November 2013 - LFF!

Well after the last minute cancelation of going to Leeds First Friday (LFF) in October, it was decided to have another go for the November gathering. For those who are not familiar with LFF, it  is a once a month TGirl event held on the first Friday evening of the month around the clubs and pubs near to the city centre. For further details, click on this link:- http://racheltv8.co.uk/lff/index.php 

I had been advised this event is full on and that the music at the pubs and clubs is loud so may be not my type of an event for me to attend as I tend to like the quieter outings with just 3/4 friends at most. However, I have always taken the view to try things at least once and then judge for myself. Arrangements were already in place to go with Paula and the hotel room was booked at the Travel Lodge which is near to the action (Blayds Yard area) so it just a case of waiting for the day then hitting the road to Leeds. Travelling to Leeds was not easy and took us 3 hours for what should of been a 75 minute drive! Unfortunately for us, the M62 at the top of the Pennines was closed and an alternative but long winding route had to be found! 

Having finally arrived at the hotel and unpacking, first thing to do was get familiar with the location before the evening and getting a bite to eat which we duly did. Both Paula and I then proceeded to get ready with a theme of Halloween and black!  After that we finally hit the bars / clubs at around 9pm with the first port of call being Cosmopolitan Hotel Bar as that is the initial meeting place for Tgirls to start the evening. The bar was as expected, packed with girls in all sorts of outfits. The rest of the evening we visited Blayds Yard Bar, Viaduct, Fibre, The Loft before heading back to the Cosmo Bar prior to bedtime which happen to be 5am in the morning, a time unheard of in my book! 

During the course of the evening, we chatted to a few girls, even bumped into a couple of friends including Lisa B which was no surprise as I was half expecting it. We met in Fibre and had a good catch up natter and she was surprised to see me. As pre warned, yes the music when ever you went was loud but for a change, music I recognised and therefore enjoyed it but chatting in those area’s was difficult to say the least. However, while in Fibre, they opened the upstairs bar which was music free and best of all all shorts / mixes were only £2 each. Something I could not pass up as normally I don't drink when out and about due to driving to most places. While in the bar, a Tgirl and partner (Luci and Carmy) from Barnsley complimented me about my outfit which led to us remaining together for the rest of the evening, chatting drinking and generally enjoying ourselves until we said our good byes in the Cosmo Bar at 4am in the morning. Luci and Carmy were a lovely couple and it was there first time out to any tranny event, in fact it was Luci’s first time out. 

Eventually, Paula and I finally got back to the hotel, a little worst for wear (mainly tired) and decided to hit the pit at 5am in the morning. Five hours later we were up, got ready, packed the car and got breakfast / dinner in the city centre before heading home.   

All in all, Paula and I enjoyed the evening, probably more than we expected and certainly  enjoyed each other’s company and concluded we would like to come back to another LFF event but that will be sometime next year, something that I will look forward too much to my surprise! 

November 2013 - Rekindled friends?

Currently I have a little time to kill and thought another blog entry may be? Manage to get out a couple of occasions last month but as usual these days to the Village, Manchester. It is an easy option of me I suppose but my preference is still get out in the everyday world but as I’ve said previously, not on my own, it is no fun that way. However, still looking for a similar girl to myself for this to happen and not for want of looking I may add. However, I will continue to get out to Manchester as at least I can be me in some way. 

First outing in October was meeting up with Kate, Mrs Kate and Emma, who was on a short visit back to this country during a work break. This turned to be lovely evening and it was nice to see Emma again. Emma and I have had our misunderstandings in the past as we are in a lot of ways different as chalk and cheese although in some other ways, have a few things in common too. However, one thing I admire about Emma, she had got out there as herself and broken a few barriers to say the least. Always portrays plenty of confidence and faith, along with encouraging other girls to do the same and a good friend to have on your side. As I said before, a good evening was had and my thanks to Emma for the nice touch in paying the meal bill too - that was a nice gesture and very much appreciated. Hopefully will see Emma again sometime?

