Nottingham Mayday 2010
Disillusioned kid | 02.05.2010 10:48 | Mayday 2010 | Social Struggles | Workers' Movements
This year, organisers of Nottingham Mayday have faced the full force of Notttingham City Council’s bureaucratic machinery, and had to jump through any number of legal and financial hoops. Despite these obstacles, the event went ahead on Saturday May 1st with perhaps a couple of 100 people turning up to celebrate International Workers' Day.
Beginning of the march
- video/mp4 14M
Urban Gypsies on Parliament St
- video/mp4 3.3M
Urban Gypsies outside Victoria Lesiure Centre
- video/mp4 4.3M
Urban Gypsies at Victoria Park
- video/mp4 3.6M
In recent years, Mayday has been held at the Brewhouse Yard, near Ye Olde Trip to Jerusalem, This year the council had exiled it to Victoria Park in Sneinton, round the corner fron Sneinton Market and Victoria Leisure Centre.
There were a wide range of campaigns represented, many of them familiar faces from previous Maydays: Shut Down H&K, Greeenpeace, Friends of the Earth, CND, SWP, Socialist Party, Veggies and others. One new group was Nottingham Radical History Group.
The weather forecast had not been encouraging, but for much of the day it was sunny and warm, at times even hot. The weather even held out for the duration of the march.
Inevitably beginning late, the march was led by a samba band, as in previous years, and the Urban Gypsies belly dancing tribe with their impressive portable sound system. Marchers wound their way from the park, past Victoria Leisure Centre, itself recently closed as part of the city council’s cost saving exercises. From their the march continued onto Parliament St up to King Street and down to Speaker’s Corner.
Here there were speeches from Notts County Unison and others before we continued on our way. There was an abortive attempt by a group of anarchists to encourage people to move into the Market Square, but few people followed them and the march was soon on its way again, along the pre-arranged route.
Moving along Smithy Row onto Pelham Street and up through Hockley, the march returned to the park, passing once again past Victoria Leisure Centre. This time there was a brief stop outside to protest against the facility’s closure, although people were hurried on to ensure we had time for speaker’s at the closing rally.
Once back at Victoria Park, demonstrators were addressed by speakers from various local campaigns including Shut Down H&K, Notts Stop the BNP, Palestine Solidarity Campaign, Nottingham City Unison and others. There was also a speaker from the Mayday organising committee who was critical of the many obstacles the city council had put in the event’s way this year.
Speakers were interspersed with music and dancing from Ngomo, Urban Gypsies, Wholesome Fish and others, although the arrival of the expected rain showers did dampen people’s enthusiasm somewhat.
There were a wide range of campaigns represented, many of them familiar faces from previous Maydays: Shut Down H&K, Greeenpeace, Friends of the Earth, CND, SWP, Socialist Party, Veggies and others. One new group was Nottingham Radical History Group.
The weather forecast had not been encouraging, but for much of the day it was sunny and warm, at times even hot. The weather even held out for the duration of the march.
Inevitably beginning late, the march was led by a samba band, as in previous years, and the Urban Gypsies belly dancing tribe with their impressive portable sound system. Marchers wound their way from the park, past Victoria Leisure Centre, itself recently closed as part of the city council’s cost saving exercises. From their the march continued onto Parliament St up to King Street and down to Speaker’s Corner.
Here there were speeches from Notts County Unison and others before we continued on our way. There was an abortive attempt by a group of anarchists to encourage people to move into the Market Square, but few people followed them and the march was soon on its way again, along the pre-arranged route.
Moving along Smithy Row onto Pelham Street and up through Hockley, the march returned to the park, passing once again past Victoria Leisure Centre. This time there was a brief stop outside to protest against the facility’s closure, although people were hurried on to ensure we had time for speaker’s at the closing rally.
Once back at Victoria Park, demonstrators were addressed by speakers from various local campaigns including Shut Down H&K, Notts Stop the BNP, Palestine Solidarity Campaign, Nottingham City Unison and others. There was also a speaker from the Mayday organising committee who was critical of the many obstacles the city council had put in the event’s way this year.
Speakers were interspersed with music and dancing from Ngomo, Urban Gypsies, Wholesome Fish and others, although the arrival of the expected rain showers did dampen people’s enthusiasm somewhat.
Disillusioned kid
Comments
Hide the following 7 comments
nice one kid,looked fun,lovely dancers,
02.05.2010 16:11
Just to prove again that they dont kill people that do so,its much more likely a fascist type,or rogue criminal- violent physcopaths try it:).
Lovely Footage, love the orangutan, if your going to use biodiesel, use it from rapeseed & other more local crops-trees & George Monbiot+ for goodness sakes hydrogenated oil isnt edible, its mostly the stuff usually chucked away thats been refined, so it is a good idea to put in a engine with a bosch fuel filter & heater on the fuel tank FGS!
I bet you dont eat hydrogenated fat mr monbiot?come on
green syn
e-mail:
jjdm12@hushmail.com
A Motley Krew
03.05.2010 13:59
Jez Harper
Pic #33
03.05.2010 14:28
Listener
to Jez:
05.05.2010 17:33
reallyoldhippy
More Nottingham stalls, anarchists on the march & Mayday history
05.05.2010 20:47
The Sparrows' Nest and People's Histreh (AKA Nottingham Radical History Group) presented the following leaflet alongside commentary on the anarchist origins of Mayday - now online here:
Several red and black flags were waved by anarchists on the march. Also on the march one of the People's Histreh contigent carried bread on a pole to remember the local Food Riots. The 'Proud to Pie' placards pictured above were produced to commemorate the pieing of councillors during the 20th anniversary year of the Poll Tax rate being set in the Council House. Nottingham AF handed out copies of The Nottingham Sparrow (issue 4):
Mayday gazeboista
Homepage:
http://thesparrowsnest.org.uk
Dear Really Old Hippy
05.05.2010 20:48
Jez
happy slavery to me, happy slavery to me.(theme of happy birthday)..
06.05.2010 10:51
we should take back the streets - we have no choice but to arm our selves and burn the banks, as in greece, burn the parliament building, burn buck house, burn the fucking lot, and from the ashes will rise the pheonix of revolution, the true change.
Unitl people start to die and kill and be killed for total liberation, then we are all fucked...
and by the way, the quote 'If something needs changing and it isn't changed, you're one of the ones who didn't change it. :)'
is very apt.
so unless we're ready to start fighting on our own and in small tight groups, to destroy banks and barricade roads, take over insitutions and destroy trade and revenue routes - whilst we also work to school our children and feed ourselves - then we may as well shut the fuck up and stop going on about how shit it is.....all empires crumble, with no exceptions..................
see you on the barricades (yeah right....i wish)
ready for the uprising, but are you??/?