General Chat

Because there is a pandemic, OH and I have barely left the house for a year. We are not supposed to be in contact with other people for fear of spreading the disease as well as the somewhat reduced fear of us catching this killer disease which is working our medical personnel into the ground.Nobody should be on the streets yet, unless it is necessary.

Very sadly, a young woman has been murdered whilst walking on the street at night, probably made a more visible target because of the sparsity of people.

Of course this is desperately sad and totally wrong and should never have happened but i don't remember there ever having been a vigil held for other murder victims.

Even after those planning the event were told by the Metropolitan Police, headed by a woman, that a vigil would be illegal, due to the prevailing circumstances, it went ahead. The tabloid newspapers are condoning it and praising the allegation that the Duchess of Cambridge attended was in attendance..

It is a bloody pandemic we are living through, it kills millions of people and is slowly being brought under control by care, sense and social distancing. Yes, we have all had enough of it, yes we desperately need to keep our right to hold vigils, demonstrations, protests, marches and any other thing we choose apart from public executions, but not at the risk of re-igniting the infection level of a killer disease which is grinding the precious NHS into the ground and costing the nation money it may never recoup.

Is it a step forward for women that they may well have caused a woman who has risen to the position that she is responsible for their protection to lose that job when you can be sure it will be a man who is appointed to it next time?

Oh, Sharon, I've just posted something similar!

I agree with you.

How many of those women who defied the law knowingly had to walk home, alone, in the dark streets.


There is now footage of the police trying to reason with the crowds , trying to get them to disperse and were being shouted at. There was a huge number of people there, of course the police would have to attend.

The police are human too. That needs to be remembered during the pandemic - they have their fears too - unlike the people on the Common.

How many people are going to die of covid thanks to the selfish do gooders. A doorstep vigil would have been enough to show support and would have been safe. I am horrified by these women calling for safety but risking not only there own health but lord knows how many others.
The police were totally in the right for trying to disperse them and by getting 'firm' with those that were agressive

Rant over, well for now anyway :-|

Sorry, Sharron didn't see your Thread....this is what I wrote on Joy's Thread

I was both saddened and sickened by what happened to Sarah so much so that I lit a candle and placed it in my porch at 21:30 on Saturday. to remember her%26lt%3B3

However, I totally disagreed with the mass gathering that took place on Clapham Common on Saturday evening. I think the Police were caught between a rock and a hard place and put in a position that they were damned if do and damned if they don't.
Apart from the serious Covid health aspect allowing it to go on would set a precedent for all future mass gatherings meaning any future court cases against those charge with mass gathering offences would be thrown out of court.

It wasn't a pretty sight seeing male police officers handcuffing young females but like with a lot of news coverage we don't no what led to those actions %3A-%28

In total agreement with you Sharron.

There will be many different accounts of what happened last night, I have read a very different account from the one the press are pushing, (and it didn't make pleasant reading) but fact is the vigil/protest shouldn't have taken place anyway.

I think the positive press given throughout the day to the Duchess of Cambridge going made some people think it was ok, even though it was banned.

Transferring comments from my earlier thread to this one, Sharron. as both are similar so it makes sense to have only one thread running:


JoyLouise JoyLouise Report Edit Delete 15 Mar 2021 10:44

I am posting this in response to Rollo's entry near the end of the 'Harry and Meghan' thread:

Rollo, do you think your reference to the 'vigil' ought to have a thread of its own?

I believe it was not the time to hold a mass meeting no matter what people want to call it. I have watched television footage of this and, for what it's worth, as far as I could see, the officers only used restraint techniques against those who struggled to avoid arrest.

I have not always agreed with Cressida Dick but on this occasion I am pleased that she is backing her officers who were only doing their duty in responding to what was an illegal meeting. The Mayor of London ought to be standing firmly behind her, as should our government.

I'm afraid I take a different view. Although I think it wrong for all these women to be crowded together in one place, I think that if the original vigil had been allowed to go ahead there wouldn't have been quite so many there and in any case from what I saw on TV most were wearing masks. It was said on TV this morning that even the scientists don't think this type of outdoor gathering causes spikes in numbers of Covid.

The issue I have with the police is that they spent the day doing nothing at all about the crowds and waited until night time when it was dark before they started arresting people and being heavy handed. Did they think the heavy handedness would be less likely to be filmed? Police forces in other parts of the country managed these vigils in a better way and I think the Met. need to re-think their methods of policing overall.

Kath. x

I did not spot any heavy handedness, Kath, only normal restraint techniques.

I think the police were kept waiting for any response to the decision by the powers-that-be, too. They would also have been mindful of the fact that one of their own has been taken into custody for the crime so much more likely to abide by legal decisions and not put a foot wrong.

My son used to work for the police Joy, and he said that if two male police officers can't restrain a young women who was slight in build without getting her face down on the floor and handcuffing her then there is something wrong somewhere, and police officers shouldn't have to wait to make an arrest if arrest is necessary.

Kath. x

You should see some of the women round here they fight like bears :-|.

Of course they could restrain her under normal circumstances but how many others might have piled in on them at this'peaceful' vigil? They needed to look tough to take control.

I also wonder how many were there for a peaceful vigil and how many fo a different pace to go after all this time.

I also agree with Sharron. OH and I have been saying the same. I think the people could have stood outside their homes with a candle/light and made an impact that way.

My husband and my brother also used to work in law enforcement - one of them in a force not too far from you. They have both been kicked, had punches thrown at them, spat at and even attempts at gouging.

Sometimes a slight young woman can thrash about so much to avoid arrest, that it can take two to arrest and handcuff her.

Oh well, I can disagree without falling out over it. I still think the Met. need a good overhaul.

Kath. x

That would have been a much more acceptable response under the present threat of spread of the virus, Just Ginnie.

Also, it seemed to be named a vigil and a 'Reclaim the Streets' gathering. Both could have taken place at a later date when it was much safer to do so.

I can easily agree to disagree, Kath. We just hold opposing views in this case - and we are entitled to do so too.

Glad to hear that Joy. There is another thread running where people have been less than friendly and I tend to stay away from those altogether.

EDIT - Just checked and the thread seems to have been deleted.

Kath. x

I know which one you mean, Kath.

Although, you could don your armour and wade in if you disagree with what's on the other thread. :-D

(Not checked, but thanks Kath.)

...and yet a football match was allowed to go ahead in Scotland, and hundreds of fans were outside the ground....