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South Africa Crime & I Love Peckham – 2007

South Africa Crime & I Love Peckham: On Saturday 11 August 2007 I photographed a march against crime in South Africa and then went to Peckham for the third ‘I Love Peckham’ festival. I wrote at some length about both events on My London Diary and reproduce that text in full (capitalised and spelling corrected etc) below with links to more pictures on that site.

ACT4SA March Against Crime in South Africa

Westminster

South Africa Crime & I Love Peckham - 2007 — *The march paused in front of South Africa House*

On Sat 11th there was a march organised by ‘Against Crime Together for South Africa’ through London from Temple Gardens next to Temple Underground Station to Whitehall Place. Most of those taking part were young and white, but there were just a few darker and older faces.

ACT4SA is a ‘Facebook’ group of expatriate South Africans living in London, and their aim is to be a non-political group actively working for a safer South Africa. Their attempt, particularly this march, has attracted both praise and criticism from both other expats in Britain and people back home.

Some in South Africa have suggested they should either come back to the country to help in the fight against crime or keep a decent silence about it abroad. A stated aim of the march was to support the South African Police, but at least one police superintendent there has spoken out against it.

After Mark Joubert was murdered in a Durban restuarant in May this year, around 15 of his friends living in London decided they would get together and do something to oppose the violence in their home country. Shannon Joubert, Mark’s sister, addressed marchers briefly at the start of the march, and a minutes silence was observed by the over 600 marchers at the end of the route in Whitehall Place in honour of mark and the “the 50 other South Africans murdered on average every day” in the country.

More pictures

I Love Peckham

Peckham

‘I Love Peckham’ is a festival backed by Southwark Council and based around the centre of Peckham. Although Peckham has had a bad press – particularly over the murder of young Damilola Taylor in November 2000, and more recent violence on the streets, many parts of it are pleasant streets and vibrant shopping areas. Recent investment – particularly since that murder – has led to a number of improvements.

*Sitting on an already rather full sofa in front of the beach*

One of the more successful regeneration projects has been in the Bellenden Road area which is home to a number of artists including Tom Phillips and Antony Gormley, both of whom have been involved in brightening up the streets.

But there are still estates with corners that can hide dangers, and times when its wise to cross the road to avoid the dealers in their cars. It’s an area where it pays to be streetwise.

As well as the activities in the square by the Library and at the top of Rye Lane there were also other events, including a series of shop window displays.

Like the other folks carrying built-in cameras on their latest mobile phones I did photograph some of these, but often felt that some of the other windows which had their normal displays were more interesting. But then I’ve always had an interest in shop windows, which feature strongly in my projects such as ‘Café Ideal , Cool Blondes and Paradise‘.

On the main stage by Peckham Library were performances by Indian musicians, a samba group and some young dancers from Peckham. Around the square were a number of sofas specially decorated for the occasion, many of which were greatly appreciated.

This was the third annual I Love Peckham festival, but the previous ones had been blighted by British weather; today the sun shone on us at least most of the time, and the beach at times looked almost tropical.

I stopped off on the way home at the South London Gallery, where the installation of Isa Suarez’s Human Rights Jukebox was coming to an end with a party. I was pleased I’d stopped by to watch the video of the event and to have a beer and talk to a few of those involved with the project, including Isa herself. I still find it mildly amusing to see myself on film, and there were glimpses of me (mainly my back) taking pictures, walking in the march, generally scurrying around and rather too lengthy a shot as I munched on a wholemeal sandwich.

Despite these few moments, it was interesting to see the event again and from a different viewpoint. I was sorry I had to rush off to be home with friends.

Many more pictures on My London Diary at i love peckham.

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Pakistani Christians & a ‘Patriot’ March – 2010

Pakistani Christians & a ‘Patriot’ March: On Saturday 21 July 2010 I photographed a protest against the persecution of Christians in Pakistan and then a march by right wing extremists against Sharia Law and calling for a referendum on leaving the EU and an English Parliament.

Christians Protest Pakistan Persecution

Pakistan High Commission & Whitehall

Pakistani Christians & a 'Patriot' March - 2010

Only just over 1% of the population of Pakistan are Christians, a total of around two million, mainly members of lower castes, many working in sanitation and garbage collection. They were discriminated against at partition, when over 300,000 were made homeless and have been severely discriminated against ever since, including in the Pakistan Constitution.

