G8 march

Nini and I are just back, leaving SW and Joe uptown dancing to the women drummers. We had to wait 3 hrs in a packed cattle herd to march. The stewards let sections of the crowd out at timed intervals. There were a lot of hot, crying and thirsty children in the crowd, but the cops wouldn't let people out the easy way (north). Instead people had to try to move south through an enormous seething crowd. But waited our turn and joined the march, which was enormous. I'm looking forward to hearing the estimates, which I'd put at about 200,000.

The cops were following the anarchist bloc, including Rebel Clown Army (aka CIRCA), round the Meadows while we waited to march. Walking home just now, Nini and I came across maybe 50 CIRCAs hemmed in by cops on Buccleuch St. More cops than clowns, and it was the cops who wouldn't let us through, not the clowns. Unfortunately the camera was full by then, so I have no photo. Talk about obstruction. And round the corner we found a phalanx of 12 riot horsecops, and a long line of 12 police vans filled with riot cops. One of them made a thumbs-up to Nini, and she slunk back.

Addendum:
Nice to have the BBC confirm the unanticipatedly high turnout and little trouble. Wish I'd been at the head of the march to see the performers reported.















Update:

Usual bollocks from Scotsshit this morning:

Anarchists riot, but peace wins the day

As 225,000 marchers paraded peacefully around the capital, a splinter group of protesters, clad in black and wearing black bandanas, attacked a bar and then set on riot police who had rushed to the scene. Waste bins were pushed over and chairs and bottles were hurled during the disturbance, which could herald several days of running battles involving anarchists and anti-globalisation protesters.

Police unleashed a swift counterattack, hemming in the anarchists before detaining them. The protesters were questioned by police and photographed before being released last night. Many other members are believed to be still at large.

If there had been a riot as described, why was the attacked bar open for business and filled with customers at 3.30 pm when I passed it?