St Mary’s church yard is not St. Paul’s Cathedral. It is a quite little place of solitude in the centre of Southend where people go to worship, grieve and celebrate their marriage or birth of their child.
Quite why this would be the site of choice to the protesters I really don’t know. I really think they should pack up their tents and go home!
I support, most strongly, the right of protest, but I don’t think this extends to the right to be in some hardworking Southend couple’s special day. Or to stop a grieving widow from being able to visit her husband’s grave without a megaphone going off in her ear. Are these the capitalists whose day these protesters really want to ruin? I suspect not.
Now, I’ll make this comment here – If I normally read the above paragraph I’d think “What a drama queen he is making a mountain out of a mole hill” or “Yes, but not around here”. BUT it is the way it is. Not in a foreign land. Not in London, but Southend, our town.
It is church land, so the council has no direct control over the protest. But I support the church in exploring every single legal avenue they have available to them to evict these trespassers. And please, Police, Fire, Council and others do take care – I know the world has gone PC/H&S mad, but let’s try not to legitimise these trespassers. Some of whom like remarkably like other protest groups in Southend who are always knocking our town. Please let’s not let them bus more people in over the weekend, that would send the wrong message.