Strict blasphemy laws have been used to persecute Christians (and other minorities) and many have been attacked by Muslim religious extremists, with some horrific cases of murders about many of which the authorities have refused to take action, even at times encouraging the mobs.

Christian schools and houses have been burnt and suicide bombers have attacked Christian gatherings.

The Wikipedia article Persecution of Christians in Pakistan details a few of these events. It also includes information about forced conversions and the abduction of “upwards of 1,000 Christian, Hindu, and Sikh girls” each year into forced marriages and forced conversions.

The situation of Christians in Pakistan has worsened since 2010 and regular reports of atrocities continue.

The protest in 2010 began outside the Pakistan High Commission in Kensington with a rally. A petition was handed in calling for the end of persecution. Officials received it politely and told them that that the Pakistani government supports the rights of minorities. But as the continuing persecution shows, it does little if anything in practice to protect these rights.

The protesters, led by a man carrying a heavy wooden cross then made their way along the pavements to Whitehall, stopping at three points on the way for prayers. Opposite Downing Strreet they joined others waiting for them in a further rally.

There were more prayers and some singing, and an address from Pakistani-born former Bishop of Rochester, Michael Nazir Ali. London Green MEP Jean Lambert also spoke and a delegation delivered a letter to 10 Downing St.

More on My London Diary: Christians Protest Pakistan Persecution.

ENA/EDL March in London Again

Tothill St – Duke of York Steps

In May 2010 a couple of hundred people from the English Defence League and others marched through London on what they described as a ‘Patriot March to Challenge Parliament’ organised by ‘British Citizens Against Muslim Extremists‘. Most were from the EDL and they delivered a letter to Downing Street.

They were dissatisfied with the reply they got to that letter and so the English Nationalist Alliance organised this further march. Like the earlier march in May it was largely peaceful and relatively restrained – except in some of the responses to a group of counter-protesters who accused them of being “racist scum”.

*Opposite Downing St were a group of around 20-30 counter protesters, chanting “racist scum off our streets”*

*One protester was held by stewards and police as he tries to cross the road to confront them*

*Counter-protesters are stopped by police as they try to follow the march*

At Downing Street they handed in a letter signed by the ENA and ten other groups, the EDL, Shieldwall, The British Society for Freedom of Speech, Christians for Democracy, England United (Weiran Ce Angelcynn), England St George, Acacia Freedom Fighters, Sikhs against Shariah, English Jewish League and Parents Against Shariah.

Another group on the march was March for England, and along with the St George’s flags and Union Jacks there were also a couple of Israeli flags and a placard from ‘One Law for All.’

At the rally at the Duke of York Steps I had a rather concerning moment when one of the speakers, Blackburn with Darwen English Democrats Party councillor Michael Johnson, pointed me out as an unwelcome guest and police stepped in as a number of people moved rather menacingly towards me.

As I posted:

“A couple of days earlier the ENA web site had published a feature which – among other things – wrongly accused me of publishing lies about the previous march, along with my picture and the statement “he must be confronted and chased away in all future events as a socialist collaborator who cannot tell the truth.”

Police stepped in front of me and requested me I move back a little to quieten the situation, and I complied.

The ENA feature had confused me with another photographer and earlier on the march I had received both a couple of apologies by the mistake and also several compliments from those on the previous march who had read my report.

Though I certainly don’t support the EDL I had tried to report the event and their demands objectively. The article on the ENA web site was an attack on press freedom,”suggesting that the ENA should attempt to impose censorship and limit reporting to those who support it.“

*Police persuade one of the protesters that he should moderate his language*

Like other photographers I have no control over how my work is used in the mainstream press, largely owned by billionaires with editors imposing right-wing views. It makes no sense to blame – as did the ENA – “socialist journalists” for the sins of a capitalist press.

And as I point out, the march was largely if not entirely ignored by the mainstream press and broadcasters. My account, published both on my own My London Diary and in shorter form on Demotix was one of only a few to appear.

Many more pictures and a longer text from 2010 on ENA/EDL March in London Again.

