Hello all! Here I am, back with more exciting tales, despite Blogger mysteriously turning my default language to Swedish. Go figure.
Having never been, or even considered going to a LGBT Pride event before (as a a straight guy, there just seemed to be rather no point) I had no expectations of how I would find Brighton Pride. I was slightly worried I would feel very much like a tourist and that it would be all rather alienating for me. Fortunately this could not have been further from the truth.
Arriving in Brighton with my girlfriend, all we needed to do to find the parade route was to follow the huge crowds of people all heading in one direction. The sailor outfits were a bit of a giveaway as well. After waiting around for a short time, the parade properly began, preceeded by a small army of frankly Del Boy-ish men hawking everything you could imagine with a rainbow pattern on it.
Fortunately the parade itself was not so opportunistically commercial, representing many local groups including the LGBT groups within many local public services, LGBT support charities, unions and sports groups. There were also the obligatory appearances from the local sections of political parties, unsurpisingly the Socialist Worker's Party were there, along with the Greens (very big in Brighton, much to my approval), the Liberal Democrats and the Labour party. No sign of the Tories though, not that this was very shocking. Amusingly, the Labour party's banner made the claim that "Only Labour can achieve equality", which in the light of a 13 year run of political dominance with no gay marriage and few advances in the way society treats LGBT people, seemed a little ironic to me.
The vast majority of the parade seemed to have very little to do with political allegiances and generally it had a very warm, very open and welcoming carnival atmosphere. The dancing and music were appropriately cheerful and the costumes were varied, imaginative and very often impressive. Even though I have a slight phobia of being in large crowds, I found myself feeling safer and more comfortable in those crowds than I had found in any others before. There was just an overwhelming air of inclusiveness and you got the feeling no one was judging anyone else.
Later on, when we had followed the parade to Preston Park, there was a genuine carnival in full swing, with myriad stalls catering to everything from sex toys to LGBT christians (and I am still not sure which I found more amusing). I was quite surprised at some of the wandering salesmen as they moved around the crowd shouting "Get your poppers here!". There was a caberet there, which we gravitated towards, with a number of drag queen acts singing old (and very cheesy) classics. The singalong to "Total Eclipse of the Heart" was almost deafening, though I must say I did join in. Liberal application of rum helped with this.
I must say that I enjoyed myself a great deal at Brighton Pride and would love to go again at some point. The only thing I think could perhaps make it better would be more toilet facilities as many people found themselves forced to go in the woods nearby due to overwhelming queues.
All-in-all and in conclusion (and other overused summing-up phrases) I feel very relaxed after my trip doon sooth (this usage is appropriate as I have noticed my accent get a good deal stronger down here).
I am writing this as I am on the train back up to Edinburgh feeling fairly prepared for reviewing twenty shows in under two weeks, though with a strong sense of not knowing what I have let myself in for. Which is all the fun really. Will hopefully be back online soon, presumably with news of my imminent nervous breakdown. Byeeeeeee!
Monday, 9 August 2010
Thursday, 5 August 2010
Thoughts on London
Hello all, apologies for the atrocious abuse of the English language in the previous post, I no learn words good.
Well, I'm still down in England, I was going to be heading back to Edinburgh today, but frankly I did not wish to cut short a lovely break unnecessarily. As many of you may know I have managed to get a voluntary job reviewing comedy shows during the Edinburgh Fringe. I had thought I would need to be back by today to get everything done (I have managed to get myself 20 shows to review throughout the month), but have realised, due to some clever timetableing courtesy of my girlfriend, that I can afford to stay a few more days.
So, dear reader, you may be wondering what I have been doing with myself down here. Well, I was taken on a day trip to London this Tuesday, a city which embarrassingly enough, I have never visited before. When we initially arrived, there was necessarily a great deal of travelling around the underground as it is by far the most efficient means of getting around this labyrinthine city. It was rather unreal popping our heads above ground and seeing famous landmarks left, right and centre, buildings I had only ever seen on television, occasionally making it seem like I had wondered onto a film set rather than a real city. It was an exciting place to be, with a real feeling of bustling, unremitting, dynamic energy. I was never aware of being less than 2 metres away from anyone else at any time.