Second occasion was a week later but this time meeting up with Sarah, and Sophia who have become good friends over the last couple of years. Both girls only get out occasionally - dare I say about twice a year but regardless always nice to see them in person rather than the usual place of the chatrooms. However, it was a meeting that almost did not happen! I usually get ready at home during dinnertime/early afternoon and then head out before anyone comes home! On this occasion, member of my family arrived home at dinnertime and no initial intentions of going out! Oooops which left me a little problem, how the hell do I get ready now?  I waited all afternoon, in the hope things would change but I decided to get my clothes / make up etc together regardless and attempt to come up with alternative plans! That was not easy but ended up with Plan X and decided that the changing room at Manchester Concord would be the best option, a location I never used before but was the only sensible option left! By the time I arrived at this decision it was already 18.30pm and needed to get on! It was not easy getting my gear to the car but eventually done it and finally arrived at MC at 20.00hrs which gave me less an hour to get ready. Normally when presented with the above circumstances, yes it has happened in the past, I always to decide not to bother going out but on this occasion for the sake of Sophia and Sarah, make the effort as they don't get out often! The MC changing room at Villagio’s was better than expected and a good option to get change again there. The mirrors there are excellent for your putting your make up on but not too much space thought to get ready if there is a few girls wanting to do the same. Much to my relief, I got ready in time and met up with Sophia and Sarah at Taurus just after nine! The rest of the evening was most enjoyable with Kate (again) joining us too and unusually not getting to bed until 3.00am - mmm dirty little stop out. :-))

Well that sums up October for me as things at home are quiet in general, M.R. taking things in her stride - ok it is not prefect from her point of view but things are very good compared what has happened in the past. So no complaints. I mention about friends from time to time and in reality I do have a small but good group of friends albeit most is by Internet communication with a handful I meet on an occasional basis. In some ways it is a nice situation to be in but recently that has changed with the reawakened friendship with a local girl, Paula. We have known each other in a distant sort of way over 2/3 years but over the last few weeks, we have made in roads in knowing each other better and nice much to our surprise, we have a few things in common and something to build on too. Interestingly, we have partners who accept us and who have been out with us too.  More spooky, our social backgrounds are very similar too! We have already been out together by going to Leeds First Friday for the first time at the beginning of this month but that is another story for my next blog entry. May be things are changing again in KD’s life, so on that positive note, time for bed and will be back soon! 

October 2013 - The "April Ashley" Exhibition.

A couple of days ago, I visited the April Ashley Exhibition being held at the Liverpool Museum of Life at the Pier Head waterfront in Liverpool. This exhibition is on until 21st September 2014 and it is a portrait of lady who was born in Liverpool in 1935, a former Vogue model and actress was one of the first people in the world to undergo pioneering gender reassignment surgery. It views her  fascinating life in brief through images, video and in words too, including some private documents. Also it shows the albeit slow progress through the years of gaining acceptance too, not just for herself but also importantly other TG people too. 

Being my home city, there was not much doubt I would visit the exhibition sooner or later, just a case of when. For those who are not familiar with the Liverpool Museum of Life, it is generally highlighting the history of the city through the eyes of local people in words, images and numerous exhibits too including Social, Armed Forces, Shipping, Music, Culture and much much more. To be honest there are not many locations that could justify a museum for that alone so in some ways, it is a unique museum in the UK and certainly one that is well worth a visit regardless of where you come from. 

Anyway back to April Ashley’s exhibition which I found fascinating, informative and interesting. It includes many images and documents from April Ashley’s personal collection but also other people’s contributions also. In some ways, like a lot of Museum Exhibitions, they take a minimal approach in the exhibition were less is more so to speak so on first appearance, there does not seem much to view. But in reality there is quite a lot to view including a mini theatre showing a 20/25 minute clip of various April Ashley takes on some of her past encounters along with short clips from TV interviews with Michael Parkinson and Russell Hartley. One thing that stood out for me that it became apparent amongst the various struggles throughout her interesting life, she never seem to be short of money as she clearly got around the globe including some nice clothes to go with it. I accept there are many reasons for this but this just adds to her fascinating life story  at this exhibition. As part of my visit I took some images of the exhibition and these are included in this blog entry. 