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Muslim Extremists Call For Sharia Zones – 2011

Muslim Extremists Call For Sharia Zones: On Saturday 30th July 2011 I photographed the march by around 70 men from ‘Muslims Against Crusades’ who marched from Leyton to Walthamstow calling for the setting up of Sharia Controlled Zones in the UK which ‘Islamic rules’ would be enforced by Muslims.

As I stated, “Muslims Against Crusades are a very small extremist fringe Muslim organisation led by Dr Anjem Choudary, a follower of the jailed Omar Bakri and co-founder with him of al-Muhajiroun, banned by the UK in 2005, spokesman for Al Ghurabaa, proscribed in 2006, and former leader of Islam4UK, banned in 2010.”

I go on in my post on My London Diary to briefly examine the other ten or so organisations that were claimed to support the march, all of which were linked to Choudary. They included some set up after al-Muhajiroun disbanded when threatened with a UK ban in 2005, though the actual ban only came in 2010. Muslims Against Crusades were banned shortly after this march in Novermber 2011.

I’d been photographing Choudary, at other extremist Muslim events for some years, and listening to his speeches and like many others had concluded that he was allowed to continue (and perhaps even funded) by our security services as someone who let them easily keep tabs on other Muslim extremists in the UK.

The authorities patience with him finally ran out in 2015 when he was charged with inviting support of Islamic State, a proscribed organisation and sentenced to five years in prison in 2016. Released on licence in 2019, by 2021 he was again involving himself in Muslim extremism.

In 2023, Canada and the US became involved, and he was charged with “membership of a proscribed organisation and directing and encouraging support for a proscribed organisation” and in 2024 he was found guilty of “directing an organisation concerned with the commission of acts of terrorism” and sentenced to life imprisonment with a minimum term of 28 years.

It seemed to many of us that this trial could have been held in 2010 when the UK government banned Al-Muhajiroun.

Muslims Against Crusades (one of a whole string of organisations set up by Choudary as others were proscribed) had told the press before the event that there would be around a thousand of them on the march, but only around 2 arrived by the time it was due to start, with another 70 or so turning up later – some having had problems in finding Leyton.

Before the event there had been for some weeks “a poster campaign in several East London Boroughs including Waltham Forest, with small posters being stuck on bus stops and lamp posts declaring the area a ‘Sharia Controlled Zone’

These stickers stated that the area was now under ‘Islamic rules’ and that these prohibited drinking alcohol, drug taking, smoking, prostitution, gambling, musics, concerts and pornography.” Of course

A picture showing one of these became one of my most pirated images, published without permission or payment on right-wing extremist web sites around the world as if these zones every really existed. Unfortunately although I was able to get a few taken down by Internet Service Providers they simply appeared again on other hosts; getting payment for my work proved financially unfeasible.

A speech by Choudary before the march made clear that Law in these Sharia zones would be enforced by the kind of cleric-led officers and vigilantes that we see in countries such as Iran, although he did not make clear if we could expect to see stoning, hanging and amputations.

The march was through an area with a high Muslim population and many stopped to watch it, though I saw no expressions of support. As one shopkeeper told me, activities such as this give Muslims a bad name.

*Police kept some who wanted to protest against the march shut in a pub*

There were a couple of places where a few right-wing extremists had come to oppose the march though many had followed the advice on most right-wing web forums to ignore it. Police kept them away from the marchers and I saw no incidents.

*Bill Baker of the English Nationalist Alliance*

Police did allow a few members of the English Nationalist Alliance to protest on the opposite side of the street as the march reached central Walthamstow and I went across to photograph them and talk with their leader Bill Baker who was holding several placards. He asked me to make clear that they are not an anti-Muslim organisation but simply opposed to the kind of Muslim extremism represented by Choudary, and proposals to bring Shariah law to Britain.

Again, more about them on My London Diary, where I quote one of their placards:

Sex, Drugs, Beer & Rock and Roll, it’s our Western way of life, so get over it or leave, simple as that.

As I commented, ” I’d prefer to leave off those last five words and simply call for toleration.”

The march ended with a lot of shouting between the two groups, but was generally peaceful, and I think the few scuffles at the rally involved young Muslims objecting to the extremists.

