Below is an account by Rhys Howell, who marched the whole 20 miles from Exxon HQ, Leatherhead, to the US embassy, Grosvenor Square. Rhys is a student at the University of East Anglia, Norwich.

It was 5am on a cold spring morning somewhere in south London, driving through the deserted streets at this hour in the back of a Transit van felt more like a drug deal was going down than a day of action against George W. Bush and his government's atrocious environmental record.

The four of us had come down from Norwich the night before to take part in the Kyoto March and the End of the World Party, aimed at publicising the lack of US environmental policy. We unloaded the van at ESSO HQ in Leatherhead and despite the early hour set off for the US Embassy - 20 miles away in central London - full of life and abundant energy. We may have been few in number but our costumes certainly made an impact on the thousands of passing motorists who saw us during the course of the day. We arrived in Wimbledon Town for lunch where we were met by the local Friends of the Earth group. Having rested our legs and swelled our numbers we eagerly set out again. However upon reaching Clapham Common a couple of hours later we were certainly feeling the effects of treading the pavement for 6 or so hours. We had set out to get to the US Embassy and we were certainly not going to be denied, so we bravely marched onwards refreshed by the Softmints that we had just very slowly consumed! We continued to add members to the party along the way and eventually stumbled wearily into the Imperial War Museum Park to what seemed like a heroes welcome (the car fumes had gotten to me by this point)! It was great to see so many people waiting for us and I briefly felt apart of something truly great. However the four of us instantly collapsed onto the bed of luscious grass.

There was still one job to do and that was take our message directly to the Americans. So now numbering in the hundreds we set out for the US Embassy, to the tune of the samba band. The music created a real carnival atmosphere and suddenly all our weary limbs were forgotten. We crossed Westminster Bridge full of life but soon the legs started to drag and I found my self turning into an exhausted little kid as I repeatedly uttered those dreaded words "Are we there yet?". Alas the US Embassy was what seemed like eons away, we finally made it leading to much back slapping all around! We found the nearest bench and collapsed onto it, we sat there exhausted as The End of the World Party went on around us. Although we had absolutely no energy left with which to dance, we relaxed there with big grins reflecting on what had been a truly great day.

Amazingly as we rode the tube home we saw a Sing A Song of ESSO poem, it was truly bizarre but given the day we had just had, it certainly came as no surprise. I came away from the day believing that the world is certainly not in as much trouble as some pessimists might think. There are many wonderful people doing truly wonderful things to try and make it a better place for us all in the future.

Below is another account, from Kate Povey, who marched almost all the way ....and that after taking the overnight bus from Blackburn !

I often think, isn't it frustrating, not being able to DO anything to combat climate change? Ok, so I turn the lights off when I'm not in the room, take the train or bus when visiting friends and even refuse to own a car but this is minor stuff compared to the need to get the message across to a wider audience. Climate change is a political issue and what better way to politicise it than to attack the good ole Us of A - the 'land of freedom' that has done more than any other nation in attempting to curtail the freedoms of countries all over the world.

So when I heard about the Kyoto March I jumped at the chance. The conditions weren't ideal. I came down on the night coach from Blackburn but I had a stinking cold and never managed to get any shut eye. I felt a bit dizzy towards the end but I made it! I joined the march from Epsom, just missing out on the first few miles but made it all the way to the US Embassy. It was a great day - my fellow marchers were lovely people - and it was so good to talk to people who also believe that climate change is IMPORTANT and that something needs to happen - NOW! With such conviction comes courage which came in handy a couple of times when white van drivers decided to abuse us with meaningless insults, the common refrain being, 'get a job, you *** *****! (it was, in fact, a Saturday and many of us do have jobs, the fact that I haven't, quite yet, is beside the point). Nevertheless, I had a really good time. Thank you Phil for campaigning so tirelessly and organising the march and rally. I'll be at the next one and I think you should all join us too!

Kate Povey

Kate.Povey@groundwork.org.uk