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Gay Pride/single status /Battle of Britain

Yesterday was a popular event in the Brighton calendar – “Gay Pride” – when some 2% of the total annual visitors descend on Brighton for the Parade that goes from Hove Lawns to Preston Park. The revellers normally finish up in Kemp Town and more than a few in the bushes of Duke’s Mound.

There are some straights who go on the parade to embrace Gay Pride as part of Brighton’s culture but most like me steer well away.

This is not out of any homophobia but in my case a dislike of crowds.

Others like my p/a Polly note that there are so many intoxicated by alcohol and other substances that they constitute a  danger to themselves and others. The Royal Sussex County hospital does not have an empty bed already and their over-stretched staff now will have to deal with a surge.

Don’t have a heart attack on Pride weekend.

Another point occurred to me. Homophobia is rightly no longer acceptable but there is another group to which I belong who are regularly discriminated against – the single person.

When we travel we are liable to a supplement, on a cruise that can be 100%. I recently heard an advert from a credit rating and financial service  company whose theme was the single person needs help in his financial planning. On the contrary, I have found single people like Polly resourceful because they know if they do not look after themselves then no one else will.

And is being single as bad as the advert suggests?

This year I have been let down on various invitations for the opera or travel, often at short notice, and  gone on my own. I did not feel a social inadequate but rather enjoyed myself, meeting interesting people on the way and content in my own company. Me and I get on rather well. We have the odd tiff but nothing we can’t put right.

But back to Pride.

The parade makes any transport impossible because of the road closures so I decided to stay in.

I called Neil Rosen for guidance on films and  he recommended Battle of Britain screened on ITV4. I had watched it several times but he said it satisfied the definition of a classic.

No matter how many times you have seen it, you’re still drawn it after 5 minutes. It has a superb cast of Laurence Olivier as Air Marshal Dowding, Trevor Howard, Christopher Plummer, Kenneth More, Michael Redgrave, Harry Andrews and the young Michael Caine and Edward Fox.

It’s directed by Guy Hamilton and William Walton composed the inspiring score.

It’s much better than the recent war films of Dunkirk.

That generation of actors remember the War – some fought in it – and look resplendent in uniform.

I enjoyed seeing the early swagger of the Luftwaffe high command disintegrate, that bloated preening drug addicted Reichsmarshal Goering was no match for the calm Dowding and in a beautiful cameo Ralph Richardson, whilst pouring tea for Von Richter (played by Carl Jurgnes), suing for peace on the basis that Britain is not Germany’s natural enemy was swiftly sent on his way.

My late father was a RAF squadron leader although he owed his promotion to weekend yachting trips with his wing commander, a member of the Royal  Thames Yacht club.

As far as I know he never set foot in a plane and when he  get back to Uxbridge base after his promotion came in for a bit of flak from the flight lieutenants, some of whom were Battle of Britain veterans.

So I have always identified with the RAF whose 55,000 brave airmen cleared the skies of the Luftwaffe, prevented invasion and gave Hitler his first reverse. It was indeed our finest hour.

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About Robert Tickler

A man of financial substance, Robert has a wide range of interests and opinions to match. More Posts