DAY 0 | LIVERPOOL | Thursday 17 April 2008

Liverpool: Picking up the bus

First day headaches

So it has begun. The 2008 HOPE not hate tour is under way. Well, actually it is not quite, the proper launch is tomorrow in Liverpool but for me it is. This afternoon I met up with the bus which looks even more splendid than last year. It's a different bus - the pride of their fleet we were told - and I can understand why. This year's 1969 Bristol Lodekka is five years younger than last year's model, is completely open top and - much more importantly to us, can travel at 43mph as opposed to 30mph we endured last year.

Of course, we were met with brilliant sunshine in Liverpool today so perhaps my euphoria might be tempered after experiencing some rain. According to our driver, Kevin, the open top bus means the rain pours down onto those below. Hmmm, look forward to that!

It was good to be back with the old team again. Ros from the Mirror, Gregg the film maker and Chris the Mirror's photographer.

Ros, Gregg and I travelled up from London together and we were all in quite good spirits when we pulled out of London. Ros had brought a copy of the itinerary and all looked fine. And then the phones began to ring and the emails came in. The tour is certainly more ambitious than last year's but as a consequence the amount of forms and paperwork we have to fill in and the number of rules we have to comply with is quite incredible. I'm sure they are all quite justified but one thing we are not is event organisers. As Ros and I struggled with the mounting problems Gregg dozed seemingly oblivious to it all.

We perked up when we saw the bus, all beautiful, bright and clean. I remember being slightly disappointed when I saw the bus last year but I have to say my heart jumped this time. I hope it was just the bus not the distraction from the mounting organisational problems we were encountering. The sun had come out and off we went for a spin, first to the Liver Building and then across the Mersey towards Wallasey. We had a slight hiccup when we were stopped by the police after being caught on CCTV filming around by the Mersey tunnel but after a quick review of the footage and an explanation of what we were doing (ie we weren't filming for any dubious reason) we were sent on our merry way.

So, the tour has begun for me. Read tomorrow's Daily Mirror www.mirror.co.uk ) for details of our route and a taster of just some of the celebrities who will be joining us along the way. We hope to have a daily video of our trip, which can be found on www.hopenothate.org.uk.

Until the formal launch tomorrow-

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DAY 1 | LIVERPOOL WILLIAMSON SQUARE | Friday 18 April 2008

Spinning balls with the Harlem Globe Trotters

Did I sleep last night? It certainly feels like I didn't. Got to bed at half one this morning after finishing off the video of the day and then woke at half-five completely disorientated. By seven-thirty Ros and I were in the City FM radio studios plugging our tour.

Within an hour our bus was parked up in Williamson Square, where our event is taking place this lunchtime. We were joined by a couple of players from the Harlem Globe Trotters, who are in town to promote basketball. They told us about the racism experienced in their sport, with some clubs refusing to allow black players well into the 1950s. They were lovely blokes but I have to admit that I was expecting them to be a lot taller. The tricks of TV I guess!

I'm pleased that we started our tour in Liverpool. It is the Mirror heartland and has a proud history of opposing and rejecting fascism. The radio host told us that after the recent ACPO study, which revealed that newly arrived immigrants committed no more crimes than the rest of the population, they had a poll in which over 80% of listeners said that there was no link between immigrants and crime.

Anyway, must go. The drums are beginning to arrive and we need to find a power supply for the PA system.

Passing the time

It's now 00.35am and I'm sitting in Gregg's room watching Sky News as he finishes off our first video of the tour. Not much to report, as we haven't actually started, which is slightly disconcerting given that for the next 13 days we will have hours of footage to get through each day so let's hope that we'll not be staying up much later every night. However Gregg and Andy, another film maker who will be joining us tomorrow, promise that they have it all in hand.

Anyway, just blogging to tell you about my interview on Radio City at 7.30am. Ros and I will be joining the infamous Harlem Globe Trotters, who, we have been led to believe, will be supporting the HOPE not hate campaign.

