Nottingham: my third Invasion

 

As I’ve said before on these pages, the TGirls in Nottingham have really sorted themselves out and have a lot of activities to keep them amused and sane. The monthly Nottingham Invasion is one of the better monthly meets around the country mainly as there is no ‘gay ghetto’ to confine the wanderings of the trans posse. The Invasion bossladies, Sam and Maddy, are to be commended for making this such a success.

So, as previously, I stayed in the very pleasant New Gables hotel run by Debbie and Maria, and met some of my oldest and closest friends there. I booked a table at the recommended Noor Jahan restaurant where we ate a substantial, tasty and good value meal with attentive service. Recommended. I was particularly pleased with being addressed as Madam on the phone. My female voice is improving.

Good food and good company. At Noor Jahan with some of my closest friends. 

Left to right: Jo, me, Ange, Maddy and Tiff.

New Foresters pub is the gateway to the proceedings and where most of the girls meet first for a drink and a chat. We moved on to the Newmarket Inn, an Australian gay pub which I hadn’t visited before and which had a party on to celebrate its first birthday. I quite liked its traditional interior (see picture). The TGirls at the bar are really beautiful. On the down side, I found the karaoke too loud.

At the Newmarket Inn

Another venue I’d not visited before was the Queen of Clubs which was not bad apart from the deafening music throughout which makes conversation impossible except in the quite pleasant ladies’ loos. I jerked about a bit which is what passes for dancing with me.

And finally to the NG1 club which is my favourite Nottingham venue as it has an attractive bar area where you can have a conversation without having to shout over the music, which is confined to a completely separate dancefloor area.

So that's a brief summary of the venues we visited. For me it's not the locations that count but an opportunity to meet up with some really nice people and catch up with all our news.

Nottingham has really got a lot to offer the out-and-about TGirl and I now recommend it to all girls who want a good night out and are prepared to travel. Many thanks to Tiff, Maddy, Ange, Jo, Gayna, Lynn, Rachael S., Rachel K.S., Holly and all the girls for another great evening.

Sue x

Necessary research into pubs

So I have been doing some research into London pubs with the help of other TGirls. This is, naturally, principally for the benefit of TGirls who might like to know of a few decent places to visit if they ever find themselves thirsty in the big city. Big city thirst is a terrible affliction so I feel that our endeavours for the benefit of transkind will be appreciated in the true spirit of charity in which they were undertaken.

Last week my smiley friend Gillian came to mine to get ready and we drove to meet my lovely pal Grace at the Vauxhall Griffin in South London, a nice quiet comfortable pub with an array of varied seating and a teeny beer garden. The staff were friendly and the ladies’ loos are fantastic. A great place for a catch-up with both girls.

In the Vauxhall Griffin's tiny beer garden. (This is actually Gillian's photo which is even smilier than the ones on my camera)

Tuesday was a beautiful day and I really didn’t want to be indoors so I met Joanne (who features here regularly) on the roof terrace of the Lyric Theatre in Hammersmith, West London. (Hammersmith is where the Charing Cross Hospital is, home of one of the gender clinics.) I stupidly didn’t take a photo but it is nice up there with its wooden benches and tables and climbing plants away from the crowds and traffic. The chilled white wine slipped down very well in the sunshine.

We decided that a pub garden would be the ideal place for a bite to eat so we went to the Hampshire Hog further along King Street near Ravenscourt Park, which has a delightful beer garden. The white and rosé wines were very nice. I felt my bowl of pappardelle pasta with mixed veg created a very good mix of flavours and textures but all the food was pricey. So enjoy a drink there but eating, though decent, is not worth the money.

After just missing our friend Saffy who had just been discharged from the hospital (sorry, Saff, but lunch always takes priority), and after attending to other matters there, we set off by tube for the West End. The Wellington pub at the bottom of Wellington Street has tables outside where you can look along Waterloo Bridge or down the Strand. It’s always quite busy but serves a decent range of better quality drinks. I’m a sucker for fruit ciders and Nicholson’s pubs are well stocked with these.

