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In this issue

Cover image
Back to Schooldays
Rowson's Comment
Around the Block
News in Brief
Stop the War
Mini-march
Lysistrata Day
Fringe Festival
Straight to the Point
Time to Finnish
Day in the Nick
Starting Over
Readers Letters
Herbal Cleansing
Local Music
Tripping Out
Tippling at the Tup
Property
Housing Matters
Very Testi
Art Happenings
Vietnamese Food
Entertainment
Gardening
Marathon Man
Surfing N16
Man in North Bank
Xword

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Dawn on Saturday was crisp and clear as I headed towards the canteen, as a stream of police vans left the station for central London. The canteen itself had been transformed into a briefing centre for one of three teams of uniformed officers who would be on duty for the anti-war demonstration. Inspector Rock, aided by three sergeants, briefed the 21 PCs he would be in command of today. The tables were littered with the detritus of breakfasts, body armour and personal kit.

'Remember', Inspector Rock was saying, 'Today's march will probably be the largest ever staged in this country. And that the vast majority of people will be going to express their heart-felt opposition to military action. We are there to make sure that everything goes off peacefully. Make sure that those of you who have them take along your A-Zs, because many people coming on the march may never have been to London before and will want to know how to get around central London.'

He ran through all the major points and requirements of the day, and then quietly and with little fuss they were off, in even more vans, to become a small part of what would be the largest peaceful demonstration ever held in this country.

One of the few areas where you will see police officers on foot these days is down at Ridley Road market. I joined PC Andy Stafford, an ex-seaman who saw service during the Falklands war, to spend the rest of the morning on his beat, which covers the market and the surrounding area.

We stopped to chat to a mum and her daughter, and he reminded the young girl that Monday through Friday she had to attend school - and that he was keeping an eye out for her.

As we walked through the market, the back chat flowed between the long arm of the law, market traders and visitors both young and old. A young kid on a bike was quickly and forcefully told to get off and walk his machine through the market.

We cut through the market into the shopping centre, exchanging greetings with security staff, and shoppers. On a swift trawl through Sainsburys, PC Stafford explained that high visibility policing helped to cut down on bag-snatching and shop-lifting.

Back in the market, we talked to two of the stall holders who are connected by radio to both the shopping centre security team and the police mini station, which is always manned while the market is in operation. Both agreed that the radio net allowed information to be quickly passed around and that it had genuinely helped to reduce crime in the area.

A quick call into the market police office, staffed by a mix of regular and special police officers. A distressed woman was reporting the theft of her bag, and a youth was being questioned over the loss of a silver bracelet. And then we were off again down the road, on a sweep for illegal tobacco sellers.

As we neared The Waste, Andy removed his helmet to gain a few seconds' advantage before he was spotted. It quickly became clear why. A small group of men dashed off as we approached. As we reached the spot, a local trader emerged and pointed to a stash of illegal tobacco dumped in a bin. The cartons were confiscated, and later handed over to Customs for eventual destruction.

Lunch-time was fast approaching as we headed up the hill towards the station. A chance to grab some food, watch Arsenal stuff Man United and then back out in an area car for part of the afternoon shift. This time I joined PCs Sean Wheland and Dawn Hopkins. We headed south, and within minutes the CAD was calling for assistance at a local estate - a domestic situation. As Dawn put her foot down, Sean took the details. Minutes later we were searching for the right flat. A young man let us in and we entered a living room where we found a small boy and a woman.

The couple had been separated for a short while and there had been a major disagreement as to how long the dad could have with his son. Sean, with his softlyspoken Irish lilt, quietly but firmly took hold of the situation. He pointed out that the most important individual in the room was the young boy and that both parents needed to sort out access agreements and stick to them. If either of them called the police again that afternoon, he would arrest the pair of them.

An agreement was reached and, with the situation defused, we left them to get on with their lives.

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