Season 5: Episode Fourteen. The gays were certainly on parade this weekend as Benji and Brad walked the Pride in London March together for the very first time! They share all what went down over London Pride weekend, including lots of sexual freedom and spreading the colours of the rainbow everywhere, all for the cause of celebrating that queer kid who is searching for a place to belong. Plus, Benji reveals all about a secret package that has arrived that might awaken a whole new experience for him…
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Season 5: Episode Fourteen. The gays were certainly on parade this weekend as Benji and Brad walked the Pride in London March together for the very first time! They share all what went down over London Pride weekend, including lots of sexual freedom and spreading the colours of the rainbow everywhere, all for the cause of celebrating that queer kid who is searching for a place to belong. Plus, Benji reveals all about a secret package that has arrived that might awaken a whole new experience for him…
Thank you to all our subscribers! Your donation helps keep our podcast free and accessible to LGBTQ+ members all over the world!
A special shout out to our FWB for the month of August!
Get to know us more personally!
Instagram
www.instagram.com/biggaypodcast
Email
hello@mybiggaypodcast.com
Website
www.MyBigGayPodcast.com
Hello and welcome to this week's episode of My Big Gay Podcast with me.
Speaker 2:Benji And me, Brad, giving you the life, the loves and loves of living in London, Two gays one city.
Speaker 1:What could possibly go wrong? Okay, i may not have a voice, but I actually don't care. I'm on such a high.
Speaker 2:How are your feet?
Speaker 1:Why Have you moved into like do you want to see them? Shall I shave into you.
Speaker 2:Get those ginger trotters out and let something get on look.
Speaker 1:Wait, whose feet are ginger? I'll have you know that I this is a weird one. Do you shave your feet?
Speaker 2:I don't really have that much hair on my feet, but I sometimes get a little bit and I what's it called Veet them, Veet the feet.
Speaker 1:I was going to say because I do shave my big toe.
Speaker 2:Shave them, trotters.
Speaker 1:Welcome to My Big Gay Podcast, everyone. Today we're talking about shaving your big toe. Oh, my goodness. No, my feet I know why you're referring to. My feet are exhausted, They are wrecked, they are done. Yesterday I could barely walk My hips. Well, they don't lie, but they are in a lot of pain.
Speaker 2:Because we strutted our stuff down the parade route in London Pride.
Speaker 1:Yeah, we did it. We did it, mate, we did it, we did it. Oh, i mean, what a day. I don't actually know where to start with sort of talking about how incredible a day it was from start to finish.
Speaker 2:Yeah, there were moments where we looked at each other and my eyes were well enough and it was just the whole experience, wasn't not just our little podcast section of the parade, but just the whole thing in general, just seeing all those amazing LGBTQ class family out supporting, waving the flag, waving that trans flag everywhere you know, that is what we were there to do. We were there to show up and show off and we did that.
Speaker 1:Completely, and those of you that are new to the podcast, very welcome. You're very welcome. We have been planning at London Pride actually not for that long, i think it's seven weeks. We did that in Yeah, yeah, about seven weeks, yeah, and then they randomly called me like I think I want to do London Pride.
Speaker 2:It's like okay, here we go?
Speaker 1:Yeah, and we did it And listen. Before we even started the march, we had such an incredible group of people which we'll come back to that joined us for the day. It was the most special group, some people I didn't even know too well and I just felt so bonded with them already for sharing that moment. But we did a little speech at the beginning and we said we're marching today. We're marching under the banner of my Big Gay podcast And thank you so much for being here. But don't forget, pride is not about us right now. It's about everybody else and making everyone feel included and loved, and that is regardless of whatever you look like, whatever you want to be. We were there for you And anyone that couldn't make it but listened to the podcast. You were very much there in spirit, with us marching away And we, like I've always said, we do this podcast for you. But yes, it was what was the slogan for Pride this year.
Speaker 2:Yeah, this theme was called Never March Alone.
Speaker 1:Some people call it a theme, but theme and theme are the same thing.
Speaker 2:But yeah, it was for the trans community this year. That was the main focus, And all the lollipops because each group gets a lollipop with their group name on was all in the trans flag colours, And rightly so.
Speaker 1:Yeah, absolutely. And there were so many people flying that flag and I was running up and down giving them high fives I know high five is slightly hetero, but I was here for it, giving them hugs And there were children as well, like little kids with like trans flags painted on their face like waving. It was just what a moment.
Speaker 2:Such a moment And I think the reason why we're so kind of hyped about it. and on Cloud Niners, we've never marched in the parade before, ever in our whole life. So to do that under my Big A podcast was a very special moment because it was our third birthday as well. We've been doing this podcast now for three years.
Speaker 1:So lovely of London to throw us such a huge party. I know right.
Speaker 2:Thank you so much. Pride in London for the birthday party.
Speaker 1:Thank you so much, but if you didn't get to see us, we have got so many videos and bits and bobs coming out Like keep an eye on our Instagram. We will share it. We have this huge, huge helium balloon which floated down Main Street. Anyone in their offices they could see this balloon. It was absolutely amazing. We had lovely boys holding it for us, dancing with it, spinning it, we had a team of eight dancers, a mega speaker And then, of course, we had all passed, and hopefully future people that have been on the podcast marching with us as well, handing out flyers. It was just, it was all around special, wasn't it?