You know, before I started going out as a TGirl the fear was put into me that pubs were full of transphobic yobs ready to knife any girl who ventured in. This is not true. At all. Earlier this year I thought of starting a new blog devoted to all places which were “trans-friendly” but I’ve realised that essentially anywhere is as welcoming to trans people as it is to any other customer. And the other punters just mind their own business, unless you chat to them and make friends, of course. So instead, when I get round to it, I shall simply put up a new blog about good places to eat, drink, visit, shop at and so on for the benefit of anyone who visits London.

Sue x

That small step, that giant leap

Neil Armstrong died yesterday.

I mention this in a TGirl blog because for me this man was an icon. I grew up during the Space Race, one aspect of the Cold War which was the dominant international situation during my youth. Yet, in that antagonism and tension, with a fear of human annihilation, mankind also achieved some truly extraordinary feats. I am hard pressed to think back through history as to what might represent a greater achievement than sending men to the moon and bringing them home again. And to think that it happened in my lifetime!

Not only have I had a lifelong fascination with the stars ever since reading about spaceflight as a child, and especially after an inspiring school trip to the London Planetarium when I was 8, but I suppose Armstrong’s small step showed me that, with effort and dedication, extraordinary things can be done if you really want them to happen. With hindsight, the Apollo programme was a typically crazy product of the Cold War – insanely expensive with no proper plan to build on the achievement and mainly an attempt to get one up on the Soviets – but one of its legacies is that it illustrated that mankind’s dreams can become reality.

Don’t worry, I’m not mawkishly and childishly going to suggest that I too am living my dream blah blah, nor that Armstrong achieved stuff in some splendid godlike isolation (no hero does – they all have massive teams at work behind them, notably in this case the US taxpayer), but just to say that for me Neil Armstrong represents the achievable, however incredible, and the aspiration to achieve it.

I never met him – he seems to have elected to live quite isolated. But I met Buzz Aldrin, again through school. It was spellbinding to listen to him and imagine being up there, too.

I still plan to get to the moon myself before I die. My boots will be much nicer than Neil’s, though.

Sue x

A stiletto print would have been so much more iconic. I intend to remedy this.

Brick Lane

Yesterday I was invited by Rachel Cole to join a group of girls associated with the Adam & Eve dressing service so, after half an afternoon's shopping and strolling in my favourite parts of Covent Garden, I took the hot Central Line tube out to Brick Lane, best known nowadays as the title of Monica Ali's novel and the place to eat Indian food in London.

I met Rachel and her pals Helen, Denise, Stephanie, Gillian and Mandy at the relaxed Verge bar. Mandy I already knew from the TGirl bar at Erotica but the other girls were new to me and very nice to talk to. Adam & Eve seems to have an enthusiastic following. I used to be a Boudoir girl when I used a dressing service, so we compared notes about style and experiences.

Stephanie, Gillian and I went down Brick Lane for a curry. The food wasn't bad at City Spice and the total bill was perfectly reasonable. The red wine, though, was served at considerably higher than room temperature! Maybe those southern Italian volcanoes were still at work in it! But as it was free we could hardly complain!

A pleasant way to spend an evening in the middle of the week. Stupidly, I forgot my camera! (TGirl + no camera = fail!) so I will be relying on the other girls' charity for a record of the event.

Sue x

Add: There's a lovely photo of us on Stephanie's Flickr pages - three pretty TGirls amid the bright lights and bustle of Brick Lane http://www.flickr.com/photos/stephaniemonroe/7857488000/in/photostream

So what's normal anyway?

I went out to Camden in North London with a female friend earlier this month and we enjoyed a barge trip on the Regent's Canal before strolling round the fabulous markets.

It felt so normal and unremarkable to me that it shows how far I have come in less than three years since first stepping out dressed as a woman.

So what's weird in the picture below? The giant bronze horsehead? the Indian chieftain's headdress? the steel and glass canopy added to a Victorian warehouse? It's hardly the woman in jeans that's odd, is it?

It's so nice to be able to get on with normal stuff without having to feel self-conscious any more.

Sue x

A year of blogging

So I wrote my first post here exactly a year ago. And, like I said then, I think I took up blogging because it's the thing to do these days. Previously, I had written a lot of my thoughts and adventures on UK Angels but have now shifted more to Facebook and here for that sort of thing.

