Black Friday, rainbow Saturday

 Two US festivities they've gone for here in Italy are Hallowe'en and Black Friday. I went out yesterday to start my Christmas shopping early so that the festivities don't become too stressful nearer the event. I really don't cope well with deadlines these days!

I got a lot of good discounts: 25% off a Christmas tree, 15% off books, 30% off decorations... That's how we like it! And it's more like how sales used to be - something off everything two or three times a year rather than the almost perpetual offers that have bedevilled shops in big cities over the last quarter century, where the only bargains are the unsaleable junk that nobody wanted to buy in the first place.

One of my earliest jobs was in London's well-known Harrods department store, shortly after Mohamed Al-Fayed had bought the shop after a notorious takeover battle with equally dubious businessman, Tiny Rowland, CEO of Lonrho (now Lonmin), an African mining conglomerate (the one that shot 100 striking workers a decade ago). Nice people both! But that's all history now. As are Al-Fayed's sexcapades, which were well known even then. Immediately he took over he started sending scouting parties to the Harrods sales floors to spot the most attractive female employees and invite them to work in his secretariat. Having pretty staff around him made him a better manager, apparently. I wasn't pretty enough, thankfully. I was there just to work over the winter sales period, when sales were on just twice a year because everything was discounted (i.e. reduced to what would be a typical high street price rather than the Harrods' markup). To be fair, there could be some genuine bargains on discontinued lines, which explained why some eager shoppers would queue for a day or even two beforehand. The unlocking of the doors on Day 1 of the sale saw a most undignified stampede very uncharacteristic of the well-heeled locality. I wonder if the poor doorman got a suit of armour and a cattle prod to protect himself! 

Harrods is a fascinating place, with an underground city to serve it. Our department's deposit was a good ten minutes walk from our sales floor by underground streets (with street names), with a constant traffic of electric buggies, loaders and forklifts; you'd go up and down in passenger lifts and goods elevators. Harrods has a vast staff canteen,  enormous staff bathroom with shower cubicles, lines of basins and dozens of stalls (with graffiti that expanded my English vocabulary considerably). Staff are forbidden from using the customer toilets (and a good job too if the staff graffiti is anything to go by). Harrods even has its own well to draw up the water it uses in its bathrooms, fountains and taps. ...I'm not sure why I'm telling you all this; maybe it's interesting, topical .... ah yes, because retail sales used to be a worthwhile thing and I got that feeling again this weekend.

On my way home with my bags yesterday, this glimpse of Venus above the palms looked so much like the star of Bethlehem of a million-and-one Christmas cards that I couldn't resist snapping it.

Next week I will be in Milan where the Christmas lights are always pretty, especially in the Quadrilateral (the fashion district). There's also a jolly Christmas market around the cathedral. So I hope to post some nice photos when I'm back. I will be seeing a family member so there will be no fem time, unfortunately. But I will be looking for a Christmas cosplay outfit as I enjoyed my Hallowe'en witch time last month and want to repeat the fun.

 

Rainbow solidarity

Thanks to Stana of Femulate for posting the photo I sent for her regular Femulating Out and About feature. I sent it for solidarity with my US trans sisters who are worried about the future. We are with you and will support you all the way. American trans bloggers like Stana, Hannah, Marian and others should be thanked for maintaining their trans blogs in the face of provocation.

I sent this pic as it's perhaps my favourite from this year and is similar to the one that has been the background image to my blog since its inception. I just feel at my most relaxed, happy and authentic among the quiet greenery in beautiful parks with trans friends with me. 

 

This was taken at Dunrobin Castle in the far North of Scotland in May.

The friend I was with on that occasion, Roz, has sent me a photo of her training as a conductress on the trams at the National Tramway Museum that I described in my last post and I've added it there as their trans-friendly recruitment policy was noteworthy. There are quite a number of trans women I know (at least three others in addition to Roz) volunteering at these heritage sites so they're obviously a bit of a haven for us. For me it was the art world that was a haven for my female side.

As this trans memorial month ends, I remain optimistic that most people are OK with trans people when they actually meet them. Governments (especially those brought in by Russian interference) may not be, but governments need a scapegoat or distraction from their own incompetence and machinations and it seems to be us this time. I hope those of us who are more out than average can find solidarity. The overwhelming majority of trans people are in stealth anyway, which means that any persecutions will miss that majority but could end up uncovering a lot of leading government and authority figures who were trans all along but were themselves in stealth mode. How embarrassing!

Sue x