The local Pride season is upon us, and the most recent one was in Levenshulme. For those who don’t know, it’s been ongoing for 9 years and has grown from humble beginnings to a time where the A6 is temporarily closed for the parade.
The weather was kind, so the parade wasn’t washed out (earlier it looked as if that might happen), and we based ourselves outside the Isca wine bar (5 stars, with very reasonable prices) to see it pass. Sadly, the next-door Talleyrand bar (also 5 stars from previous visits) was closed for a private function.
The Market Place (behind The Klondike, just down from Levenshulme Station) wasn’t quite set up by 11:45, but it looked as if it had good offerings.
The parade was fun, and, possibly uniquely, was bidirectional. Having marched out of town, it then did a U-turn and marched back in.
The local establishments (Levenshulme Pub, Talleyrand, Isca, and the antique emporium) had flags and/or bunting and everyone we met just wanted a great time.
Making these things happen is never easy, so hats off to all who made it possible.
Paul Schofield for Canal Street Online.