However, one part of the exhibition did slightly concern me, which was a “Timeline” board highlighting the different categories of words used to describe various people. Im my eyes, this a ‘labels” board which alot of us fight against as we are just “people”. I accept in some ways, we need words to attempt to describe some people but in this case, I’m not sure this was not necessary and in some instances, will continue to highlight the stereo typical image in joe public’s eyes. According to the board, I apparently come under the Transvestite / Crossdresser label BUT I do not see that nor do I agree. It is not as black and white as that!  I accept some may not agree with this but this is how I see it. 

One thing for sure, if nothing else the April Ashley Exhibition does highlight the transgender cause so to speak to the public at large and certainly makes them aware that we are people / individuals after all. To me this is a good thing especially in my city and hopefully in time, better acceptance and understanding by all? I had noted, during my time at the exhibition, there were many members of joe public viewing it with great interest and heard nothing untowards while I was there - a good sign perhaps? 

Further images of the April Ashley exhibition are below: 

 

Website Link for further information: 

http://www.liverpoolmuseums.org.uk/mol/exhibitions/april-ashley/

October 2013 - Was quiet but not for long?

Well Sparkle was almost 3 months ago and my last blog entry was some while ago, so it seems about time to make an entry! There lies a problem, what to write about if things have been generally quiet since Sparkle. However, I’m sure I will be able to come up with something? 

Well outings, have been minimal to say the least, in fact I think may be three outings since July, the last one being 2 weeks ago which was a nice evening with Kate in the Village. In fact, it had been a long time since Kate and I had a full evening together so in some ways we were playing a little catch up so to speak. Well we caught up on many things as well as having a nice meal at Velvet with visits to Taurus, Molly House and at the end of the night, Naps also. It was a good enjoyable evening to be honest and hopefully it wont be too long before we do it again. 

I had plans to do Leeds First Friday this month with a friend, hotel room was booked and all we needed was the day too arrive and off we go! Sadly, it never happened, my friend hurt her ankle so could not go and even if she did not, I ended up with a virus on late Thursday evening so I would of not gone anyway. Clearly it was not meant to be. May be next month? Talking of future outings, should have at least two in the next couple of weeks as provisional arrangements already in place.

Another mini clear out in the wardrobe was had with some more clothes going on Ebay but also purchase 3 River Island new skirts, a M&S dress and a couple of tops. Looking at my wardrobe now seems to be about right now in content and not over loaded either. Only taken me a few years to get to this stage. 

Keeping in contact with other friends sometimes seem to be difficult at times for numerous reasons including their personal circumstances of course but also method of contact too. I tend to use e/mails and Yahoo Messenger for contact with the odd mobile text message too - better for me personally. However, I am aware that some friends use Facebook and at times be tempted to set up an account myself, which I did! Although I change most of profile settings to keep it private as possible, it is clear to me that Facebook, still has away of connecting you to possible contacts either in your area or other links (via the internet) which has spooked me to say the least! So much so, other than setting up the account, I’ve not gone any further! I blame Facebook for this and the way they try their best to find any link that may introduce people to you - well Facebook, well done as you done the opposite and I wont bother! What makes it worst, is listening to some stories when things go wrong which makes you all the more wary! 

In the past, I have been aware quite a few girls seem to go to Blackpool for outings and also heard a few good reports too. So in consequence I have thought about going sometime but as yet never got around to it. Also what it makes it more interesting, I have not been to Blackpool in any capacity for over 30+ years until recently! M.R. and I (not KD) decided to visit Blackpool for a day out and see the lights too! Although an enjoyable day out was had, it made me realize that the general demeanor and the clientele it attracts was not for me even as KD. I know some of you will suggest otherwise but I just cannot find for the life of me what the attraction for Blackpool is? My impression of Blackpool, has not changed since 30+ years ago which I find sad indeed as clearly there are some nice people there. As someone said to me and in a way it sums Blackpool up, it is full of Kylelites - reference to the type of people that appear on the Jeremy Kyle daytime TV show! Ooooops me thinks but ...... ? Yes I wont be going to Blackpool again!

My next blog entry is already lined up as I visited the April Ashley exhibition at the Liverpool Museum of Life recently and in consequence deserves an entry of its own along with some suitable images too. See this link to the exhibition:- http://www.liverpoolmuseums.org.uk/mol/exhibitions/april-ashley/

July 2013 - The trials and joys of a Sparkle weekend!

