There were 9 of us on the Manor Park picket, 5 of which were Burmese. This is very good for an overseas solidarity picket. (There were 12 picket lines across London alone). We were carrying placards and leafleting motorists who were caught up in the usual very heavy traffic along that stretch of Romford Road.

I was on the entrance to the petrol station speaking to motorists who had pulled over for fuel. I must admit that this was one of the most successful pickets that I have ever been on. Nearly all vehicles pulled over allowed us to speak to them. They remembered the awful scenes of soldiers shooting unarmed monks in Burma. Most agreed to drive away to Tesco’s at Barking (I also told then that it was cheaper!).

Nearly everyone was pretty horrified at the connection of "Total" with the murderous regime in Burma. They did not know that their money was being used to profit a company that condoned mass murder.

Many were dismayed that they would in anyway at all be supporting the Burmese junta and insisted that I look at their petrol gauges, which were near empty and that they had to get fuel in case they ran out. We agreed that maybe they could get a gallon of petrol to get them out of trouble.

Lyn Brown MP (West Ham) had asked if she could attend however after the T Party she had to go to a service for a new church in Stratford. The protest had to finish before she could get to us, but she will send the Burma campaign a message of support.

I’m not going to romanticise this protest too much. However, I have been on a fair number of pickets over the years. It was firstly good to be out numbered by Burmese members of the picket (even though I suppose we should have been able to get more non-Burmese protesters out).

It was also encouraging to speak to ordinary people about something “political” and get what I thought to be a thoughtful and positive reaction. I don’t think that I have ever been on a picket line were we have ever turned back so many people. People also understood the argument and agreed that boycotting was an appropriate and legitimate response to what has gone on in Burma.

It was something that all East End Brits regardless of race, religion, nationality or class wanted to support. Chauffeur driven Rolls Royce’s and Citroen 2CVs were all turned back when we spoke to them about why we were picketing.

We had loads of cars “hooting” in support and people shouting supportive remarks as they went by. OK, as you can imagine not all remarks were 100% supportive, especially as traffic was held up at times when motorists stopped to talk to us. But overall the protest was very successful. As you can see from the pictures, we persuaded lots of people to boycott Total, this is normally their most busy day. I suspect that this will contribute towards the long term "reputational risk" that "Total" faces for its policy towards Burma.

I couldn’t make it to the final picket tonight at the "Total" HQ in Baker Street. Hope it went OK. Will speak to Labour Party comrades about organising further pickets at these garages in the future. Maybe monthly?

Next week I am due to go to a Local Government Pension Union trustee conference. I will try and bring this issue up here as well. Watch this space.