Again, we gathered in Trafalgar Square…
There was quite a buzz…
Object were there…
The NUS were there…
EMFems were there…
Laura was there - but I’ve only just spotted her in the pics. Didn’t see her to say hello…
And there was a band - they were fab.
We all waited patiently…
‘Til it was time to start gathering behind the banner
And then we were off.
There was a fair amount of support from bystanders - some even applauded as we passed.
Look out London!
See the phone booth on the right? EMFems went in all the phone booths along the route, taking down the pimp cards. Yay!
“No, sorry. You can’t proceed with your journey until the women have passed. You’re in for a fair wait because there are rather a lot of them.”
heh.
And they rock!
What a hat…
We marched on. We shouted. We chanted. We whistled. We made our presence felt in the streets of London.
But when we reached this ‘gentlemens’ club, the noise was deafening. Funnily enough, the doors were closed this year. No anxious looking doorman trying to pretend we weren’t there either. On a Saturday night too.
It seemed as if they were hiding from us.
Well, good.
So they should.
(I’ll adjust this pic later so that you can see better.)
See what the stickers say?
“SEXIST”
There was a massive amount of anger directed at that place; at the men who use it and the men who profit from it because their oppression of women underpins the oppression of all women.
No anger at all was directed at the women who service men there.
A woman who lives in the flats above that ‘gentlemens’ club opened her window, raised her hands above her head and applauded us. I couldn’t hear her shouts of encouragement above the din we were making but I knew she was yelling them. No pic, I’m afraid - you’ll just have to believe me when I say she looked like she felt the same way we do. Here’s a pic of even more women expressing that rage instead.
And more…
No wonder they closed their doors tonight, eh? Like so many men, they can only deal with women when we’re naked and vulnerable.
A bit later on there was some impromptu editing of sexist advertising…
…which the Met didn’t take too kindly to.
And we continued to march
With a young chant leader developing her feminist confidence
Isn’t that fab? She was shouting “Women, united, will never be defeated.”
But look. There’s that hat again, whistling and waving to people in their homes who were lending us their support.
There they are!
And here - although this lot seem to be enjoying their own party!
I love it that we get outriders. I love the bikes and I love the lights. I love it that they stop the Saturday night London traffic so that we can literally walk the streets. I love it that their presence lets everybody know that we’re saying something important.
Well, somebody saw something! I have no clue what it was - I just think this is a fab pic.
It’s hard work, marching, and sometimes, when you get to the end, you just gotta sit down…
Or pack up your stuff while you’re waiting to get in to the rally…
“I love doing RTN, yunno. Those women are just so nice.”
“Couldn’t agree more. What’s more, they’re right.”
“You can say that again.”
“Besides, who’s going to say it if they dont?”
“Well, no-one I suppose. We don’t, do we?”
“What, you mean us coppers?”
“No, I mean us men.”
“That’s exactly what I was thinking.”
“Job done. Let’s go.”
“Fancy a pint?”
With love and thanks to Kyndamagic for taking these pictures (plus at least 100 more!) and for the endless respect, love and support. It seriously helps.
22 responses so far ↓
stormy // November 25, 2007 at 11:43 am
Sounds like another great march!
Sadly, I wasn’t able to make it this year, but I will pull out all stops to make it next year.
Well done to all.
(Tee hee hee, Spearmint Dinosaurs cowering behind closed doors!)
hexy // November 25, 2007 at 1:11 pm
Wow! Your RTK is huge!
Ours was shuffled around due to rain this year… unfortunately it resulted in lessened numbers than usual
luckynkl // November 25, 2007 at 1:31 pm
Go, Londoners! Rock that boat! And if you can, tip it on over!
CR // November 25, 2007 at 3:06 pm
Fantastic photos and report. Great to see the action from the front of the march as I was somewhere in the middle. Thanks for this.
delphyne // November 25, 2007 at 4:39 pm
It’s so exciting just reading about it and looking at the pictures. It must have been brilliant to be there, witchy!
Go London Women!
dreamy5 // November 25, 2007 at 5:01 pm
I would have loved to have been there with camera. As it is, the photos are excellent.
justicewalks // November 25, 2007 at 6:14 pm
The picture of the little girl leading the chant is so inspiring! What a nice way to start a Sunday afternoon.
v // November 25, 2007 at 7:45 pm
great stuff
L.M. // November 25, 2007 at 8:30 pm
Wow, it’s amazing, wish I’d been there - thanks for the pics!
Laurelin // November 25, 2007 at 9:00 pm
It was an amazing night. Thanks for posting these photos, Witchy!
Anji // November 25, 2007 at 10:56 pm
It was AWESOME wasn’t it! Your photos rock!
Joanne Payton // November 25, 2007 at 11:31 pm
Wow. Can I take some of your pics for the IKWRO site? You have a lovely one of Diana Nammi there.
witchywoo // November 25, 2007 at 11:57 pm
It was an excellent night. I’m a tad hoarse today though!
Yes Joanne, you can take any pictures you want - thanks for asking. I probably have some that show your banner more prominently - would you like me to have a look for some?
Joanne Payton // November 26, 2007 at 1:19 am
Thanks witchywoo, I did try to take a few myself but my battery didn’t have a lot of charge. Don’t go out of your way to look for me, but if you do come across a few then put them to one side, if that’s no trouble? Great night, everyone, pleased to meet all of you I met and sorry about all I didn’t (next time, eh?)
Laurelin // November 26, 2007 at 1:11 pm
my voice is still almost out today… I just croaked my way through two hours of teaching!
Fanny Blood // November 26, 2007 at 10:49 pm
It’s so wonderful seeing those pictures. It brought back all the memories from last year and how empowered we all felt marching the streets of London. It was an overwhelming night, especially when the public were cheering from the pavements and from their apartments above the shops etc.
I’m gutted I missed this one but will be there next year.
Well done EVERYBODY!
x
Grace // November 27, 2007 at 12:52 pm
Wow fantastic! Makes me even more sad that I had to miss it. Stupid commitments! Well done to all the people who went though, and thanks of behalf of Bham Fems for making the collective voice of UK women heard!!
Michelle // November 27, 2007 at 7:27 pm
RTN was fantastic this year & these pics give a brilliant sense of what it was like on Saturday. Thanks for posting. xx
amber // November 27, 2007 at 10:48 pm
i had a great time at the march with my mum, my nan and friends. It was awesome to see all those women at the march, the songs were wicked and I can’t wait to come back next year. From the little girl at the front.
Liz // November 28, 2007 at 10:13 pm
Ooh, I can see my mum in one of those pictures
It was fantastic
Thanks for putting up all these fab pictures! xxx
secondwaver // November 30, 2007 at 2:28 pm
just love this.
Laurelin // December 6, 2007 at 3:27 am
I just spotted Laura in the pictures! *Waves* Hello!
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