Free lunch not provided

I have remembered about the Rally against debt too late today (and also lost time on a train thanks to the usual London Underground excellent service), so maybe that was the reason I saw only a handful of people there. But basing on live tweets and reports I didn't miss much. When I arrived, the crowd was only that large:



Plenty of signs were piled on a lawn so while there was a possibility they've all had a protester to wield them an hour ago, more likely it was a pitiful case of supply's prevalence over demand typical for a controlled market:



I expected no young people there due to the students' recent rage over cuts, but some of them were around. The whole crowd wasn't unreservedly old, with average age around 30-35:



"Keep calm and carry on":



UKIP sign (I read on Twitter EU flag was burned earlier but didn't witness that):



A couple of random shots:





A group mocking the left-wingers:



Don't know if that impersonation was really necessary as the lefty anti-war activists were based, as always, just across the road on the Parliament square (this time demanding to, uhm, end freemasonry).

As the Old Palace Yard where the rally was organised is between the Houses of Parliament and the Westminster Abbey, there were swarms of bloody foreigners tourists wandering around and demanding the police officers overseeing the situation to pose for them. On the other hand, tourists apparently doubled the amount of attendants at any given moment.

Speaking of the place choice, the George V statue was also not very relevant as the UK national debt sky-rocketed to almost 200% GDP during his reign.

I also loved the advice on event's site telling how long would it be to get to the place by taxi. That was classy.

P.S. I caught a short glimpse of the spectacular TPA's lorry with live debt counter on its side, and I can admit it was impressive. For some reason it only made a short appearance and drove away before I managed to take a picture.

P.P.S. A coverage from a right-wing perspective: http://byrnetofferings.com/2011/05/14/why-i-didnt-attend-the-rally-against-debt/