Instagram – John Beardsworth

Instagram

John Sep 6, 2018

I often post new pictures to Instagram and odd videos on YouTube. Don’t take this as evidence of any burgeoning or semi-coherent social media strategy, let alone of any ambition to become an “influencer” or whatever. It’s partly a demonstration that I am still alive, if anyone out there is kind enough to wonder.

johnbeardy

Charing Cross, central London #brokenbritain #br

Charing Cross, central London

#brokenbritain #brexit #brexitstan #Streetscenes #fujifilm #fujifilmuk #lightroom #madewithlightroom

“Just Eat People” Wondering whether to turn l

“Just Eat People”

Wondering whether to turn left or right as I left Charing Cross station, I noticed flashes of something orange in the far corner of Trafalgar Square. Just Stop Oil was my first thought, or Just Get Arrested as they might be called, but instead I found three TRex (or should that be TRegum?) which is something you don’t often see in central London, in leafy Dulwich or anywhere else. Eventually they disappeared round the back of the ENO, and apparently they’re from a show called The Mongol Khan - which sounds neither English nor operatic and must have an even looser connection to history than the new Napoleon movie!

@themongolkhan #street #streetphotography
#fujifilm #fujifilmuk #lightroom #madewithlightroom

March against @Antisemitism, Sunday #releasetheho

March against @Antisemitism, Sunday

#releasethehostages #bringthemhome #israelgazawar
#fujifilm #fujifilmuk #lightroom #madewithlightroom

Pro-Palestine rally in central London, Saturday.

Pro-Palestine rally in central London, Saturday.

Not sure what if anything to say about today. After so many protests, the pause in fighting and thankfully the release of some hostages, and without the reaction to Suella’s inflammatory drivel, was it more subdued than before? Or was it more me struggling for inspiration, my mind on tomorrow’s anti-semitism march - and just too damn cold?

Oh, picture #2 might look a bit threatening but the bloke did laugh once I pointed out where he was standing!

#freepalestine #palestine #savepalestine #gaza #israel #muslim #boycottisrael #westbank #palestinewillbefree #bds #savegaza #palestinian #gazaunderattack #apartheid #palestinianlivesmatter #alquds #palestinians #prayforpalestine #alaqsa #nakba
#fujifilm #fujifilmuk #lightroom #madewithlightroom

Just Stop Oil, Just Stopped Quickly A nice walk i

Just Stop Oil, Just Stopped Quickly

A nice walk in glorious autumn sunshine, this time the protesters stayed on the pavement until Downing Street. In the time that it takes for traffic lights to change from red to green, as soon as they had blocked the road - or rather the “national infrastructure” - they were carried off to the side, arrested, and taken away. I wonder how much they think the protest really achieved.

#Climatechange #Demonstration #Demonstrators #Environment #Environmentalism #JustStopOil #Politics #Protest #Protesters #Streetscenes
#fujifilm #fujifilmuk #lightroom #madewithlightroom

Just Stop Oil, Just Stopped Quickly As Just Stop

Just Stop Oil, Just Stopped Quickly

As Just Stop Oil don’t generally publicise their protest locations in advance, the action can be all over by the time you might hear that they’re happening. That does make it awkward to snap (or photograph or document) these events. But yesterday was the first of a series of daily slow-walking protests down Whitehall, and no doubt this helped the Metropolitan Police minimise its impact. Just Stop Oil crossed the road, and Just Stop Oil got arrested - end of protest.

I do wonder if their actions like attacking paintings and interrupting sporting events are counter-productive, and slowing central London traffic isn’t going to make much difference (try reaching the stupid 20mph limit there most days!). Apart from alienating potential supporters, don’t they just encouraging government to introduce more legal restrictions for the police to misinterpret and use to stifle other legitimate protest?

