Sunday morning during the Easter weekend in Nottingham. Beautiful blue skies, a warm Spring sun, and a faint yet cooling breeze.
My boots – vegan, women’s, M&S – whispered against the city streets as I made my way up through the manicured ruins of the new Broadmarsh park. No longer the slum of an early century, but maybe a tombstone of a once proud shopping centre. Across from the carefully laid rocks and water courses, loose tarps from the building’s skeleton flapped in the wind. Ghosts of visits passed drifted into my head. Christmas in the old Co-op restaurant, Games Workshop with a friend, buying knee boots in the 90s….
Up, up, and across Market Square to Speakers Corner: a statue of Brian Clough, the joining of King Street and Queen Street. A crowd had gathered already and, unusually for me, I wasn’t late.
The crowd was friendly, noisy, and impassioned. We – trans people, friends, families, allies – had come to protest against the Supreme Court’s decision about trans rights. Over five hundred people attended. Signs stood proudly in the sun, faces decorated with Pride, loved ones held close. The old, the young, the able, the disabled, and everyone in between.
A megaphone crackled to life and one of the organisers informed us of our rights to protest and what to do if we encountered the police, the media, or similar. Details here.
I heard speeches from the public – from trans people, queer folk, and cis-het women too. Dana – a quiet, cool lady from Chams, spoke like with a presence and fervour that belonged in cinema. The rawness of her words touched me.
Tania was eloquent as ever, bless her, and many more people who’s names I don’t remember, but their courage and spirit I do. I recall Tania mentioning that Nottingham had always been a place of resistance. A look through the city’s history in the Castle certainly shows this. Poetic or accurate, the point remains ✊
Towards the end, we all sat down so a speaker could be seen. I think I need to start doing yoga as sitting down on the floor was not easy. I would blame my mechanic work from the day before, but I think the truth is, I’m a duffer 😁 While sat, I spotted a street cover and it raised a smile: Pam and Warrior. A quirk of the randomness of life? Femme name and here we are, fighting for rights.
I saw Jonathan in the crowd but I was too far away to say hello. On the way up to ask if I could speak*, I spotted Jenna who I think I confused ‘cos she’s only ever seen me in Lynn mode. Stupidly, I didn’t say who I was. Why did I go up to speak? Well, our amazing son is trans and I feel as his parent, if he can’t speak of his needs, then I will…. However, I had left it too late, so there was not the option. But then, plenty of trans people who live openly did. Not only that, but plenty of queer folk, non binary people, and a cis-het woman too. As to the last lady, she made us all laugh with the comment: “I was ranting over there and they said I should go up, do here I am.” That went down really well.
Perhaps for the best, by the time I’d found my nerve, volunteering was over. But, as I stood to the side of the statue, two cars roared around the corner. While they revved impotently, three men got out and gave rude hand gestures in a – warning, sarcasm ahead! – full and detailed rebuke of all political, ethical, and moral points. 🙄
The crowd responded with a chant of ‘trans rights are human rights’, which drowned out the yobbish jeering. A small number of folk headed towards the counter protesters to keep them away from the protest. I followed them up the hill in Dad Mode (what was I thinking? 😬), in case the counter protesters kicked off…? Luckily, no appeal for calm was required as having burned a lot of fuel: they sped off, much to the delight of the crowd. D minus, neds; see me after class. 😜
That small incident did not affect the protest and speeches continued. A statement from Nadia Whittome,MP for Nottingham East was read out, as the Right Honourable Ms Whittome was out of the country. As ever, her commitment to queer rights and equality is as example to others in UK politics. Westminster, get your act together and stop reading the Daily Heil. You can’t please haters – they’re like fire: enraged, destructive, and only consume.
At the end of the hour, Mx Clough got a wee makeover! 😁 If Old Big Head would have appreciated it, I guess we will never know.
With the speeches and protest over, I snuck over to one of the organisers to thank them for organising it all. I also got chance to say hello to Dana and I told her how moving her speech was, and how proud I felt of her. We had a hug and it wasn’t me who started it 😁 Likewise the same with Tania and I think I managed not to embarrass her daughter who’d come along. The parental my, you’ve grown up comment stayed in my head. I mean, it’s blazingly obvious so why do we say it?
With goodbyes said, I remembered the numbers mentioned, the diverse community that represented, and the call to action. Perhaps, as with the fall of Section 28, there is hope 🩷🏳️⚧️✊
Stay fabulous, lovelies.
L x
Well done you. xxx
Thank you. I was just a person in the crowd: a supportive parent with a homemade sign. But maybe that’s all that was needed. Some middle aged (presenting as😉) cis bloke ally: visible, supporting, and giving space to those who need to be heard.
I attended the London event and felt that somehow all is not lost.
If I may say, top marks, Faye. Thank you for making the effort and representing. I’ve seen a few pictures from Claire’s blog and via The Independent & The Guardian.
Thank you, Lynn, for attending, speaking, supporting others and reporting back. You are a champion.
Nottingham is just one town in the UK and I hear similar gatherings have been repeated all over the country despite such short notice between the ruling and the weekend.
I am out of the UK, having left in 2018 because of the impending malice epitomised in rulings such as this, but what happens in the UK still bothers and affects me. At the moment all I can do is send my trans friends my love and best wishes and moral support. Keep resisting the hate.
Hugs, Sue x
Apologies for the confusion in my original post, Sue. I did go to to ask, but I’d left it too late, so no speaking happened. As the blog post now says, perhaps that’s a good thing. That appearing as a regular parent in the crowd shows that the cruel misinterpretation affects families.
I think organisers have done an amazing job in getting events together in such short time. That there have been so many, well, as as Faye’s words: I am hopefully. I am hopefully that people come together and apply pressure to decision makers to ratify and improve the Equality Act.
As to your comment about leaving the UK, I will find great satisfaction if this new ruling is overturned by the European Court of Human Rights ✊🏳️⚧️
Well done for going, I was unfortunately away from Leeds at the weekend, otherwise would have gone.
Izzy
Thank you, Izzy. I felt it was necessary given family and friends. Looking at a few blogs and queer news sites, there was quite a visible presence in a number of cities.
Just going through your back posts and I noticed my name 🙂
However, the link goes somewhere else, so you might like to change that 😉
Apologies for the wrong link. Duly charged and thanks for letting me know
Hope you’re keeping well, BTW
Thanks, Lynn 🙂
Hope you’re keeping well too x
As for me, I’m as well as can be expected for someone who looks at the worldwide news every day, or even just the national news 😐
No worries and glad it’s sorted.
Well? Umm, mostly okay.
With you on the sh**show of anti trans BS. 🫤 I could do with someone turning the Bigot Gas from 11 down to a low simmer! ✊🏳️⚧️🩷