Typography & design by
Richard Wolfströme

Exhibition and installation
by Standard 8

Website
Words William Shaw
Design Richard Wolfströme
Photography Kenny Laurenson

Publishing consultant Adrian Driscoll

An Unmadeup Production

Good Lord!

On the pavement, outside Creation nightclub, West Street

The night that brings it home to him how different Brighton is, is on Pride weekend, here on West Street outside Wild Fruit at Creation.

Laurence used to be a specialist crime officer. Top level stuff dealing with yardie gangs, high class dealers, nasty kidnapping cartels... Absolutely loved it but after seven years it was time for a change, so puts in for a transfer and starts commuting
here instead.

But nothing has prepared him for this.

As a police officer you’re used to looking for the abnormal. That man looks strange. What’s he up to, looking into that woman’s bag?

Tonight everything is strange. My word! There are people dressed in PVC suits and nurses’ uniforms, flamboyant massive wigs, feather boas, drag queens in high heels and stockings...

Anywhere else people would be saying, What on earth is going on? In Brighton nobody bats an eyelid. Nothing is abnormal.

Normally as a police officer you end up with such a negative view of people. You deal with burglary victims, a mother whose child has been beaten up, the aftermath of a car crash... And it’s never good news.

But this weekend reinstates a kind of faith in people. All these thousands of people from the LGBT community, from the heterosexual community, here and all the way up Jimmy Street having such a good time. And there are no problems. OK, one or two incidents of excessive high spirits, but really, nothing serious...

He’s always thought he had to be stand-offish on duty. At first he feels uncomfortable with the West Street hen nighters who want to sit on his shoulders to have their photos taken. Should I be doing this?

But actually, he realises, yes he should be. That way you understand what’s going on. That way people recognise you as a person. Being in uniform he gets his share of proposals but it’s all really good humoured.

"Ooh. Do you want a snog?"

Of course sometimes you have to draw the line. "I’m good thanks," he says. "I don’t think my wife would approve."