On 24th April, here in the UK, there was the second Unite For Freedom protest march in London, predicted to be so much bigger than the first one which had 100K people in attendance, I wasn't able to go on the first one but I was determined to go on this one after seeing everybody's photos and hearing their wonderful stories from the first one.
As per usual I left it to the 11th hour and quickly WhatsApped my best friend, 72 year old Sue, who lives 2 doors down to ask if she wanted to go with me, we had previously discussed going together then it fizzled out. She replied back saying that she was already going and thought I wasn't due to my new job so she hadn't asked me, but I asked if I could cadge a lift down in her car with her and then we would split up and meet our own friends, as she was meeting some people and I was going to meet my eldest daughters best friends from Birmingham who I had never met before!
The tube down to Green Park station was unusually quiet, it was full, but not heaving, we all got seats, but when I walked out of the tunnel into Green Park itself, well, what a sight to behold, a sea of people all standing in the sunshine, laughing, maskless, I could see their faces! Hugging each other, talking to strangers, revelling in human contact, all gathered for a united cause, to protect the freedoms of everyone in the country and all those to come, for every elderly person in the last throes of their lives to every unborn child yet to arrive, we were gathered to march for bodily autonomy, to march against forced vaccinations, against vaccine passports, against the lies told to us by government and the media.
I met my friends in Hyde Park and when the loud bang of the flare signalled the start of the march, a crowd of people that streteched so far into the distnace it was impossible to see the end, walked calmly through the gates of the park out onto the streets of London, people were singing, chanting, playing music, blowing whistles, sounding airhorns, burning sage smudge sticks, offering free hugs and dancing to drums.
For the next 3 hours, this peaceful snake wound its way through London, full of love and hope, it was a carnival atmosphere, it didn't feel how I'd imagine a protest rally to feel, after all I'd only ever seen mainstream media's version of rallies and they were never good, and now I know why, when they are peaceful and full of love it doesn't fit the government agenda which feeds off fear and devisiveness.
So why was this experience 'tragic' for me? Because when I happily shared my photos on Instagram, my friend of 20 years commented "Oh dear Anna. How tragic to see you on this" despite he himself having his profile photo set as him at an anti Brexit rally, waving the European Union flag. But then he does work for the BBC, so what can you expect?