You can read more and see many more pictures in the much longer account on My London Diary: Muslim Extremists March For Sharia Zones

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Trans+ Pride – 25 July 2026

Trans+ Pride: Some of my photographs from the huge Trans+ Pride march last Saturday – 25th July 2026.

It was a hot day and after the march had been going past me for two hours on upper Regent Street I was exhausted and went home. Standing on a bench before I left I could see there were still people with trans flags coming round past the BBC to start the march.

I’d thought that it might be smaller than last year’s event when an estimated 100,000 took part, but it was larger – perhaps the 150,000 figure could even be an underestimate. Certainly it was huge.

It seemed as if the whole gay community had come out to support trans people, as well as many others who respect the dignity and differences of human beings.

Trans people have come under increasing attack in the past year since the Supreme Court decision that the definition of a “woman” or “man” in the Equality Act refers strictly to biological sex.

It was a decision that surprised many of the MPs who had voted for the Act, and the subsequent Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) guidance has created huge problems for trans people – and for organisations open to the public.

These problems have been amplified by some of our politicians and by the media who have often given a great deal of attention to small and highly vociferous groups opposed to trans people and their human rights.

I went to London’s First Trans+ Pride March in September 2019 (the idea had come from Brighton) attended by only a few hundreds and commented:

“The event aimed to increase visibility for the trans+ community and to protest against the discrimination that continues around the world against trans people, with increasing transphobia in the British media, attacks on trans people on the streets, hate speech by trans-exclusionary feminists, and by right-wing national and state governments.“

The situation has worsened since then, but the marches have certainly made trans people more visible. They have always been a integral part of the gay community – and were important in the 1979 ‘Stonewall Riots’ which marked a new beginning for the gay rights movement in the United States and around the world.

Many more pictures in my Facebook album: Trans+ Pride March, London, 25 July 2026.

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Israeli Attacks on Lebanon & Brazilian Carnival – 2006

Israeli Attacks on Lebanon & Brazilian Carnival: Twenty years ago on July 22nd 2006 I photographed a large protest march calling on Israel to end its attacks on Lebanon, going on to take pictures of a Brazilian carnival at Sadlers Wells. It could have been last weekend, though the Israeli attacks have been far more serious this year. Here’s what I wrote in 2006 and a few of the pictures.

Lebanon: Ceasefire Now!

Downing St to Hyde Park

Israeli Attacks on Lebanon & Brazilian Carnival - 2006 — *Many marchers carried Lebanese flags*

Although the demonstration was called at the last minute, there was an urgent response and between 10,000 and 20,000 (my estimate) demonstrators turned up to march through London, calling for an immediate stop the the attacks on Lebanon and Palestine, although some like me will have given up before reaching Hyde Park. [Most of my pictures were taken at Downing Street and on Whitehall.]

French radio put the number of marchers at 700, and UK establishment figures were around 7000. The organisers figure of 30,000 was probably slightly on the high side, though not impossibly so.

The many Palestinian supporters made their views clear. “From the River to the Sea, Palestine must be free!”.

Those attending called for an immediate end to the indiscriminate bombing by Israel in Lebanon which is killing so many civilians, especially children, and for our government to take a stand against this crime against humanity.

The Israeli response has been quite disproportionate – as the BBC point out, they have killed over 360 Lebanese, many of them civilians, while Israeli casualties from Hezbollah rocket attacks are thought to be 17, with around the same number killed in fighting.

Many more pictures of the march and marchers start here on My London Diary.

Sadlers Wells Brazilian Carnival

Later in the day I went along to one of the Dance Week events, a Brazilian Carnival at Sadlers Wells.

*Carnival performers mixed with the crowds outside Sadlers Wells despite the light rain that was falling*

Having had a week or more of drought it was rather disappointing to find that the afternoon was dull, with light rain falling. Hardly enough to water the gardens that need it, hardly enough to be worth putting an umbrella up, but enough to put a damper on things, and enough to get in my 18-200mm lens and create some nasty blurs on pictures until it dried out. I’m a bit annoyed to find that now I have a reasonably weatherproof camera, this Nikon lens seems so susceptible to moisture in the air. I can (and do) wipe off the front filter, but there isn’t anyway to wipe water off the inside elements.

