As my Green party companion and I sped along the motorway

to Brighton, we overtook coaches decorated with posters saying

"Stop The War" and "Globalise Resistance". Four had been

hauled over on to the hard shoulder by the police, increasing my

anxiety of overzealous, heavy-handed policing on the

demonstrations.

We easily spotted the Level, the grassy square serving as an

assembly point for the march, because it was dotted with

clusters of banner-waving protesters and a makeshift stage.

It was about a quarter past twelve and I was pleased to see a

number of familiar faces: Greens from around the country;

Socialist Alliance activists I recognised from the general

election; Globalise Resistance organisers - and even an

Indymedia journalist whom I'd met in Genoa.

I could hardly believe my eyes when I caught sight of a

black-gowned vicar, complete with gas mask, sweeping up

towards me. Then I recognised him. It was Hector Christy, a

dedicated member of a group fighting for the interests of

small-scale farmers in the West Country.

The cold rain could not deter the thousands of people who

converged on the Level. The local Labour-run council had made

it clear that no music would be permitted, but we didn't need any

entertainment other than our speakers.

The line-up was international and their words drew rapturous

applause: CND chair Carol Naughton, Luca Casarini from the

Italian anti-globalisation group Ya Basta!; Bolivian activist Oscar

Olivera who spoke about his town's successful fight to win back

their water supply from private ownership, Dave Nellist from the

Socialist Alliance, and two elected Green party representatives -

south-east regional MEP Caroline Lucas and Brighton councillor

Keith Taylor.

At around 2pm, jeans sodden and shivering under my umbrella, I

assembled with fellow Greens for the march to the Labour party

conference centre. We looked around nervously at the heavy

police presence and wondered why it was taking so long to get

moving. Drum beats and chanting created a tribal atmosphere.

At last, banners and placards were hoisted aloft and we were off!

It had been agreed that the main theme of the demonstration

would be the privatisation of public services and this was

reflected in most of the publicity - leaflets, posters and websites.

But the events of September 11 and the subsequent gung-ho

rhetoric coming from George Bush and Tony Blair had angered a

lot of people and attracted a vociferous peace contingent.

A united front against war superseded the issue of privatisation.

The mood was ebullient but determined. Pensioners and young

children joined the marchers chanting slogans such as: "They

say drop the bomb, we say drop the debt", "They want warfare,

we want welfare", "Stop this racist war, organise and agitate",

and "Who let the dogs out? Bush! Bush! Bush!"

The police weren't taking any chances and quickly began

picking out anyone they thought looked like a potential trouble

maker. Seven people were arrested including a couple pulled in

for wearing crash helmets; others got reined in for wearing

padded clothing and one for wearing a mask.

The Green party home affairs spokesperson and civil rights

lawyer, Hugo Charlton, commented: "We understand a certain

amount of nervousness, but feel it was over-policed. And whilst

police are entitled to ask people to remove masks, the

subsequent seven arrests were unlawful because they [those

arrested] had uncovered their faces.

He added: "Athough those arrests were somewhat provocative,

the crowd was very disciplined and well stewarded. It is

important that the police do not use the fear of terrorism to

impose restrictions on protest and movement that are not really

justified."

We passed the famous Brighton pavilion and turned the corner

towards the seafront. The number on the march became

apparent as we lined-up at the conference centre. Estimates

ranged from 4,000-6,000 - far in excess of the 1,000 the BBC

reported later that evening.

The trail of banners and placards conveyed messages that most

of the mainstream media ignored: Hands Off Afghanistan, Stop

The War, WTO - World Terrorist Organisation, Defend Council

Housing, No PFI, Democracy and Public Services, A Better

World Is Possible. This was quite clearly a red, green and white

alliance - the white banners representing peace activists.

The police presence felt oppressive and unnecessary given the

well-organised nature of the demonstration and discipline of the

participants, and prompted one trade unionist to remark: "We

never had this kind of police presence on our trade union

marches."

We all hoped that violence wouldn't tarnish what had so far been

an enormously successful day. The anarchist groups we had

feared would bring chaos failed to materialise. This could explain

why neither friends nor family saw any TV coverage of the rally

or march that day.

This forces one to conclude that the absence of violence makes

a mass demonstration not newsworthy.