New Year Of The Rooster: Celebrations in Soho on Sunday 13th February 2005 marked the beginning of the Chinese New Year on the previous Wednesday.
Here’s what I wrote back then, and a few of the pictures – with more of course still on-line on My London Diary.
The Lion prepares to pounce
Chinese New Year
Soho
Sunday 13th London was celebrating the Chinese New Year of the Rooster which started the previous Wednesday. Happy 4702 to all.
St Martins in the Fields surrounded by Chinese Lanterns
As a rooster myself I was pleased to read my horoscope for the coming year. Not that I believe such superstitions for a moment.
The Year of the Rooster – Chinese man on bicycle with rooster
I used to enjoy the rather anarchic celebrations in Cinatown, but its now more of and ordeal, with far too many people coming in to watch and too much organisation.
Ken [Livingstone] may be proud of having got something done about Trafalgar Square and be keen to have as many official events with various communities as possible, but it was better when various groups just did what they wanted to.
Meanwhile, back in Chinatown the real business continues
This year we had a procession down the Charing Cross Road with crowds penned behind barriers. Spectacle rather than event.
I did the official bit in Trafalgar Square last year – dotting the eyes on the dragons and all, [this year I] decided to give it and those horribly ingratiating speeches from local dignitaries and politicians, all keen to say “kung heI fat choy!”, a miss.
The Rooster, horoscopes and Lucky Charms
As you can see, because of the crowds making photographing from any distance difficult I took many of these pictures using a fisheye lens, and had posted them without any attempt at altering the fisheye perspective.
In later years working with fisheye lenses I would probably have used a plugin to reduce the curvature these lenses produce. Unfortunately Imadio who sold the ‘Fisheye-Hemi’ plugin I then used went out of business, and the plugin no longer works, as it was written to check back to their web site every time it was used that I was a registered user. I feel rather cheated having paid for it and no longer being able to use it.
It’s possible to get the same – or similar – results in Photoshop without the plugin, but rather a pain to do so. Photoshop does offer an Adaptive Wide Angle filter, but this seems to produce excessive cropping of the image. Here’s my rough correction of the image above in which the image curvature is less pronounced. But it would be nice to have a plugin or Photoshop action which would do the job properly.
Kings Army, Clowns & Chinese New Year: Three things I photographed on Sunday 29th January 2006 – and what I wrote back then – with the usual corrections and a few comments.
The King’s Army Whitehall Parade
Whitehall
Pikemen at the Banqueting House
The King’s Army Annual Commemorative Parade is a colourful but little-known London event [though since 2006 mobile phones and social media have raised its profile] marking the execution of our reigning monarch during the English Revolution, arguably the last time we behaved sensibly towards royalty.
Before the parade in St James’s
My forebears, being strongly non-comformist, would doubtless have been on the opposite side to the regiments that gather here (and yes, there is a Roundhead Association also a part of the English Civil War Society). But for most of those taking part, the event isn’t about the issues of the day but simply a matter of re-enactment, of trying to look and act the part of those soldiers and ancillaries from the seventeenth century.
A little weapons training at the start of the parade
The march starts around St James’s Palace, forming up in the Mall for the march to the Banqueting House where Charles 1 was beheaded on 30 January 1649.
It is an event that seems to receive little official recognition or support, but which has now taken place every year for the last 30 or so years. It is an unusual event in that the regiments are allowed to bear arms in one of the most sensitive parts of the city and when they march through Horse Guards Arch they are apparently saluted by the guards on duty as if they were still a part of the army.
In the pub
At the Banqueting House there was a short service with a real vicar, as well as the presentation of various commissions and awards. [But diappointingly no beheading.] Then the army marched away to be dismissed and we took the opportunity to beat them to the pub, which was shortly after filled with people in seventeenth century dress, and, because this is London after all, some of our pearly kings and queens who were up west for the Chinese New Year.
As we came into Trafalgar Square we met some ‘rebel clowns’ protesting against the Serious Organised Crime And Police Act 2005, which was designed to get rid of Brian Haw from Parliament Square. Unfortunately those actually drafting the bill decided it should not be made retrospective, and the government to their amazement found that Brian’s protest wasn’t covered by it. (and yes, he’s still there – and I went along to have a short word with him.) [Later the courts decided that despite what the law said, the government had meant it to apply to Brian, so it did, and he could only protest on the pavement.]
