the subject towards the edges of the frame, limiting their useful horizontal angle of view to less than 90 degrees. The film curvature eliminates this stretching but at the expense of producing a noticeable curvature of the subject except across the central line – normally the horizon – of the image.

*Watling St, Bow Lane, City, 1993, 93c03-06-41*

Although you can use these cameras handheld, for most purposes – and all these images – they need to be carefully levelled on a firm tripod, and I carried a sturdy (and heavy) Manfrotto to eneble me to work from roughly eye-level. The Panon has a viewfinder but I found it more accurate to work by the two arrows inscribed on its top plate indicating the field of view. I also carried a roughly 12 inch carpenter’s spirit level to ensure the camera was properly levelled – rather more precise than the little bubble on the top plate.

*Bow Churchyard, City, 1993, 93c03-06-43*

F8 I think simply meant it was the 8th design by Panon, and the lens was a 26mm f2.8, though it did need to be stopped down to f8 for these pictures. The camera does not focus and wide open it is only sharp at around 2 metres; at f8 it becomes almost sharp to infinity, though for distant landscapes f11 improves things. The camera also has a very limited choice of shutter speeds – 1/15, 1/125, and 1/250th.

*St Alphage Highwalk, City, 1993, 93c03-07-12*

It gives negatives which are roughly the width of those from a medium format camera, but the normal 24mm height of 35mm cameras.

You can read a little more about the camera and see some black and white images I made shortly after buying the camera here on >Re:PHOTO at Bow Creek Panoramas – 1992. That post begins “At the end of 1991 I finally bought my first panoramic camera, a Japanese Widelux F8 which I couldn’t really afford” and the camera then cost me roughly a month’s wages. These cameras were last made around 2000, and supposedly mint versions now sell on eBay for £2,500 or more. The Horizon continued to be available at least until 2015 and you can find them on sale for around £300. But making images like these is much simpler and better with digital.

When I made these I was still working full-time as a teacher and was only able to get out and take photographs at the weekends. The City was then generally deserted and I photographed empty streets – and could set up my camera and tripod without interruption, and take my time making these pictures.

Trade Justice Parade – 2001

Trade Justice Parade: The Trade Justice Parade on Saturday 3rd November 2001 was one of the early events I put on My London Diary, but then I only posted two photographs from it along with a short text. The pictures there were in black and white although I had taken both in colour.

The images were also rather small, and here I’ll upload some larger versions of a few others that I took at the event. A wide range of organisations took part, calling for changes in trading arrangements in the world to make trade fairer for countries in the majority world. Agreements such as GATT, the post-war General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade and the World Trade Organisation had worked well for the richer countries and for multinational companies but had led to a situation where many poorer countries were making huge debt repayments, often greater than the international aid they were getting.

Naomi Klein and Sergio Cobo, Trafalgar Square, 3 Nov 2001

The protest gathered south of the river in Geraldine Mary Harmsworth Park next to the Imperial War Museum and marched across Westminster Bridge and up Whitehall to a rally in Trafalgar Square. Back in 2001 I could only make some rather small and poor colour scans, but I’ve tidied these up a little and will post some here, along with the two black and white images. I hope soon to get around to re-scanning my colour images from the early years of this century at high resolution.

Here is the short piece I wrote on My London Dairy back in 2001:

The Trade Justice Parade was a serious event but also we were having some fun. The World Trade Organisation isn’t at all amusing, but i loved the t-shirt that said ‘WTO – unsuitable for anyone with a conscience’.

Giant pound signs, balloons, a huge fat cat, the WTO dragon, pirates and everyone made it an event to remember.

Speakers included Naomi Klein (author of ‘No Logo’) and Sergio Cobo from Mexico

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Marsh Wall and South Quay – 1990

Marsh Wall and South Quay: – The London Docklands Development Corporation (LDDC) had been set up in 1981 and by 1990 when I made these pictures a great deal of work had been done and was continuing at a huge rate.

