9 Aug: Trying to stop an ocean from making waves

Remember these fellas from a previous post?  Just as the night before, hooded and sometimes masked people were walking about waiting to begin attacking the city.  On the second night, however, there was a greater police presence.

These three boys were waiting on the corner of Bromsgrove and Hurst when one of the patrolling riot vans stopped and a flurry of cops poured out, pinning the boys to the wall.

 I had taken my camera inside and hooked it up to the computer so, though I saw the van screech to a stop, the doors fly open and the bobbies roll out, I didn't get video footage of it.  The following film clip was shot as the police questioned the potential rioters.

The previously masked boy yelled at the cops while leaving, so they walked over to talk to him while a bystander filmed the entire incident on his phone (he'd been filming since the questioning against the wall).

The van soon left and the three boys came together again, leaving but clearly affected by the very public incident. Whether they ended up taking part in the night's riots is unknown but despite the greatly increased police presence, the level of damage and violence escalated that night.

8 Aug: Frontline media

During the first night of riots, a reporter walks with a camera operator and photographer down Bromsgrove Street during a peaceful period in the immediate area.

10 Aug: Damage after night two

The first three photos are of a bank on New Street at Victoria Square.  Next row: the Sainsbury's on Navigation Street near the intersection with Hill Street; The Old Fox on Hurst Street (which has many stained-glass windows); New Street shops.

9 Aug: Preserving a family's source of income

Locals took to the street on the second night of the riots--determined to defend their businesses and their communities in general.  On the corner of Bromsgrove and Pershore Streets, behind the hotel, a household miscellany store (seen in the picture below) is owned by what I believe is a single family. Unfortunately, the store was attacked the previous night with windows and merchandise damaged and some goods stolen.

Usually, there are women working there with their children sometimes seen playing in the doorway or on the sidewalk.  But on the eve of the second night of the riots, the women stayed home while an older man and possibly his son stood vigilant.  They put samples of their merchandise outside, as always, to draw customers (the man crossing the street in the picture went inside and bought something) and left them there until the atmosphere became more tense hours after this late-day photo was taken.

The two men stayed at the doorway until past their usual closing time in order to stand watch and attempt to protect their store.  Eventually, however, the street became too dangerous with police and rioters clashing, so they either locked themselves inside for the night or went home.

8 Aug: The first night, corner of Bromsgrove and Hurst

At about 11.30pm, the rioters owned the streets. The cops, who weren't expecting the high level of activity that occurred, didn't show up near the hotel until about three hours later, when they were able to spread out, away from the earlier action in the city centre.

9 Aug: Looters strike the Tesco... again.

On the first night of the riots, a large group of vandals broke into the Tesco Express on the corner of Hurst and Bromsgrove Streets near the Arcadian Centre. So, the next day, the front of the store was boarded up.

But destroying property requires food-fueled energy, thus, yet again, around 10pm the next night, the rioters broke into the Tesco. But this time, they didn't get much.

9 Aug: Signs of the times

9 Aug, day-after headline the morning after the riots began; 12 Aug, local newspaper headlines (for more on Tariq, see this previous post); 9 Aug, letter from the hotel manager posted in the elevator for the guests the day after the riots began.