The British Museum was impressive both in the grandeur of the artifacts collected there, and the sheer scale of the building. Trafalgar Square was strangely devoid of the supposedly ubiquitous pigeons, but absolutely bustling with humans. Leicester Square felt like a cultural hub, surrounded by cinemas, West End theatres and restaurants catering to every imaginable taste (though the Italian restaurants seemed to be in dominance). There was also a certain kind of entertainment to be found in looking around the more high-end shopping districts and staring in shock at the insanity of the prices in shop windows.
We finished off the day by going to a performance of the musical Avenue Q. Based on the format of Sesame Street, including puppets and "encouraging" songs, it subverts the former's message of the "specialness" of individuals, instead focussing on the harsh fact that, when you grow up, you realise that you are no more special than anyone else, though bringing it across in a cheerful and strangely opimistic way. It was amusing in a very dark way and the performances were superb, especially the combining of singing and "performing" with the puppets. Even though the pupeteer-actors were visible throughout the show, they were non-intrusive and did not detract from the suspension of disbelief. At the end of the day, we staggered home, exhausted and sore, but happy... or possibly delerious from the pollution, I am not sure.
London appeared to be an utterly insane place, and I am still not sure whether I could live there or not, but it has a way of grabbing you and saying "Oi, mate, come back, there's still more to see 'ere". Its a place I feel I have to visit again (and again and again...) just to see if I can find out any more about this odd, unsympathetic and fascinating city.
Up next in my adventures - off to Brighton Pride! In the meantime, dear reader, stay safe and stop looking at those websites, your mother wouldn't approve.
Well, I'm still down in England, I was going to be heading back to Edinburgh today, but frankly I did not wish to cut short a lovely break unnecessarily. As many of you may know I have managed to get a voluntary job reviewing comedy shows during the Edinburgh Fringe. I had thought I would need to be back by today to get everything done (I have managed to get myself 20 shows to review throughout the month), but have realised, due to some clever timetableing courtesy of my girlfriend, that I can afford to stay a few more days.
So, dear reader, you may be wondering what I have been doing with myself down here. Well, I was taken on a day trip to London this Tuesday, a city which embarrassingly enough, I have never visited before. When we initially arrived, there was necessarily a great deal of travelling around the underground as it is by far the most efficient means of getting around this labyrinthine city. It was rather unreal popping our heads above ground and seeing famous landmarks left, right and centre, buildings I had only ever seen on television, occasionally making it seem like I had wondered onto a film set rather than a real city. It was an exciting place to be, with a real feeling of bustling, unremitting, dynamic energy. I was never aware of being less than 2 metres away from anyone else at any time.
The British Museum was impressive both in the grandeur of the artifacts collected there, and the sheer scale of the building. Trafalgar Square was strangely devoid of the supposedly ubiquitous pigeons, but absolutely bustling with humans. Leicester Square felt like a cultural hub, surrounded by cinemas, West End theatres and restaurants catering to every imaginable taste (though the Italian restaurants seemed to be in dominance). There was also a certain kind of entertainment to be found in looking around the more high-end shopping districts and staring in shock at the insanity of the prices in shop windows.
We finished off the day by going to a performance of the musical Avenue Q. Based on the format of Sesame Street, including puppets and "encouraging" songs, it subverts the former's message of the "specialness" of individuals, instead focussing on the harsh fact that, when you grow up, you realise that you are no more special than anyone else, though bringing it across in a cheerful and strangely opimistic way. It was amusing in a very dark way and the performances were superb, especially the combining of singing and "performing" with the puppets. Even though the pupeteer-actors were visible throughout the show, they were non-intrusive and did not detract from the suspension of disbelief. At the end of the day, we staggered home, exhausted and sore, but happy... or possibly delerious from the pollution, I am not sure.
London appeared to be an utterly insane place, and I am still not sure whether I could live there or not, but it has a way of grabbing you and saying "Oi, mate, come back, there's still more to see 'ere". Its a place I feel I have to visit again (and again and again...) just to see if I can find out any more about this odd, unsympathetic and fascinating city.
Up next in my adventures - off to Brighton Pride! In the meantime, dear reader, stay safe and stop looking at those websites, your mother wouldn't approve.
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