The Extinction Rebellion Protest, Westminster, London - 9th October 2019

This week's two days cycle-commuting through London to the Paddington office has the slight twist that part of the route - through Trafalgar Square - is completely closed on account of the Extinction Rebellion (XR) sit-in protest. As it happens, cyclists are definitely not the enemy, and so it's an interesting diversion to get off and walk through tent city and catch a bit of the protest vibe. On the way back, the top end of the Mall, at Admiralty, is also closed, which means diverting past the Houses of Parliament with a chance to see what's going on in Parliament Square. Before that, there's a night out at Station 119 brewery tap room on Eye airfield.

next album: The GSB at Stowlangtoft, Beavers, and More XR Rebellions, Suffolk, Norfolk and London - 16th October 2019
previous album: The Bressingham Band Night, Bressingham Steam Museum, Norfolk - 5th October 2019

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The Anubis-head graffiti is being painted over

The Anubis-head graffiti is being painted over

Funky tag near Liverpool Street

Graffiti on a penthouse flat

Slightly indecipherable graffiti tag

Gerts graffiti on a brick wall

Reptilians graffiti

The crossing buttons at Hyde Park Corner are bust

Marc and Suey in Station 119's tap-room bar

The tap room at Station 119

Suey and Marc raise a glass

Mick the Brick heads off

Suey and Marc look at their devices

Marc chats away

Class 37 37424 smokes its way through Diss station

Class 37 37403 heads off to Norwich

Northumberland Avenue is blocked off

Another banner on Northumberland Avenue

Tent City in Trafalgar Square

People roam around under a 'Tell the truth' banner

More tent city

The top of Whitehall is all tents

A businessman walks past an oil=boil banner

Someone's hung their washing out to dry

Looking up towards the Strand

Some dude sits on top of a van

People have come from far, wide, and Stoke

A cyclist stops for a chat

Nelson's Column gets some flags and flyers added

There's a good vibe around the site

You're burning our future

A Trafalgar lion has an XR medallion around its neck

An optimistic XR placard

More tents in Trafalgar Square

Some chalk-based protest statements

Nelson's column

Birdcage Walk is also closed off

Tents on the streets near Westminster

A lone drummer prowls the closed roads

There's a mass of police in Parliament Square

A bicycle rickshaw in Parliament Square

A worried-looking woman is talked to by the rozzers

The scene in Parliament Square

Westminster Bridge is certainly quieter than usual

Rozzers on horseback on Whitehall

On the second day, there's a sit-in going on

Whitehall is very quiet

A Climate Justice banner

The sit-in protestors get a pep talk

There are even more tents today

There's also a new pink octopus floating around

A better world is possible

Change is Now

A Love banner

There are a couple of pianos in Trafalgar Square

Some people are dressed up

There's a much heavier police presence this time

There's a camping vibe in St. James's Park

Some dude has a 'Make Britain green again' sign

Protestors carry some oversized bees on a stick

A big sit-in occurs on Horseguard's Parade

People on the streets of Westminster

'West is a bollx farmet' and other anti-farmer graffiti