Speaker 2:It really was, And in our group we wanted to try and have it as diverse as we possibly could And we had drag queens, we had charity workers, LGBTQ plus business owners, ambassadors. It was just. It was just so special and couldn't have gone any better for our first ever one. You know Right, And we always said we do this podcast for the queer kid in the small town who has no community right now, who can listen to us and hopefully see and hear how amazing it is to be gay. Right, I love being gay. It's amazing. So we wanted to put on a show to celebrate that and we're very proud and we're going to dance our dances, We're going to strut our stuff and we're going to paint London rainbow and I feel like we did that.
Speaker 2:I completely feel like we did that.
Speaker 1:I mean, it's very easy when you're in London to forget. You know, we're quite lucky in a way, so lucky Because it's very easy for us to go and pick a handful of gay bars and gay society groups and find gay friends. So when we do record, i do imagine that, like you said, that one queer kid who sat maybe under their, under their D-Vay cover, listening to us privately, to know that actually, whatever feelings you've got, they're completely justified and they are normal and they are okay and you are loved.
Speaker 2:Absolutely So. There is a huge family waiting for you and you feel like you haven't found that family just yet. It will happen. It will happen. Just go looking for it. They're there, we're here, we're going to welcome you with open arms Completely.
Speaker 1:I mean, on the podcast. We don't really like to get too political, do we? But we do like to have conversations about things like you would with any group of friends And what's interesting. And I don't know if you've heard this I have recently heard people sort of say like oh, i don't really know why we need a pride anymore, like oh, i'm not going, no, i don't really feel like we need it. And I mean, how do you feel about that?
Speaker 2:All right, i'm going to be honest with you here and you can judge me or you like as I judge myself for it. When I first moved to London, i didn't quite know who I was and I refused to go to London Pride that first year because I was like I think I don't think we need it, it's rubbing it in people's faces. I had that mentality and I think it's because I'd heard people from my small town that I grew up with also saying the same things. I was like yeah, maybe you're right, we don't need it. Why do we have this? And I guess that it was like internalized homophobia right At the time And I didn't want to be that fem sissy boy.
Speaker 2:I tried to like not be that person from when I was in my small town And over the years I've found my family here, my community, and now I'm like the biggest pride advocate supporter ever. So I feel like I've gone on a bit of a journey over the last 10 years since moving to London, from kind of being a little bit anti-pride to now being like the queen of pride.
Speaker 1:You wish.
Speaker 2:I wish I know that's what I wanted to be. That's the fantasy in my head, right.
Speaker 1:I could fully see that, as I saw you marching down Bond Street. He's a queen today.
Speaker 2:In the shortest shorts I could possibly find. Remember, i picked them out and was like I might wear these. And you're like are you sure You can literally see what you've had for breakfast. I was like yeah, and Yeah.
Speaker 1:So a couple of days ago we were doing our last preparations for Pride and Brad was like, oh, this shop closes, i just want to quickly pop in and get some shorts. I was like, ok, last minute classic. So we went down to Fetch and Clapham And you popped into the changing rooms and you came out in, honestly, the shortest short I think I've ever seen. I was like I can actually see your boxes poking out. They were I mean, they weren't quite as short as, like, dave Richard Speedos will come back to you, dave but they were. They were short And sure enough you, you strutted up and down in those with nothing on underneath, get a good look London Pride, because it's on display for everyone to see.
Speaker 1:And this, this ride is closing soon, honey, because you're nearing your 40s. No, i mean, everyone looks so good. Everyone blessed them. They all wore one of our t-shirts, which was all different colors of the rainbow flag, but, yeah, they brought all their own outfits. They brought sparkly shorts, shoes, tops, the lot, and it was. It was a celebration of everything, everything being queer.
Speaker 1:And going back to you saying like, oh, i don't really feel like we need it, and I know your mindset has changed now. I think it was really important, therefore, that this year, that Pride in London chose to support and raise awareness for our trans community, because us, as gay men in London, okay, we have gone, we've got. We've gone a long way. We have a lot more freedom. Now It's not complete freedom, but it's getting better. We can never lose sight of the rest of our queer community around us. We can't be selfish. We have to look after us all as a family And personally. For me, marching in Pride this year yes, it was for the podcast, yes, it was for queer people everywhere, but I was so proud to be marching down with trans flags up and down my arm to raise awareness, to sort of make people feel that they are loved and they are accepted, And for me, that is what Pride is about.
Speaker 2:It is 100% that. But what I learned unless this journey of sort of being not fuss about Pride to now being like for it is okay. When Pride first started way back in the 70s, it was a protest because there were no there, there weren't rights for gay men in the UK. Obviously because of the fight that our mothers and fathers before us have done and paved the way so that we could we can get married, we can have children, we can live our big gay lives right. So I feel like it's obviously there's still protest elements. We were protesting for the trans community this year But also it's a bit of a celebration of that visibility, that freedom that we now have because of the people before us.
