this is the eighth time 'reclaim love' has taken place around eros in piccadilly circus. it is a celebration of love without the corporate hijack of valentine's day. it is also a growing global movement, with more and more 'mirror' events around the world, including poignantly today, in jerusalem and in egypt. venus' is building towards 2015, when valentine's day falls on a saturday, and she hopes that 2,000,000 people worldwide may begin to shift global consciousness when they all chant "may all the beings in all the worlds be happy and at peace". whatever you make of that plan, today's event in london was a joyous celebration, and a fantastic street party in the heart of the west end. if you missed it, come next year.

nb. if you click on pics you get to see larger versions. all pics are copyright, but are free to use non-commercially if credited 'rikki indymedia'

'reclaim love 8' started well, with an amazingly mild february afternoon, and clouds giving way to a magical blue sky. as people assembled in piccadilly circus, members of SOAS samba, barking batteria, and rhythms of resistance soon drew a large crowd with their exciting dance rhythms. the t-shirt table was set up and people looked through the large pile of free 'reclaim love' t-shirts, finding their favourite styles and colours.

venus took to the mic, and announced that this year she'd been thinking of abandoning the london event, but had been persuaded to continue, and it was looking good. she also explained that this year would include a new twist - a walk to a secret location.

the sound system then led the way along piccadilly, and a crowd of several hundred danced along the street into the sunshine, and eventually into green park, chalking the pavement along the way, and leaving balloons to guide latecomers.

in green park, venus's elves had already marked out areas with a fence of hearts, to avoid damaging the daffodil seedlings. under the tall trees, the circle formed, and everyone held hands and loudly chanted "may all the beings in all the worlds be happy and at peace" over and over, as bemused onlookers broke into smiles.

police came to investigate, along with a wholly unecessary van of riot squad, but venus managed to beguile them and ended up hugging the senior officer and promising to leave soon.

people helped tidy up the area, and we made our way back to piccadilly circus, decorating the fences of green park with chalk along the way.

part 2 to follow.......(http://london.indymedia.org/articles/7351)