I had not made any particular arrangements to meet friends or attend any events during the weekend, leaving everything by chance and take things as they come. However, I was aware of Sue Richmond attending the event and was sure that we would meet sooner rather than later. Prior to the weekend and all being well was going to meet Maria for the first time, the partner of Nikki sometime on Saturday which was something to look forward too. In the meantime, I had ask M.R. if she would at least come on Saturday afternoon but no commitment was made.

Friday morning arrived and made the decision to get ready at the hotel in Manchester rather than changing at home, just made life easier all round. Clothes and all packed in the car and off I go, arriving in Manchester about 2.00pm. On arrival, first thing was to change and get out asap, finally  arrived in the Village around 4pm to see who was around. Canal St was busy and hot too - oh yes the sun was out but just too warm for comfort. I ended up inside Taurus to cool off a little with a refreshing drink and met Jane Owen, a long standing friend but to most, one of the girls involved in bringing “Sparkle” together. We chatted for a while and said our temporary farewells and I ordered a bite to eat. It is then that things went wrong as while eating a piece of bread, my new filling fill dropped out leaving me a nice gap in my teeth! Not what I wanted nor expecting and put a damper on the whole evening. As most girls / women know, we strive on looking as best as we can which gives us the confidence and any thing that prevents that from happening changes our mind set completely. Loosing a front filling / tooth is one of those things and my first priority was to see if there were any emergency dentists around which proved to be a fruitless task - basically there aren’t any! Contacting the local NHS surgery, who advised best option was to contact my dentist on return home which was a couple of days away! At that time, I just felt like packing up and heading home! In the meantime, I had text Sue to advise of the situation and words of encouragement arrived which I wanted to hear. In consequence, I got ready and met Sue at Eden and attempted to make the most of the evening but by midnight, I had enough as I was not being the best company in the world plus I needed to get up early the following morning to find a temporary solution to my tooth and discomfort I was in too as drinking was a little painful!

The following morning I headed to Boots in the city centre as there was a dentist based above the store and sort advice which were encouraging but also a sense of reality that nothing could be done. However, the dentist did suggest a filler paste which can be obtained in Boots as a temporary solution but given the location of the broken tooth, had no great hope it would work! Off downstairs to Boots and found the filler paste he was referring too and a very small tub was purchased at a cost of £8. Headed back to the hotel and duly filled the missing gap with no great hope it would stay put. Although colour wise it was not perfect match, at least the tooth was open to the elements. With that out of the way, proceeded to get change and meet up with Sue and other girls at Villagio’s for lunch but not before meeting up with Maria who was a friend of mine’s RG partner who I got to know over the last 6 months or so via the net. When we chatted, we seem to get on well with each other and knew sooner or later we would finally meet, and Sparkle was the idea occasion. Maria had manage to get a last minute hotel room booking for the Saturday  night so finally we were going to meet, something both of us were looking forward too. I met up with Maria at the hotel entrance and introductions were not required as we knew each other already, strange it may seem. After Maria booked in and got freshened up, we both headed to Villagio’s for lunch and to meet Sue and the girls. A couple of hours later, duly fed, a good chat with all as well as Maria and I having a good natter too. Afterwards it was walk around the Park for the afternoon entertainment as well as meeting old and new friends. Amongst the friends I met, were Carol, Justine, and Mandy and always nice to see them. Later on I came across Amanda  (from York) a girl who I had got to know recently via the net and a girl who I admired, as she always looked nice and very presentable in the outside world. Seeing her for the first time certainly lived up to the images of her, in fact much better plus more importantly, a lovely personality too. For the next hour or so we chatted over a drink in the Molly House which was nice and cool given the hot sunny weather outside and found we had some things in common - a start of friendship hopefully. We parted our ways and I headed back to the Park were much to my surprise met Nikki (from Chester) with her loving partner. Nikki who 7 years previously virtually to the day, made her first outing at Sparkle but since then as become the woman she always wanted to be and did she really looked good along with her partner who also became the woman she wanted to be. It was great chatting to both of them, they looked so happy together and looking great too, they left me with a great happy feeling within me to see such a wonderful ending to their tortured frustrating life’s they had live previously and not without some personal cost too. But it all worked out in the end - absolutely fantastic! By this time, met up with Maria gain and ended back to our hotel rooms to get ready for the evening.

