Rise 2008: An Account
From blogger Billy Hicks:
"Did you know Boris Johnson actually got rid of the anti-racism message of the Rise festival this year? Every single thing he's done since he became mayor I despise, and I was pleased to see a conga of people at the festival singing 'Boris is a c***, Boris is a c***, na na na na, na na na na'."
Did anyone spot Boris there?
I was there and I've attended most Respect/Rise festivals since the start in 1998. I didn't see Boris, no.
My reflections:
- seeing Terry Hall perform Specials songs was a live highlight of the past few years for me
- sponsorship by the likes of the Canary Wharf Group (rather than the unions) did seem strange
- the mix of all races and the whiff of ganja throughout the park did suggest however that he hasn't managed to turn it into the Henley Regatta. Yet.
- absence of Latin America solidarity stalls didn't ruin the day but post-event I am wondering if that was the thin end of the wedge.
Next year it will probably be a sanitised glorified council fete.
Posted by: Benny | July 14, 2008 at 09:28 AM
Rise this year was better - and better attended - than ever.
Most of the audience didn't seem too heartbroken to be deprived of a series of sanctimonious speeches by Ken, Lee Jasper and the rest.
As for anti-Boris attitude, it certainly wasn't in evidence - apart from a sad gaggle of largely-ignored Trots bleating at the main gate into Finsbury Park.
Posted by: Common Sense | July 14, 2008 at 09:46 AM
"absence of Latin America solidarity stalls didn't ruin the day"
LOL!
You don't say!
Posted by: cjcjc | July 14, 2008 at 02:09 PM
"apart from a sad gaggle of largely-ignored Trots bleating at the main gate into Finsbury Park."
And anyone who uses Trotskyite as a flippant insult shouldn't be damning Jasper and Ken's sanctimonious speeches.
Posted by: OneHopeOneChoice | July 14, 2008 at 05:39 PM