The occasion was marked with many public commemoration events, but this cannot disguise the fact that this quasi-private company, that operates with the full endorsement of the Labour government, has been granted immunity from prosecution, and the head of the company has not been sacked. Indeed, he bleats his superannuated compassion on the television ever more regularly.

Meanwhile, Railtrack push on for their shareholders with impunity, and now intend to vandalize a corner of London that has remained relatively unaltered for a century or more, the Borough market in Southwark.
The declared intention of Railtrack is to upgrade certain rail links between Waterloo and London Bridge, which run right over the market. The markeet itself is a combination of wholesale (much like the old Covent Garden used to be) and also host to a regular organic produce fair. A campaign for the planners to consider alternative schemes has been inaugurated

[ www.save-borough-market-area.org.uk ]

which estimates that some 30 buildings will be demolished, most of which are of architectural interest, or with historic links. This is undoubtedly true:
Veterans of the campaign to save the nearby foundations of the Rose Theater in 1989 from a similar act of commercial vandalism will doubtless have some memories of the Borough market, for with its cafes and pubs with extended opening hours, they were regular visitors early in the morning, and where i recall the dishevelled newcomers were treated with much understanding by the market regulars. The Rose campaign itself was a partial success, and the ruins are now visible in an exhibition. At the time it seemed to bring together most of the city in a metropolitan alliance of a kind that i havent seen since, but now is the chance to repay the support that the marketeers gave us then by supporting them now.