White riot

Ah, the good old days. I remember them well. The heady excitement of the coach trip to London, milling about with masses of other students, the carefully prepared placards with dodgy spelling, the sense of unity and purpose as you were surrounded by police … you can’t beat a good student protest.

And they’re at it again. They’ve been protesting today against the rises in tuition fees, bless them. Bringing central London to a standstill, smashing up Tory HQ, bringing civilisation to its knees (if you watch Sky News) or a small minority causing a bit of a fuss (BBC News).

What we didn’t have in the 1970s, of course, was the benefit of Twitter. With this, you can see live comments streaming across your computer screen - some from people at the protest itself - and get the thrill of being part of a live event, albeit vicariously.

This is quite handy if you’re in Cumbria and working on the day’s newspaper cartoon for The Westmorland Gazette. Of the stories on offer this week (the model Jordan doing a book signing, South Lakeland Council putting up parking charges), the presence of local students at the riot protest was by far the most interesting.

As ever, I submitted four sketches to the Gazette’s esteemed editor. After much reasoned debate, I persuaded him to go for the one I liked. You can see which one that was by purchasing a copy of the Gazette on Thursday morning, or popping along to my website.