Brighton Pride is this weekend. They have been building the multi-stage site in Preston Park all week. This beer mat is from 1995 when the event was somewhat smaller – just a few pubs and clubs and a carnival procession.
Now the whole city is painted like a rainbow for a fortnight. It’s a rare example of positive change in our lifetimes and deserves to be celebrated for ever.
We must never forget that this massive event started as a political protest organised by a few very brave people. Exactly the sort of public political protest that is now all but illegal, in fact.
Ephemeral items like this beer mat were not designed to last but this one has been carefully saved and I was delighted to discover it in a collection I bought recently. Small as it is, it had a part to play in that change-for-good that has led to greater equality and tolerance throughout our society.
I am always on the lookout for collections of books, ephemera, postcards, photographs, maps, prints, posters… in fact anything at all on paper. It might seem unimportant but who knows? It could be really significant and just the sort of thing I’m after. It’s worth a call!
Brighton Pride, 1995. First edition. A beer mat.
