The main protest got off to a slow start, meeting at Midsummer Common, so by the time we set off there were at least 6 police vans circling. We sauntered off down King Street, where it seemed we might actually get down to having a street party, but the police cordoned people off and confiscated the sound system. I slippped through, thinking that they'd keep people there all day, and went off to get my bike and track down the Critical Mass, who'd been delayed, and check out the animal rights protest happening simultaneously.

I found the AR protest, more police again, another 5 vans full. Then, to my surprise, the anti-capitalist protest came down to Regent St as well, and were cordoned off again at the corner, blocking all the traffic for about half an hour, covering up a CCTV camera, and merging in with the people from the AR protest (odd police tactics). There had been one arrest, for taking the badge off a Merc, and one caution, for pushing a trolley at coppers. Lots of police video crews, probably looking for people dropping litter or something. People started filtering through to Parkers' Piece, I guess the police thought we'd all disperse or play frisbee on the park.

Instead, everyone headed over to Mill Road, blocking cars and letting through buses, right in front of the police station. Strange lack of police by the protest at that point. The Critical Mass appeared at that point, had been very successful, apparently, but got delayed by police - what a surprise. People then moved off down East Road, slowing one stream of traffic to a crawl. At the other end, at the roundabout, the police suddenly moved in vans to stop people moving down Elizabeth Way, then moved more up in a pincer movement. Rather than legging it back down East Road, people got trapped in, a few enterprising souls climbing up over fencing to get away. Saw another guy get arrested at this point.

The police were now blocking all the traffic down the whole of East Road, more than the protesters were doing before. Passersby all thought that the police presence was ridiculous, and were sympathetic to the aims of the protest. They walked the protesters back, blocking the road for about 45 minutes, then took them onto Parkers' Piece and kept them surrounded there, at one point by 200 officers (there were about 50 protesters at that point still blocked in). I counted 17 police vans, including some from Lincolnshire, Leicestershire, Bedfordshire, the Met... and of course there was the helicopter overhead all day. At one point, some water was being passed through to people being held, and they asked whether if the water was going in, could they just leave...? So strangely enough they let 8 people go, just like that. But unfortunately then they went an arrested one guy outside the ring for section 14, whatever that might be, something to do with calling an officer of the law a naughty name. Breach of the peace, maybe???

All in all, if the coppers had just left the party alone at King St, then everyone would have had fun, there would have been no arrests, only one street (with relatively little traffic) would have been blocked. Instead, the police cause a confrontation, aggravate people, and sent everyone on a walking tour of Cambridge for the afternoon. Can't imagine they'd have had over 200 police for some poxy Jubilee street party that didn't have permission... but it went against what the police wanted, so they caused hassle.