It’s work was highly controversial at the time, largely because it took power away from local councils and developed the area largely around the needs of business rather than people. Although it eventually brought in many new jobs (though displacing some older jobs) and provided a considerable amount of housing in the area, many thought that there should have been far more social housing and better treatment of the existing residents in the area.

*Marsh Wall, Mastmaker Rd, Canary Wharf, Tower Hamlets, 1990, 90-4j-43*

The Docklands Light Railway was one of the LDDC’s most successful interventions in the Isle of Dogs and first opened in 1987, running from both Tower Gateway on the edge of the City and Stratford to a station in Cubitt Town, Island Gardens. At first it was derided as a ‘Toytown Train’, but the system ended the transport isolation of the Isle of Dogs, previously accessible by slow bus routes from Poplar and a foot tunnel from Greenwich – and in later years has been much extended.

Few of the jobs in the new offices were for residents of the area, and the early employment opportunities for them are perhaps represented by the sign for ‘Ernes Snack Bar’ under the Give Way sign.

*DLR, Marsh Wall, Canary Wharf, Tower Hamlets, 1990, 90-4j-46*

More offices photographed from underneath the DLR viaduct.

*Marsh Wall, South Quay, Canary Wharf, Tower Hamlets, 1990, 90-4j-34*

There are now a large number of sculptures in the area around Canary Wharf but back in 1990 they were few and far between. I don’t think this piece lasted very long at this location, but I’ve failed to find what happened to it.

90-4j-36-Edit — *The Waterfront, pub, 187, Marsh Wall, South Quay, Canary Wharf, Tower Hamlets, 1990, 90-4j-36*

The Waterfront – at top left – was a Fullers pub at 187 Marsh Wall-South Quay Plaza. I think it became or was replaced at that address by Astons Champagne & Wine Bar as the area moved more upmarket. This closed in 2015.

*South Dock, Canary Wharf, Tower Hamlets, 1990, 90-4j-21*

There were still odd bits of the old docks around such as this, which I think may have been in the Millwall Cutting.

*South Dock, Canary Wharf, Tower Hamlets, 1990, 90-4j-22*

The Lothbury Building with offices from 6,000-71,000 SQ FT advertised at 191 Marsh Wall, overlooking South Dock. It became the main headquarters for the LDDC in 1990.

*South Quay, Canary Wharf, Tower Hamlets, 1990, 90-4j-23*

Some architectural building in a style common in the early days of the LDDC. Many of the buildings in this area have been replaced since 1990 making it difficult to find the exact locations of my pictures. The IRA bombing in 1996 prompted some changes but few of the buildings would in any case have lasted. They have been replaced by taller blocks with greater floor space and more modern services.

*South Dock, Canary Wharf, Tower Hamlets, 1990, 90-4j-24*

Building work on the north side of South Dock.

*South Dock, Canary Wharf, Tower Hamlets, 1990, 90-4j-12*

And the same buildings seen from a little further east past a ship moored on the south bank of South Dock.

More from the Isle of Dogs in 1990 later.

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Land Mines, Old Cars & A London Walk – 2003

Land Mines, Old Cars & A London Walk: My afternoon in London on Saturday 1st November 2003 in text and pictures. I only posted five pictures back in 2003 because most of us were then still on slow dial-up connections, so I’ll add a few more here.

I started the month with a rather more varied day on 1st November in Trafalgar Square, Campaigners against the use of land mines had built a tall pile of shoes. it’s hard to think of our country as civilised when we look at our record on arms sales and use.

Then, along in Waterloo Place was a chance to see some of the cars and owners who were to take part in the London to Brighton Veteran Car Rally the following day.

It’s hard not to find these relics of a more innocent age fascinating, despite what we now realise about the environmental disasters that the car has caused, and the increasing challenge a car-centred lifestyle is making to the future of civilisation.

Strolling across London back towards Waterloo, there were some dramatic views of the skyline, such as this image of the London Eye and Horse Guards Parade.

I wandered on to Vauxhall with some dramatic river views, and to St Agnes Place, for many years a centre for alternative cultures, and the oldest squatted street in London, now threatened by eviction by Lambeth Council.

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