However the rest of us have lost our democratic right to “demonstrate without authorisation” within 1km of parliament. Three days earlier they had demonstrated with this same banner in Parliament Square. The police had come up to talk to the clowns, and had then gone away confused without making an arrest. [No more pictures.]
Chinese New Year of the Dog
Soho
Lion outside shop in Soho
Across the road in Trafalgar Square and beyond through most of Soho, the Chinese New Year of the Dog was being celebrated. I took a few pictures of the lions performing, but the crowds were pretty dense and I soon gave up and went home.
Dragons and performers in Trafalgar SquareStalls in Wardour St, Soho, sell paper dragons
[As you can see I actually made quite a few pictures despite my comment in 2006, and when working in the crowded streets used a fisheye lens. This meant I could get really close to the people (and lions) I was photographing so there wasn’t room for people to easily walk between me and the subject. If I stood at all back, others simply got in front of me.]
Kung Hei Fat Choi & Regicide: On 25th January 2004 I went with many thousands to celebrate the Chinese New Year in Trafalgar Square and Chinatown. In 2001 I had commented on My London Diary “there are too many people and too many photographers at the Chinese New Year celebrations in Soho, but somehow I keep on going” but for various reasons I think the next time I photographed it was in 2004. I was back again in 2005, 2006, 2007 and in 2008 for I think the last time.
Several things finally decided me to give the celebrations a miss. First was simply the crowds with more and more people coming to watch the event which made it difficult or impossible to move around and take pictures.
Then more and more people were photographing – mainly with their phones – and largely lacking any courtesy in doing so, coming to stand in front of me as I was trying to take pictures.
And, like many events, it had become more and more organised, with crowds being controlled and held behind barriers for the more official parts of the celebration.
But I suppose the main reasons were that my interests had changed and that I thought I had done enough on this event; my pictures each year were looking increasingly the same and I needed to do something different.
Also taking place on 25th January 2004 was a parade by reenactors of the execution of King Charles I. While I’m not a puritan (as I think many of my ancestors were) I am increasingly a Republican and while I might not be calling for the public execution of our current monarchy, I do think it is well past time we got rid of them and their privilege – as well as the rest of the aristocracy.
Of course it isn’t just the monarchy I would like to see go, but our whole class system of which they are the leading edge. Its real basis is the seizure of land following the Norman conquest in 1066 and my revolution would call for land reform, with the complete ending of private ownership of land (and water) which would become community resources, with no land ownership but instead could be held in trust to the community. But of course it’s a utopia which won’t happen.
Here’s the short text – with minor corrections – which I wrote in 2004.
The Chinese New Year was celebrated in Westminster on 25th Jan, with speeches in Trafalgar Square, fireworks in Leicester Square and immense crowding in and around Soho’s Chinatown, especially where the police sealed off some of the streets.
Fortunately the speeches were short, and the main point of most was to say ‘kung hei fat choi’, with various degrees of ethnic feel.
Also on the 25th, was a parade commemorating the execution of King Charles 1, who went from St James Palace to the Banqueting House in Whitehall to be beheaded on 30th Jan 1649. It’s an event that brings out the Republican in me!
It was a rather mournful procession, drab and silent, in complete contrast to the lively scenes a few yards to the north.
Limehouse Workshop: Twenty years ago today I led a small workshop of photographers around parts of Limehouse, stopping at a number of key places where I gave a short introduction and some suggestions then set them free for a quarter of an hour or so to take their pictures. And while I then gave those who seem to need it some support I also found time to make some pictures myself.
This was an area I’d photographed on a number of occasions over the years – and of course had revisited shortly before the workshop to check and plan our route. And on the day I made sure to be there well in advance in case there were any problems with transport across London. For once there weren’t and I arrived in time for an hour or so wandering and making pictures before we met up.
Canary Wharf tower and footbridge over Rotherhithe tunnel
Because of the preparation the workshop went smoothly and I also had a lot of material to write a post on My London Diary – though a lot less than I told people on the workshop about the area. Here it is below with the usual corrections.
New flats built on top of LImehouse Link tunnel at Regents Canal Dock (Limehouse Dock), with DLR train.
