The last few days have been so incredibly intense, and I genuinely don’t know where to start, but…
THANK YOU.
3rd January marks the first anniversary of the passing of our friend, James Lee Williams, known to the world as The Vivienne, and I wanted to do something special to mark the anniversary in a way that keeps their legacy alive.
Like me or loathe me, I’m a bit of a busy body. I can’t help myself when it comes to researching, asking questions, making connections and bringing people together. I knew straight away that I could probably get a number of buildings in Liverpool to light up green… but we wanted this to go further.
Enter Chester.
James lived in Chester, so it felt like a natural extension of the tribute, so a simple message to Warren, Chair of Chester Pride, and David, Chair of Storyhouse Chester, set those wheels in motion.
Manchester was a different story.
With no central point of contact, I reached out to venues individually through Instagram. Some replied, some didn’t. But thanks to contacts at Canal Street Online, the request reached the Village Local Business Association, and from there it was out of my hands.
Once the local press became aware, the tribute started to take on a life of its own.
Gwrych Castle in North Wales – yes, the one from I’m A Celeb! – joined in. Keith from MK Pride got in touch to say Milton Keynes would take part. Brandon from Sparkles in Gran Canaria said they’d be lighting up too.
What started as regional became national, then international, almost overnight.
Suddenly I had interview requests from BBC Radio Merseyside, BBC Radio Manchester, BBC Radio Wales, Hits Radio, BBC North West Tonight and ITV’s Granada Reports. I was terrified.
Friday 2 January looked like this:
BBC Merseyside at 8am
Filming with Granada Reports at 1pm
Driving to Media City
BBC Radio Manchester at 5pm
BBC North West Tonight at 6.30pm
Exhausted. 🤣
And it still wasn’t over.
I was up again on Saturday morning for BBC Radio Wales at 7.45am, and Saturday night was the lighting-up tribute itself.
I’d roped in a special someone to walk Liverpool city centre with me, and by the time I got home I’d done over 20,000 steps and was an emotional wreck. Seeing the matinee of Epstein Theatre’s Cinderella didn’t help, particularly when Shania Pain led a small tribute and the stage turned green before curtain call, it properly got me.
All I wanted to do was sleep.
But anyone who knows me knows I couldn’t go to bed without pulling something together to show how powerful the visuals had been. Which, of course, meant a highlight reel.
The whole experience was daunting.
What started as a few questions grew legs very quickly, and my old demons about how others might perceive my motives crept in. But the people closest to me know that I’m a doer – I get an idea, see if it’s possible, and crack on.
That’s what this was.
And in the process, it raised awareness of The House of the Vivienne and the incredible work they are doing through peer support and campaigning.
I made a promise that your legacy would continue.
And that is exactly what I intend to do.
Thank you to Chanel, Cassie and Lee for letting me be the busy body I am; to Bobby for being incredible with everything; and to every venue that came out, lit up and helped make this a beautiful moment.