Farnham Protest

As part of the national day of protest called by the Stop The War Coalition on October 31st, a good-natured street party took place in the village of Farnham, Surrey. Mainly consisting of students from the Surrey Institute of Art and Design University College, it took place on West street in the centre of Farnham at around 4pm and lasted for about 2 hours. The original intention was to block the road and hold the party there but with only about 30 people this became impractical, so instead we stood on the pavement on each side of the road, waved our home-made anti-war banners and asked drivers to beep their horn for peace. What we lacked in numbers we made up for with enthusiasm, and with drumming, dancing and chanting (and leaflet distribution), we woke up a sleepy village. As it took place outside the offices of The Farnham Herald a reporter and photographer were on the scene straight away, and in a town where very little happens it seems likely that it will be front page news. The police arrived shortly afterwards and asked protesters to keep off the road and stay on the pavement. Some were friendly and approachable, others weren't. The general reaction from the public was positive despite some drivers who were clearly out to make trouble by driving close to the pavement in an attempt to scare protesters. Towards 6pm, with the traffic thinning, we got permission from the police to march down West Street in the road which we did as slowly as possible to hold up the cars. All in all a positive and hopefully effective action.