Manchester Pride
This weekend I joined friends at Manchester Pride. This is a month's worth of LGBT events, most of which I've missed as I've been so busy in August (I suppose I could still fit in the exhibition at the People's History Museum, which I was aware of when I was there last week but didn't have time for because I was doing the Peterloo stuff) culminating in the Big Weekend, featuring the Parade and a pop festival in the Gay Village.
I arrived about noon on Saturday, and toured the stalls selling badges, flags, jewellery, fudge etc. The oddest thing we saw was a small round cage with someone sitting in it. I think people were paying to do this. I'm not sure whether you could take one home; perhaps they were on order?
I bought a nice badge with a rainbow spacehopper, which people kept commenting on all weekend so it was a good buy.
I was thinking that despite the LGBT tag there were very few bisexual badges etc, but overnight I remembered that I'd had a B7 one covering most combinations for years.
There were quite a few people in traditional dress.
It's difficult to see the Parade properly unless you're more organised than we were as the crowds are so deep. I did manage to spot the TARDIS, which was on what seemed to be at least a dozen Police With Pride floats.
Most of the Parade consists of organisations proclaiming their support, in this case the Co-op, which was nice, as I'm a member. But then I retreated to watch it on a big screen in Sackville Gardens (where Alan Turing's statue is).
After that we went to join some more friends for a drink and then a Chinese buffet.
A lot of the weekend was taken up with a pop concert featuring people I'd never heard of (with a couple of exceptions). This seemed like a good opportunity to practise with my new camera (a Canon Ixus 140), particularly the zoom.
This was the only act I saw on the main stage. Misha B is a Mancunian who's been on one of the TV shows. Seen with various levels of zoom.
After that we saw the end of Heather Peace's set in Sackville Gardens, but my batteries were running low so I didn't get a photo. I returned on Sunday, and saw a variety of performers on that stage. This is January Woodhead, who I thought was quite good.
Here are some dancers.
I was disappointed that Barcode Zebra didn't turn out to be fans of Newcastle United; the only stripes visible were on a guitar strap. Apparently they're from Yorkshire.
This was a comic routine involving the Titanic.
Young women in sparkly dresses proved good value. This one is Hayley-Ria Christian.
Kelly Wilde is a very enthusiastic lady who didn't get to represent the UK in Eurovision 1990 but seems to do all the Pride Events.
She was very enthusiastic about Clare, one of the two signers on the Sackville stage.
And finally, someone I'd heard of, even if I don't remember any of her music - Toyah Willcox! It hadn't occurred to me that she was Centauri. She was also very enthusiastic and good value. And obligingly she finished her set promptly - perhaps she was going for the same last tram as me, though I didn't spot her. It leaves at one minute to ten on Sundays, which is inconveniently early.
Canal Street as I walked towards the tram stop..
And one last glimpse, looking back up Canal Street.
It goes on through Bank Holiday Monday, but I've got Things To Do here... Nice to attend Manchester Pride at last though, particularly in good company.
Apparently the last Test got more interesting than you'd have expected while I was out.
ETA: I forgot to put in one of the not-pop bits. There was an exhibition of art about mental illness in which various gay and bi women had constructed "kitchen spaces" expressing their state of mind or showing how they lived with it; many of them had CD players and headphones so you could hear the women talking, or transcripts of what they said. There was also tea and cake available, and I was thirsty though not hungry. There was a shortage of chairs, but I remembered Marline, whose kitchen featured a CD of the noise in her head, had a note saying that when we'd had enough of that we could step through into her tranquil space (beyond a gauzy curtain) and be served tea. This seemed to be metaphorical as Marline wasn't there when I visited, but there was a chair and table with two empty teacups; I left those alone, but I sat down in the tranquil space with my tea in a paper cup, and at that point I noticed that the music playing quietly inside the space was Pachelbel's Canon.
Also posted on Dreamwidth, with
comments.
I arrived about noon on Saturday, and toured the stalls selling badges, flags, jewellery, fudge etc. The oddest thing we saw was a small round cage with someone sitting in it. I think people were paying to do this. I'm not sure whether you could take one home; perhaps they were on order?
I bought a nice badge with a rainbow spacehopper, which people kept commenting on all weekend so it was a good buy.
I was thinking that despite the LGBT tag there were very few bisexual badges etc, but overnight I remembered that I'd had a B7 one covering most combinations for years.
There were quite a few people in traditional dress.
It's difficult to see the Parade properly unless you're more organised than we were as the crowds are so deep. I did manage to spot the TARDIS, which was on what seemed to be at least a dozen Police With Pride floats.
Most of the Parade consists of organisations proclaiming their support, in this case the Co-op, which was nice, as I'm a member. But then I retreated to watch it on a big screen in Sackville Gardens (where Alan Turing's statue is).
After that we went to join some more friends for a drink and then a Chinese buffet.
A lot of the weekend was taken up with a pop concert featuring people I'd never heard of (with a couple of exceptions). This seemed like a good opportunity to practise with my new camera (a Canon Ixus 140), particularly the zoom.
This was the only act I saw on the main stage. Misha B is a Mancunian who's been on one of the TV shows. Seen with various levels of zoom.
After that we saw the end of Heather Peace's set in Sackville Gardens, but my batteries were running low so I didn't get a photo. I returned on Sunday, and saw a variety of performers on that stage. This is January Woodhead, who I thought was quite good.
Here are some dancers.
I was disappointed that Barcode Zebra didn't turn out to be fans of Newcastle United; the only stripes visible were on a guitar strap. Apparently they're from Yorkshire.
This was a comic routine involving the Titanic.
Young women in sparkly dresses proved good value. This one is Hayley-Ria Christian.
Kelly Wilde is a very enthusiastic lady who didn't get to represent the UK in Eurovision 1990 but seems to do all the Pride Events.
She was very enthusiastic about Clare, one of the two signers on the Sackville stage.
And finally, someone I'd heard of, even if I don't remember any of her music - Toyah Willcox! It hadn't occurred to me that she was Centauri. She was also very enthusiastic and good value. And obligingly she finished her set promptly - perhaps she was going for the same last tram as me, though I didn't spot her. It leaves at one minute to ten on Sundays, which is inconveniently early.
Canal Street as I walked towards the tram stop..
And one last glimpse, looking back up Canal Street.
It goes on through Bank Holiday Monday, but I've got Things To Do here... Nice to attend Manchester Pride at last though, particularly in good company.
Apparently the last Test got more interesting than you'd have expected while I was out.
ETA: I forgot to put in one of the not-pop bits. There was an exhibition of art about mental illness in which various gay and bi women had constructed "kitchen spaces" expressing their state of mind or showing how they lived with it; many of them had CD players and headphones so you could hear the women talking, or transcripts of what they said. There was also tea and cake available, and I was thirsty though not hungry. There was a shortage of chairs, but I remembered Marline, whose kitchen featured a CD of the noise in her head, had a note saying that when we'd had enough of that we could step through into her tranquil space (beyond a gauzy curtain) and be served tea. This seemed to be metaphorical as Marline wasn't there when I visited, but there was a chair and table with two empty teacups; I left those alone, but I sat down in the tranquil space with my tea in a paper cup, and at that point I noticed that the music playing quietly inside the space was Pachelbel's Canon.
Also posted on Dreamwidth, with
comments.