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DAY 2 | ROTHERHAM & PRESTON | Saturday 19 April 2008

A Pukka day in Rotherham

Just imagine the scene, two football teams battling it out at the end of the season. One, who if it hadn't been for a ten point deduction because of going into administration would have been in with a good chance of a play-off position, the other at the opposite end of the table frantically struggling to stay in the league. Yet despite their differing positions both sets of players come out onto the pitch in similar HOPE not hate T-shirts.

This is what happened today at the Rotherham home game against Dagenham and Redbridge.

I have never seen anything like it. There was a HOPE not hate page in the match day programme. Every person who went through the turnstiles was given a HOPE not Hate leaflet. At half-time the club's Chief Operating Officer joined HOPE not hate campaigners and young kids in the centre circle to reinforce the HOPE not hate message. After the game, the same chief executive promised to contact his equivalents in other clubs to encourage them to do the same.

Full credit to HOPE not hate Yorkshire who put this day together. They and the trade union movement have worked tirelessly over the last ten months to challenge the BNP.

This morning we parked up our bus in Rotherham town centre and despite the cold weather were entertained by Malty Miners Welfare brass band, some African drummers and street theatre. Shoppers stopped by to watch and some even joined in with the music workshops.

Local MPs Richard MacShane and John Healey spoke of the need to oppose the BNP, with MacShane putting the BNP firmly in the fascist camp.

It might not have had the glamour of our evening date with the Sugababes but it was probably far more important and left local activists buoyed up and ready for the final two weeks of campaigning.

I'd just like to make one final point about today and that is to mention the fabulous steak and kidney pie I had whilst I waited to interview a couple of the Dagenham and Redbridge players before the game. Pies at football matches have a bad name and sometimes quite understandably. But at Rotherham this is not the case. Their Pukka pies are the best, so good that Rotherham is alleged to have the best pies at football, well that is at least what the woman behind the pie counter told me. And who am I to differ, it really was a good pie.

And please don't just take my word for it. I have just typed in 'Rotherham United and pies' into a search engine and sure enough the ground is famous for its pies. It was the first to sell Pukka pies "anywhere in the world"; the Internet guide to football ground recommends the "Pukka Chicken Balti Pie on sale at £1.70 each, which is made with puff pastry and is different to the other brand of Balti pie available elsewhere"; while fans from a whole host of clubs picked out the pies as one of the great memories of Rotherham's Mill Moor ground. Finally, a visiting Cambridge journalist writing about his side's dismal 4-1 defeat at Rotherham remarked that at least he was able to enjoy the best football pie in the country.

John Barnes and Howard Galye give their support

The HOPE not hate tour has already produced many funny moments, some of them intended but others by default. It is hard work but despite the many trials and tribulations that are thrown up in our way, it is enjoyable.

But there are also the occasional moments when we are reminded, in a very serious and moving way, why we do what we do. Yesterday provided one of those. Alongside footballing legends John Barnes and Howard Gayle and stars from Hollyoaks was Gee Walker, mother of murdered teenager Anthony Walker. She came to the bus and applauded out message of HOPE. She has experienced 'hate' in its most extreme form and yet she had not been consumed by it or fuelled by a desire for vengeance.

Her presence hung over us all. John Barnes summed it up perfectly. He said that while he had experienced awful racism as a footballer for England and Liverpool it was nothing compared to what had happened to the Walker family.

The tour got off to a flyer and we were all lifted by it. Unfortunately I had to leave Liverpool early to get over to Manchester where I joined my Searchlight colleague Matthew Collins, though not before a brief encounter with Joey Owens, former bodyguard to BNP leader Nick Griffin and a man I have named as a multiple gangland killer. Matthew had gone up to Manchester that morning and was trying to salvage our food festival which is going to be held in Albert Square next Tuesday Ros and I have our own headaches over this tour and while hers is Brixton where we are meant to be ending up, mine was Manchester. I have to admit that by 4.45pm yesterday afternoon the prognosis did not look good. But things are much rosier now and I think it is going to work just fine but there is still a lot of work to do.

Today we are in Rotherham for one of our main community orientated events. The HOPE not hate team in Yorkshire has worked tirelessly to pull together what appears to be an excellent day. After that there is going to be a quick [sic] dash to Preston for the Sugababes who are in concert. It'll be my first 'long' journey on the bus but I have already been warned to wrap up warm because it is 'freezing'. Fingers crossed I can just sit back and enjoy the day - we'll that's the plan anyway.