It was pretty humid and I soon got tired, coming home before the main fun started, although I’d photographed most of those in costumes. It seemed likely to be too crowded to do much more in any case.

More pictures

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Sex Workers Masked Parade – 2009

Soho, London

Sex Workers Masked Parade: Sunday 19th July 2009 was the day of the annual Soho Festival which I’ve occasionally attended. In 2009 it included a masked parade around Soho by sex workers and supporters, stopping at several locations for short speeches and ending with one of the organisers speaking on the stage in St Anne’s Gardens. They were welcomed by the Soho Society and there were several speeches of support from others including he Rector of St Annes, Soho, Fr David Gilmore.

Sex work has been a part of Soho life for over 200 years and while people in the area may have differing views on its morality the community seems united in wanting to keep their friends and neighbours safe. Currently selling sex is legal in the UK, though there are many restrictions on how it can be carried out, including those that make it illegal for more than one woman to operate in a flat, or to employ a receptionist or security staff.

Various laws have largely taken women off the streets of Soho and most now work singly in women-run ‘walk-up flats’. But working alone is dangerous and many apparently ignore the law to have another person, usually a female ‘maid’, on site as a safety measure.

Westminster police had carried out a number of raids on these flats, and earlier in 2009 their attempts to close down some of them were defeated with the help of local people.

Such raids however continue – and for example in January 2014, Rupert Everett wrote in The Observer (quoted here on the English Collective of Prostitutes web site) about a raid he had seen about a raid by around 200 police.

“They broke down doors, intimidated girls into accepting cautions (ie criminal records) and served civil-eviction papers that, unless you were a lawyer, you would not know had hidden in their depths (20-odd pages) the time and date you were to appear in court if you wanted to appeal.”

As Everett stated, “There is a land grab going on in Soho under the banner of morality.” He gives an entertaining account of the trial which makes clear that the magistrates and police had little concern for justice. Large sums can be made from redeveloping many of the old properties in which these flats are mainly found.

Much of the time the police justify their actions as being about human trafficking – but after another highly publicised raid on 20 flats in 2013, “no trafficking victims were found in the operation“. “Scotland Yard said the raids were authorised by Westminster council and adhered to legal procedure.”

In 2009 the parade organisers, ‘Soho Working Girls‘ and the ‘English Collective of Prostitutes‘, pointed to recently published research from the Economic and Social Research Council which “proves that most sex workers are not trafficked. We are mothers, daughters, sisters, grannies, aunties struggling to support ourselves and our families, just like other women.”

More recently the women working in these flats have suffered a number of attacks by gangs of young people who come to film attacks on them to post on social media platforms such as TikTok, YouTube and Instagram. Police have failed to protect the women.

More about the parade and many more pictures on My London Diary: Sex Workers Masked Parade.

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Spice, Rain, Turkey & Cyprus – 2007

Spice, Rain, Turkey & Cyprus: Sunday 15 July 2007 was another varied day for me in London, both for events and weather. I went to Hackney for Hackney Spice, but got bored and went to the South Bank where there was a tremendous thunderstorm. When the rain eased off I photographed some of the performers in a Turkish festival in Bernie Spain Gardens before crossing the river to the Embankment to photograph a protest by Greek Cypriots over the Turkish occupation of North Cyprus.

Hackney Spice

Hackney Town Hall

Spice, Rain, Turkey & Cyprus - 2007 — *I think these dancers came from South London, but some other performers were local.*

Hackney Spice was an event outside the town hall in Hackney, next to the Hackney Empire. Perhaps I was there too early, but it appeared to be getting off to a rather slow start, and I soon lost interest and caught a bus.

Hackney Spice

Thames & Rain

Southbank, Southwark

As I arrived at Coin Street, there were a few drops of rain, and apart from eating and drinking (high-priced cheap beer) not a lot was happening. I walked around and then took a walk along the embankment, sheltering under a tree as the rain came on a little harder.

Then came the thunderstorm, with perhaps the most tremendous downpour I’ve ever seen, pouring down through the leaves as if I was in the open. Even my umbrella didn’t really keep me dry, although it offered some protection. As the rain came, the view disappeared, first the distant view along the river, then the bridge, then I could no longer see the river itself, and trees only perhaps 25 metres away merged into whiteness.

