The fine city of Norwich was draped in lively colours under gin-clear skies for the 18th annual Pride event – the biggest and best ever – with thousands of rainbow folk hitting the streets; free to be who they are. Everyone welcome, regardless. Being a bit long in the tooth, our prancing days are way behind us, so we watched the joy from the comfort of a shady table and a glass or two of chilled white.

Of the many stories that played out before us, two in particular tugged at the heart strings. The first was an elderly lady with a walking stick who we assumed to be trans. She hobbled through the happy crowd – free for a day, at least. What a tale she must have to tell. The second was an old fella, also steadied by a walking stick, shuffling to the beat of Lady Gaga with tears in his eyes. We had tears in ours too. As the Lord Mayor of Norwich set off the parade with a rousing speech from City Hall, we thought, haven’t we come far?

Then, the next day, we awoke to the horror of a religious nutter driving a car into the crowd at Berlin Pride, killing one and seriously injuring many others. Clearly, we haven’t come far enough. Today is Brighton Pride, the UK’s biggest. Everything is crossed.

But back to the joy – marchers gathering at City Hall.

Image courtesy of the Forum. For even more joyful images from the day, check out Norwich Pride’s Faceache page,