Manchester in summer

Ok, this write-up is late … very late. But there are reasons for that.

In June I decided to take a proper two-week summer holiday, the first in some years, in fact. Part of that was a trip to Manchester to meet up with a few TGirls of my acquaintance. Manchester does seem to have the best T scene overall in Britain, focused on Canal Street and the Gay Village.

I booked into the Atrium apartments near Canal Street and was delighted to be given this massive flat, a penthouse, that would happily have slept four people. I didn’t ask for it, it’s just that business must have been slow that week. So it was good to entertain friends there.

First a trip to town to get supplies. Nobody much seemed to notice the TGirl about town. They’re probably all too busy with their own affairs. Or maybe I’m passing OK these days. A bit of both, probably.

Then I smartened up in my smart apartment and invited KD, Kate and Suki over for a drink before we went to Canal Street. Dinner in Velvet, which I haven’t eaten in before but which does a very good menu. Said hi to Priya (of the TGirl bar), who was also eating there. We headed to the Molly House for a while which, as I’ve said before, is probably the best establishment in the Gay Village. And then off to Napoleon’s for a bit of a dance. There was, just for once, one admirer there who had some conversation and a reasonable dress sense, which made a pleasant change! So that was an enjoyable day.

Relaxed dinner in Velvet, Manchester. KD's photo.

The next day my face wasn’t at all well and I mainly rested until the afternoon when I once more met KD and her wife, whom I hadn’t seen for quite a while, which is a pity since we get along very well. I often find supportive wives of TGirls particularly good company and whilst it is true that most don’t understand why TGirls are who they are and do what they do (as if we TGirls know!), and almost invariably wish that their husband wasn’t trans, I do think they enjoy the company and the fun, especially as most of us act way younger than our years. Anyway, enough musing. We met up with Diana, whom I hadn’t seen in ages and it was great to catch up with her at last. (Sadly, Diana seems to have deleted her blog.) We went to the Richmond Tea Rooms for a late tea (or early pudding course, if you like). This place is pretty unique, half Victorian tea room, half gin palace, very eccentric but with excellent food and tea. We had a meal in Taurus but the previous late night was still taking it’s toll and, sadly, I decided to go to bed at a sensible hour. Hey, my luxury apartment needed full use, and I intended to get my money’s worth!

More casual tonight: with KD in Manchester. KD's photo.

KD’s written about these two days, too: http://kaydenisepublicblog.blogspot.co.uk/2014/06/wasted-time-and-quality-too.html

So as a couple of days to catch up with friends, this trip was worth doing. The weather was beautiful, too, so sitting out on Canal Street with a cool drink, having a chat, was very agreeable. Obviously, I was back in July for Sparkle but I don’t know when I will next be back in Manchester and its T scene. It’s a long way from home so inevitably I can't visit that often.

Many thanks to KD and MR, Kate and Suki, Diana and the other girls and boys we met and chatted with for making it such an agreeable two days.

Sue x