Sheffield Demo

Nah then, nah then, what's all this non-violent malarkey?

Why on earth do we go to demonstrations? Is it the sandal-wearing equivalent of being seen at posh parties? “Oh, comrade, saw you at that divine little get-together last week to protest against the Lib-dems. Loved the ensemble, dungarees, work boots, hard hat and placard. Where DID you get that from? Christian Aid? Oxfam? White Stuff?”

Or is it simply to be doing something, anything rather than sitting at home fulminating at the TV? It may be ineffectual joining a couple of thousand people strolling through Sheffield to shout at a metal fence, but it’s more rewarding than shouting at Jeremy Paxman. Probably the highlight was seeing a dozen discomfited coppers stopping people from entering the Peace Gardens. Nice irony. Coppers on overtime stopping demonstrators from the world’s most peaceful and good-natured march entering an area set aside for quiet meditation.

The Liaison coppers were ok though, chatty, helpful and engaging. I’m guessing roll call on the day of a demo goes something like this. “Right, AHHHHtention. OK, Jones, Smith, Goebbels, you’re in the tactical reserve. Biggles, Lenin, Ramsbotham you bunch of pinko Guardian readers, you can put on the girly sky-blue tabards and be nice to the lefty scum.”

Still, the standard of the placards was exactly what you’d expect in Sheffield. ‘Go away naughty baddies that lie’ was a personal favourite, held aloft by a politically astute seven year old. Also of note were ‘Philosophers against irrationality’ and ‘No to coalition, yes to carrots’. I’m sure we can all agree with that .