At my first Sydney Reclaim The Streets I was led to believe we had imported a new, fresh style of protesting by partying in the streets from Blighty. It seems we either livened it up a lot more or the joy of a day on the streets has been lost.

Of course the weather wasn't the greatest today, dampening spirits, and the cops outnumbering protesters sure didn't help. However the atmosphere was really morbid. The greatest defence against over-zealous policing is a sense of humour and a broad smile. There wasn't much of this in evidence with only boring chants and frowns all round.

How to make a cheap, portable, loud sound system:
1. Get some scummy old speakers, or find your local electronics wizz and get him to help build some.
2. Buy a cheap car amplifier.
3. Buy, borrow or find an old car battery. Charge it either in a car or with a charger from your local electronics store.
4. Chuck the lot into a bike trailer and drag it along to the party.
5. Switch it on with your favourite bangin' choons and away you go.

I left my portable system in Australia, sadly, but I'm sure some of you out there have the resources to make one. See mine in action dragged by the irrepressable JJ here:
 http://nccnsw.org.au/~cmass/photos/22dec2000/moz/page7.htm