The police strategy of surrounding people in Oxford Circus in the early afternoon had left scores of protesters moving around in the surrounding streets, unable to get through to the Oxford Circus event. A cheerful group led by the Samba Band was soon trapped by more riot police in a side street and held there until the late evening.

A crowd of at least a thousand people, led by a contingent of around 30 Wombles tried to help the penned in and baton-charged Samba group, but although the first police line was broken, the remaining riot police proved too strong an obstacle and made it impossible to re-unite with the other demonstrators.

So, the crowd moved off towards Mayfair, home of the super-rich and the most exclusive shops in the capital. But who may have expected an orgy of destruction (having read all the media articles announcing exactly that) was soon proved wrong. Instead, a funny mixture of different types of protesters, from hippy-esque folks to masked-up black bloc activists, moved down New Bond Street and celebrated the freedom to move and behave wherever and however you please. Having escaped the iron grip of riot cops in the Oxford Circus area, the streets were virtually empty of police. The few unfortunate officers guarding a shop window left quickly as the crowd approached, but - as everywhere else along the route - none of the windows were broken. Whereas Oxford Circus looked like a militarised zone, here people were free to move without obstruction and intimidation. In what had been a brief true Mayday celebration, a cheerful and happy crowd finally moved towards Soho and split up there.