Photos by John Owen and Ritchie Hunter

On Sunday 22nd a massive protest of solidarity with Palestine chanted its way through the city with upwards of 2000 people there in fine glorious weather.

In Gaza Now by Tom Mclennan

Outside my window, the rain unleashes a continuous bombardment
On the garden:
In Gaza, bombs rain down roofs on children’s heads.
Next door, a child hissy-fits against the cruel school-run:
In Gaza, unable to understand, children cower.
I go to Tescos and hover in front of the chocolate eclairs:
In Gaza, aid trucks line up on the Rafah crossing,
Late afternoon, I venture into the garden to inspect the damage:
In Gaza, residents emerge in the breaths between each new pounding
To pick through the rubble.
Come evening when the darkness thickens
I retreat to the cosy safety of my sofa and crank up the fire.
The terrorists brandish Kalashnikovs and are easy to spot.
The good guys are the ones in Tom Cruise jackets
Climbing into planes.
They are off to bring those roofs down on children’s heads
But no-one will prosecute them for war-crimes.
A mushroomed thud puffs out from a small black high-precision cross
I turn over quickly to the rugby
Where two opposing teams fight over a ball. It seems so civilized.
In bed at last,
The images glimpsed before I could blink them away
With the remote
Queue up like the lorries at the Rafah crossing
Waiting to haunt.