Speaker 2:So, yeah, put on your jockstrap, put on your shorts, put the glitter on, because we can do that in this country. We can't do that in every country in the world, and I think that is why it's so important that we have to do that for those people that are gay in places where you will be sent to prison or even killed for being gay, that they can see that we exist and we are out there.
Speaker 1:Yeah, for sure, and people are still saying like, oh, i don't think. I don't think Pride is a protest, it's just a celebration. Well, actually, no, we need to keep an eye on the fact that it is a protest. It is a peaceful protest and we are spreading love and positivity. However, there are other groups around that do use Pride as an opportunity to protest other things, but we will talk about all of that after this very short break.
Speaker 2:Can we just take a little moment to appreciate how deep your voice is today, and I think it's obviously from all the screaming and shouting over Pride.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I know I'm a bit lower today, but I'm okay with it.
Speaker 2:We've got the same vocal range today.
Speaker 1:No, Actually, you know what probably In fact, you've probably got more range than I've got.
Speaker 2:And also I love that you are full hangover attire today. You've got your sunnies on, you've got a cap on, you've got your chubby football top on, hey this is a nice jumper. You are going full hangover diva right now.
Speaker 1:I actually got this jumper in the divorce from my ex-boyfriend.
Speaker 2:That was a good investment. Yeah, i know, right, that's nice.
Speaker 1:Yeah, i'm just living my absolute diva moment. Do you know what I don't? I feel absolutely fine. My voice is low, i appreciate that, but I feel really good. Honestly, i just feel exhausted, exhausted from that march. I mean, it wasn't just the march, it was the crash of adrenaline afterwards, it was just keeping everyone. It's a lot. It's a lot For anyone listening to this that also has done the march. We hear you. It's a lot. And also, the day did not go without a couple of hiccups along the way. I think we can call them hiccups, maybe, and they weren't because of us, it was just other people getting a little bit too involved with other politics going on.
Speaker 2:Oh, yes, of course, yeah.
Speaker 1:Yeah, so what we're referring to, if you haven't heard about it, the Pride Parade got held up by another protest group called Just Stop Oil, and I mean not really to be fair to them, but they did say the day before. They said we want Pride to address the fact that they have big corporations marching in the parade who are not doing anything to help the overuse of oil and therefore plastic wastage, etc. I'm not going to mention brands, but they did say they were going to do something. Pride didn't respond to them. That is their progative, and so this oil protest group did lie in front of a particular brand and they did hold the parade up, for it was we finished up two hours late.
Speaker 2:Yeah, we did Because we didn't know what was going on, did we? We were trying to get to our starting position and the crowd was not moving and it was super busy, and because we'd never done it before. We're like is this the norm? Like, is this how it goes? Yeah, And everyone's looking to ask to be like what do we do? I'm like, I don't know, Have a tinny and go with the flow. I guess.
Speaker 1:We were like, oh, someone's float's probably broken down. They're going to tow them out, like thinking it was something very sort of minor. And then they're like, no, no, there's a big old protest. We're like, oh, okay, yeah, yeah.
Speaker 2:So it was fine. Everyone was telling good spirits and we waited. At first we were a bit annoyed because we're like, does this mean the the parade going to be cancelled? Like we obviously spent loads of money on our flow and we're like, well, we want to kind of do it, we've got all these people here and we're here to march and celebrate. So at first there was that frustration wasn't there. And then, on reflection, and having read up about it and seeing what it was all about, i'm kind of on board with it, to be honest.
Speaker 1:Which slightly annoys me, because that kind of means that what they did has had the response that they wanted.
Speaker 2:It's got people to do.
Speaker 1:Yeah, i listen, i hear you and I feel like we're going to have slightly different views on this, which I think is absolutely fine. It annoyed me that they felt that it was acceptable to take away from another protest for their own protest. That annoyed me.
Speaker 2:I do agree with that there, because we are also protesting to try and change the world for the better right. We're trying to make a better world for everyone. And they also were doing the same thing, but for a different group. So there is part of me that's like could you have done a different event, maybe Because they were attacking a certain corporate group? Shall we just say it.
Speaker 1:No, we won't say who it is, because I really don't want that lawsuit. But what I will say is they changed the colour of Father Christmas.
Speaker 2:That was what I was going to say, because why couldn't they maybe have done that on the Christmas truck that tours the UK?
Speaker 1:Well, i'm sure they will. Don't give them idea. Well, i mean, you've given them the idea. Now They probably will.
Speaker 2:Yeah, if you don't know who it is by now.
Speaker 1:I'll let you know. Okay, that's fine.
Speaker 2:Yeah, i totally get what they were doing it because that company is the biggest plastic polluter of the world, right? And they were marching in Pride in London. And this is why I'm a bit torn too as well, because Pride in London is the largest pride in the UK And the great thing about it is it's free for everyone to come all over the world. In the UK, if you can get to London, you can go see the main stage for free and the acts, you can watch the parade for free, you can see all the pop up stages, street parties it's all there And it's all for free, whereas some of the other prides in the UK the bigger ones you have to buy a wristband, like a festival, and therefore it costs lots of money, right? So it's amazing that it's free, but that money's got to come from somewhere to put on Pride.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I mean they are stopping London, London and still, so that we can march.
