Vertical Vienna, Rail Cuts & Occupy London: Tuesday 25th October 2011 performers from Vienna were performing on a huge vertical wall in Trafalgar Square to promote tourism, but which left with a feeling of vertigo. I came down to earth outside Parliament where rail unions marched from a lunchtime rally in Central Hall to protest against the government plans to cut rail jobs, raise fares and close ticket offices. I then visited Finsbury Square where Occupy London had set up a second camp. There wasn’t a great deal actually happening there and after taking a few pictures I walked back to the camp at St Paul’s and took a few more. But I had to leave before the events there were to start at 5pm.
Vienna From a Different Angle
Trafalgar Square
The Vienna Tourist Board had brought a huge 21 metre vertical stage to Trafalgar Square on which dancers on ropes performed a series of tableaux as they were slowly lowered. Some were clearly linked to Vienna, with waltzes, cafés and Klimt but failed to inspire me to want to visit the city, rather giving me a crick in the neck and a feeling of vertigo.
but daren’t go to find out in case I have to walk down a very tall wall
As I commented “it would have been far more effective (and cost less) for them to have handed me a coffee or better still a glass of Grüner Veltliner along with a slice of Sachertorte.”
But perhaps Nelson was pleased to have some human company rather than just pigeons up there, though he did keep his back turned on them.
Rail Unions Protest McNulty Cuts
Westminster
Members of the Rail Maritime and Transport Union, the Transport Salaried Staffs’ Association and other unions along with passenger groups walked from a rally in Central Hall with their banners past Westminster Abbey to Old Palace Yard to pose for photographs outside the Houses of Parliament.
They say the proposals in the review are the greatest threat to the rail network since privatisation and will increase our rail fares – already the highest in Europe because of the huge amounts taken out of the system for investors.
The proposed cuts increase the break-up of our rail system and hand over greater power to the private companies that operate it. They cut safety standards, losing safety-critical jobs such as removing guards from trains and will involve the closure of 600 ticket offices.
They called for the government to bring back the system into public ownership as franchises come up for renewal and begin to reintegrate rail into a publicly owned system run for the benefit of passengers rather than the shareholders, highly paid consultants and lawyers of private companies.
The sheer idiocy of the privatised system has led to some of this now having happened, with all the train running franchises being slowly brought back into the public – but much is still to be done. Almost none of the train operating companies actually own any trains, and huge profits are still being taken out of the system by the Rolling Stock Companies they lease them from. We need to move to a system where the operators own and maintain trains.
Rail Unions Protest McNulty Cuts
Occupy Finsbury Square
There wasn’t much actually happening in the afternoon and I took a few pictures of the tents, banners, posters and the yurt.
The square also has a drinking fountain given to the parish in memory of their mother Martha Smith (1825-1908) by Thomas and Walter Smith – the family that invented the Christma Cracker. Like most other public water fountains it no longer works, having failed modern hygiene standards.
More from OccupyLSX
St Paul’s Cathedral
I’d been there on Westminster Bridge where a general meeting had decided to Occupy the Stock Exchange, and again when they had been prevented from doing and had set up instead at neighbouring St Pauls, but I’d been too busy to take part actively in Occupy London (and too much in need of home comforts to camp.) I’d looked in at the camp since and did so again on my way home, taking quite a few photographs.
on the City streets
The camp was looking very tidy and there were a lot of people about, both residents and visitors – it was clearly becoming something of a tourist attraction. There wasn’t a a great deal happening while I was there, and events were listed to start at 5pm when I was due to be home.
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