There wasn’t a great deal to photograph, and I was more concerned about keeping my cameras dry – fortunately the raincoat built into my Lowe-pro camera bag was reasonably effective. As the storm eased slightly and visibility returned, still holding up my umbrella, I took a few pictures, but it was still raining too hard to move much.

A couple more pictures

Turkish Festival

Bernie Spain Gardens, Lambeth

Then the storm was over, and there were belly dancers on the stage. I don’t think I appreciate the finer points of this art (and appreciate quantity rather more than quality – after all you can only shake what you have), but I took a few pictures but rather more of the folk dancers that followed, their dances clearly linked to village life and agriculture.

Turkish Festival

National Federation of Cypriots – Turks out of Cyprus

March & Rally, Westminster

But I’d really come to photograph something connected with a rather different Turkish activity, the continued occupation of part of Cyprus by the Turkish army. I grew up hearing about the war in Cyprus, older brothers of friends were there fighting as a part of their compulsory national military service, and Don McCullin took some of his first and most striking images of war.

*The front of the march – the red area is the Northern Cyprus, occupied by Turks*

War and partition left both Greek and Turkish Cypriots with justifiable grievances – there were atrocities on both sides, and time seems to have done little to heal. While I sympathise with the Greeks who still mourn their lost sons, often disappeared without trace, I also find it hard to understand why the EU went ahead with recognition of Cyprus after the Greek Cypriots voted down the UN attempts to reunite the country. Greek and Turkish Cypriots live together with few problems in London – and it is surely time they did so in Cyprus too.

The National Federation of Cypriots march and rally called for Turkish troops and settlers who have come since the Turkish occupation in 1974 to leave Cyprus.

I’d expected the march to start late, and was surprised to see it had already begun as I came across Hungerford Bridge. It was a larger event than the similar rally I’d photographed a couple of years previously and attracted more photographers.

The organisers for some reason didn’t want photographers to cover the rally, moving us out of the area in front of the platform. It seems odd to say the least to organise a public event and then not provide proper facilities for press coverage.

Greek Cypriots call for Turkish Troops Out

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Against Factory Farming – 2002

National March and Rally, London

Against Factory Farming: On 13 July 2002 UK vegan charity Viva! (founded in 1994 as Vegetarians’ International Voice for Animals) had organised a march and rally in London and I went to photograph it using both black and white and colour negative film.

*I think it works better in black and white*

Viva describes itself as “the UK’s leading vegan campaigning charity, specialising in undercover investigations and high-profile animal campaigns” so perhaps I should not have been surprised to find that this turned out to be more of a protest against all ways we make use of animals rather than just opposing factory farming and the cruelty involved.

I am not a vegan, nor a vegetarian, though I eat a good deal of vegetarian food and rather less meat then the average UK resident, though probably more fish than most and certainly my share of diary. But I’d like to see it all produced without cruelty and know that not all of it is.

Relatives of mine were sheep farmers and I know they looked after their animals well. They loved animals and they represented a large investment both financially and in long hours of care, particularly in the lambing season. They really did look after their animals, including the few cows they kept and gees and chickens as well. And at times they had to protect them against other animals – nature is certainly not vegan and I’ve seen the total bloodshed when a fox gets into a chicken run.

We need animals in various ways, and many of them only exist because they are still farmed – and their species only developed as they are now because they were domesticated and farmed. They only live their lives because we are going to eat them or drink their milk (and they now produce many times the amount their own calves could drink) or eat their eggs. They need us to survive as a species even though we slaughter them.

I think being vegan is a good thing and probably reduces your footprint on earth particularly in terms of carbon dioxide production. But if everyone became vegan it would be a disaster, particularly for those animals we farm and love.

I didn’t write much about the protest in 2002 – here it is on full (but appropriately capitalised.)

“Cruelty in farming is something we can all oppose, even if we are not veggies. Although the Viva! event was meant to unite different groups, there was too much fanaticism around for that to really work. Few of the speakers seemed to be trying to approach the issues rationally, and they were simply whipping up the converted.”