Speaker 2:Yeah, exactly, it's a huge, huge thing. And that doesn't come for no money, right, those queer artists? because the main stage was full of queer artists and allies all day long And they all get paid, and rightly so.
Speaker 1:To name a couple, there was Todrick Hall, there was Edina Menzal, there was Adam Lambert, there was loads.
Speaker 2:Yeah, Eden Hunter, who's been on the podcast before.
Speaker 1:She was the foreman as well.
Speaker 2:Yes, I saw the video. she looked great. Obviously we stan her, she's fab. But yeah, you know those people need to be paid, and rightly so. So Pride in London charge money for those big corporate companies to march. So it's kind of like a double-edged sword, is that the phrase? Because, great, they paid out some money. That means we get to put on this massive, huge protest celebration for the LGBTQ plus community. But are they then ticking their box, these corporations like, oh well, we've ticked our equality box or diverse box, whatever, and therefore we've done our bit.
Speaker 1:Have they done their bit Exactly? I don't know. Are they buying us?
Speaker 2:essentially Yes that's what I mean. Are they getting the support of the pink pound when really then they're not?
Speaker 1:Yeah, it's like I heard people call it rainbow washing where it's like when the brands just whack the rainbow flag up in their window or across their logo To be like, yeah, we support. And it's like well, do you though? Do you, do you Yeah?
Speaker 2:Do you, do you, you do.
Speaker 1:But seriously, that is a huge thing at the moment And, like you said, the money does need to come from somewhere And I appreciate these big corporations that do give money so it can happen. However, i know there are loads of companies that just silently give money so it can happen And they don't get any accreditation. They're not in the parade And that's not because they don't want to be seen, to be associated. It's because they just do their bit for the community elsewhere, but they want us to have it, which I think is touching.
Speaker 2:Yeah, and that's a really good time to shout out to our sponsor, who basically did exactly that. He gave us some money so that we could put on the our parade show and didn't want any accreditation for it. And we're so, so thankful for him, and he is a gay business owner and was like I just want to give money back to the community, so thank you so much to him, our lovely fairy godfather.
Speaker 1:I know, and although our fairy godfather did not want to be mentioned, i do feel like actually, i would like to say a thank you to him Personally. This is directly to you. I know you listened to our episodes. We are so great for for what you helped us achieve on that day and the smiles, the energy, all the people involved dancing like it could not have happened if it wasn't for you. So I'm going to give you a shout out to your company, which is called JJH Management. You are just wonderful. We are so appreciative and, hopefully, because I know you're going through something at the moment which we would really like to talk about in the podcast, so we will be getting you on soon, but for now, just a huge thank you to you. And, yeah, we, like I've said, we are eternally grateful for giving us that opportunity.
Speaker 2:And aside from the oil protest that happened, there was also another protest there at Pride, spreading a little bit of hate, shall we say, and I'd heard about this before. I'd never seen them at Pride, but we saw them this year.
Speaker 1:I mean, they are there every year. I've seen them multiple times And I think I don't. I'm not going to say that you're wrong. I don't feel like they were spreading hate. I do feel like these sorts of groups are very clever in the way that they protest, but they're certainly not being all inclusive and supporting. And you know, if you're there for any other reason than to sort of scream sort of the point of pride from the rooftops, then yeah, maybe you are there for the wrong reasons. But um well, we marched past them, didn't we? They were down one of the little streets And I don't actually know what group they were from And I don't want to just label them as a bunch of Christians, because I think that's really unfair on other religious people. But they were there from a particular church And they did have pickets sort of with quotes from the Bible which, to be honest, they're quite open anyway. You could read them any way you want. But they were basically trying to say that what we were doing was wrong.
Speaker 2:Yeah, there was lots of words like sin and marriage should be one man, one woman boring, And I just think why would you go out of your way to do that? Yeah, But to actually actively say do you know what? today's my day off, but I'm going to go to this parade, which is full of meant to be full of love and inclusivity for everyone, and say that actually we don't think you should be included because what you're doing we don't agree with. For me, it does anger me, and try not to get angry Because I just I don't know why you've got out of your way to be hateful to someone We're not saying, like, for example, the marriage thing that they've been talking about. We're not saying you can't get married to a man or a woman, whoever you want.
Speaker 2:But, why you shouldn't then like say I'm going off on a tangent because I'm so angry, i'm so No, i think it's fair.
Speaker 1:I'm going to jump in just for a second And I do agree with a lot of what you're saying And listen, as I said from the podcast, i come from a very, very religious family background like I'm talking generations and generations, and my grandfather was quite high up in the Well, he was a very well known vicar Let's just leave it at that. And so it really is a huge tear in my life between what I grew up learning about and how I now live my life. And if I'm honest with you, i think, like many things, religion does have a spectrum within itself, and especially Christianity. There are so many different types of Christians And you do get the ones that that I'm not going to call them like loopy, but I am going to say that they take it slightly too far into putting their belief upon other people.
