‘Last Year FTSE 100 Executives awarded themselves a 49% pay rise. They gave their workers only 2.5%.’ It’s just one of many posters taped to the pillars of St Paul’s Church Yard, among a wide variety: thoughtful, ranting, funny, clever, scurrilous, caring… On the side of the Info Tent is a poster for the Halloween Zombie Banker’s Run (meet at St Paul’s, 1pm for make-up) – a rather well-choreographed lurch in the streets to Michael Jackson’s Thriller.
There are many tents here, of all colours, posters flying from guy-ropes. There’s Tent City University – a marquee for seminars and discussion; it has a full timetable with lectures on Socially Responsible Investing?, Land As Common Property, Guided Meditation sessions, Who Owns Britain?, A History of St Paul’s Cathedral – I count 24 sessions scheduled this week on the board.
Camera crews are everywhere, filming and interviewing; I’m drawing a cameraman in front of Queen Anne’s statue, ‘Root Out Usury’ as backdrop, when another cameraman interposes himself; I quickly draw his hand and lens and tripod until he swivels round behind me and films my drawing of him filming etc etc…. this is getting silly.
The atmosphere is relaxed: a few police in non-threatening uniforms stand around, chatting amiably to protestor and tourist alike. Though there are some flamboyant costumes, it’s difficult to tell who are protestors, who are visitors, and who are media, unless they’re holding a microphone or camera. What will come of the protest, I don’t know. Just the fact that it’s happening, voices protesting against greed as the basis of society, is thrilling.
There’s a crowd now, to hear an announcement: not from the Authorities, but from its own representatives: St Paul’s Cathedral has abandoned its court action to evict the camp. The crowd shakes hands in the air in approval and joy – this is a momentous decision after the resignations of Canon Chancellor, then the Dean himself. And the Corporation, the authority of the banks and financial companies, has put its action on hold – the ‘pause button’.
Will anything change? We shall see.

Michael Munday
www.michaelmunday.com