Chalk Up Another Mayday.

Today I've been checking out the Mayday protests that have been going on in central London.

As it does every year the Trade Unions march gathered around three thousand people to Trafalgar square to listen to some speeches. I would tell you what those speeches were about but I sort of drifted off.

The Anti-Democracy demonstration in Parliament square was quite small. At most it attracted 800 people and a similar number of police officers although most of them remained in reserve. The group managed to block St Margret street and one lane of Bridge street. As it was a Saturday and Parliament wasn't in session the police decided it was easier to divert traffic around the protest then to try and break it up.

The Reclaim the Street Party did exactly what it said on the tin. It was a smallish party to celebrate Mayday held in a designated graffiti area in the arches underneath Waterloo railway station. Apparently it was meant to take place in the park area between the Royal Festival Hall and the former County Hall building but had to be moved because of the rain. I got there at almost exactly 16:00 so they were still rigging it up when I arrived and it was just beginning to get going as I left. Obviously this means that I have no idea how it's going to end but as it seems a well organised party in a tunnel underneath one of London's busiest railway stations it would take a major sense on humour failure by the police for it to end in trouble.

As I was making my way back at around 17:00 the Parliament square protests seemed to be winding down due to a combination of the rain and boredom. The reason I had to get back early is because by an amazing coincidence my father has been summoned to one of his network meetings this evening. Given the current lay of the land that means I need to be home to keep an eye on my grandmother while we both get paranoid in the knowledge that the MI5 cannon fodder will be drinking themselves to death in the pub tonight.

All in all I think that as Maydays go this one went very well because no-one really wants riots five days before a general election and on the opening day of the Shanghai Expo.