Speaker 1:I walk down London daily basis and there is someone there with a speaker shouting I'm going to call it negative lines from the Bible about how you should not live your life, and that really annoys me And I feel like I can say that with absolute confidence as somebody that went to church up until I was about 18. And I still go, like when I'm at home with my family, i still go at Christmas, blah, blah, blah. That angers me because I hate the fact that Christianity gets labeled with this negative brush, this like oh, they just hate everyone unless you're a Christian. It's not true. But within that, there are pockets of people like these people protesting, saying like just pushing it in our faces, trying to make us feel like we should doubt the way that we're living our lives, and also like almost blackmailing us, saying that we're going to go to hell, which nobody wants to hear.
Speaker 2:I mean, I don't know what's going on in hell. Is there a big party? If so, sign me up.
Speaker 1:Listen. If you want to go experience it I know many clubs in London that I think replicate what hell is going to be like.
Speaker 2:Great, well, i'm down for that.
Speaker 1:I'm definitely going to heaven. I think I'm already growing my wings.
Speaker 2:You are not going to heaven. I've seen what you gapped at weekends.
Speaker 1:Nothing that it says I can't do.
Speaker 2:I'd just like to point out you just like to love thy neighbor, and love thy neighbor You do. You love my neighbors very much.
Speaker 1:I have loved all your neighbors multiple times. I want to go back to what I said about sometimes. There are quotes and, like you, could read them in different ways. There is a particular very famous quote that gets brought up all the time, and I even saw it on a sign at Pride. That says man may not lie with man as does with women. Well, no shit, of course they can't. How could a man have sex with a man like he can with a woman? You can't, it's impossible. So it's not saying like you should not, it's just saying it's not possible. Well, you're right, no shit, sherlock.
Speaker 2:But isn't there like other things in the Bible, like you should not eat shellfish and you should not have sex before marriage and things?
Speaker 1:Listen, there are so many different translations because obviously the whole thing was written in Hebrew. It's all, like I said, a spectrum, and the thing that I take in Christianity is that it's all about loving each other and acceptance and empathy and all the good things, and none of that affects me now in my lifestyle, who I want to be, and that's the message that I want to put across. So exactly.
Speaker 1:It does. It upsets me actually in a little way, and I'm not going to say you've upset me, but when you say like it makes you angry, that upsets me because my parents are very religious, they're very Christian. Every week They do a lot for their church, but they would never in a million years try and put you down for who you are. And that's the difference, uh-huh.
Speaker 2:No, i hear what you're saying And, look, i am not generally a hateful person at all. That sort of stuff makes me feel uncomfortable And in that moment, when we walked past and they were there sort of shaking their heads at us and holed up their banner saying that we're being sinful, right now, you know, there's a part of me that wants to like bite back and swear or whatever you know, and I was like I don't want to do that because that is just not who I am as a person. So what I did do was grab a very sexy man who was stood next to me in the parade and made out with him in front of them, right in front of their faces, and I thought I want to fight back this hatred What I thought it was hatred with love.
Speaker 1:I hope he gave you consent or we're going to get some sort of lawsuit against that.
Speaker 2:Oh no, he gave me consent. His tongue was in my mouth. He was up for it.
Speaker 1:Flashbacks.
Speaker 2:But, um, yeah, i was like you know, is this really that wrong Me kissing another man? is that really going to affect you the way you live your life? No, it was the answer, basically.
Speaker 1:Gosh, I mean Bradford, Prime Minister, if anything.
Speaker 2:Honestly, i would think I could change the world. No, I kind of wish I got into either law or politics when I went to university, because as I've got older, I really feel like the need to want to make the world a better place, especially for our community.
Speaker 1:Listen, I never would have dampened your spirit. Well, I mean, I dampen your spirits every day.
Speaker 2:Every week you dampen my spirit. Yeah, sorry about that.
Speaker 1:But you as a lawyer, absolutely not. You cannot stand conflict.
Speaker 2:I hate conflict.
Speaker 1:You're not arguing, you'd be the worst lawyer ever. I'm not saying you're not clever enough, but you would be all you'd be like yeah, no, no, you're OK, good point, you're going to prison.
Speaker 2:Sorry People, please the Brad.
Speaker 1:Literally though.
Speaker 2:I mean the thought of, like, what is to get up anyway? we're going off a tangent, aren't we?
Speaker 1:But really, pride is all about love and freedom and liberation and living your best life and being true to who you are completely And although it is a protest, it is a peaceful protest And for as long as we can do Pride, we will make sure that we keep it as peaceful as possible whilst spreading those positive, positive words. This is a final call for Benji and Brad travelling to Jersey for Channel Island's Pride. Oh mate, hurry up, We're going to miss the flight.
Speaker 2:Benji, I can't run in these Espa drills.
Speaker 1:Gosh well, what a shame it'll be for them to get left behind. Look, just put that book down and hurry up.
Speaker 2:It says here that Jersey has over 30 beaches and is the sunniest place in the British Isles.
Speaker 1:Yes, and we won't get there if you don't take those shoes and sun hat off.
Speaker 2:Wait, how is my sun? hat slowing me down.
Speaker 1:It's not, it's just ridiculous.
Speaker 2:Whoa? did you know that Channel Island Pride is one of the most attended events in the islands?
