Flag in the Post

The flag raising party

The raising of the trans flag at City Hall has made it into the Bristol Post (I’m guessing only the website, but if there is a paper version I’d love a copy). The caption for that photo is: “Bristol City Council equalities officer Simon Nelson, Lady Mayoress of Bristol Sarah Watson, Lord Mayor of Bristol Councillor Alastair Watson, Martin Spellacey and Amy Mosley of Bristol City Council Rainbow Group, Bristol City Council employee Jessica Davidson and Cheryl Morgan of TransBristol” and the photo credit is Amy Jones, the Council press officer I have been working with.

I would have liked more trans people in the photo, but many of those who attended are naturally nervous of such things. My job in TransBristol, such as I have one (it being an anarchist collective), is to be the person who fronts up to the media so that other people don’t have to.

What I’m much more pleased about than the photo is that Amy and her colleagues used quite a bit of the material I sent them for the press release. The Lord Mayor then quoted me at the flag raising ceremony, and the Post used the same sentence:

By raising the transgender flag over City Hall on this important day, Bristol is sending a clear signal to the many trans people who live and work in the city that they are valued members of the community, with as much right to life, health and happiness as any other citizen.

Yeah, that.

By the way, a number of City Councillors attended the event. I don’t know them all by sight so I can’t give you names, but I did spot Daniella Radice, the leader of the local Green Party. Simon tells me that there was good support from Labour, and the only Tory to turn up was the Lord Mayor.