Royal Pavilion
human rights activist Aung San Suu
Kyi on Kensington Street, an Honorary
Freewoman of the City of Brighton &
Hove. Our gay community make a vital
contribution to culture, leading as a
strong example for the city’s Equality
and Diversity Charter. Brighton’s first
Pride, was organised by the Sussex
Gay Liberation Front in 1973, only seven
years after Homosexuality was still a
criminal act. To add to this, nothing
speaks quite like free will when you find
that the majority of the country’s Jedis
live in Brighton.
My perfect day out would mean an ea rly
rise to walk through the lanes, once a
fishing town, towards the sea, when
there are only the seagulls around
(usually fighting and never quite as
approachable as I think they should
be) buying a fresh coffee and scoffing
chocolate brioche from my favourite
bakery. Brighton seems intimate with the
lack of tall buildings until you reach the
vast expanse of the sea, always there,
always breath taking and always making
sure we don’t get lost. A walk back
through the lanes, to buy things I don’t
really need, talking to the shopkeepers
that don’t care whether I buy anything
and finally finishing off with a trip to
the Duke of York’s cinema, the oldest
operating picture house in the country
which opened in 1910.
Brighton has an earned right to act and
speak enthusiastically from experience,
taking more risks than any other city,
safe in the knowledge that it already has
a reputation for self-expression.
I love Brighton for allowing me to escape
and be free.
By Cynthia Bossert
Gay Pride - Photo courtesey of Scott Anderson
75