Lots of Pride

Saturday was Pride in London (and Dublin, New York, San Francisco and many other places) and even though we didn't really plan to participate we were going to be in London.

It's Richards birthday on Tuesday and I bought him tickets for the Pompeii exhibition at The British Museum so we headed into town in the morning and went to Shoreditch where Richard had his hair cut.

Following this we found a lovely coffee warehouse off Old Street called Ozone where we had a delicious (if a little pricey) brunch.

Ozone was really nice. It had a great atmosphere and it was cool to sit and watch the chefs prepare your food in front of you. We managed to arrive at a good time and didn't have to queue. There was quite a queue when we left however.

From here we took a walk around Shoreditch and had a look in the odd gorgeous thing shop before heading to Boxpark where I was smitten by a pair of Urban Ear headphones (which I didn't buy).

A complete circuit led us back to Liverpool Street where we jumped on the bus to the Strand and Covent Garden. Due to the road closures caused by the parade it was very busy on the roads so we gave up on the bus and walked the remainder of the route.

After a brief look around the shops we headed over to Russell Square and The British Museum where we saw the Pompeii and Herculaneum exhibition. We both are fascinated by what happened to the towns that were engulfed by Visouvious and this exhibition captures it wonderfully.

It's very moving and amazing to see the corpses set in volcanic ash, the possessions, the furniture and the frescos that adorned the houses of these two villages. In many ways they were a lot like us. They sadly met a very hot and stick end.

I am surprised at how well preserved so many of the artefacts were and there's still lots more to unearth in both locations.

The casts of a family trying to escape the volcanic flow by hiding under their stairs is particularly harrowing and moving.

It was only a short walk from the museum to the pub in Soho but it was a bit of a mindfield trying to get through all the rainbow coloured semi naked bodies that crowded the streets.

We arrived in once piece though and made the most of happy hour, inbibing many a cocktail in the latter part of the afternoon.

It was a great spot to people watch, especially on such a vibrant day.

A very good friend of mine was part of the organising committee and worked tirelessly on the day. We did see him go past the pub and he looked very busy. It's cause of these volunteer efforts that make Pride the success it is. Sadly we didn't get to catch up with him but I'm sure he's either resting well or still partying hard!

An impromptu street party had broken out on the road outside and we stopped for a bit to enjoy the atmosphere before heading out to dinner.

On the way to the restaurant we got up to some mischief and Wayne managed to blag a cheeky photo with a cute cooper!

Note the PC gave Wayne his hat, it's an offense to take a hat of a policeman in the UK.

This pic sums up Pride though because even with all the controversy and in amongst all the crowds, everyone was out to simply have a good, fun day and to celebrate.

Dinner was the usual riotous affair but we had a lovely meal before heading home.

The train journey home was spent homo spotting 🙂 As predicted most got off the train at Chelmsford.

We didn't plan to go to Pride (we've both participated at various levels many times before) but it was great to be in London whilst it was going on. Following lasts years debacle it was great to see this year was much better organised and a hit with everyone who took part.

The organisers were very lucky with the weather too. Changing the date paid off as it was a beautiful day in London.

I've seen loads of photos of the parade online but this is one of my favourites by Keith Houghton (instagram.com/eurokeith). I think it sums the day up perfectly.

Maybe next year we may join the parade…

We're enjoying a quiet post Pride day, Richards done the garden. The housework is complete. We are now enjoying some peace and quiet in the sun. I shall head out for my run when it cools down.

What a lovely weekend.