But I did publish quite a few pictures on My London Diary (and some elsewhere.) Along with a page of half a dozen black and white images I also posted a page with 25 large colour thumbnails, each linked to a larger image. Click on any one of these and their are arrows above the image to go back and forward in a slide show of the 25 images.

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Cyprus Property, a Windmill and a Regatta – 2006

Cyprus Property, a Windmill and a Regatta: On Sunday July 9th 2006, after photographing a protest over property disputes in Cyprus I went to the Brixton Windmill Festival and then on to Kingston Regatta and walked to Hampton Court. I wrote at some length on My London Diary and you can read it below with more normal capitalisation and the odd other correction.

Cyprus Property March

Park Lane

Cyprus Property, a Windmill and a Regatta - 2006

Turkish and Greek Cypriots lived together on Cyprus for many years.Three years after the island became independent in 1960, fighting started and the Turkish Cypriots were thrown out of their official positions. There were many killed in the fighting in the following years, and in 1974 both Greek and Turkish troops became involved.

Since then the island has been effectively divided into two, with the Turkish Cypriots in Northern Cyprus. Many Turkish and Greek Cypriots had to leave their homes and move to the other side of the de facto border, taking over properties vacated by those moving in the opposite direction.

Recently the situation has become more complex, with Cyprus being admitted to the EU in 2004, despite its split status. The UN had set up a re-unification plan that was approved by the Turkish population, but rejected by the Greeks. Entry to the EU has however meant that Greek property claims are now being taken up in Southern Cyprus and can then be enforced in other EU countries, including the UK.

One such case concerns the Orams, an English couple who bought land and built a villa on it in Northern Cyprus. They bought the land from a Turkish Cypriot who had received it in exchange for property he had to leave in southern Cyprus in 1974. The land had belonged to a Greek Cypriot who took the matter to a court in southern Cyprus recently, obtaining an order against them that they should demolish the house and pay damages (which the Orams are appealing against.) Although the judgement cannot be enforced in northern Cyprus, as this is still under Turkish control, the lawyers are trying to enforce it in the UK courts against the UK assets of the Orams.

Settlement of the property issues requires Greek and Turkish Cypriots to come together produce a plan for peace in the divided country. It would then be possible for a suitable property commission – such as that already set up under the advice of the EU in northern Cyprus – to work through all the cases.

The marchers were asking for the support of the British government in refusing to accept the decision of the Cyprus court on ‘public policy’ grounds, and to make further attempts to establish a proper peace plan that would allow proper resolution of property and other disputes in the island.

[Following a series cases with appeals to the the High Court, the European Court of Justice, and back to the UK Appeal Court, the Orams lost their case and apparently abandoned their property in Cyprus in 2010. Property issues in Cyprus remain in a mess but are reported to be moving very slowly towards an amnesty in 2026.]

More pictures on My London Diary.

Brixton Windmill Festival, 2006

Blenheim Gardens, Brixton

The Brixton Windmill Festival wasn’t music at the well-known pub, but at the real windmill 50 yards further on, built by a Mr Ashby many years ago to take advantage of its hilltop site to get the energy to grind his corn.

*A local choir sang with spirit performing Amazing Grace as a tribute to those killed and injured on in the London Bombings of 7 July 2005*

When I first visited around 30 years ago it had been recently restored by the GLC and I climbed up the rather rickety ladder holding the small occupant of the pushchair I had taken with me for a view of the surroundings. Since then it has been vandalised and partly restored, and though it’s still an impressive site, you are only allowed upstairs on very special occasions (and probably after signing a a form in triplicate saying you take your life entirely into your own hands.)

But it is still a useful site, a green patch in which to sit or stroll, some swings for kids, a cup of tea, and a reminder of past ages. There was some music at the festival, a group of local singers while I was there, as well as stalls from a number of local organisations, including the local history society, the credit union and also the police and others. I hope a few more people came after I left.

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Kingston Regatta and Hampton Court

Kingston-upon-Thames

It was a pleasant afternoon for a walk by the Thames, and although the shopping streets of the town were hot and bothered as usual, once out on the bridge it was a different world. the river itself was rather busier than usual, with over half its width buoyed off for the regatta, with pairs and trios of boats being stroked lustily downstream chased by umpires in powered catamarans.