Just like to finish by introducing the final member of our merry team, Andy, who joins Gregg on the film crew. He is another veteran of last year's tour. All we need now is an appearance of Mirror photographer John Ferguson and the old gang will be back together, but alas it seems that one year was enough for him.

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DAY 4 | WIGAN & MANCHESTER | Monday 21 April 2008

The pie challange

It seems that my comments about the wonderful pies at Rotherham United has upset some people in the North West. I have had three messages from people from Wigan telling me to stop talking about a subject I know nothing about. (Their evidence for this is apparently because I said the Rotherham pies were the best hence I exposed my ignorance.)

One person even told me that was unravelling 100 years of pie history with my outrageous comments.

I've even been led to believe that I will be proved wrong when the bus arrives in Wigan today.

So, it seems that I have issued a challenge to pie lovers across the country. Bring your favourite pie to our HOPE not hate bus and we will award a prize at the end of the tour to the pie we like best.

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DAY 6 | LEEDS | Wednesday 23 April 2008

Manchester food festival

Yesterday saw us in Manchester's Albert Square for our food festival. It went down a treat and was all the more satisfying because on Friday we weren't even sure if it was going to happen. We didn't have any food booked in, we were struggling to get past the environmental health requirements and we didn't have any stalls.

However, 72 hours of frantic work meant that we pulled it off.

We were joined by TV chefs Dave Myers (Hairy biker) and Andrew Nutter (Ready, Steady Cook), Coronation Street chef Tom Hudson and singer Rowetta. There was also a breif appearance by top group The Kooks.

The food was absolutely fantastic, not that I had much chance to taste anything. The Chinese stall won but my own favourite was the gorgeous Lamb Biryani and dahl from the Radjoot restaurant in Albert Square. I guess that I might be biased for those of you who have followed by blog over the last few months would know that this restaurant was mine and Jon Cruddas' favourite on our curry tour of Britain, otherwise known as his deputy leadership campaign.

Our judges were brilliant. Not only were they with us for almost two hours and ate their way through food from across the world but they all gave great anti-BNP interviews.

Just like to say thank you to all those people who have emailed or rung me about our video from Hope school in Wigan. They, like us, were deeply moved with the lengths the school went to welcome us.

Anyway, must run. Today we are in Leeds but to be honest Ros and I are spending more time trying to work out what we will be doing in London as gaps are appearing all over the place.

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DAY 8 | LONDON | Friday 25 April 2008

Back in London

After a week touring around the north the bus finally made its way down to London, where we will be until polling day. Yesterday saw us on the set of The Bill, though unfortunately they parked us outside the local pub and bus stop rather than the police station. It was still great all the same and luckily we avoided the huge downpour that struck London in the middle of the day.

As we made our way to central London we stopped near The Oval for some fish and chips. I happened to see a local sandwich shop which boasted homemade pies. Of course, as the sub-title of this tour has now become the pie challenge how could I resist!

Our pie eating expert - otherwise known as Kevin the driver - tested out a slice of steak pie. His verdict was that the pastry was not as good as Galloways' but the filling was far more substantial.

I'm having to divide my time between the bus tour and preparing for U-Day next Tuesday. Organising almost 150 different leafleting sessions on one day and involving over 500 people is a logistical nightmare but I'm sure we'll get there in the end!

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DAY 11 | LONDON: TOTTENHAM HOTSPURS FC | Friday 25 April 2008

U-Day approaches

It's almost midnight and I'm still here working towards U-day, which officially starts in less than ten minutes. Matthew Collins and Sam Tarry are still up, still ploughing through the endless emails and phone numbers we have. I guess there are others of the Searchlight team who are working as late as well.

Shouldn't really complain. we have had almost 800 people sign up and just under 200,000 leaflets have been dispatched to different parts of the capital.

It is all quite an achievement but I have to say has been a logisitcal nightmare. I'm out leafleting at 7.30am but before that I have to write an article and make one or even two deliveries.

Will try to keep in contact during the day but my apologies if that proves not to be possible.

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