In my last post I recounted a night out in Bolton in Northern England. Today it's a day out in nearby Manchester. Both with the widows of lovely friends who've passed away.
My Manchester day out was with Suki, nickname of the wife of my beloved friend Kate who died last year. Suki and I have had the misfortune of making many appointments to meet over the last year and been frustrated by illnesses, mechanical problems with cars, family engagements and other issues. But this time we managed it.
Suki had booked us into the Ivy in the city centre. For those who don't know, the Ivy is now a chain but started as a single restaurant in central London that soon became popular with the celebrity set. Not to be confused with the Ivy, LA, which attracts a similar crowd. Lesser mortals found it hard to get in, and harder still to pay the prices. About 20 years ago, a plate of fishcakes was the cheapest thing on the menu, priced £35 (about $60 at the time). Indeed, Ivy fishcakes famously became almost an informal unit of currency in the early 2000s, like the Mars bar in the 1970s! But celebrity spotters who wished to observe the likes of Hugh Grant and Jemima Khan munching fishcakes besottedly were prepared to wait and pay for the privilege.
Anyway, they've now expanded into a chain of smart but less exclusive restaurants and Suki booked us in for their more intelligently priced set lunch. I dressed fairly staidly and smartly for the occasion in a three-quarter length grey skirt, black ankle boots and my favourite sparkly pink sweater.
I met Suki in the lobby of the hotel and I was a bit overwhelmed to see her again after all this time and after Kate's passing.
We took a taxi to the Ivy in the new Spinningfields business district created after the old textile mills were torn down. I'm not sure the architecture is wholly to my taste but I appreciate the greenery. Old factories are not usually beautiful so this is perhaps better. Judge for yourselves.
It's richly decorated inside, a mix of classic and modern. Again, some of it I like, some I'm less sure of.
But the greenery all around our corner table was again a plus point. I find green plants very soothing, though I confess to being a lousy gardener.
Here's me sat at table.
We had spicy oriental calamari with noodles to start, then I had their signature shepherd's pie, which was very good, and ended with the biggest profiteroles I have ever been served in my life! That's ice cream in the middle, and the choc sauce was very, very gooey. Wow!
You can also see Suki's frozen berries with ice cream on the side kept cold by some magical device that you can see smoking cold. A bit of theatre in your dining experience is always fun!
Anyway, we were both very happy with the food, the attentive service ("Ladies", "Madam" - oh yes, we like that :-) ) and the very acceptable price. The toilets are, intelligently, unisex units comprising WC and basin - so no "bathroom controversies" and complete privacy for the entire performance.
Well, after that, we needed to walk it off and do some shopping. Given the battering my lovely boots had taken on Britain's rotten pavements, (that I complained about earlier this month), and the breakdown of my chunkier German-made boots that were unsalvageable in the end, I wanted to find a new pair. I never did find something to suit, though, and in the end opted for the current fashion for horrid square toes and chunky heels from Primark. I hate the style altogether, but they were cheap and, it has to be said, very comfortable. I tested them that very evening, in fact, in Canal Street ... but more on that episode and the boots another day.
Suki needed the Ladies in a shop at one point so I waited for her outside. Can you believe it, though? She picked the restrooms in the menswear department! Yeeeurrgh! No wonder I look inimpressed!
I also had the pleasure of meeting Helen Atherton for the first time, though sadly she had to be in boy mode. Helen works in central Manchester and lives close to Suki so she joined us and went home with Suki after we'd had a cup of tea at my hotel. Helen was a regular in the Zoom chats organised by Kate and Suki that we had on Saturday evenings during the pandemic. I described the first of these here and they continued on and off for a long time. Helen said they're actually still going. Maybe "social distancing" actually resulted in social bonding in our case.
So that was a lovely day. I felt confident and happy in my femininity and where I was. And the support from a wonderful friend and trans ally was uplifting.
Thank you, Suki. You are the friend of all TGirls. And I'm glad life is OK for you after our Kate passed away, with a lovely little grandson to play with.
Sue x
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