August in the Rear View
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August is the month that pretends to be endless summer while shaking with recalled ‘back to school’ anxiety. Pride season technically wrapped in July, but don’t tell the gays — we simply relocated the glitter to Manchester, Brighton, and a Six Flags rollercoaster.
Edinburgh Serves History (With a Side of PTSD Jokes)
The biggest cultural mic drop of the month came from Sam Nicoresti, the trans comic who scooped the Best Comedy Show award at the Edinburgh Fringe— the first trans woman ever to do so. Sam’s show Baby Doomer is a riot of mental health, awkward changing rooms, and Gollum impressions. She even predicted the win a year ago as a way to pay for her wedding. Forget Mystic Meg — this is the clairvoyance we deserve. Somewhere in Birmingham (natural hometown to brilliance), an old schoolteacher is Googling “What’s the Fringe?” and regretting not being nicer in Year 9.
Not to be outdone, Ayoade Bamgboye made history too, taking Best Newcomer and becoming the first Black woman to win the award. Her show Swings and Roundabouts proved that Fringe audiences will laugh at heartfelt storytelling, provided you deliver it in a room smelling of stale lager and overflowing urinals.
Manchester, Brighton & the UK Black Pride Big 2-0
Manchester Pride stretched across the August Bank Holiday like a drag queen refusing to leave the stage — five days of parades, parties, and politicians sporting rainbow lanyards. Brighton, meanwhile, pulled in half a million revellers, proving once again it’s the only seaside resort where sequins outnumber seagulls.
And London’s UK Black Pride turned 20 this year, filling Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park with performances, panels, and joy. If ever proof was needed that queer people of colour are the beating heart of British LGBTQ+ culture, this was it.
Global Gossip
Across the pond, Texas proved once again it likes to do things differently. Austin skipped June Pride (too hot, too obvious) and threw its big bash in August, complete with a local-talent festival, a glittering parade, and the state’s largest free HIV testing day. Try telling that to Florida, which still thinks “drag brunch” is a national threat.
Meanwhile, California offered Out on the Mountain — Six Flags Magic Mountain turned into a queer rollercoaster extravaganza. Where else can you see Kerri Colby and Bonnie McKee
performing while queers scream their wigs off at 70mph?
Disneyland could never.
Things We Learned This Month
Politicians still think “consultations” are a substitute for action, and adding a rainbow flag to your department logo is ‘enough’.
Percy Pigs went Pride-adjacent. The taste? Mostly sugar, with an after-kick of rainbow-washed capitalism.
Grindr banned AI-generated abs. Penile enhancement is still fine.
And so…
August, you sly old minx. You gave us trans triumphs in Edinburgh, 20 years of Black queer brilliance, and parades from Brighton to Austin. You also reminded us that politicians move slower than a drag queen on cobbles.
September is already clutching a pumpkin spice latte and plotting a big entrance. Until then: keep your cocktails cold, your playlists camp, and your shame lower than an author on his third espresso martini.
