march
There seems to be an ongoing discussion involving a few of the blogs I regularly read about the significance of Gay Pride / Mardi Gras festivities. During this current build-up to Mardi Gras I am overwhelmed with images from the first time I attended (London, 1991) and what it meant to me, namely the guts to be out there in the street as I am and the consequent relief in seeing hundreds of people like me but at the same time completely different in tastes, attitude and beliefs. I experienced for the very first time the true meaning of the phrase It's OK to be yourself, and it was much more powerful of the equally appealing It's OK to be gay. This is why I have moved back to London. This is why I will be definitely attending the Mardi Gras Pride Parade (assembly at Hyde Park Corner at 11am on the morning of Saturday 6th July, with the parade kicking off at midday), and I wish for it to be as varied and crowded as it can possibly be.
I have made tentative plans with friends to join them after the parade to spend the late afternoon/early evening in Soho, rather than going to the park, but I suppose I'll improvise on the spur of the moment. Normally I am not too keen to be commercially exploited, but then again I often fall for it.