Limehouse is an area of London, with a varied population and an interesting history. it grew up around the river and seafaring trades, including ship-building, and had many warehouses and similar buildings. as well as the river Thames with its national and international connections (the first voluntary passengers to Australia are said to have left from Dunbar Wharf, close to Limekiln Dock.) It gained more traffic through its two canals, the Regent’s Canal linking the Thames to inland England, including Birmingham and the midlands via the Grand Union Canal, and the Limehouse Cut, taking traffic from the Lea Navigation to the Thames by a safer route avoiding Bow Creek.
Much of the centre of Limehouse is occupied by the Regents Canal Dock. In the 1960s a new short length of canal joined the Limehouse Cut to this, enabling the separate lock from this to the Thames to be closed. A year or two later all commercial traffic on the canals ceased, leaving them for pleasure cruising.
A hundred years ago, docklands in general and Limehouse in particular was a closed world to those who lived outside the area. Lurid and racist stories, particularly those of Sax Rohmer, painted the area as a den of vice, run by the infamous (and totally fictional) Dr Fu Manchu. The area had become home to a number of Chinese and Asian sailors and their families, becoming London’s first Chinatown. Even thirty years ago there were still some signs of this, but [by 2005] most of the Chinese businesses and people have moved away to other areas, including Soho.
St Anne’s, Limehouse flying its naval White Ensign
Thomas Burke’s tales of Limehouse [Limehouse Nights: Tales of Chinatown] from the same era as Rohmer paint a more accurate and sympathetic view of the area and its English and Chinese population, although his language is fully of its time, with many terms that would now be considered derogatory. But Burke had been raised as an orphan in neighbouring Poplar and his Limehouse stories reflect a close knowledge of the people and the place. The figure who dominates his stories is not a sinister criminal warlord, but the old Chinese sage, Quong Lee.
More recently, Limehouse came under the diggers and cranes of the London Docklands Development Corporation. Canary Wharf was raised on its eastern edge, and the Limehouse Link tunnel excavated through the heart of the area. The need to build this route to join docklands with inner London meant that the LDDC had to get round a table with the local authority, leading to the first real attempt by them to take social considerations into account in their development plans.
West India Dock Road & Limehouse Cut: My walk in Limehouse on Sunday 6th January 1990 continued. The previous post from this walk is Garford Street Limehouse – 1990. As usual you can click on the images here (except the panorama) to view larger versions on my Flickr pages.
Shops, West India Dock Road, Limehouse, Tower Hamlets, 1990, 90-1c-42
This area is close to the parish border of Limehouse and Poplar, but in popular imagination was certainly Limehouse, London’s first ‘Chinatown’. But by 1990 Chinatown had almost entirely moved to Soho, though a few elements remained, including the Peking Restaurant – though a few shops down the street is the Poplar Fish Bar.
Davey & Co, 88, West India Dock Road, Limehouse, Tower Hamlets, 1990, 90-1c-43
“In February 1885 Arthur Christopher Davey began a venture that throughout the 20th century evolved into a culture in the manufacture and supply of marine equipment. From humble beginnings in Leadenhall Street, the company soon moved to its famous address at 88, West India Dock Road, London E14, where it successfully traded for over 100 years.” The company is now based in Colchester.
Shops, West India Dock Road, Limehouse, Tower Hamlets, 1990, 90-1c-45
The Wah Ying Restaurant was another remanant of Chinatown – and you can see along the road the sign of the Peking Restaurant. In the distance are the warehouses of the West India Docks and beyond them the cranes building Cabot Square at Canary Wharf.
West India Dock Road was laid out at the same time as the West India Docks opened in 1802, a new road to give access to them, which was for many years a toll road. I think these buildings probably date from the 1870s or a little later after the tolls were removed.
The restaurant looks very much closed and the broken windows above suggest it was empty and derelict when I made this picture.
The Limehouse Cut runs on a straight route through Poplar but curves around at its southern end. It was blocked here in 1990, possibly in connection with the building of the Limehouse Link tunnel between 1989 and 1993. But there was also work on the Cut around then, with the vertical guillotine gate on the north side of Britannia Bridge across the Commercial Road being removed.
The tower of Hawksmoor’s St Annes Limeouse seen above the viaduct built for the London and Blackwall Railway and opened in July 1840, the second or third railway viaduct to be built in London, after the 1836 London to Greenwich viaduct and the the Hanwell viaduct, technically then outside London. The line went to Brunswick Wharf in Blackwall where passengers could board ferries and boats to other destinations down river or around the world.