I suppose I was motivated partly to keep a record of interesting things I was doing, but to make it public in the hope that other trans people might be inspired to go out into the world and try to do something positive and feel comfortable being themselves in public. I know that such tales of outside adventures had a considerable influence on my motivating myself to come outdoors and present myself as female to the world. And it has almost always been a positive and enjoyable way to live since doing so.

This blogging site's mechanics provide all sorts of statistics, many of which are incomprehensible, and some you wonder why on earth anyone would want to know, such as the type of device the site was accessed from (iPad, Android, etc)

But, anyway, as of this moment the stats tell me that there have been 5,828 page views, 60 posts (that's my bit) and I have 21 followers (hello there, lovelies). Most of the viewers are in the UK but a great many in the US and a surprising number from Poland. I wish I knew what "Hi there!" was in Polish. People particularly read about the Nottingham Invasion in March and about my Hell Bunny dress (probably people Googling for Hell Bunny dresses generally and ended up being directed here! - sorry girls, best get back to the shopping sites!). Most people come here from Samanthatgirl, which is Sam's excellent blog. http://samanthatgirl.com/ [Update 27/3/25: link now redundant; I don't know if Sam still blogs.]

I've no idea if this is all good, bad or indifferent but competitive statistics is something that men are terrifically interested in and I find tedious and mystifying. So if you've read something here that you liked, browsed some pretty pictures, or have been inspired or interested in any way at all, then I guess this blog has served some purpose apart from amusing me in the evenings.

Thanks for reading.

Sue x

London in 2012

If you haven't yet visited London this year, you should. The vibe is incredible. Starting with the spectacular New Year fireworks we have seen the unveiling of several buildings, monuments and novelties such as the Shard, the Bomber Command memorial and the Air Line cable car. We have held unique celebrations of the Diamond Jubilee and the most amazing Olympics where many events were free access and the atmosphere was exciting and enthusiastic. London is always vibrant but this year is particularly special. The city is clean, efficiently run and being showcased to the World - enjoy it while it lasts!

Don't miss out.

Sue x

Sparkle 2012

Thursday. So, after a few days being a sightseer in my own city (see below), Emma Walkey drove us both to Sparkle, the annual national transgender celebration in Manchester. We picked up Leila Collins on the way. Not an easy journey – Britain’s motorways at their finest – and it took us ages even to get to Leila who was waiting for us half way there.

As in previous years, I stayed at the Ibis Hotel in Charles Street, formerly referred to as “Tranny Towers” for this event. It’s close to the action and the rooms are large and well-suited to our purposes. It’s also had a makeover this year and the new reception area looks better.

Just arrived in my hotel.

Friday. Sparkle proper begins on the Friday afternoon, really with the Welcoming event, held this year at Taurus, the last (or first) bar on Canal Street. I met various friends there and it was good to catch up with people I hadn’t seen since last year. I had a male friend to meet as well, who works locally, so I took him to Velvet next door.

Then I got changed and went again to Eden for the burlesque evening. I managed to get the last table and was eventually joined by a whole variety of friends. The varied show was right at the other end of the venue and was not always easy to see so some of us left early and went to New York New York, preferring a quiet drink at the lesser bar to the dancing at the main bar.

Saturday is Sparkle’s main day and the Manchester’s Gay Village is carpeted with trans people of every kind. You could probably crowd-surf up Canal Street on TGirls if you wanted!

I didn’t rush to get up but gradually got ready in my new Pussycat coral pink lace dress which I’d bought for the occasion. The cardi I got the day before in Manchester’s excellent shopping streets. And the shoes have become my official Sparkle shoes as I’ve worn them every Sparkle Saturday! Thanks to my lovely friend Jan for her sartorial advice here (Gok Jan!)

My carefully chosen Sparkle outfit. Dress and belt by Pussycat of London in coral pink (this year's colour!), cardigan by Wallis, sandals by BHS, open-toe tights by M&S, hair by Rene de Paris; jewellery, nail colour, spectacles: model's own. Fashion advice by Jan de Londres. (I think that's how the fashion mags put it!)

My pal Maddy was also staying at the hotel so we walked together to Villaggio Italian restaurant where I was hosting the Angels lunch with the much-appreciated help of another lovely friend, Tina-Natalie Scott. We had 20 people attend, which was very pleasing (we had 16 last year). Food and service there are always good and I find it good value, too.

