Nowadays protesting is often a wishy-washy gesture, although marching against the war in Iraq was pretty impressive and, of course, many of us marched in Chichester to protest, in no uncertain terms, at the possible cuts to services and staff at St Richard's Hospital.

I believe everybody should march or publicly protest about something at least once. It shows passion. It's good for the soul and sends a very clear message to the authorities.

Mind you, in 21st-century Britain, protesting has become a lot harder.
The introduction of various pieces of legislation designed to tackle terrorism have also been used to restrict freedom of speech and protest.

The past two years have really seen off all but the die-hard protesters. They have been replaced by the armchair activist whose idea of direct action is to set up a page on the social networking website Facebook.

Gone are the days of marching and shouting. Now it's all about chucking a load of knee-jerk rhetoric on a website and then ask other Facebookers to join you. Pathetic!

Former deputy prime minister John Prescott initiated a Facebook campaign to tackle the bonuses paid to senior figures at the Royal Bank of Scotland.

Students at a Cambridge college are outraged their May Ball has the theme of the 'Empire' and have set up a page to protest against it.

And if you were one of the people outraged when ITV1 went to a commercial break during the recent Merseyside derby, which resulted in footy fans missing the winning goal, sign up to a Facebook page that demands the sacking of the hapless soul who pushed the button.

The great technological leaps made over the past few years are amazing, but I do shed a tear for the heartfelt passion of a proper protest, replaced now by feeble mouse-clicking gripes.



Perfect therapy

It's a crucial time to support the local economy by shopping and accessing services on home turf, so let me introduce you to two ladies of my acquaintance.

I know Jane and Jo because they have often sorted out my back when I've been in need of a good rub-down.

Former college lecturers with a wealth of experience and knowledge to pass on, they have now launched The Revive School of Complementary Therapies in Chichester.

Offering a range of classes, limited to six students per class, if you fancy getting to grips with treatments including all manner of massage, waxing, aromatherapy, Hopi ear candling, facials and Reiki, then
give these lovely ladies a call on 01243 775676.



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