I can tell you nothing more about Poplar Mods except that the graffiti tells us they are male “Hammers” fans. West Ham began life as a team for the workers of the last remaining shipbuilders in the area not far away on Bow Creek as the Thames Ironworks Football Club. From 1895 they played at Hermit Road in Canning Town, former home to Old Castle Swifts, Essex’s first professional team which had gone bankrupt, They became West Ham United in 1900 and moved to Plaistow, before in 2004 uniting with the Boleyn Castle football club and moving to their Upton Park ground where they stayed until 2016.
I think the next few pictures I made were taken from the block of flats immediately to the east of Limehouse Cut, Kiln Court, a medium rise block built as part of the Barley Mow Estate for the GLC in 1965-8. Back in 1990 many blocks still did not have security doors and it was possible to easily access shared areas.
Here you can see the Cut and the DLR viaduct across the north side of Limehouse Dock with its bridge and the Roman Catholic Church of Our Lady Immaculate & St Frederick on the corner of Island Row and Commercial Road.
I think the buildings on the far bank of Limehouse Cut were temporary offices and accommodation for the building of the Limehouse Link tunnel. The site is now occupied by housing at the end of Island Row.
In this picture you can see across to Limehouse Dock with the Hydraulic Accumulator Tower next to the DLR viaduct at the right. At the left is the temporary blockage on the Limehouse Link.
Sliding my shift lens to the left gave a view a little further towards the south and shows a little more of the Cut past the blockage and in the distance a small glimpse of the River Thames. This image was taken to create a panorama together with 90-1c-23:
Chinese New Year – Soho: On Sunday 13th February 2005 I went to Soho to photograph the Chinese New Year Parade and festivities in Soho’s Chinatown. It wasn’t quite the last time I photographed the event, but was the last time I tried to cover it seriously – the following couple of years I did go and take a few pictures in Soho, but 20 years ago this was my last major coverage, and the piece I wrote for My London Diary explains why.
Like all of my posts at the time it was published without capitals and separated from the pictures which accompanied it, making it rather less accessible. It had made some kind of sense when I started the site around 2000, but as I began to put longer articles and more pictures on line the site was in need of a redesign, which I finally got around to in 2007-8.
Ken Livingstone, the leader of the Greater London Council from 1981 until its spiteful abolition by Margaret Thatcher in 1986 leaving London without effective overall government for 14 lost years had beaten the Labour Party and the Tories to become Greater London’s first Mayor, running as an Independent in 2000, and London began to come together again.
The Year of the Rooster – Chinese man on bicycle with rooster
The success of his first term in office led to him being adopted as Labour candidate for the 2004 Mayoral election. Despite his opposition in many areas – notably the Iraq war – to New Labour, the party knew they could not beat him, and he had had another successful term for London.
But by the end of the term some of his policies had become unpopular among many and a highly successful campaign for Boris Johnson – complete with false allegations and misinformation – led to his defeat in 2008. Standing again for Labour against Johnson in 2012 he lost again, defeated largely by media bias and false claims by the Johnson campaign that he was guilty of tax evasion and by some Jewish Labour supporters of antisemitism following some careless remarks.
Livingstone put much effort into bringing London’s varied ethnic groups together, giving official support – as he had in the GLC – to anti-racism policies and various cultural events. By pedestrianising the North Terrace of Trafalgar Square in 2003 he revived the space for Londoners to celebrate diverse cultural events including St Patrick’s Day and the Chinese New Year. But this also changed the nature of these celebrations.
Here is the piece I wrote in 2005 – with the usual corrections.
Chinese New Year – Soho,
Sunday 13th February 2005 London was celebrating the Chinese New Year Of The Rooster which started the previous Wednesday. Happy 4702 to all. As a rooster myself I was pleased to read my horoscope for the coming year. Not that I believe such superstitions for a moment.
I used to enjoy the rather anarchic celebrations in Chinatown, but it’s now more of an ordeal, with far too many people coming in to watch and too much organisation.
Ken may be proud of having got something done about Trafalgar Square and be keen to have as many official events with various communities as possible, but it was better when various groups just did what they wanted to.
This year we had a procession down the Charing Cross Road with crowds penned behind barriers.
