Crazy times

Strange, strange times in this country at the moment. The weekends events suggested even further unrest, but no one could have predicted Monday. I was on my way to work in the early afternoon through Lower Clapton and Hackney, and the atmosphere was bizarre. Hackney Central always has a slightly mad feeling about it, but with far more police on the beat than usual and Riot Vans parked up outside the town hall it gave a sense that something was about to happen. This was of course before anything did, everyone was going about their day to day business, but there was an air of unease. Me and Tim went to a cafe and talked further about the situation, not knowing which way it would go. It soon became clear which way it went.

We locked up early at work and I stayed out, Hackney was still a war zone approaching midnight.

Something is very wrong. You can blame individuals, or gangs. Say they're opportunists and thieves, which of course they are. But it can't be that simplistic. I am by no means on the side of those causing mayhem, just trying to understand it, there's no justification, but there must be a way to explain the events. I hope it calms down, and I equally hope the country changes for the better because of it. The gap between rich and poor should not be increasing in the dramatic way that it is. Hope that that isn't a naive closing statement, just think as history repeats itself, people are angry for a variety of complex reasons. Two cents over.