Pride Cornwall

Wee (upstart) took an interest in Pride Cornwall partly because it is a new matter. And partly because we have received reports over the past year about misbehaviour on the part fo the po9lice and social services in the County.
I went down to Truro, with my new camera, (maybe I should have read the instructions), to see the Pride for myself.
Either our reports are of very isolated events, or the Pride committee decided that a point could be made better with a smile than with a scowl. I had a chat with Andrew Jolly (‘… as in Father Christmas…’ as he put it. Clearly a man who has heard all the ‘jokes’. I think he was slightly puzzled about my making a bit of a big deal about ‘solidarity’. He said that there had been 500 on the Pride ‘march’, and that the big even that evening was sold out. It had been a most successful Pride.
The one fly in the ointment had been a number of people sitting down in the street at the start of the event. They object to a homosexual demonstration in ‘their’ city. (The possessive seem to irritate Andrew, but that is the style of ‘Bible’ Protestants. They handed out a fairly non-specific glossy tract. They are the Truro Evangelical Church. It has connections with a League of Independent Evangelical Churches. As they did not ask their colleagues about the country to help them, they are (probably) not going to be a long-term nuisance for Pride. (But they will need watching. The Christian Institute may feel the need to provide them with lots of money).
I was on the parade, and talked to an took photographs (which may never be accessible) of lots of people. Starting with a large … jolly… man wearing a black kilt. I asked him if it was a Cornish kilt. ‘No, it’s a Gay kilt!’ I photographed Patches a very handsome greyhound (with traces of border collie?). And a very handsome young man called Richard.
Richard was dressed in ‘Elizabethan’ costume. I didn’t ask if it was some particular ‘Elizabethan’ – these adventurous chaps tended to turn into mass-murderers if they put foot on Irish soil. There were a fair number of people in ‘uniform’ including the man who seemed to be Master of Ceremonies. He wore a modern (British) army Lieutenant’s jacket (but no shirt – and very nice it all was too). He should award himself another pip for this year’s work.
I mention this as a simple observation, there were two people in wheel-chairs on the march (I am not entirely sure if the ‘walk’ was described as a ‘march’). As you may gather from other reports I’m not over-fond of the word, in this context anyway. There were probably more women than men, and lots of dogs (not all as fabulously beautiful as Patches). There were also lots of nice young men (not all as… well…).
The Polis were not out in large numbers. ?Before the Christian Institute got the head-bangers out in Belfast, the RUC / PSNI loved Pride. They had to be out in large numbers because ‘marches’ are contentious in NornIrl. But Pride was just a wee Dander with friendly people (and they got paid for it!).
We had to climb a hill at the end of the parade. ?Proving that the committee is made up of under-forties. There was also a very narrow path into the park which was our destination. It made for a spectacular, near medieval sight as banners had to be carried at odd angles. They were the banners of Pride, Unison, the PCS union, and the Gay Gordons, from London. (A passer-by tried to put on a sour face, and rather succeeded, until he started steppin’ and leppin’). There were other banners.
One major oddity was that the drum band was at the very back of the parade. It was a rather good drum band, made up entirely (I think) of young fellas. They weren’t just at the back. Their sound was hidden behind a float. Live music is invaluable on this sort of demonstration. They should have been at the front. This is not just a bee in my bonnet. Orange Lodges, which know a lot about parades, go to great trouble and expense to procure the services of decent bands.