I was at the Oxford Street free shop action today,
which was participated in by hundreds of shoppers
and passersby. I've been to many demos and
actions over the last few years, and in terms of
engaging with people and getting a message across
in a fun, creative and original way, that had
relevance to people's lives, this was the best action
I've been to.

Police presence was heavy from the start, but their
warning regarding section 14 of the public order act
and the fact that we were apparently 'disrupting the
shopping life of the area' (exactly what we set out to
do!) was overpowered by the shouts of 'free donuts'
and the ensuing rush to the stall. Most passersby
and participants largely ignored the police, with one
elderly lady who had crossed the road to attend the
free shop, going so far as to label their behavior
pathetic.

We were initially met with disbelief that everything
was free, but people quickly understood that this
was no charitable act, and got into the spirit of
things in a big way, trying on clothes, rummaging
through boxes of books. During the 4 hour
disruption of the busiest street in London on the
busiest day of the year, continuous streams of
people donated books, toys & clothes, drank
chocolate-flavoured coffee, ate onion bhajis &
cakes, listened to music and browsed for free
presents. One man found a book he'd been
searching for for ages, and offered a donation. He
was refused, with the afternoon's oft-repeated
phrase - "everything's free". A hilarious mock
auction was held - "I'm taking bids of nothing!", "The
stereo goes to the man who's offered nothing!"

The 'Free Palestine' march that passed by - and
stopped for a coffee - was met with cheers from the
free shop kids, and confusion from the cops (was
this another protest, or the same one in a different
guise?).

Many of those we spoke to were surprisingly already
aware of the situation in Argentina (considering the
lack of coverage in the UK press), and understood
the relevance of the action to our/their own situation
regarding christmas consumption and ever-spiralling
consumer debt which is now at an unprecedented
£810 billion pounds in the UK.

One Womble was arrested on a spurious charge
(section 14 of the public order act) for apparently
protesting in the wrong area by himself (he
went for a walk). It's as if the human rights act
never existed. He will appear in court on Monday.

Love + Rage

Freeshopping WOMBLES