So for my report from Saturday’s Stop The War protest in London. On nearing the start of the protest, I felt a tingle of expectancy. This was going to be a historic day for the UK anti-war movement. Admittedly, I haven’t been a fervent supporter but this was why this march was different, there were tens of thousands of people who had never protested before and felt empassioned enough to attend. Last week the Countryside Alliance’s march brought the upper and middle echelons of society together. It was apparent that today was a more balanced. There were no picnics, hunting horns or talk of the Old Boy’s network. Those converging were a cross-section of the population, voicing their support with a more important theme. Students, Workers, Militants, Pensioners and Families were here – each feeling the bitterness of the US/UK approach.

We stood near the back waiting to move, but an hour passed. What was happening? Chinese whispers started to move through the crowd – the police have cancelled the march; there are just too many people; there’s been an accident. What to believe? After nearly two hours, the police informed us that there were just too many people on the official route and we could advance via the Strand. The scale of the turnout began to be felt as London grinded to a standstill, people were advancing through every side street; roads were being closed to traffic; buses and taxis left abandoned; any free windscreen was filled with anti-war leaflets. As we continued with the masses, tourists looked on bewildered, motorists tooted their support or looked straight forward – not wanting to be involved. We started to learn the chants: “George Bush shame on you, daddy was a killer too.” As Hyde Park approached, the protest became more muted, not knowing what to expect on our arrival. It felt like a festival. Tens of thousands of people were scattered through the park, listening to the discussions taking place near every park bench, others reading their pocket full of leaflets or listening to the speeches. We stayed for two hours and as we left, there were still people arriving, nearly five hours later. The scale was unexpected and the police did their best to distort the figures (between 40,000 and 150,000 – more like 300-400,000). One thing is for sure, there is growing support for this movement and the government cannot refuse to listen this time.

I got a reply from my MP regarding the potential conflict with Iraq. It was a fairly bog standard reply but it didn’t actually address the questions I posed to her. She also sent me the Prime Minister’s statement to the House of Commons and a report about Iraqi refugees residing in the UK. My next step is to reply to her asking that she signs Early Day Motion 252, tabled by Alan Simpson MP, calling for the lifting of sanctions and an end to the continued bombing of Iraq. I am also going to contact Robin Cook urging him to lift sanctions in Iraq, which have done nothing to stop Saddam getting hold of weapons and starving the Iraqi population for the last 10 years.

Hold The Button – how long can you do it for? Probably somewhere longer than my attempt (10 seconds) and the current record (1 day!)

I found theThe Homeless Guy blog in the Guardian yesterday. It shows that the internet is not just for middle class affluent people and that with a little inspiration and a good idea, anything is possible. Kevin writes his blog from a library in Nashville, Tennessee. He says that the best way to help the homeless is not to give money but to help them out by donating a goodie bag, some sweets, maybe a shaving kit. Take a read anyway.

Whether we’ll be using hydrogen in everyday usage in the next few years is anyones call, especially when the oil companies are trying to research and then patent all related technologies. This article on hydrogen, shows that the future isn’t too far away and the growing hydrogen industry is like the world wide web in the 1980’s, possible empowering people.