You meet people who are into cycling everywhere. Jim the ITV cameraman is into his bikes. He's got a Felt, thinking of upgrading it soon.I bumped into him on a traffic island near Trafalgar Square last Saturday. Not literally. I was walking, he was working. I thought he was there for the Tour of Britain, but it turned out he was waiting for the Pope.
Jim thought the London stage was on the Sunday, had even planned to catch it. There was no way they would allow the Tour and the Pope to travel along the same streets, he said. Imagine the chaos.
We were both wrong. The final leg of the Tour was being held that Saturday, but it wasn't going round the Embankment like last year. In my blind faith at events being repeated in the same location, I had neglected to find out the change of venue to the Docklands. Some five miles to the east.
Seeing as it was halfway through already, I had no chance of making it. I had to settle for the anti-pope demonstration instead. Tens of thousands of clergy haters wielding smart-arse banners. More than a few with condoms on their heads.
Quite a spectacle, although not quite what I had in mind.
If I had been a man of faith, this would have been considered a test.
Those pope issues seriously need some stopping power. It's really surprising to see a large protest anywhere outside of San Francisco. It just seems that living here in SF, it's just the melting pot of all political protests period. There's a riot in Oakland every month. I'm actually thinking about going to the next riot in a Panda suit.
ReplyDelete