Well this is how my day went:
Alarm - 3am. Alarm - 3.05am. Alarm 3.10am...you get the picture. I woke gently with some YouTube videos of camp musical songs. Got dressed and was ready for my taxi to the coach station for the 4.15am Oxford Tube to London.
As to be expected at that time of the morning, it was an easy run - so was off the bus by 5.45am and thence to get a double sausage and egg mcmuffin to start the day.
I was at the Registration site by just after 6am and did the signing in/accreditation process - getting my radio, wrist band and so forth so that I could roam round the entire footprint of Pride for my job of the day which was volunteer well-being. This is a new initiative where we are putting the effort into making sure our volunteers are happy and healthy through the day.
My first few hours were spent talking to colleagues and handling the dispatch of electric scooters being used by people who needed to get around quickly. So very camp when you see them in action.
Around 9.30, my niece and her friend arrived for their first ever Pride. And their first ever volunteering. It was probably the highlight of my day to see them having a great time and feeling empowered as a result. They were signed in, covered in glitter and rainbows and spent their day on Whitehall dealing with the end of the parade!
I headed out with my immediate team around 11.30 and went to the start of the parade (which was up by the BBC). This is my 5th year of volunteering with PiL and it was my first time out on the parade route (normally I am behind the scenes). It was an overwhelming experience in so many ways.
The noise, the colour, the whistles, the smiles - it is one of the great things about the event that we take over the heart of our capital city and dominate it for one short day in a rainbow city. We don't charge people to attend. We don't charge people see the events on the stages. Yes, that means corporate sponsorship - but it is worth it to make it free to EVERYONE. It is the most inclusive thing we can do. And all sponsors are checked to make sure that they are active year-round in their support of Pride ideals. They don't just slap a rainbow on things for a month every year. They are committed to change - and we turn down many offers from companies that can't demonstrate that.
So once the parade started off just after 12, I was on the route talking to our volunteers, checking in the the crowds, keeping my eye on safety issues and helping troubleshoot where necessary. I think I reached the end of the parade route about 3pm - 1.2 miles in 3 hours... not fast progress. I smiled a lot. I cried a couple of times. I revelled in the positive, supportive atmosphere. There were a few celebs that I saw - Scarlett Envy was walking the route in impressive heels. Sir Ian was being lovely. Shirley Ballas was looking a lot like Frances Barber. There were plenty more that I missed.
But it was a march of protest and of 50 years of achievement. The balance was right. We made our points very loudly and very proudly.
My day was somewhat cut short due to someone in the crowd being rather forceful with making me do underarm spins with him. He wasn't to know that I have damaged by right wrist - but he rather made it worse. So by 4pm I was back at the Registration base on Poland Street and by 5pm, I was being seen by a nurse at the Soho drop in centre.
6pm I was on my coach home. Exhausted. In pain. But happy to have been part of it again.
I know now how much more we can do to look after our volunteers. How much more we need to do to make the event run smoothly. But it was a huge achievement from a core team of 200 year round volunteers and 1000 on the day volunteers. Budget of £1.2 million. Biggest ever crowds. Biggest ever number of volunteers. It is easy to forget the work necessary to make it happen. But it is so worth it.
Whether you march, you attend or you volunteer, you are part of something special. It is still needed. And London is one of the top 3 iconic Pride events - we are part of a global effort. Even if we achieve everything we want here at home, we still need to fight for those who live under the threat of death for being who they are. Until we defeat hate, Pride will always been needed. And we will continue to make a lot of noise about it.
