Celebrating Our 25th with Pride

posted: 06/10/2010

George House Trust made a big impact at this years Pride event in central Manchester. 25 years ago six volunteers set up the organisation that became George House Trust. We've been at the heart of 25 years of campaigning and support for thousands of people with HIV across North West England ever since.
 

25th actions
The LGBT pride festival over the late August bank holiday weekend gave us a chance to promote our services to thousands of people in Manchester city centre. We chose silver on red for our 25th anniversary colours in the parade, had some human birthday cakes, gave out hundreds of 25th stickers, wore amazing retro George House Trust 25 T-shirts, shook a lot of cans, ran a popular stall in the Expo, photographed suggestions for T-shirt campaign slogans, and organised the vigil in Sackville Gardens.
 

Thanks
We are, as ever, immensely grateful to everyone who supported us at Pride in a hundred different ways, including all who volunteered and gave money. The warmth in the faces of so many people in the crowds lining the city centre streets, clapping and cheering us around the parade route for our 25 years of collective community efforts brought tears to our eyes. Thank You.
 

We are still waiting for the official announcement of the amount raised by Manchester Pride that is to be distributed to HIV and LGBT projects.
 

Appreciations
We would like to thank Beverley Knight for closing the vigil, Antony Crank for being our compere and Jonathan Mayor for his rallying call to action.
 

 

 

 

 

Vigil poem
Poet laureate Carol Ann Duffy wrote and read this moving poem for the vigil. She’s gifted the rights to George House Trust and we are happy for others to use this poem non commercially. 

 

VIGIL

When you lived,
no-one could hold a candle to you.
Tonight, small flames of memory
which scald the hands with wax tears
yearn to be tongues
uttering your name in light.

You burned bright,
illuminated right –
the vigilance of science,
the grace of tolerance;
this silence now
a deep, warm gathering of breath
to blow out guttering words:
stigma, ignorance, fear.
Let them know death.

One lit taper touches another,
contagious with fire,
and darkness glitters; brief flowers
each with its own smoke ghost -
they could be dancing, that close;
the living holding candles
for the lost.

CAROL ANN DUFFY August 2010
© george house trust Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial No Derivatives Licence
 

Permalink

---