Kettling Reaches Boiling Point.

At around midday I was on the train to London Waterloo with my girlfriend Alicia; we were heading to Norfolk for a gig at the UEA. Ali, like a little wrinkly busybody, pointed out the window and said "Look at that. Wonder what's going on over there?" I rolled my eyes, typically bored of other people's nosiness, and nonchalantly looked out of the window to see four helicopters in the sky around the Westminster area.

My first thought, admittedly, was "Oh fuck. Terrorists." because of all the scaremongering that goes on in newspapers and on TV (e.g., the propaganda posters around town saying "A bomb didn't go on in this area because a neighbour noticed these bottles of chemicals in the bin on her street" like we all have terrorists as neighbours and should always be snouting through any dark skinned neighbours rubbish.) Ali checked Sky News and we realised it was another student demonstration going on in Whitehall. Four helicopters seemed a bit excessive but I guess the police needed to show they weren't going to put up with any of the nastiness of last time.

When I got home I checked the news again and saw more violence had erupted at student protests around the UK. A police van, allegedly costing 80 thousand pounds, was rocked back and forth as hordes of people surrounded it. The windscreen was smashed; the inside broken into and looted by opportunists / thieves. Police ended up assaulted again, one officer ended up with a broken hand (hopefully his baton holding hand for the little shit that broke it).

It bewilders me how these young people, possibly our future doctors and nurses but more likely our future shop assistants and journalists, can be so stupid as to pick a fight with the police. Did the police promise to lower tuition fees only to then triple the cost? No, they did not. Did the police promise us a new Britain with opportunities for young people only to then take away college students £30 a week EMA? No. That is why it is obvious that anarchists and antagonists, wanting to stick it to the man, are taking advantage of this mass of people fighting for a good cause.

I'm sure some students out there did get carried away, but overall I imagine they probably just put a load of effort into their placards and rhyming chants in the hours they weren't asleep, playing Call of Duty, working part time or drinking cheap alcohol.

The police attempted a new tactic called "kettling" to calm the crowd. I rather imagined kettling to mean they all had a nice cup of Tetley and had a chat about it all in a nice, relaxed fashion; but no. It actually means keeping a pack of people in one place for hours on end, then letting them trickle out a few at a time. "Cattling" would be a better word, really.

I doubt this will be the last we will hear of this battle between students, aggressive trouble makers and the government. The students should have the right to shout, to be heard, to demand to be heard when we, as a country, are expected to remain silent and submissive. We should also have the right to do this in a peaceful and non violent manner. The police will soon get sick of this aggression towards them and will start to fight back in a way that the public won't win; remember the G20 protests? As a graduate with a debt of nearly £30,000 I genuinely hope the students do beat the system; just hopefully not at the price of a tragedy.

A* for Anarchy.

What can I say about today except that it is pissing it down, is bloody miserable and I am full of cold. This is (obviously) the start of a new blog to help me write daily (or as often as I can be arsed... but I will try) and help keep me sane while I am on the dole.

Christ. It's like a monsoon outside. The rain is going sideways and everything like on the Truman show. It looks like a weakly budgeted 70's film set on a ship, except without a ship because it is the view outside my window... which is outside my house. So no sea or ship or set is involved whatsoever; thus the word "like" was incredibly relevant. There is also a tree outside my window. Trees aren't out at sea. Although if they were it would be very helpful to sailors thrown overboard. "Help, help I are drownin'! O' look thar be a tree." *CLING*.

So I'm watching the news and tens of thousands of students and anarchists are smashing windows and kicking in windows and starting fires and kicking in fires. Strike the last one from the record. I'm surprised the police weren't kicking everyone in but the yellow coated people with helmets to scruffy little shit people ratio was massively unfair on the police's side.

                                                       Mmm, pie.

When at first I saw the throngs of people heaving through the streets I thought to myself "I would like to be part of that. Sticking it to the man and so on. Bit of history to tell the Grand kid's I was there." but sadly I don't even have a pound to buy a poppy let alone a fiver to get a train ticket. Got all out of hand anyway. I'd have been the unlucky one getting a fire extinguisher to the head.

Personally I'm quite bewildered about it all. I mean, I went to University from 2006 - 2009 and I left with a fee of twenty eight grand. Needed a nice, big vodka and coke after seeing that I tell you! Back then it was 3 grand a year. So if the fee goes up to £9,000 and the working class youths go, then that is £27,000 before you even put in the £8,000 a year maintenance loan. I keep hearing that graduates will leave with a fee of around 30 grand. That is an out and out lie. It will be more like 50. Yep, £50,000 to go to uni. Thanks Dave and Nick; you massive twats.

                            Students Held Hostage by Debt Shocker!

I think it is a huge, huge shame. People who never went to university, for whatever reason, always seem to frown upon this life changing opportunity that other people choose to do. They say "They just get pissed all the time!" or "They do Mickey Mouse courses!" etc. etc. What these people don't understand is that MOST people go to university to be able to enhance their skills and knowledge of their PASSIONS. And what? Now that there is less money in Britain people from less wealthy families can't have the opportunity to embrace their dreams? It's stupid!

                 Embrace Mickey Mouse! Walt Disney did and made a mint!

Fair enough. Students in their first year do get drunk. They do waste all their money on idiotic, wasteful things and they do make mistakes. But that is life. That is growing up. The first year at university is a practice year. It is in the 2nd and 3rd year that things get tough and students must knuckle down, and if you don't you must suffer the shame of repeating a year while all of your friends move on and graduate without you. It happened to friends of mine. Some even quit. University isn't for everyone but for the people who want to be there to improve their opportunities and grow in maturity and independence they should be allowed to go! If David Cameron can pay for a stylist to keep his wife looking glam for 60k a year in these hard and dark times then he can bloody well keep university fees down to £3,000.