One of the moments that really put a big grin on my face in my first few weeks in New York was marching down Fifth Avenue on the Gay Pride March with openly gay New York City Council Speaker Christine Quinn (pictured, right) and Mayor Bloomberg. The vehicle in front of the New York City Council contingency had a man announcing which politicians were in the crowd, and was blasting out music to get the crowds lining the streets in the mood for Pride (the crowds cheered on Speaker Quinn all the way!). The song that really made the moment for me was Jay-Z and Alicia Keys' Empire State of Mind - a bit cliched of course, but it really captured the moment of pride, not only in the gay community and openly gay politicians, but in the city. The city that everyone here seems to love - watch it here: New York (Empire State of Mind)
But today my friend who is active in Welsh politics forwarded me this link which has been circulating on the Internet for the last few days. Newport (Ymerodraeth State of Mind)
Brilliant is all I can say. It made me laugh so much. Although New York does have so much to offer compared to the small Welsh town of Newport, living here for five weeks now has made me think that a place is made by its people. It is the confidence trick really. Believing in yourself or in something else can often be all it needs for others to think the same. Of course, there needs to be substance, but the US, and particularly New York, does really win in terms of self-confidence.
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