#Climatechange #Demonstration #Demonstrators #Environment #Environmentalism #JustStopOil #Politics #Protest #Protesters #Streetscenes #fujifilm #fujifilmuk #lightroom #madewithlightroom

A couple more pro-Palestine protests calling for a

A couple more pro-Palestine protests calling for a ceasefire, one in Camberwell on my route into town when it was perhaps too wet to photograph, while the Palestinian Forum’s Whitehall rally only became photogenic once it was too dark for pictures.

Piers Corbyn’s appearance in Camberwell shouldn’t have surprised me as I’ve encountered him at protests against the EU, against Covid lockdowns, against Covid vaccines, against helping Ukraine defend itself against Russia, against the ULEZ, against banning XL Bullies, and probably at a few that I’ve forgotten. Yesterday he seemed to take exception to a party bus pumping out Michael Jackson, though I doubt he noticed what was being played…. Don’t Stop Till You Get Enough. Couldn't be any more surreally-inappropriate, could it?!

#freepalestine #palestine #savepalestine #gaza #israel #muslim #boycottisrael #westbank #palestinewillbefree #bds #savegaza #palestinian #gazaunderattack #apartheid #palestinianlivesmatter #alquds #palestinians #prayforpalestine #alaqsa #nakba
#fujifilm #fujifilmuk #lightroom #madewithlightroom

Torn posters demanding the release of hostages tak

Torn posters demanding the release of hostages taken by Hamas, from streets close to the synagogues near Portman Square and then along bus route 13 from Baker Street to Golders Green.

Almost 40 years ago, three of us shared a flat in Golders Green in the heart of the Hasidic area. A memorable 6 months or so, I recall how the local Orthodox men never let you pass in the street but expected you to make way, and we frequently got charity flyers depicting greater Isreal (including the West Bank) and listing their achievements including “campaigning against and stopping intermarriage” - we used to send their prepaid envelopes back to them filled with stones or anything heavy so they’d get charged extra postage. The flat itself was pretty dreadful and the disgusting landlord (an Israeli who had decorated one wall with photos of F4 Phantoms) continually pestered one of my flatmates for sex and was obsessed with whether I or my friend Phil was “getting his supplies” from her (neither of us, if you’re wondering!). We escaped back to SW London as soon as we could, and while I’ve passed through Golders Green in the car I’ve never set foot there again.

Interesting how it’s changed. The main drag no longer seems so prosperous, and cafes and charities have replaced mid-1980s fashion shops whose prices and gaudy styles (think Wham) used to astonish this trainee chartered accountant. But the biggest difference is how it doesn’t feel as distinctly Jewish as in my memories. While the Orthodox Jewish character remains strong further down the road, what’s new is the arrival of the wider Middle East, and this seemed reflected in the Kidnapped posters. As numerous as I’d expected, here on bus stops rather than jostling for space with telephone kiosk “model” cards, but plenty were torn in needless acts of desecration.

#releasethehostages #bringthemhome
#israelgazawar #fujifilm #fujifilmuk #lightroom #madewithlightroom

Supreme Failures at the Supreme Court after the Rw

Supreme Failures at the Supreme Court after the Rwanda scheme was ruled unlawful.

#generalelectionnow #politicsuk #suellabraverman
#fujifilm #fujifilmuk #lightroom #madewithlightroom

Saturday was a long day, and while the right wing

Saturday was a long day, and while the right wing yobs defended the Cenotaph by attacking the police (how very January 6th!), I was already over in the Barbican area and getting a bunch of “John, I bet you’re in Whitehall and hope you’re safe” texts. Sweet, eh? But even if I’d known trouble was brewing, it wasn’t my thing. Photo opportunities were as plentiful, and a whole lot safer, in the assembly area for the Lord Mayor’s Show.

Featuring:
- Furniture Makers Company. @furnituremakerscompany
- Guilds of Zurich
- Lagos state, Nigeria
- The Army
- Members of the Mongol Khan watch the British Army
- The wonderful Newgate Street giraffes

@lordmayorsshow #LordMayorsShow
#cityoflondon
#fujifilm #fujifilmuk #lightroom #madewithlightroom

Pro-Palestine rally in central London, Saturday.

Pro-Palestine rally in central London, Saturday.

