Leeds Pride
Aug. 6th, 2018 09:24 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
lupestripeYesterday was Leeds Pride, which we attended for only the second time. What was different to usual though was that we had snagged a spot in the Parade through the persistence of Cosmo, who had spent most of the Spring organising it on our behalf. In the end, we had 23 furs - full suiters, partials, poodlers and non-suiters - walking in the Parade and despite the intense heat, it was an awful lot of fun. I had always had my heart set on full suiting at Pride (largely because I wanted to try my new harness) and I was only marginally put off by the baking 26C heat, but I did have my doubts as we set off on Sunday morning. Indeed, I took both my partial and full suits out with me before deciding on the full suit option upon discovering there were four other idiots doing it as well. Alas they had cooldown vests and I did not on account of me feeling the pouches would melt by the time we started, so it ended up being quite difficult.
We had hired a van in which to change - a chore in itself partly because Wolfie's driving license address didn't match his billing address and partly because they then cancelled the order twice. After an irate phone call, we did manage to secure something from a place down the road though, which saw Wolfie and I drive into Leeds early to pick it up. We were at the Brewery Wharf car park for 10:45am and, with a little time to kill before the furries were due to join us around 11:45am, we sat in the Tetley for a drink. A few furs came straight to the car park but most of them headed off towards the station to meet the main group, with everyone coming back to the van at the designated time. We then had an hour to suit up before making the long trek up to the car park behind Millennium Square, where we were due to congregate. Normally, I would do this in suit, but the weather was already unbelieveably warm so I walked up there without my fursit head on - ruining the magic being less important than my health.
We arrived at the car park in good time, taking a few pictures under the shade of the Leeds University campus building. The atmosphere was already quite carnivalesque and a few people commented on how mad we were to be wearing full suits on such a hot day. The gravity of this became pretty clear pretty quickly as we were marshalled into position, only to wait in the baking hot sun for the best part of forty-five minutes. During this time, we largely had our head and paws off, although we had to keep putting them on when we thought we were due to move. I also felt a little guilty as there were a few kids hanging around, meaning I probably had my head on for far longer than I should have. Still, spirits were high and we were looking forward to the walk, which initially proceded in a rather sedate manner. We were in between Unison and the Co-Op, with our flags prominent and proud, including our new rainbow one emblazoned with the Leeds Furs logo. The walk down to Millennium Square was just that, before we headed down the road near Popworld and out into streets lined with spectators either side, about four or five deep. This was something I wasn't expecting, even though I had been part of a crowd at a Pride event before, so it proved to be something of a shock as we turned that corner. Despite the heat taking its toll already, the joy was contagious and soon enough I was bounding along, hi-fiving literally everyone who wanted it and offering the occasional hug and selfie too. The Parade walked at a sedate enough pace to be able to do this, and I even managed to throw some sweets into the crowd which had landed on the side of the road from a previous float (I threw one bag a little too hard and twatted some poor woman on the face).
There was a drumming band provided by the Co-Op behind us, always giving us a beat with which to dance, aiding the performance somewhat, but I must admit it got more difficult as the walk ventured on. By the time I got to Vicar Lane, I was really flagging, but at this stage the Parade had spaced out somewhat and there was just me for about twenty metres either side. This made performing even more important, but it was all rather draining. Of course, the people here hadn't yet seen the furs so the performance had to be as fresh as it had been at the start of the march and to be fair to myself, I did reasonably well at conveying the bouncy puppy personality towards the end. I was aided by being able to duck into a side alley near the Market for a quick cool-off before we headed down towards the Palace public house and back up towards the gay area. Somehow, we managed to survive the heat of the walk, aided significantly by my new Camelback which really aided hydration and quite literally proved a life-saver. We tried to get back to the van through the main party area but we were prohibited from entering, so we had to go the long way around via Brewery Wharf. Wolfie led the crew back there while I was so desperate for a sit down that I decided to call off at Brewdog, thinking it would be quiet. Alas, it wasn't but at least I got a nice glass of ice cold water and chatted to a few people with my head off, with them too commenting how hot it must have been for me. After about twenty minutes in here, I headed back to the van to change, still with a buzzing yet tired euphoria from such a great afternoon. That continued into today looking at all the great pictures that Adia had taken, along with some of me which appeared on Leeds-Live.
After everyone had changed, we deposited the van then headed back to the Tetley for some food. There were seven of us in total along with the quartet from Loughborough who were not eating. I just needed a drink, but the fish and chips were incredibly delicious too, with the place being incredibly convenient as we had used the adjacent car park for much of the day. Meanwhile, Tonks had headed back into the party zone trying to sell some bracelets, and after a leisurely dinner, we decided to join him. Two years ago, we had left the party at around this time and it was pretty clear to see why, as most of the stalls had already closed down and it had become more of a rave than anything else. I must admit that loud dance music and crap beer really puts me off gay bars, and it's the main reason why I rarely drink in this part of town, so after fifteen minutes of walking up and down the incredibly rammed streets, we decided that we would rather go somewhere for a quiet drink. The noise had already seen Adia off and Cosmo wanted to leave too, so we returned to our car to enable him to collect his bits, before Taneli, Tonks, Wolfie and I ventured over to Sheafs Yard for a pint. Alas here was another loud music event so we headed back to the Tetley - the third time in one day - to have a leisurely pint of Tetley Pale Ale (or in Wolfie's case a delicious Carlsberg 0.0%) before heading back to Pudsey. It was really nice sitting in the sun after such a rewarding day, despite being pestered by a certain hedgehog on Twitter who was kwetching about not being involved, and we generally felt well-accomplished as we observed the setting sun. After our drink, Taneli headed off while we drove Tonks back to Pudsey, opting for a final drink in Rudy's (as the Manor Inn was rammed for some reason) before I headed home to freshen up after a long day.
