REPORT ON GLASGOW MAYDAY CELEBRATION AND DEMONSTRATION, May 1st 2004

Glasgow’s annual Mayday madness delivered once again. The meeting point was in Buchanan Street, at the Underground Station and after about an hour of being entertained by Radio Mayday’s pirate broadcast and the myriad of colourful costumes and banners, we moved off.

Following the flatbed truck sound system, the anti-capitalist carnival then took a turn round the busy city centre, picking up people as it went. George Square was first, with a noisy stop outside the City Chambers, then down Union Street, and along Argyle Street. Information was handed out and saturday shoppers were engaged.

The sun shone, but the atmosphere stayed chilled as the crowd voiced their opposition to the war, outside the Army Recruitment Office on Queen Street.

Turning on to St Vincent Place we were greeted by a banner drop from the post office building, reading “Caution ! You May Be An Anarchist” that tied in with flyers being handed out below.

The ‘Zombie Shoppers’ kept up their distinctive agit-prop street theatre: ‘Dawn of the Debt’ as the ‘unauthorised’ demonstration moved towards the west end, closing streets to traffic as it went .

‘Fight War Not Wars’, ‘Mayday:Liberty, Equality, Solidarity’, ‘Anti-Capitalist, Anti-War’, and of course ‘Nae Mair Pish’ were just some of the slogans to be seen as we passed Charing Cross and the motorway.

The Shell station on Woodlands Road was the next stop. A dancing occupation followed, with a small sound system dubbed the “Disco Pram” in the midst of things. Highlights included a skateboarding cow and someone dressed as George Bush boogying on top of a petrol pump. It was great to see people sunbathing, playing frisbee and generally hanging out on the now car- less road.

The stroll ended in Kelvingrove Park. Rather than speeches, the D.J’ s played on, and we reflected on another uplifting Glasgow Mayday without arrests.