Spectacle rather than event. I did the official bit in Trafalgar Square last year – dotting the eyes on the dragons and all, decided to give it and those horribly ingratiating speeches from local dignitaries and politicians, all keen to say “Kung Hei Fat Choy!“, a miss.
However, if developers Rosewheel get their way, Chinatown may not survive for much longer. Today in Chinatown things were much as before, swirling crowds and lots of excitement.
I joined them to photograph a couple of lions in action, then felt I’d had enough and went home.
London Summer Festivals : Sunday 11th July 2004 seemed to be a day of festivals in London and I spent some time at three of them, walking between Trafalgar Square, Denmark Street and St Paul’s Covent Garden and taking a few pictures on the way.
Back then I was still working with the rather primitive Nikon D100 DSLR, with probably the dullest and smallest viewfinder of any camera I’ve used (though I have used deveral with no viewfinder at all.)
But although it only gave 6.1Mp files, (3012X2008 pixels) and the DX sensor was only half the size of a 35mm frame these were of remarkable quality and could be extrapolated to make decent large prints – one taken on another day was blown up to 2.3m wide for a public exhibition.
Nikon at the time and for some years were saying that the DX format was all that was needed for its cameras, and the later decision to move to ‘full-frame’ was driven by marketing – keeping up with Canon – rather than technical considerations.
Of course like most other photographers followd sheep-wise to move to full-frame when these new cameras came out, though most of the time when working with telephoto lenses I switched down to DX format for the greater equivalent focal length this gave.
At first the DX format with its 1.5x focal length multiplier meant I was working without any real wide angle lens. The 24-85mm worked as a 36-127 lens, But by July 2004 I had acquired the remarkable Sigma 12-24mm lens, “the world’s first ultra-wide-angle zoom for DSLRs with full-frame sensors” – 18-36mm equivalent on DX, solving that issue. And since on DX it was not using the corners of the frame it was a better performer than on full-frame.
I put the pictures in this post on the web in 2004, when most of us were still accessing the internet on dial-up modems and even the fastest connections were only 512kbs. To get web pages to load at a sensible speed the jpg image files had to be drastically cut in size to around 50-70kb. Now I would upload the same files the same size at two or three times the size to get visibly better quality.
Here- with some corrections is the text I wrote about the day in 2004:
Sunday I walked into Trafalgar Square to find it full of young Indian girls carrying ornamental jars and dancing with them, rehearsing for the Trafalgar Shores event that afternoon.
I left and went up to Denmark St for a set by 50hz, electrifying the first Tin Pan Alley Festival, organised with Shelter. Great Indie Rock and supporting charity without running. more pictures
Then on to a garden party in St Pauls Covent Garden, which was sprinkled with celebrities, actors (female) and others I’ve not heard of and didn’t recognise. And a picture I didn’t post in 2004
Back in Trafalgar Square the girls had donned traditional garb and were now recognisably the Saraswati Dance Academy in a colourful South Asian show. After this we were treated to some water puppetry from the Vietnamese National Puppetry Theatre (not very photogenic and hard to photograph) so i went back to catch Billy Thompson playing Grapelli to Tim Robinson’s Django with rhythm support from Dukato. Finally back in the square I watched the superb Irie! Caribbean Dance Fusion from Deptford/New Cross, London. Then home for a slightly dark and chilly alfresco dinner with family. more pictures
On Sunday 10th of February 2008 I photographed protests against the Church of Scientology before going into Chinatown for the Chinese New Year celebrations.
‘Anonymous’ Protest – Church of Scientology – Blackfriars & Tottenham Court Road
This was the first time I’d come across protesters wearing the ‘Anonymous’ masks that became a common feature at protests in the following years. This grinning Guy Fawkes mask was designed by illustrator David Lloyd for the 1980s graphic novel by Alan Moore and 2005 film ‘V for Vendetta.’
Placards refer to the high costs and unfair attacks on opponents
When hacktivists set up Project Chanology to campaign against Scientology at the start of 2008, they realised that like all other critics of the movement they would face vicious and intensive personal attacks from the group and needed to protect their identities both on-line and in person.
Some wore photocopy masks of Scientology’s founder L Ron Hubbard
So those behind Project Chanology decided to call themselves ‘Anonymous’ and hide themselves behind these masks when protesting. The London protest was one of over 50 protests in cities around the world at this time in which many of those taking part wore them.
