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The Gerrard Chronicles 2019 - The Campaign Trail |
ANTI-BREXIT DEMONSTRATIONS
This year's activities were dominated by Anti-Brexit or related demos.
15/1/2019 Evening demo |
23/3/2019 Ken in Whitehall |
23/3/2019 People’s Vote |
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The next one was a spontaneous reaction to Johnson’s attempt to prorogue Parliament for 5 weeks to force through Brexit. It took place on August 28th. Ken became a micro-Hero for breaking through the barrier & letting the demonstrators onto College Green. | ||
Early on. Ken with Janet Daby, |
Ken breaking the barrier, photo Metro. |
Ken bought Emma a Euro-beret as she |
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We called this, an attempted Coup d’Etat. There was another Anti-Coup demo the following Saturday. | ||
31/8/2019 Ken early at the Cenotaph |
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Ken & ANO |
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There was yet another Anti-Coup demo the next Tuesday. Ken, who had been to Tate Modern with Avis, went along to have a look after the Reuter Society meeting & buffet. It seemed bigger than the Saturday one. | ||
3/9/2019 Ken in Parliament Square |
The demo outside Downing Street |
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Finally, there was a big demo the following Saturday. This time, the fascists tried to disrupt it. We laughed, booed them & played loud rock music, as 6 of them marched through with their yellow flags & with police protection. In the end, of course, the Supreme Court struck down the prorogation. | ||
7/9/2019 Ken at Downing Street |
Laughing at the fascists |
Back down Whitehall |
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There was a demo by Extiction Rebellion over the two weeks from October 7th. Ken went along to have a look after the Reuter Society meeting & buffet. It filled Whitehall, stopping all traffic. After a while, an organiser came along & said the police were going to charge & bulldoze the camp in 20 minutes time. I explained to the people I was talking with, that with a wife with Alzheimer’s, I could not risk getting arrested & would have to scarper. They were very understanding. I went up to Trafalgar Square, where there was a tolerated camp & then, home. | ||
8/10/2019 Ken near Downing Street |
The Extinction Rebellion Camp |
On the steps of the National Gallery |
On October 19th, the last big demo for a Peoples’ Vote took place. Ken could not get nearer Parliament Square than the Banqueting House, so there must have been a million marchers, like the one in March, where Ken got to Downing Street at least. |
19/10/2019 Ken in Whitehall, outside the Banqueting House. |
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To cap the year off, Johnson declared a General Election for December, of all months. Ken put the Labour Boards from the 2017 up on our front balconies the evening: Thursday October 31st, the day we were supposed to Brexit, after taking the usual cheque round to Islington South & Finsbury Party HQ. With an election every other year, politics is getting expensive.
JUST ONE MORE THING....
We publish nearly 2 weeks before the General Election, so we can offer some advice to our fellow voters....
An election has, in my experience, never been such a matter of moral choice as this one.
Whatever you do, vote but don't vote for Johnson. Even
diehard Tories must be finding him an embarrassment by now.
Contact: Ken Baldry or Avis Saltsman, 17 Gerrard Road, Islington, London N1 8AY +44(0)020 7359 6294 or e-mail him or her
This page's URL: http://www.art-science.com/Xmas2019/campaign.html Last revised 1/12/2019 ©Ken Baldry & Avis Saltzmann 2019 All rights reserved but print it off if you want to.