Speaker 1:Yes, and this year they're going huge, with a main stage, a cabaret stage and performances from Top Drag Queens, local artists, silent disco, dance tent and some exciting headlining acts yet to be announced.
Speaker 2:Quick. Do you need anything from Duty Free? Have you packed protection?
Speaker 1:Of course I have It's Factor 30. Not that kind Oh.
Speaker 2:Come and pie with us at Channel Island Pride in Jersey Saturday, the 16th of September.
Speaker 1:It's only a 40-minute flight from most UK airports. So pack your speedos, pack your sunnies, pack your sun cream And we'll see you at the beach. For more information, head to channelinansprideorg. But then, of course, with the parade. after the parade, it happened and we were feeling like broken human beings. but I was on such a high I didn't really care. It was time to let up. well, my hair down. Glue your hair back down.
Speaker 2:And go party. Oh yes, i mean, we were exhausted when we was like we are going out, we are just letting loose. I love a good party, as you know, and I was like, yeah, we're doing it.
Speaker 1:Yeah, so we went briefly into Soho, we went to Freedom And the streets were just mobbed, which is great. I would normally absolutely hate the fact that it was busy, but I love the fact that so many people were coming out to celebrate pride. Yeah, but we didn't really last for a long in Soho, did we?
Speaker 2:No, we went back to mine because we were like, right, we need some food, we need a little freshen up. So when it got some pizza, went back to mine.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I had to get you pizza because you were getting all aggy. You're like I'm tired. I was like get this pizza in your mouth right now, Swallow boy. And then we're getting on the bus and we're going out, All right.
Speaker 2:So that's like giving me flashback to our first date.
Speaker 1:I don't know, because you like to play the sub role and I play the dominant role very, very well. Much too good for children.
Speaker 2:Oh yes, you're making me giddy and I'm hungover and I'm broken. It's too much effort to laugh today, but you do make me laugh. So we went back to mine, we had pizza and then we're like right, we're off out.
Speaker 1:We showered, we were like next Yeah, It was like a swimming pool right right next in Next shower.
Speaker 2:I was like, shall we just shower together and just save time and water?
Speaker 1:How do you know I didn't shower at somebody else?
Speaker 2:Oh yeah, you went up to the upstairs shower. Did you shower with someone else? No, you would never.
Speaker 1:Me No.
Speaker 2:Do not be doing that fake angelic face to me right now. It's Liza Liza Minnelli.
Speaker 1:I am Liza. My glasses look at me. Don't make me sing. I know it's not Liza. Don't make me sing. No, we're going off a tangent. Yes. And then we went by T-O-R-S. We had some pizza. I put that smile back on your face, kicked you out the door, we went to the Clap Grand.
Speaker 2:Yeah, the Clap Grand. I do love it, though. It's such a fab venue. Danny Bid was performing as well as one of the Piscat Dolls and they just had, like these, queer DJs playing all the pop bangers you could possibly want. It was, yeah, it was heaven.
Speaker 1:A particular favorite drag queen of ours was running karaoke upstairs. Miss Leedon was up there. I don't think you ever made it, but we went up.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I didn't make it to karaoke.
Speaker 1:Now I was living my best life on the dance floor when I tearing it up, you might say Sorry, but before we just go and talk about karaoke, can we just this is not me ripping her a new one, because that's quite like her, but can we just talk about when they called Diana Vickers out on the stage to sing a very famous song by Celine Dion? Yeah, And the words came up behind her. Oh yeah, and she still got the lyrics wrong. Ha ha, ha, ha ha, that's her heart. I just wanted to tell you a little bit of a story when we went upstairs to watch karaoke.
Speaker 2:Oh go on.
Speaker 1:So a few of us went up there. There was me, Chanel, number five, couple of others, Drag Gardner, who marched with us. We went upstairs to watch yeah, the karaoke, let's say And when we went in, these two lovely boys were slaughtering poor unfortunate souls from Little Mad Wage which, as you know, is my absolute favorite Disney film. I mean, in front of me right now I actually have this little Ursula Pendant.
Speaker 2:Ah, and who got you that?
Speaker 1:You did, but look, it broke. It could have looked cheap.
Speaker 2:That is Disneyland official, so I'll let him know. I know I've got it. It's beautiful.
Speaker 1:No, i actually love it, but yeah. So we went up there. We watched that really good. I spoke to Miss Leading. She was like please would you sing part of your world? And I was like, do you know what? I'm actually drunk enough that I would do this, but the vote Che is not good And unless you want me to sing it on one monotone note the whole way through, it's not gonna happen.
Speaker 2:Like me at karaoke, one note solid, strong, get you through to the end.
Speaker 1:This is your personality in general. This is one note, only One note, only, one note, only. That's all he has to give. One note only. You won't want a second date. So I didn't sing. And then she's like do you know what? No one's here, I'm just gonna close karaoke early. So we're like, okay, cool, we'll see you downstairs. She's like, yeah, I'm just gonna go put some shoes on, blah, blah, blah. We left the very top floor of the clapping ground. This is the first time I've ever really explored the building that much. It's huge.
