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Manchester Mayday celebrations against capital

mayday | 02.05.2006 13:33 | Mayday 2006

Rain spoiled a picnic against capitalism in Manchester on Sunday, but Mayday celebrations went ahead despite the bad weather with samba, soundsytem, a small demonstration and lots of dancing.

trying to find shelter for the picnic

samba band

you are not your things

samba gets replace by soundsystem

rain drives celebrations into city centre

spontaneous demo

a break in front of Chetham Library

Mayday dancing

reclaiming the Printworks

Mayday: a 24 hour thing?

kidz enjoying the music

The Mayday06 collective in Manchester had called a picnic of anti-capitalists for Sunday 30 April. Hundreds of sandwiches were made; people brought juggling stuff and drums. But due to the downpour the picnic could not go ahead as planned.

Nonetheless, the samba band Baraka entertained up to 100 Mayday’ers for over an hour in the rain in Piccadilly Gardens. Lots of by-passers enjoyed a dance and the free sandwiches. Only a shop manager voiced his anger at the “noise” when he ran out to steal the main Mayday banner.

The rain then drove a group of 50 Mayday’ers away from Piccadilly Gardens and towards the city, Market Street and the Urbis. The samba band was replaced by a mobile soundsystem playing reggae tunes. At one occasion police officers tried to push the unauthorised march off the road onto the pavement – unsuccessfully.

The Mayday celebrations continued with an hour of dancing and games in front of the Chetham School of Music and Chetham Library, in which Karl Marx and Frederic Engels had discussed the evils of capitalism and Engels wrote his book “The Condition of the Working Class in England”.

There is no better place for entertainment and celebrations in Manchester than the Printworks – a factory turned into a temple for consumerism with its bars, restaurants and cinemas. Mayday celebrations thus continued there with more music and (unfortunately unsuccessful) attempts to take down a few St. George’s flags. 30 minutes later Mayday’ers left the building to avoid confrontation with the police and called an end to a rainy but fun day.

mayday

Comments

Display the following 55 comments

da dee da — hmmm
You Are Not Your Things — Mime
well bum — de niro
Re:^ — Mime
well mime, — ren
Lets all criticise those who got off their arses — Combat Combat 18
raas — brooklyn
Free — Mime
oh no — theworldsgonetoshit
"Perhaps some just enjoyed the free samba, reggae and sandwiches!" — the middle finger
Anticapitalists of the world, unite! — anticap
ok — huw
MIME — ah jesus christ!
yep — pepper
Activist? — Mime
Mayday07 decision — Mayday07 Collective
hmm — huw
huw? — was there
nah — huw
FFS DO SOMETHING!! — rob
maydays in manchester — heather
further... — Mime
further... — Mime
and there you have it folks — huw
??? — raph
raph — heather
Raph, — Io's personal view who plays in Rhythms of Resistance Band
ps — io
response to raph — huw
io, you got it completely wrong — raph
well.. — Mime
well.. — Mime
Taken well seriously... — Nonymice
raph, seems u cant remember ur own entries — io
.... — io
raph — rob
beyond the hurt feelings and er..lively nature of some comments — heather
won't keep repeating points already made but i just want to answer this: — heather
... — mime
... — mime
reflecting — io on a sunny day
its simple really — huw
x — x
hee hee! — io
x back at u — x back at u
*bangs head on brick wall* — heather
oops — heather
X & all — a concerned mother
i think people are confused. — x
my last post on this — raph
awww — last word
oi — huw
Last words — rob
what it is — mickfuzz
you go girl — rob

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Manchester Mayday celebrations against capital

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