Maybe some of you remember the Whit Sunday parades? I was a scout, so would usually end up being a flag bearer of some kind and I remember vividly how the crowds would line the streets of my home town of Ashton-under-Lyne. The parade would be a mile long and people would clap, wave and cheer and celebrate the summer banging drums and playing brass instruments loud and proud.

We would usually finish in a huge car park where there would be food stalls and games to play, and the new May Queen would be crowned (I remember Verna Samford getting it one year). It would be exhausting, but absolutely amazing! Most importantly it brought together a community that, for one day, could forget about everything else going on in the world and just focus on that one big shiny event. Very fond memories…

In many ways the Gay Pride Parade was no different. People lined the streets four deep, whistling, clapping and cheering. It’s exactly what Manchester needed. Gay Pride Parade was intended initially as a big fingers up to the negative, homophobic society that had suppressed the LGBT community for centuries. I can’t compare it to past Parades, as this was my first, but I got a sense that this was more than just Gay Pride. It was very much Manchester Pride, where a city came out in its thousands, and stuck two fingers up at any organisation that tries to trap us in our homes with fear.

The pictures i’ve uploaded are mostly of party goers and the crowd. I’ve put a couple in from the parade, but will probably upload a separate link to that in the near future. Get in touch if you want to be informed when I do this.

When I started my ‘People of Manchester’ project I didn’t really know where I was going with it. I still don’t know, if I’m honest, but it seems to be gathering pace and setting its own precedence.

What I do know, is that I’m pushing myself into situations that I might otherwise have avoided or not bothered with. Manchester Gay Pride Parade is exactly one of those. I’ve always wanted to go, but for reasons that are beyond me I never have. This year I was adamant I wasn’t going to miss it and I’m thoroughly glad I went!

Thank you as always to the People of Manchester for letting me take your pictures, If you saw me on the day, or see yourself in any of the photos and would like copies, please get in touch. And if you’re on instagram you can follow me at woofdog.street or at woofdog