Also a right wing protester with his cross of St George flag on a twig. I was busy all morning and when walked down Whitehall just after 1pm I saw a few EDL-types but none of the earlier trouble, and the Pimlico pub where police made 80 arrests was right on the march route but again I had no idea until afterwards. And as before, the march itself had a family atmosphere. Does anyone doubt that Braverman made the police's job so much harder?

#freepalestine #palestine #savepalestine #gaza #israel #muslim #boycottisrael #westbank #palestinewillbefree #bds #savegaza #palestinian #gazaunderattack #apartheid #palestinianlivesmatter #alquds #palestinians #prayforpalestine #alaqsa #nakba

#fujifilm #fujifilmuk #lightroom #madewithlightroom

Until now I’ve not taken any photos at pro-Israe

Until now I’ve not taken any photos at pro-Israeli protests here in London but only because - for sadly obvious reasons - the events aren't widely publicised and I’ve not known where they were happening . So yesterday it was only by chance that I ran into this somber gathering opposite Downing Street of maybe 200 people (plus 5-6 security guards hired at their own expense).

#releasethehostages
#israelgazawar #fujifilm #fujifilmuk #lightroom #madewithlightroom

His Majesty Charles the Third, by the Grace of God

His Majesty Charles the Third, by the Grace of God, of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and of His other Realms and Territories King, Head of the Commonwealth, Defender of the Faith, arrives for the State Opening of Parliament.

Not sure where the Union Jack waving crowds or the bemused tourists had gone, but this morning Whitehall was surprisingly easy to move around and Republic's protest dominated the corner or Whitehall and Parliament Square.

@RepublicCampaign
#monarchy #republicanism #republicuk
#fujifilm #fujifilmuk #lightroom #madewithlightroom

Reflections, City of London #reflections #taxi #l

Reflections, City of London

#reflections #taxi #londoncab
#fujifilm #fujifilmuk #lightroom #madewithlightroom

Pro-Palestine rally in central London, Saturday, f

Pro-Palestine rally in central London, Saturday, featuring:
- Sit-in in Charing Cross Station
- Later protests outside McDonalds and in Trafalgar Square
- More entries to the dogs-in-demos collection
- Submission, and Charles I’s statue

#freepalestine #palestine #savepalestine #gaza #israel #muslim #boycottisrael #westbank #palestinewillbefree #bds #savegaza #palestinian #gazaunderattack #apartheid #palestinianlivesmatter #alquds #palestinians #prayforpalestine #alaqsa #nakba

#fujifilm #fujifilmuk #lightroom #madewithlightroom

Down in the tube station at midday, the wine's in

Down in the tube station at midday, the wine's in the fridge and early for curry 😉 .

#publictransport #tfl #londonunderground #tube
#fujifilm #fujifilmuk #lightroom #madewithlightroom

Pro-Palestine rally in central London, Saturday, e

Pro-Palestine rally in central London, Saturday, even-bigger than last week.

There was an appearance by the strange anti-Zionist Charedi sect who led the “Palestine will be free - from the river to the sea” chants, and one of the two reported arrests which happened just by me.

I didn’t see what he did, though I was impressed by how quickly he was extracted from such a large crowd.

And if anyone is curious about what happened, I spotted this video by someone who must have been just to my left https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-12682805/Protesters-chanting-river-sea-Palestine-free-march-central-London-demonstration-against-Israel-amid-calls-police-clampdown-anti-Jewish-chanting.html Apparently he hit a policeman using a loud hailer.

#freepalestine #palestine #savepalestine #gaza #israel #muslim #boycottisrael #westbank #palestinewillbefree #bds #savegaza #palestinian #gazaunderattack #apartheid #palestinianlivesmatter #alquds #palestinians #prayforpalestine #alaqsa #nakba

#fujifilm #fujifilmuk #lightroom #madewithlightroom

October light, in the City #fujifilm #fujifilmuk

October light, in the City

#fujifilm #fujifilmuk #lightroom #madewithlightroom

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