V for Vendetta is finally on British TV!

Sorry that I haven't posted in what seems like ages but this partly because I couldn't really be bothered and partly because there isn't really much to report. After all there is only so far you can stretch an anecdote about going to the council offices to hand in a form and the only contribution I can make on the Greek riots is a pitiful pun about the Greek police having no sense of humous. I will though take this opportunity to recommend that everybody in the UK takes the opportunity to watch a film called V for Vendetta on BBC2 at 10:20 tonight.

Based on a Thatcher era graphic novel this film tells the story of a near future Britain over-run by a totalitarian government that has suspended all democratic rights and press freedoms to protect it's citizens from the ever present threat of terrorism. Against the backdrop of this dystopia a masked anti-hero known only as V summons up the spirit of Guy Fawkes to spark a revolution and free Britain from it's tyranny. Obviously I love it as a vanity piece but I recommend everybody else watches it because although long it manages to deal with a dark and sometimes violent subject matter really well by mixing high tension with the comedy of Stephan Fry and dialogue like "What's the point of a revolution without dancing?!"

One of the key scenes of the film shows a group of protesters trying to march down Whitehall to Parliament square only to be met at the barricades by soldiers who open fire on them. As Whitehall is one of the most strategically important streets in the United Kingdom linking Trafalgar Square to Parliament Square not only providing access to the military barracks at Horseguard's Parade but to the Prime Minister official residence in Downing street the films producers thought filming this scene would cost them a fortune by making them hire hundreds of extras and build a replica set somewhere in the countryside. They were then quite surprised that not only did the Labour government give them the first ever permit to film on Whitehall the police also sent along some of their top officers to help secure the location and supervise the road closures. Even the army couldn't have been more helpful sending along serving members of the Queens Guard to act as extras and some of the top military brass to help give the army barricades a more realistic feel.

A cynic could think that the security services where using the whole thing as an opportunity to hold a massive training exercise.