Crumbs

Usually I think of myself as a rather nice loaf of bread. A little tough on the outside, soft and squishy on the inside but every now and then I feel like I am in danger of becoming a pile of crumbs.

Like now, after the pretty stressful photo shoot I did yesterday afternoon. It was one of the most difficult shoots I have ever done. Harder than when I've been at large demonstrations against the English Defence League in Cambridge, London or Norwich.

Yesterday I was photographing a 'peaceful march against extremism' in Norwich which was one of several happening throughout the country under the banner of 'Woolwich Strong'.

The march started in Chapelfield Gardens and then went to the War Memorial where participants observed a one-minute silence. Some people were remembering Lee Rigby, the soldier murdered in Woolwich, others were remembering all victims of terrorism or extremism, others were remembering people who had died in combat, others - like me - were simply reflecting on the many acts of senseless violence we hear about on a daily basis.

If you look at my entry from yesterday you will see a couple taking a private moment just after the one-minute silence ended and the small crowd was beginning to disperse.

Unfortunately their peace was disturbed by one EDL supporter yelling 'right, let's go to the fucking mosque now'. Fortunately they didnt, but went to the pub instead.

These peaceful marches may have been organised by local, well meaning peace loving people but they have proved - in many towns, including Norwich - to attract some hard-core English Defence League supporters.

In Norwich the organiser, a young mum of two little girls, hoped that about 300 people would turn up. I would say there were more like 60-70. And I recognised about 25 of those as EDL activists.

Yes, the event passed off peacefully but the atmosphere was - shall we say - tense.

And on reflection I think I find the EDL easier to deal with when they are pissed and rowdy rather than sober and menacing.

There's a meeting taking place in Norwich organised by Unite Against Fascism on Thursday evening to discuss how we can tackle the steady, creeping increase in activity of far-right organisations.

Have a look at my LookSeeClick Photography page on Facebook if you want to see the full set of photos.

It's going to be a long game.