Guy Robinson

With George W. Bush coming to London next week I thought it would be a
good time to discuss the impact of democratic protests on tourists in
London.

During protest days you should expect to have to mainly walk across
London because the route for the march will be closed to traffic and a
lot of underground stations are prone to be closed on short notice.
The numbers that turn up for these protests can be staggering, as one
recent anti-war march was later acknowledged to have in access of two
million people attending it.

Also expect the police to restrict your movements. They will have two
concerns, keeping George W. Bush safe and containing the protest.
Streets will be closed off and admittance to some places will be
completely forbidden. If a policeman bars your way don't be afraid to
be ask him for an alternative route.

Due to new draconic anti-terrorism laws police can stop, search and
detain people so make sure you can recognise UK police uniforms and
identification cards. Bush's visit is not a good time to be found
carrying anything that can be mistaken for a weapon or even eggs,
flour and other that things British people typically like to throw at
politicians to disgrace them.

Joining a march can is a possibility as long as you are patient enough
to cope with regular, unexplained stoppages. At the starting points
you can generally find a protest banner that suits your beliefs and
you'll find that every peaceful protester will be welcome. You'll
find a wide array of opinions but the majority will be anti-war and
anti-militarism protestors.

Americans who want to join the protest but feel nervous about
attending should probably consider carrying a copy of "Hey Dude,
Where's my Country?" with them.

People who want to welcome Bush should probably contact the American
embassy in London. This will probably be the most dangerous the of
the two events to attend, with threats to life and limb coming from
assassination attempts, from over-reactions to direct action protests
and from people being shot by accident by American security.

Avoiding both the protest marches and Bush's visit in London is
possible but remember that you will probably be inconvenienced by both
unless you are patient, resourceful and prepared. These days would
probably be a good time to visit places outside of Central London,
such as Greenwich and Battersea.

Travelling into London on the days of George W. Bush's visit should be
done early and you should expect trains to be crowded and
cancellations to be made to reduce the people able to travel into the
capital and exercise their democratic right to protest.

Miss L. Toe

    > Travelling into London on the days of George W. Bush's visit should be
    > done early and you should expect trains to be crowded and
    > cancellations to be made to reduce the people able to travel into the
    > capital and exercise their democratic right to protest.

Nah - thats just normal for the trains over here - Dont get paranoid.

Keith Willshaw

"Guy Robinson" <> wrote in message
news:...

    > Travelling into London on the days of George W. Bush's visit should be
    > done early and you should expect trains to be crowded and
    > cancellations to be made to reduce the people able to travel into the
    > capital and exercise their democratic right to protest.

More likely cancellations will happen because of the train drivers
dispute.

Keith

Reid

Following up to Guy Robinson

    >Travelling into London on the days of George W. Bush's visit should be
    >done early and you should expect trains to be crowded

Its called the morning rush hour.

Owain

"Miss L. Toe" wrote ...
    | > Travelling into London on the days of George W. Bush's visit
    | > should be done early and you should expect trains to be crowded
    | > and cancellations to be made to reduce the people able to
    | > travel into the capital and exercise their democratic right
    | > to protest.
    | Nah - thats just normal for the trains over here - Dont get paranoid.

There's no need for Mr Bush to come over and disrupt the trains. That's
London Transport's job.

Owain

Mrfalafel

(Guy Robinson) wrote in message news:<>...
    > With George W. Bush coming to London next week I thought it would be a
    > good time to discuss the impact of democratic protests on tourists in
    > London.
    >
<snip>

Americans wishing to join other Americans in London for this protest
should go here: http://expatsagainstbush.typepad.com..._on_plans.html

Oh and I've been in London during the big protests and they aren't as
disruptive as they sound. London is a big city and only about 60,000
to a 100,000 protestors are expected. There will be cops all over the
place. If you don't want to participate why not plan on spending the
day at the Tower of London or Hampton Court which will be far away
from the protests.

Dcheretic

I was in London in March during anti-war protests. They were a bit of an
inconvenience, but the city was still quite accessible. Some of the statues in
Parliament Square were boarded up to protect against vandalism and some of the
Tube stations were closed.

It's important to note that these protests are against the Bush administration,
not the United States and American people. During the March protests, there
were large, visible contingents of American participants. I found it
fascinating.

Congokid

In article <>, Guy
Robinson <> writes

    >Joining a march can is a possibility as long as you are patient enough
    >to cope with regular, unexplained stoppages.

Your 'stoppage' could last most of the day as security forces in London
have taken to containing demonstrators within an enclosed area for very
long periods of time, as happened at a May Day demo a few years ago.
Tourists caught up in the crowd couldn't get out no matter how much they
pleaded.