Speaker 1:As we were going out the karaoke room and turned right along the corridor to go downstairs, these two boys burst through these double doors in, like a fit of passionate rage, let's say, And one of them pushed this boy onto like this it wasn't a chair, but it was like a really high stall, It was like somewhere in between And like slapped both palms of his hands on his chest and just ripped his shirt open right And just started like passionately kissing all up his chest and to his neck. And us four watching this, were stopped in absolute shock because we kind of had to get closer to them to then go down the stairs And I was like, oh, I was literally like loudly so they could hit know that we were there. Like, oh, my free show, Like.
Speaker 2:I was gonna say this sounds like a porn show. I'm invested in the story.
Speaker 1:Well, it gets worse. So they were carrying on kissing. We were like, okay, let's just lead them to it. This guy then, like I said, was kissing his chest up to his neck and then started kissing back down his chest, ripped open his shorts No, and I mean like the button, the fly gone, pulled down his pants, whipped out his you know and just started going to town on it.
Speaker 2:He gave him a cheeky blaza right in front of your face.
Speaker 1:Yeah, all of us watching. Oh, honestly, we were like a meter and a half away from them, like I could have smacked them on the bottom if I wanted a sexual harassment case.
Speaker 2:Outrageous Gaze, honestly, you know how to just go for it.
Speaker 1:Literally going for it. You could hear it, You could hear everything, And I was literally like we were kind of looking each other Do they? are they doing this in front of us, like do they want to get involved? This is actually like a group thing. But then we were like you know what? let's just leave them to security, yeah, yeah, and we went downstairs but I was like come on pride, and that is why we march.
Speaker 2:Blow jobs for everyone.
Speaker 1:Should have filmed it for the podcast. You out there that say we don't need a pride. This is why we need a pride. Sexual freedom on the, you know, outside the bar at Clapham Grant. No, it was so funny, So so funny Wow.
Speaker 2:I mean great, i wish that was me. That sounds amazing, sign me up.
Speaker 1:Would you've done that in front of the Christian protesters? Probably yeah, Yeah probably Actually do that.
Speaker 2:Oh, my goodness, So good. But also at Clapham Grant. I couldn't believe it. There we were meaning you're on the dance floor. I felt like every 10 seconds we saw another one of your exes. I'm like they are just everywhere tonight They all just congregate at Clapham Grant. I don't know why they must have like smelt you or something.
Speaker 1:I beg your pardon. Are you saying I smell bad? I smell lovely.
Speaker 2:No, they just smelled that ginger pheromone and came running along with little puppy dogs.
Speaker 1:Pheromone. Okay, we need to talk about, like, what hormones men give off, but anyway, yes, we were having a look around and, sure enough, there was, i think, probably about six.
Speaker 2:There was a few, and I know a couple of them as well, and I was like, oh, that's so and so, over there And you're like, no, not another one. Literally.
Speaker 1:But then two of them were actually messing with me on Instagram Like hey, how's your pride? Like where have you ended up? And I replied to them like oh yeah, you too Happy pride. I'm just at the Clapham Grant, my friends, and they're like oh my goodness, no way, me too. I was like wait, do you know? I'm here? Yeah, i think so. Well to be fair, probably at least two of them are ones that I would absolutely go there again, but they left me, so thank you so much for bringing that to everybody's attention.
Speaker 2:Sorry, i'm too upset.
Speaker 1:No, i'm not upset, you know what? Because, like we always joke about, i am very sexually explorative, let's say, much more like vanilla, you over here.
Speaker 2:I'm not vanilla. I'm made out in front of the Christian group at Pride.
Speaker 1:Okay, vanilla with rainbow sprinkles. I had a delivery this week.
Speaker 2:You said about this on Pride, but we just got caught up in the madness of it all And you never actually finished the story.
Speaker 1:Well, I will tell you and all the listeners that this week I purchased myself and if you're eating or listening to this out loud, you may as well like, stop for a second I bought myself an anal starter kit.
Speaker 2:I am in shock because you are like full on top, top only. I feel like the last time you bottomed was like 1984 or something like that.
Speaker 1:Close, 1983. Yeah, it was like an impulsive you know what It's actually because of us chatting And I didn't want to limit listen, i have no plans to become a power bottom, even verse. But I was like I feel like I should try and move forward in an area which I'm constantly shutting out Because, like you know, if I do go out and end up at somebody's house, you always have that awkward chat like what are you kind of thing And I'm never going to say to them like oh yeah, that's fine, like I'll bottom, like that's not my vibe, but I do. I did want to kind of see what all the fuss was about.
Speaker 2:And I love that I inspired you to do that. You're very welcome.
Speaker 1:Yeah, sure.
Speaker 2:You've been inspired. By me. I love it.
Speaker 1:Sure. Anyway, in this box of this starter kit, there is all sorts of different things. There's like little like plugs, there's little vibrating things, but in there as well there is a thing that I can only describe as a training wand.
Speaker 2:Right. What does it look like? Like a magic wand.
Speaker 1:It's a very Harry Potter moment for me right now, exactly like a magic wand. Yes, well, it's here.
Speaker 2:I can see it Yeah.
Speaker 1:As you can see, I have not. Let me take it out.
Speaker 2:Not even been opened. Opened right now.
Speaker 1:Here's a bit of ASMR for you. Oh yeah, you like that, that actually is making me get goose bumps.
Speaker 2:I like that noise. Okay, that's a bit aggressive.
Speaker 1:Okay, back there.
Speaker 2:So here it is. Oh, it's wobbly.
Speaker 1:Yeah, it's all silicon. So on one side there is like I mean, how do you describe this?
Speaker 2:More of a head.
Speaker 1:Yeah, but then it goes very, very skinny, yeah, and then thick again.
Speaker 2:Oh no, a big head Yeah.
Speaker 1:Yeah, yeah, yeah. And then on the other side it's like a rattlesnake's tail.
Speaker 2:Oh, yeah, that's a good way to describe it Lots of little circles that get slightly bigger and bigger as it goes down.
Speaker 1:Yeah, a little like silicon pearls getting bigger and bigger. I'm not going to say beads, i'm going to say pearls, because they're not really as big as beads, but yeah, so this is a little training wand that I yeah I mean, i don't know if I'm ever going to, you know, get the courage to try it. But I have now taken out the packet, which is a step further, to try it.
Speaker 2:So have you put like lube and stuff to go with it?
Speaker 1:Oh, I've really got all that.
Speaker 2:She's good to go, honey, i'm good to go. So she's going to be powerbottom next week.
Speaker 1:Bear with me by my next week. So how was it? Hang on a second? Yeah, glad you're going there.
Speaker 2:Bibbity-bubbity Boop Boop.
Speaker 1:Yeah, pop, pop, pop it in there. Yeah, so I'll let you know how that goes.
Speaker 2:So when you're practicing with your wand, you're going to start off with a little bit of a Wingardium Leviosa And then later on you're going to be like have a cadavera Bombardo.
Speaker 1:Propheticus totalis. Oh my goodness.
Speaker 2:Different levels of like wand playing, depending on what spell you want to cast.
Speaker 1:Completely all that, but obviously you know yeah.
Speaker 2:Oh, my goodness.
Speaker 1:I mean, let's just take this minute very quickly just to say but because we enjoyed growing up with the stories of Harry Potter, we do not at all stand for the views of the author. This is not us sort of trying to.
Speaker 2:Absolutely not. No, no.
Speaker 1:No, not at all, it's just. It's so built into my head, the films, and now they're back on Netflix as well. I love the stories for what they are, not for what the author stands for, so please don't ask us agreeing any of that? It really isn't None of that. If anything, we've just completely destroyed her aesthetic by using her spells on a dildo, so Sorry about it.
Speaker 2:So hang on. Are you going to like give this a go for next week or no time frame, just going to see what happens?
Speaker 1:Listen, yeah TBC, Okay TBC. We'll pick it up on another episode and I'll let you know how I got on with it, But I just thought I'd share that with you all.
Speaker 2:Okay, Well, from someone who doesn't do like bottom in basically essentially is you I wonder if our listeners might have some advice that they could write in with and let you know some good tips on how to ease in That bottom life.
Speaker 1:Yeah because I might need some good tips, quite like some small tips. I think just that.
Speaker 2:Small tips, the smallest tip possible, yeah.
Speaker 1:And also, if you have any questions about bottoming for the first time, then please send them in because we will try and answer them for you. But, brad, that is all we have time for on this week's episode of my big gay podcast. If you don't already, then please, more now than ever, head over to our Instagram page, where we are really trying to grow a community. We have videos from Pride for you to have a little look at. We're going to be putting question and answer boxes up on the good old stories. You can also head over to our website, which is my big gay podcastcom.
Speaker 2:And again, a huge, huge thank you to everyone that marched with us for London Pride, who were there watching waving, taking pictures, cheering us on, or if you weren't there but were with us in spirit. Again, thank you so much for just spreading that love. Obviously, in this house, it is Pride every day, every single year, so we're going to keep spreading that love.
Speaker 1:And we are always, always here to answer any of your questions or anything that you're going through. Please, we read all your messages to get in touch, but, like I said, listeners, that is all we have time for on this week's episode of my big gay podcast. Until next week, see you next Wednesday.
Speaker 1:Mate, before we go, i want to tell you a little funny story, which I couldn't in front of everybody else at the at the parade. So you know what? I was going around giving everyone their wristbands. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yes. I was going around everybody saying like, oh, i joined your wristband. They put their hand out and they were quite small, so I had to be like, oh sorry, just like squeezing on their wrist, and after a while I was like hi, you're in your wristband. Great, could you make a cone with your hand. And some people got the joke and some people didn't. Some people then just like made a fist and I was like oh, i don't think that's going to fit. It was very funny.
Speaker 1:Like people were looking me like that is dirty. Then just like yeah, sorry about it.
Speaker 2:Wish those things together and make that cone shape. And then, once I did it, we like you get a fist, you get a fist, you get a fist. Oh, my goodness.
Speaker 1:That's why we have pride. Also, listeners, we need you. My Big O podcast has been nominated for a British podcast award, so if you have the time, please head over to the link in our bio on Instagram And you can vote for us to win. It takes about 10 seconds. It's super easy and we would be super grateful.