Protest march with Stephen Hawking

How cool is it to go on a protest march with Stephen Hawking?

About 30 of us (average age 70+) marched along the river bank, rather embarrassed to be chanting "Save our river!" for the benefit of the Anglia news cameraman who turned up for 10 minutes with a large video camera and a plastic mac. Someone made sure that Professor Hawking was in front. The rain let up long enough for umbrellas to be put away and placards held up rather apologetically in their place. Two young policemen stood by the river watching, with an air of making sure that their elderly charges didn't come to any harm.

This is the Cambridge Evening News version of the event.

And today we heard that the planning application for a large extension to the riverside hotel has been turned down. So 30 years after the LSE marches against higher fees for overseas students, I've now been involved in a march that wasn't futile. The Planning Committee, though, didn't give us the credit. They cited breach of "...policies 3/4, 3/7, 3/14, 4/1, and 4/11 of the Cambridge Local Plan 2006 and guidance provided by PPG2 Greent Belts and PPS5 Planning and the Historic Environment." and more along those lines. But I'd rather think it was Hawking and me that did it.