Hope you're well and happy. I needed to preach about Brighton Pride yesterday, hosted on the wonderfully sunny Saturday of August 6th. I can't quite explain how elated I was throughout the day being back in my home city. It was a glorious summer event and if you've never done a PRIDE, GO NEXT YEAR!
I woke up this morning with a mild sense of loss, nostalgia and a general come down. I don't know if this is down to my current mood and emotional state (thinking about life and travel a lot atm), or just the realisation that Pride was over (probz both). It's not that I am gay and this is a major event in my annual calendar, nor that I topped myself up with too much magic powder (I don't top myself up full stop). It's more that I have this HUGE love for my childhood city of Brighton and everything it stands for. So when I woke up I realised it was over...so quickly! Done for another year, like a Christmas comedown. *WEEPS* So I want to take this as a moment of gratitude to reflect on why...
The sum is always greater
The power of togetherness in this city is contagious. The majority of the year is spent 'doing you,' everyone with their own lives; all different, insane, beautiful, weird and wonderful. THEN POW, Pride hits and the entire city rejoices and befriends one another... Mundane talk about the weather is replaced with chats about the Pepperami parade or how much glitter you can cover every inch of your face in. One guy gave even me his jewel sticker!? Thanks guy, I hope to see you outside Be At One, North Street in future for further glam-tastic offerings!
Also shout-out to Simon in his Adidas who gave me first bite of his Burger Brothers and Charlie in great purple hareems, who nearly bought me a cider from Tesco Express in the Laines. Thought that counts, right?
It (nearly) satisfies my insatiable craving for newness
I'm always seeking new stuff, new feels and inspiration etc. I need satisfying in this area A LOT. I want to wow, gasp, stare, think and feel frequently. Brighton is great for this; there's new places, new music, new hangouts, new people and new views constantly. Sometimes it saves me travelling aborad! THNX B.
It celebrates difference
I feel at home hopping off that London train landing on southern soil. I feel rested, I feel me, I feel open, I feel ready, I feel optimistic. It's a comfort knowing you're part of something, a community, something bigger, woven into the city's bright tapestry from a young one (soz, that sentence made me die inside a little too). You can be whoever you want in Brighton - it's okay!
It doesn't call out boldness/It's a microcosm of everything
Wear a tutu, wear nothing, be pink, green, black, yellow or white in Brighton and IT'S ALL GOOD. Heck why not re-invent yourself often! Peace to all, answer to no one. Yesterday I saw elderly men merely in straps, a head dress, heels and bare bum cheeks... IT WAS EPIC. It was Pride. AND you get a cheer/ crowd selfie for it!
Eat grass, eat half a cow, go to Weatherspoons and load up on cheap happiness, or sit in an elegant, overpriced pre-theatre bar - there's food and drink for EVERYONE HERE. NB. Brighton is very 'green' in all senses of the word, so you kinda know what you're getting from the off.
It has a shore
Who doesn't love a land's end? The beach is the heart, the people are the blood. (Phwoar, what a metaphor for a Sunday, eh?) It was heaving yesterday; beach bars galore, day drinking, dogs, sun burn potential and people taking a dip nearer the end of the night!
It parties like an S Club party
By the Steine bus station there was a pop up disco with a small stage blasting dance music, mobile discos meandering around with multicolour umbrellas and cardboard signage, the King and Queen pub was spilling out onto the road and traffic definitely wasn't having a blast. What is more, you had the paid entry party itself in Preston Park with Carly Rae Jepson (if that tickles your fancy) and St James' Street for the evening vibey, street sesh. Best bet though is improvising – wander the streets with a lager, hang with a local, then chat up a bouncer to use the loo! Capeesh?
What are your fave things about Pride, or more importantly, the all-rounder city of Brighton?