As I wrote at the time “I’m just amazed that Scientology is still around, despite having been comprehensively exposed so many times over the years. You can find out more about it on Wikipedia.”
Xenu.net reveals much of the uglier side of the cult
Wikipedia records that “The Church of Scientology has been described by government inquiries, international parliamentary bodies, scholars, law lords, and numerous superior court judgments as both a dangerous cult and a manipulative profit-making business.”
To my surprise round 4-500 had come for a peaceful protest on the walkway facing the Church of Scientology building in Queen Victoria Street at Blackfriars. After the protest there many of them went on to a second demonstration opposite the Dianetics & Scientology Life Improvement Centre in Tottenham Court Road, where those passing by are often lured into the building to take tests and pressured to join the cult, which demands large financial contributions from members.
Things were festive in Chinatown which was packed with visitors celebrating the Chinese New Year.
Though many of those who work in the area it was a very busy day, selling Chinese decorations, toys and food.
Performers were going around the area as Chinese lions, leaping up to grab salad vegetables hung at shop doorways and bringing good luck to the businesses in exchange for cash.
Gerrard Street at the centre of Chinatown was thronging with crowds, though my ultrawide lens meant I could still work even though it was difficult to get a clear view. But soon I just had to leave for some quieter back streets for a while.
There was a money god, but he was only handing out entry forms for a competition to win a return ticket to Hong Kong
martial arts demonstrations…
and a dancing dragon carried by children from Surrey. But I soon tired of the noise and the crowds and as I commented “there are 51 other weekends of the year when its probably more interesting to come and see Chinatown how it really is.” And I went home. I think this was the last year I photographed the festival.
More pictures at Chinese New Year Celebrations, Soho on My London Diary, where you can also find images of the festival from 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006 and 2007 using the search box at the top of the page.
Movement Against Xenophobia – Old Palace Yard, Westminster. Tue 22 Oct 2013
Lee Jasper speaks
The Movement Against Xenophobia (MAX) was a new campaign aimed at countering the vicious anti-immigrant discourse of mainstream politics in the UK. The rally outside parliament was in protest against the Immigration Bill 2013 which was debated later in the day.
Speakers attacked the Bill, which removed the great majority of the grounds on which foreign nationals can lodge appeals against deportation, puts a requirement on banks and landlords to check immigration status of those setting up accounts or becoming tenants, increases the fines for employers who hire anyone without the right to work here, and includes new powers to check driving licence applicants are in the country legally. The bill also imposes a levy on temporary migrants to allow them access to free NHS care.
They also opposed the existing draconian restrictions on bringing spouses to this country that are splitting many families, with a minimum income level required that half the population cannot meet, causing real hardship and heartache for many.
Governments have competed with oppositions over the years to convince the right wing press that their party has a tougher line against immigrants, with the racist vans and e-mails sent by the then Home Secretary Theresa May being an clear example of how low our politicians will sink.
Jeremy Corbyn, MP
Report after report has shown that migrants make a substantial positive contribution to the economy, enrich Britain’s culture and improve the standard of its public services. MAX demanded that politicians and the media end the use of language that incites racism and xenophobia and for the political parties to reject the ‘numbers game’ politics of immigration and replace it with a fair system built on human rights and the needs of the UK.
MAX was a coalition of existing groups who have come together to challenge anti-immigrant discourse, such as the continual use of the term ‘illegal immigrant’. As they point out, no one is illegal, and these are more correctly people who do not have the legal right to live here – they are undocumented migrants. MAX and its supporters want to live in a civilised society where people, irrespective of background, are valued and treated with respect.
In London’s Chinatown, virtually all restaurants and shops closed for two hours for a rally and march against frequent raids being carried out there by the UK Borders Agency who have entered premises and interrogated people inside demanding to see evidence that they have permission to live in the UK.
Many of those questioned are British citizens or have leave to stay, while others are here visiting relatives on valid tourist visas. A small number have been found to be without proper documentation but the raids appear to be carried out in a random fashion on the off-chance that there might be so-called ‘illegal immigrants’ working in the premises – ‘fishing raids’.
These raids had no proper legal status in the UK as we are not required to carry ID and can simply refuse to answer questions and walk away. There was no requirement to give our name or address as a flier that was being handed out advised.