We had hired a van in which to change - a chore in itself partly because Wolfie's driving license address didn't match his billing address and partly because they then cancelled the order twice. After an irate phone call, we did manage to secure something from a place down the road though, which saw Wolfie and I drive into Leeds early to pick it up. We were at the Brewery Wharf car park for 10:45am and, with a little time to kill before the furries were due to join us around 11:45am, we sat in the Tetley for a drink. A few furs came straight to the car park but most of them headed off towards the station to meet the main group, with everyone coming back to the van at the designated time. We then had an hour to suit up before making the long trek up to the car park behind Millennium Square, where we were due to congregate. Normally, I would do this in suit, but the weather was already unbelieveably warm so I walked up there without my fursit head on - ruining the magic being less important than my health.
We arrived at the car park in good time, taking a few pictures under the shade of the Leeds University campus building. The atmosphere was already quite carnivalesque and a few people commented on how mad we were to be wearing full suits on such a hot day. The gravity of this became pretty clear pretty quickly as we were marshalled into position, only to wait in the baking hot sun for the best part of forty-five minutes. During this time, we largely had our head and paws off, although we had to keep putting them on when we thought we were due to move. I also felt a little guilty as there were a few kids hanging around, meaning I probably had my head on for far longer than I should have. Still, spirits were high and we were looking forward to the walk, which initially proceded in a rather sedate manner. We were in between Unison and the Co-Op, with our flags prominent and proud, including our new rainbow one emblazoned with the Leeds Furs logo. The walk down to Millennium Square was just that, before we headed down the road near Popworld and out into streets lined with spectators either side, about four or five deep. This was something I wasn't expecting, even though I had been part of a crowd at a Pride event before, so it proved to be something of a shock as we turned that corner. Despite the heat taking its toll already, the joy was contagious and soon enough I was bounding along, hi-fiving literally everyone who wanted it and offering the occasional hug and selfie too. The Parade walked at a sedate enough pace to be able to do this, and I even managed to throw some sweets into the crowd which had landed on the side of the road from a previous float (I threw one bag a little too hard and twatted some poor woman on the face).
There was a drumming band provided by the Co-Op behind us, always giving us a beat with which to dance, aiding the performance somewhat, but I must admit it got more difficult as the walk ventured on. By the time I got to Vicar Lane, I was really flagging, but at this stage the Parade had spaced out somewhat and there was just me for about twenty metres either side. This made performing even more important, but it was all rather draining. Of course, the people here hadn't yet seen the furs so the performance had to be as fresh as it had been at the start of the march and to be fair to myself, I did reasonably well at conveying the bouncy puppy personality towards the end. I was aided by being able to duck into a side alley near the Market for a quick cool-off before we headed down towards the Palace public house and back up towards the gay area. Somehow, we managed to survive the heat of the walk, aided significantly by my new Camelback which really aided hydration and quite literally proved a life-saver. We tried to get back to the van through the main party area but we were prohibited from entering, so we had to go the long way around via Brewery Wharf. Wolfie led the crew back there while I was so desperate for a sit down that I decided to call off at Brewdog, thinking it would be quiet. Alas, it wasn't but at least I got a nice glass of ice cold water and chatted to a few people with my head off, with them too commenting how hot it must have been for me. After about twenty minutes in here, I headed back to the van to change, still with a buzzing yet tired euphoria from such a great afternoon. That continued into today looking at all the great pictures that Adia had taken, along with some of me which appeared on Leeds-Live.
After everyone had changed, we deposited the van then headed back to the Tetley for some food. There were seven of us in total along with the quartet from Loughborough who were not eating. I just needed a drink, but the fish and chips were incredibly delicious too, with the place being incredibly convenient as we had used the adjacent car park for much of the day. Meanwhile, Tonks had headed back into the party zone trying to sell some bracelets, and after a leisurely dinner, we decided to join him. Two years ago, we had left the party at around this time and it was pretty clear to see why, as most of the stalls had already closed down and it had become more of a rave than anything else. I must admit that loud dance music and crap beer really puts me off gay bars, and it's the main reason why I rarely drink in this part of town, so after fifteen minutes of walking up and down the incredibly rammed streets, we decided that we would rather go somewhere for a quiet drink. The noise had already seen Adia off and Cosmo wanted to leave too, so we returned to our car to enable him to collect his bits, before Taneli, Tonks, Wolfie and I ventured over to Sheafs Yard for a pint. Alas here was another loud music event so we headed back to the Tetley - the third time in one day - to have a leisurely pint of Tetley Pale Ale (or in Wolfie's case a delicious Carlsberg 0.0%) before heading back to Pudsey. It was really nice sitting in the sun after such a rewarding day, despite being pestered by a certain hedgehog on Twitter who was kwetching about not being involved, and we generally felt well-accomplished as we observed the setting sun. After our drink, Taneli headed off while we drove Tonks back to Pudsey, opting for a final drink in Rudy's (as the Manor Inn was rammed for some reason) before I headed home to freshen up after a long day.