I walked past the regatta enclosure and stood a few minutes watching by the bank before continuing along the riverside path. The start and marshalling area were a little more interesting as the officials tried to sort out the various teams, heats and finals. There were quite a few grammar, not to mention Eton and a few other posh schools, but not a single comprehensive or secondary mod while I was in earshot.

It turned out to be a rather longer walk to Hampton Court than I’d imagined (for once I’d not bothered with a map) and I was tired [and late] when I got to the river exit from the flower show.

There were a few people carrying rather straggly looking plants and a couple of photographers already lying in wait to photograph them, but I couldn’t really work up a great deal of interest. so I walked on and caught the bus home.

[I’d been keen to go to Kingston as I was hoping to get more local pictures for the show ‘Another London’ with Mike Seaborne and Paul Baldesare which was to be in Kingston Museum at the start of 2007. You can still see all the pictures by all three of us on-line at the Another London web site, including one from the Regatta.]

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NHS at 70 – Save St Helier Hospital – 2018

NHS at 70 – Save St Helier Hospital: On Saturday 7th July 2018 I went with campaigners from Keep Our St Helier Hospital on what seemed a long hot march from Sutton to a rally in front of St Helier Hospital.

The Epsom and St Helier Trust planned to close A&E, Maternity, Paediatrics, Emergency Medicine and Surgery, Intensive Care, Coronary Care and the Cancer Centre at one or both Epsom or St Helier Hospital and sell off much of the sites.

The march celebrated the 70th anniversary of the founding of our National Health Service and marchers signed a giant birthday card at the start of the march in a park in the centre of Sutton and many had had posters and placards for the 70th birthday of the NHS.

But there were also plenty of placards calling for the local hospitals – St Helier, Queen Mary’s and Epsom to remain open and offering a full range of services.

There was a great deal of support shown for the march as it went through the long Sutton High Street, with many shoppers stopping to applaud, and a few joining in the march, at least for a short distance.

The march stopped at several places in the High Street for short speeches about the plans and the need to oppose them.

Many on the street seemed surprised to learn their local hospitals were under threat. The death of so many local newspapers – and few of those left are still truly local, publishing largely material unconnected with their local areas, owned by a couple of large national companies – has led to a real lack of reporting of local issues, and many people are now ill-informed on them.

The march continued through the huge 1930s estates in the area until finally we were in sight of St Helier Hospital.

It was a hot day and there was little shade on the route and although it was only around a two mile walk it felt much more.

As we arrived for a rally on the large grass open space in front of the hospital we were greeted by others who had come there, including the National Health Singers who were waiting to sing for us in front of a tent with the message ‘The Clock Is Ticking For Your Hospital’

There were free buns to celebrate NHS 70 and of course speeches by campaigners and people staged a die-in to represent the deaths that would result from the closure of the hospital,

Closure of vital services here or at Epson would leave around half a million south Londoners with much poorer access to NHS services. As I noted, “People would have to travel longer distances through increasingly congested roads to reach full hospital services at St Georges Tooting and elsewhere, a journey which might take 20 minutes when traffic was light but much longer when roads were congested; even in ambulances there would be more dead on arrival or whose condition had seriously deteriorated.”

The plans are a part of a long-term campaign by successive governments to reduce NHS spending and to hand over much of the NHS to private health providers, which is continuing under the current Labour government, many of whose members receive considerable funding from such companies. In February 2026 the BMJ published an article which included the estimate from the Good Law Foundation that then Health Secreatry Wes Streeting “had accepted a total of £372,000 of donations from donors linked to private health between 2015 and 2025.“

Despite their long campaign, more services are being removed or under threat of removal from both hospitals as a part of a plan to reduce the number of major acute hospitals in the country. In 2020 the trust was still planning to sell off around two thirds of the current St Helier site, including the Queen Marys Childrens Hospital, Furguson House, the Maternity Unit, Womens’ Health, the renal unit, the teaching block and the large car park.

This year the trust was awarded £57m to improve its emergency ward and is to “temporarily relocate the women’s health block at St Helier” but there are fears locally that maternity services will not return to the hospital.

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