PART 1: Pride Month: Forever Indebted to the LGBTQ+ Community

‘APPY PRIDE MONTH, CHICKS! 

We’ve quickly blossomed into June, which means it's time to reflect and give thanks for the community which brought back non-beige personalities and originality, in so many beautiful ways. 

To think of a time where same sex marriage was illegal, which was only 13 years ago in England, and still is in many areas of the world, is bleep infuriating, yet this community gives so much to the world and enriches the fabric of our lives – in the past and present. 

To put it bluntly, a place that doesn’t support the LGBTQ+ community is one that lacks what it means to be human, to exist without shame or fear. Perhaps we should inform the ten bob millionaires, influencers and football associations of this prior to their flight to the pistachio chocolate capital? Oh wait…they already know. 

The state of the world is very bleak, but in this article, I aim to showcase my many reasons as to why I’m forever indebted to the LGBTQ+ community. Each recommendation is something that’s brought me a hell a lot of laughter, joy, tears and moments in my days that have stayed with me, that I’ve been so thankful to witness, watch and read.

These are a drop in the ocean of my many reasons, and I shall follow up with another article this June with more. 

 After all, I’ve earnt my diva ship, these are first class certified recommendations, which you’ll heavily regret not taking them on your death bed.  

I’M GRAND MAM – PODCAST

 I am an apostle, I’ve been spreading my love for this podcast via word of mouth for a long time – I’ve already hooked many onto this weekly slice of pure joy, comedy and culture. They discuss, breakdown and highlight a huge variation of topics and matters, PJ and Kevin are just pure gold. I’ve never felt so ‘included’ in a podcast, I’m sitting with them, having a chin wag and discussing and howling at all the world's pressing matters such as the ‘north and south pole thing’. They have such a genuine and endearing friendship, I do believe it's impossible to not love them. When people ask where I get my witty timing from? I'm a grand mam. How I’m so happy on my drive to work? I'm a grand mam. Why am I so cultured? I'm a grand mam. There is episode 246, so if you're a new listener, why you’re in for a treat and they may grace a city near you with their presence as they like to tour their talents, not just for having the best cork accents but their naturally radiant dancing abilities. Seriously though, this podcast is a natural antidepressant. 

BAILY J MILLS – BRITISH ICON

During the spring lockdown of 2020, when I was glued to my phone for a source of reality, Bailey's Instagram, videos kept popping up on my feed – one of the first being the ‘packet of crisps and up to bed’, I instantly became a lifelong supporter. In a world of perfectionism, Bailey's original ideas and content prove that perfection is merely amusing and stale. The characters they’ve introduced to us over the years have merged into my everyday language and laughter… I’ve never looked at a horse girl the same. The catchphrases and content created is within the DNA of an icon. Social media has become a polished only content feed and can imagine it took a lot of courage for baily to begin uploading content into that algorithm but THANK GOD they did. Baily does plenty of appearances and shows, so you can watch Frankie from the Saturday’s tribute act, in a venue near you! Forever thankful for costume teeth.

ALAN CARR’S ‘LIFE’S A BEACH’ – PODCAST

I mean, Alan Carr, need I say more? I remember staying up late watching Chatty Man as an early teen and fell for that contagious cackle, which has become one of my comfort noises – like white noise, just wraps me in a blanket of familiarity and joy. The quality I must love about Alan’s humour is his silliness and his unapologetic self – deprecation, the natural ability to make someone laugh in nearly every sentence he speaks – utter genius. As someone who also finds their unperfected life funny, Alan makes me feel proud of being a bit too loud and for having a laugh that could reach the far ends of the galaxy. The travel podcast is a wonderful window into Alan's own wanderlust and amusing experiences as well as his amazing guests too, many household names. As we saw on Chatty Man, Alan has a knack for making the most boring destinations sound great fun, and his instant rapport with everyone makes it all the more enjoyable. For me, Carr is in a league of his own, and I could do an entire reason just on Alan being Alan, no matter what show or podcast he hosts or appears on, I’ll watch it and love it as he’s just the perfect person to make anyone feel joyous and silly. Get him on the ten-pound note!

 The Little Book of Miriam – Miriam Margolyes 

In a world of Kardashians, be a Margolyes! I’ve always adored Miriam, for giving us pure entertainment all through her life – characters whom we cherish dearly, just like I do the magnificent woman portraying them. Not only is Miriam full of truly great life advice, morals and views of the world – she’s unashamed to share or feel embarrassed. A quality I aim to inhabit more in my day-to-day life. Especially in Miriam's book (which I listened to on Spotify btw) it brought me three different types of tears – laughter, inspiration and sadness. One of those rare books I had to buy the hardback as I knew it’d become my life guidance 101. There's some powerful revelations in her book, which as I heard her speak to them through choosing the audio book, I felt her sense of frustration, regret and reminiscence. I found myself verbally agreeing and cheering at most of the chapters, and on the same hand howling and speechless at some of the others. The alphabet of Miriam’s life is something to behold, its genuine, charismatic and as always, full of life. As a young person, frightened and melancholy about the future of politics and humans, I found strength and motivation in her words – reasons to stand and be counted. The adoration she describes for her long-term partner, Heather, melted me and solidified my hopes for finding ‘the soulmate’. Quite honestly Miriam could just make videos sharing her opinions on anything and everything and I’d listen, with an open heart and aching smile dimples. Genuinely, this is such a necessity for everyone to listen or read… go… now! 

Lots of love, Jessie