No Ifs, No Buts, No Education Cuts!

So yesterday, Wednesday 21.11.12, saw thousands of students from all over the country take to the streets and show the Government they won’t just sit back and take what’s being thrown at them.

It was a brilliant day, one I thoroughly enjoyed. The atmosphere was amazing, especially as you walked under the tunnels, though at those points hearing anything other than horns or '”whoooo” was very difficult. And the weather was not going to put anyone off, nor the early starts.
My favourite photos? Here:

(Not all of these are what some might call “photographically correct” however they do show how fast paced a lot of it was and I suppose the style of the event, it was a protest after all)

   
It made sense to start with a sign that matched my title.

   
Wooden spoons and metal bowls were used to make even more noise!

   
MidKent College Students Union were out in force with several officers and students carrying placards. 

   
A slightly underexposed photo of one of the many homemade signs were out and about throughout the march.

   
Again, more extra noise. This time so fast my camera caught the motion.

   
Many placards were left discarded as the march progressed, getting wet in the rain and trampled all over.

   
NUS were readily prepared with plenty of placards, a lovely photo opportunity for me.

   
Another placard sums up the discontent with the two-party system in the UK.

   
As you can see there were plenty of police present at the Demo, to be sure all was safe and well.

   
Throughout the march people with megaphones were encouraging a variety of chants.

   
At one point during the march a small group did try to break away from the route as you can see here, however they weren’t successful – thankfully.

   
Now this is my all time favourite photo from the Demo. I absolutely love this shot.

   
And sticking with favourites, this was my absolute favourite sign at the Demo.

   
Slightly underexposed sadly.

The Birmingham Guild of Students made sure they were seen with a HUGE banner. I love the depth of field in this shot, concentrating on the students marching.

 
It was parliament that caused a lot of debate around the Demo as we turned left when most wanted to go right.

   
A Student Officer en route.

   
Many of those marching were stopped and interviewed for different news sources throughout the March as the media covered the protest.

The rain wasn’t enough to put everyone off, and despite this being underexposed I love it.

   
PCSOs were in Kennington Park watching students in, here stood on the bottom of a statue (just like me taking the shot) to be able to see over.

   
Sadly towards the end some of the protestors decide to take over the stage pushing through and jumping the barriers. In my opinion they simply made a fool of themselves, they barely achieved anything. And by this point my camera was too cold and wet to focus fully but I don’t think it matters here. Wow, what a ‘caption’.

 
And this is the state we left the park in, lush.

On another non-protesty note, I’m a bit behind in Blogging due to lack of laptop at the moment, so I have plenty more photos coming up shortly!

Published!

So the Tory Conference party last week that I went along and photographed? I got one of my photos printed in the Birmingham University newspaper, Redbrick, from it this week. Sadly, it's not credited to me but I can assure you it's mine.

Which photo? This one..

The original

How it appears in the paper.

I'm not keen on how it's been edited but I suppose it's my first publication since I started at Gloucestershire Uni and hopefully it'll be corrected. But if you want to read the article that goes with it by James Phillips, click here and go to page 8.

I Protested Outside the Tory Party Conference

Sunday was an interesting day, a protest in Birmingham. The TUC organised for a protest to happen outside the Tory party conference to show them how angry numerous people from all sorts of backgrounds are about the cuts they are making to the public sector. I'm pretty sure to them it won't make a blind bit of difference but we gave it our best shot and it was great to see so many people coming together in unity for one thing.
Here are some snaps from the event.

I love this photo just for how clearly the woman stands out against all the other dark colours. 

These were some very angry musicians, especially the banjo player (as you can see above). They were singing on their way round the protest.

Onlookers watching from the balconies.

Another musician - Brum surprised me with how musical they are. This young lad was more than happy to pose for a photo.

And the age of the musicians varied all the way round, as did their instruments. 

Fire Bragade Union were out in force at this protest, shouting to everyone just how the cuts are affecting the vital services. 

Some more musicians on the march in the city, these two images I think show how far and wide these cuts reach.

Old and young coming together.

Onlookers again, stood in Victoria Sq. watching the march come to an end. Some of the people had been with us for the duration.

This image is just fabulous in my opinion for no reason other than the banners. Grannies against the cuts - I often forget how it must affect them as well.

All of these images to me show how the actions the Tories are taking, along with the Lib dems in this coalition is causing everybody anger and frustration. It also shows how little the Tories are doing to change this, instead only making it worse. But it also shows how people of all ages and backgrounds can come together in force when there is a point to be made.