St George’s Day: Multimedia Montage
by abgx550 on May.03, 2010, under Mobile Reporting
A man and woman celebrate England's day in style
St. George’s Day in Trafalgar Square was celebrated in fine form. The day was hot, the music cool, and the crowd eclectic. Here are some sights and sounds uploaded from the square:
The festivities began as the square began to fill up with festively dressed dancers.
There were also a couple of Elvis impersonators cutting some rug.
Here’s a mic check of one of the bands set to perform in the square later that afternoon. They put on the dance hall classic, “Daisy”:
This guy was great. Earlier during the day he had been kicking up some great Irish dancing to the tune of “I’ve got a Feeling” by the Black Eyed Peas played by the Cass secondary school steel drum band. Then he pulled out this sign. It says, “Christ will come to make a better world.” I guess with JC in the house, every night’s a good night?
Here’s the Cass band playing “I’ve got a feeling”:
Of course, there had to be the requisite dragon-slaying:
Straight outta Brixton, this great new band called Will and the People, put on an impromptu performance:
BP Protest: Party at the Pumps
by abgx550 on May.03, 2010, under Mobile Reporting
Hundreds of protesters gathered yesterday afternoon at a British Petroleum (BP) petrol station in Shepherd’s Bush to protest BP’s proposed investment in the Canadian Oil Sands.
The protest, organized by UK climate change activists, in conjunction with Canada’s First Nations communities, was held at a temporarily closed BP station.
The action was part of the a ‘Fortnight of Shame,’ organised by the growing number of UK anti-tar sands activists in anticipation of next week’s BP annual general meeting.
Over 100 protesters sang, danced, paraded banners, played drums, and country music at the petrol station. Some participants held protest banners while lying on top of the petrol station.
Twelve police officers were present and two police vans patrolled the area.
When asked, the police said they were present at the scene to monitor the action, but was not expecting any trouble, as the activists were ‘pretty chilled’.
Because the protest took place on private property, the police could not take action unless BP complained.
BP did not complain.
A BP spokesperson said, “We can confirm that there is a protest at our Shepherd’s Bush location and we hope the participants do nothing to harm themselves or members of the public.
When asked, BP refused to comment on whether they had sanctioned the protest.
“We cannot engage in that sort of conversation for security reasons,” a BP spokesman said.
A BP representative arrived at the petrol station shortly after the protest began.
Accompanied by police, the representative said that while he could not speak for BP, he would hope that participants would get down off of the roof of the petrol station for health and safety reasons.
Participants in the action hoped that BP’s shareholders would become more aware of the environmental effects of the Canadian tar sands.
“I think BP is really scared, I think the action will get share-holders aware and this will make them aware that consumers will become aware as well,” said Helen Heathfield, a carbon activist from London.
Some participants, however, were just along for the sun and sound systems.
“BP won’t listen, not at all, but it’s good for people to get together and party,” said Andy Taylor, a van driver and musician from London.
The environmental and social issues surrounding the Canadian oil sands are being met with increasing skepticism by the UK public.
BP is expected to discuss its proposed course of action with respect to the oil sands at next week’s AGM.
City Hacks FC vs Cardiff
by abgx550 on May.03, 2010, under Mobile Reporting
Football and filing copy are two things at which the gents on the City Hacks team most definitely excel. The day was chilly, and the location was remote, but nonetheless the boys dominated the would-be Welsh usurpers.
Here are some Qik shots to give you a feel for the day:
And a halftime interview with the CityHacks FC manager, Tom ‘Action’ Jackson. Jackson says that Cardiff was not, in fact, playing dirty. The City crowd begged to differ.
And, naturally, the requisite shot of a totally raptured crowd:
