Pleased you guys have got your shit together.

Is Manchester so proud of its gays (seems they closed down Bellevue Zoo in order to open the Gay Village - come and feed the freaks!) thay they have to hermetically seal the party off to all but ticket holders? Hasn't it come to something when M&S (of the "we'll slap an ASBO on anyone who protests outside our premises") decorate their slick Manchester branch with queer 'n' trendy GayPride give us your pink pounds adshite? Why should gay men and women even insult themselves with this bollocks/ You're being used. You're a niche. And some incorrigibly homophobic people are having a right old laugh at your expense.

Tell 'em to take their pink pound and shove it somewhere uncomfortable.

Where is the cute guy with the Orinoco ¿¿¿

what's an orinocco? was there a cute guy with one?

i think an orinocco is an afro combined with a lovely chinstrap beard. oh yes.

well Darby if it's the guy with the afro and hair stripe beard, you can see him in the pics every day, so he shouldn't be missing! ... if u, though, agree with the action and fancy being intellectually and emotionally alive you can join the autonomous group of individuals and act against some of the boxed stereotypes we are being sold!
x x

if any manchester uni students would like to join the band there will be (hopefully) a stall during freshers week - you could get some info and join the band!

Many people think that all the money they pay for a wristband and which they put into a collection bucket goes to the good causes. It isn't so and I think we should raise awareness of this fact. The money goes into a 'pool' and the costs are taken out of that.

It seems that, in 2003, less than one third of income went to good causes and in 2004 it may have been less than one quarter.

The organisers witter on endlessly about the money that finally reaches the charities, but they go very, very quiet if you ask about the massive 'costs', which appear to be increasing every year.

As for some of the events... In 2004 Uni Challenge donated One Pound of its £20 door charge. After going into the income pool, maybe only 25p of that £20 reached the good causes! With a possible 6000 people expected at that event, they stood to make as much from the door (on just one event) as the TOTAL amount that was given to good causes in 2003.

Having the candlelit vigil for people lost due to HIV & AIDS within the 'pay-area' last year was particularly disgusting.

Pride should not be based around pubs, clubs and alcohol. Many, many people end HIV+ as a result of risky sex when they are drunk. Alcohol is probably as a great a threat to the health of gay men and women as HIV is these days.