The dot matrix signs on the A406 were coy 'Central London Road Closures, Event, Sat 4th July'. So little wonder perhaps that when we were walking through Leicester Square panic suddenly spread among a group of topless young men for whom the penny had finally dropped. 'Put your t-shirts on lads' was the cry of the scout who had been sent on ahead to ascertain why there was a music stage in the centre of the square.
How tragic - they had probably looked forward for months to a stag weekend and found themselves in the middle of London Gay Pride. "Do they think we're benders?" muttered the tanned, toned, topless man whose designer jeans and underwear had fallen out and were trying to get as far away from each other as possible.
Pride always provokes some strong reactions and many people complain that while they have no problem with homosexuals they do not approve of having their noses rubbed in it by a float of drag queens, go-go dancers and overt kissing. I have no truck with this sort of attitude. Were it not for the overt defiance of some of the most marginalised people in the Stonewall riots (which Pride commemorates) there would be no equality in law for many people. Sectarian marches like Orange Order parades or BNP meetings are more of a problem for me.
It has been an extremely good week of weather and we decided that we would go to Pride on Saturday with Harriet. The politics of Pride aside it was wonderful to walk around the closed roads of Soho and enjoy a pint in the middle of the road. Soon after we arrived a man approached us and asked us about Harriet - he told us he was here on business from the US and he too had a child. He beamed as he opened his wallet and showed us a post-it note written in a child's handwriting that said 'I love you papi'. He smiled at Harriet and bounced back off down the street.
It was a nice start. I admit that I was concerned about the reaction. We haven't experienced direct hostility but the vast majority of people who have been, let's say, less than fully supportive have been gay.
We met one of our Facebook friends for the first time in Trafalgar square. He has just had a child and it was an amazing contrast between that tiny little newborn and Harriet. How quickly they grow up.
The Mayor of London was not present this year because he had his son's birthday party. That was a shame but the office of Mayor had done an extremely good job and the large signs that read Gay-Mayor of London-Lesbian and Bisexual-Mayor of London-Trans were extremely eye-catching. We met another couple who also asked about Harriet. Jay was wearing his "Who's the Daddy?" T-shirt so that probably helped. One said that he had been married and never gave children a second thought but now he had come out it was on his mind. They asked lots of questions about how we did it and how much it cost.
The political speeches were not well received. Harriet Harman was booed and the Conservative Jeremy Hunt received a very hostile reaction and people threw (plastic) bottles. Despite this the Tories are probably quietly confident that they are making progress since this week's survey for Jake (a gay professional group) showed that support for them reflected the general opinion polls and was good. David Cameron has apologised for the monstrosity that was section 28 (the ban on local authorities 'promoting' 'pretended' family relationships) and while that won't placate a Pride crowd filled with socialist workers, trades unionists and Stonewall it will probably work for most people. The Labour government has been the most supportive and successful in equality and I felt sorry for Harriet Harman.
Anyway, it was back off to Soho for a meal and a drink. Everyone looked at Harriet and actually I was surprised at how few other children were there. We had one hostile comment from someone who felt that we were showing off and that we had it all. I can well understand the frustrations of people who want something so badly and can't find a way to make it happen. Apart from that we met some lovely people and we had a great time. Luckily there were plenty of people who just asked direct questions and you could see the relief wash over others who had been too timid.
It was a lovely day out. Thank goodness for those riots that made it possible.
