Igor Clark

So I'm sitting in a taxi, hot-footing it over to Victoria - or at this stage, cold-footing it, as the police management of the Tamil demonstrations in Trafalgar Square has reduced the traffic to fewer lanes than usual, and we're just sitting there. Eagle-eyed as ever, I take the opportunity to snap these three chaps standing chatting on the edge of the pavement, and of course exactly as I do so, the fellow on the left looks over and watches me do it. Perhaps my insufficiently cautious window-opening attracted his attention. He walks in a measured manner over to the cab and straight towards me, and, leaning down to look through the window, initiates a short conversation:

PC: Take a good photo of us, then, did you?
Me: [deciding to brazen it out] Yes thanks!
PC: Good and clear, was it?
Me: Yes, came out really well thanks, here, see [shows photo to copper]
PC: [disgruntled expression]
Me + taxi driver: [Exeunt, pursued neither by bear nor, apparently, police]

Standing to attention outside the Palacio Municipal de Congresos where the W3C WWW2009 conference was held

Campo de las Naciones, Madrid, España

Quick conflab outside the conference centre

Campo de las Naciones, Madrid, España

Checking out the passers-by on a considerably less impressive mount than grown-up brothers in Guardia Civil.

Campo de las Naciones, Madrid, España

The Prince and Princess of Asturias attended the inauguration ceremony at the W3C WWW2009 conference in Madríd, warranting a blaze of paparazzi, heavy police presence, metal detectors at the entrance (whipped away the moment their Royal Highness were out the door), and even the Guardia Civil. These guys don't fuck about. Green bikes and everything. Serious.

Palacio Municipal de Congresos, Campo de las Naciones, Madrid, España