Reflections on the RWB 2008

And we never saw one Labour Party thug!

That was a bit of a disappointment for my sixteen year old son especially after we had received a call to our hotel on Saturday morning warning that 200-odd of Gordon Brown's militia were rampaging unchecked by the police along Codnor Lane. We drove in from Belper and never saw a single protestor, so presumably all the action was at the other end of the lane.

During the day we heard lots of police sirens and there were helicopters circling overhead but otherwise most people at the RWB 2008 were completely unaware of the scenes taking place outside.

Now, of course, we know about the serious disturbances that were taking place, but at three o'clock on the Saturday afternoon the BBC were still trying to put a positive spin on the actions of the Labour Party thugs, quoting a senior police as saying that the demonstrators were behaving "impeccably'. At this stage the arrested tally was just six. The BBC were also still pushing the line that there were 700 protestors. Thankfully most of the other media outlets had the more realistic figure of just 200.

As for the RWB itself it was definitely the best attended ever and the stalls and political agenda were the most professionally organised in the event's history.

Here are my highlights of the weekend:

Richard Lumby's talk on Community Politics late on Saturday afternoon was excellent. Richard explained how he was already acting as an unofficial councillor for his ward dealing with people's problems even though he wasn't yet elected. His summary of how many of the older generation were seeing the breakdown of our society was spot on and really struck a chord with those over 50 in his audience - (the political marquee was packed).

While I have recorded in Freedom, Richard's excellent election results in his Shard End ward over the years, I haven't met him or heard him speak before and it gave me a great boost to know that that such dedicated politicians and effective speakers are rising steadily through the ranks of our Party.

Also on Saturday I enjoyed a bowl of jellied eels from the London stall, something I haven't had for more than twenty years. When I was an on-course bookmaker touring the southern circuit of racetracks in the early 1970s I used to breakfast on jellied eels as soon as arrived at the course. Then in later years when I was working for the old National Front in Croydon and then later East Ham, I used to have a punnet of jellied eels when the sellers used to come around the local pub on the Friday evening.

On Sunday morning, the Reverend Robert West's service was very, very, good. I'm tempted to use the word 'uplifting' but that sounds a bit crass. It was just very satisfying to sit in peace for nearly an hour, to sing some of your favourite hymns and to listen to a very relevant sermon, alongside political colleagues in a packed marquee.

On Sunday I also enjoyed the best cup of coffee of the weekend and four super Welsh cakes from the Swansea BNP stall.

I thought Worcestershire had a good tent with its darts and find a gold nail game, but my favourite tent has to be the one representing the South East. They had a great selection of second hand books which put my mother-in-law in an excellent mood. She bought three books on Friday evening and another six on Saturday and when she's a good mood, everyone else around her is happy too!!

It's a big issue of Freedom coming up at the end of this month. It's a Meet the Real BNP type issue and focusing in the main on what the Party's units are doing up and down the country. So if you have a story with a photo showing the BNP as we really are then make sure you send it to me at freedom@bnp.org.uk - there are about seven days left till deadline.

Your RWB photos would also be appreciated and if anyone has a photo of the demonstrating Labour Party thugs that would be useful too.