As the start of the two hour protest approached, more and more shops and restaurants turned customers away and put up signs in windows and doorways stating ”No Entry to UKBA fishing raids’ and there was much furious blowing of whistles. A small group protested noisily for a few minutes outside the only business still open on Gerrard Street, but soon moved away to the rally by the Two Lions statue.
Leading members of London’s Chinese community spoke at the rally against the UKBA raids. Some also made clear that there need to be easier ways to bring workers skilled in Chinese cooking to this country if they were to maintain their traditional practices which are vital to keep Chinatown truly Chinese.
After a number of speeches there was then a march around Chinatown before returning to continue the rally, though some workers were leaving to prepare for the reopening of businesses at the end of the two hour closure.
Fossil-Free London Lobby Tour – Bank & Stock Exchange, Tue 22 Oct 2013
Climate campaigners from People & Planet and 350.org toured some City sites which lock us into a fossil fuel dependent economy, stopping to make brief speeches and perform poems and songs. They carried balloons to represent carbon dioxide, which had all been intended to be black, but they couldn’t find enough black balloons so had to use some purple ones as well.
Police talked to them at the start of tour, and seemed happy with the tour, though they continued to follow them on the tour, which began in front of the Bank of England (and the Royal Exchange, now just expensive shops.)
From there they walked to the Stock Exchange, stopping first at the entrance on Newgate Street for a short rally before walking around to the main entrance in Paternoster Square.
Here there were more speeches and another song – ‘Buddy Can You Spare a Dime’ – and the balloons were popped as a small group of police and a security officer from the Stock Exchange looked on from a few yards away.
The tour then moved off to visit other ‘carbon criminals’ in the City, but I left them on the corner of Gresham St to go home.
On Sunday 13th 2005, 17 years ago, London was celebrating the Chinese New Year of the Rooster which started the previous Wednesday – it was 4072.
Chinese New Year in Soho is something I’ve avoided in more recent years – as I wrote in 2005: “I used to enjoy the rather anarchic celebrations in Chinatown, but it’s now more of an ordeal, with far too many people coming in to watch and too much organisation.”
Trying to photograph in such crowded situations was a problem, and one I confronted in two main ways in 2005, something reflected in the two pictures above. At the top is a picture taken standing back some distance with a telephoto lens, while the lower picture is taken with a fisheye lens, both on a Nikon D70 DX camera.
De-fished version
Usually now when I use the a fisheye lens like this, I would convert the perspective to give straight verticals – as in the above image. But back in 2005 I didn’t have a good plug-in to do this conversion, and although it was possible with various programmes I was using for making panoramas it was a rather time-consuming process.
For this particular event I rather liked the fisheye effect, at least in some pictures. Although it does clearly misrepresent those faces close to the edges of the picture, for me it pulls the eye towards the centre of the picture and perhaps gives a greater impression of the crowding I was working in.
A small problem is that the image you see in the viewfinder is the fisheye one, and not that in the ‘de-fished’ version. But as you can see, the fisheye image which you see has the same horizontal limits at the centre of both the horizontal and vertical sides, with just a little of the image towards the four corners being lost. It’s still possible to frame accurately when working.
It’s not I think correct to call the effect of the fisheye lens ‘distortion’. It is simply a different way of recording the subject on a flat rectangle. Most fisheyes I’ve used (and I own four different examples, for DX and full-frame Nikon, for Fuji and for micro 4/3) seem actually to have rather less actual distortion than my ultra-wide rectilinear (i.e. ‘normal’) lenses.
In the de-fished image you can see that as well as the verticals of the building being straight, people at the edges of the picture are also shown naturally, unlike in the fisheye version. I was also taking some pictures with an ultra-wide 12-24mm lens (equivalent to 18-36mm full-frame) and with that at its widest faces at the edge would have been rendered a little stretched out horizontally.
I’m not sure what some major agencies would make of conversions using software like this, whether they would regard it as an unacceptable alteration of the image. For me its just one of many acceptable corrections of the image, but clearly it does alter the image as recorded by the camera. It would be possible to design a specialised wide-angle camera which carried out the correction in firmware but the market for this would probably be small. Rather it could be provided into normal digital cameras as an option – far more useful than all those special effects which clutter the menus on many cameras now.
More pictures on My London Diary – scroll down a little from the top of the page.