As stated earlier, I had made no specific plans for Sparkle and generally make things up as I / we went along and this was proving the case although enjoyable too. Sue had confirmed she was meeting two friends Zazoo and Joanne later in Chinatown and was heading to a Thai Restaurant for a bite to eat and confirmed it was ok to join her. Prior to the weekend, I had already purchased some new clothes with Sparkle in mind including a couple of dresses from my work place. Normally for practicable reasons, it is not always easy to wear dresses when I’m out but being away from home, I had the opportunity I was going to make the most of it. My outfit for the evening was simply that, a nice colourful silk dress with matching bolero, neckless and shoes and amazingly came together very well. I met up with Maria and we both headed to Chinatown to meet up with Sue who was caught unawares as she was only expecting me! Ooops but that was my fault as I made an assumption that Sue would know - mmm silly girl I am but anyway no big deal. Although Sue, Zazoo and Joanne had almost finished their meal by the time we arrived, we ordered our meal and played catch up. Regardless, an enjoyable meal was had and finally we all headed back to the Village for the party atmosphere. The rest of the evening was either spent in Taurus with a window view, watching the world go by or more to the point watching a guy on his mobile phone for over 90 minutes with DS on his t-shirt - mmmm not a very convincing member of Joe Public! :-))) In that time got to know Zazoo and Joanne a little better, both lovely girls for different reasons but Zazoo, being a Glaswegian girl just fascinated me with a lovely personality too. Afterwards, we toured the Village which seem to crowded with people but with a lack of TGirls present given it was Sparkle Saturday. Certainly got to know Maria by that time and we got on like a house on fire with her attempting to avoid a particular person all night who seen to fancy her - it was in fact quite amusing to both of us. The last place of call was Naps, no surprise but spent most of time in the cellar, attempting to say cool by the fan and less people there as it was too hot for any dancing. Well it was now 3.30am and time for some sleep while we could as needed to out of our rooms by 12! Well so I thought! 

After about 5 hours sleep, woke up at 10.00am thinking I had until 12 to get ready and leave the hotel but Maria text me to advise it was not so and it was 11.00am. Oh shit this lady said!! To add to the confusion, M.R. (my partner) confirmed she was traveling to Manchester to meet me and of course Sue, as they have become good friends. This was a pleasant surprise and something I was hoping would happen. However, the bottom line I had less than an hour to get ready and leave my room. To cut a long story short, I manage to do it but not in the circumstances I found myself in unfortunately which ultimately changed my visual appearance for the rest of the day. I met Maria first and had a coffee with more chat again and advising Maria, she would be able to meet my partner which she was hoping to do. Afterwards, we headed to the Village and agreed to meet Sue, Zazoo and Joanne at Taurus were the weather by the way was warm and sunny - mmm a lovely day to relax in the Village which ultimately it turned out to be. M.R. finally arrived in the Village just after one and after the introductions. M.R. proceeded to chat away to Sue and Maria especially but no one was left out. It seemed that Maria and M.R. had hit it off with each which pleased me. We spent the rest of the afternoon outside Taurus were everyone else seem to be doing the same thing, drinking, eating, chatting and enjoying themselves in the sun. Entertainment was also provided in the disguise of the “Gay Gordons” who were lovely gentlemen who entertained us with their version of Scottish dancing. At the end of the show, they made their final bow literally and revealed (well some) what they had on (not) under their kilts - for some people it took them by surprise to say the least but all in good humour. After that we all headed to the cooler climate of the Molly House for our final drink of the day. Time was now 7.30pm, said our farewells with M.R and I departed for home. 

All in all, it turned to be a good weekend in excellent company after all, especially after the “filling” problem. Mmmm talking of which, some of you may be curious what happened to that particular problem. Well much to my surprise, the £8 filler paste that was placed in my front tooth remained there for the whole weekend with careful drink / food management of course. In fact it remained there until Wednesday when I visited the dentist and ended up having a crown fitted, as well as being £214.00 the poorer too - ouch in more ways than one!