UK Angels lunch at Villaggio. Regular readers will spot Holly (head barmaid at Erotica), Maddy (Nottingham Invasion) and Tina (hostess) on the near table with Claire, Fran and Lucy. Receding into the distance we have Bobby, Sandy, Lucy, Margaret, Joan, Susie, Cora, Wilhelmina, Emma, Jackie and an empty space where I would be.

The main Saturday event is Sparkle in the Park, with its stalls and stage shows. It was very well attended – probably even more than other years. Singer January was impressive and the Drag Idol show was fun. I bumped into so many people I know, and for me that is what makes the whole weekend so enjoyable. Bought a red and black goth wig just on a whim and wore it in the evening with my new M&S London skyline tights. Friends didn’t recognise me at first!

A change of look. Red and black wig, with fabulous M&S London 2012 skyline tights. With my lovely friend Tina. Photo courtesy of Maddy Watson.

In the evening I dined with the a number of friends from Northern England who (because of the distance) I get to see only occasionally – Tina and KD, and also Mandy, Justine and Emma with their wonderful, supportive wives. This was also at Villaggio (again! – well, it’s the only proper restaurant in Canal Street), then drinks at Eden where I met Tina and Maddy again. Finally, off to the Molly House, a very nice place with excellent foreign beers (but where the younger staff have never heard of Diana Ross – the shame!), where I met up with Justine Time, Sophie Harris and Saffy Walton.

Sunday. Had brunch at an outside table at Taurus and was joined by Zazoo, my inspiring trans friend from Glasgow, whom I first met right here at Sparkle in 2010, and we pretty much spent the day together. She is the ultimate trans person to my mind, living her life as she feels appropriate from day to day. The sun came out and we enjoyed just sitting there for much of the afternoon, saying hello to friends walking past and being entertained by the Gay Gordons ‘Scottish’ dancers. It’s a good way to spend the time. We went back to Zazoo’s apartment at the Atrium (which was lovely – must book in there next year) to change shoes and have a glass of wine. She and I then went for dinner at the New Emperor restaurant in Chinatown, which was pretty good and was patronised by the Chinese community, which is usually a good sign of quality. After, I went to freshen up and joined Emma and her wife Jackie at Eden’s before rejoining Zazoo briefly at Via. I went to bed early. A nice day but altogether I wasn’t going to overdo it. A restful time with close friends is just as good as the best celeb party, I reckon!

Last day of Sparkle. Ready to hit Canal Street for brunch and a lazy day in the sun at an outside bar table.

So there you have it: Sparkle 2012. For me, a quieter affair than in the past, but a thoroughly nice one. Sparkle is what you make it. You can go to lectures and events organised officially, or you can relax and do your own thing. I was happy to be co-hostess for the Angels lunch, my one commitment, but then just play it by ear after that. For me, it’s the lovely friends I meet there who make it.

Sue x

'Twas the week before Sparkle

Catching up with writing up my holiday earlier this month, which I'll present in two parts, pre-Sparkle and Sparkle itself.

Although I had cancelled many engagements thanks to all the abuse I got in June (and concentrated on work instead, so maybe the idiot trolls did me a favour), I wasn’t going to let down two friends who were visiting.

First I saw Carol Evans who came for her second makeover and dressing session. She had brought bags of stuff that were being thrown out by the women in her life. So many items fitted and suited me that I was very pleased to accept them. The trouble is, my house is now overflowing with clothes! It was good to practise makeup on someone else and watch Carol enjoy trying out wigs and clothes to see what styles suited her. I think we ended up with some good looks. And we certainly had a fun day together talking clothes and makeup and trying things on.

Then Emma Walkey came to stay for a few days before we went to Sparkle. Our first day out saw us sightseeing and shopping in the West End. There are several big new features in London just opened this month: the Shard skyscraper at London Bridge, the Bomber Command memorial at Hyde Park Corner and the Olympic flags of all nations in Regent and Conduit Streets. We also met an Aussie digger at the Australian War Memorial who seemed totally unbothered at regaling two TGirls with tales of his days in Vietnam – I guess we didn’t pass for proper sheilas! Oh well, it was quite interesting!

The new Bomber Command memorial in Green Park.

We enjoyed a long, lazy lunch at the Old Express in Shepherd Market in Mayfair, sitting outside but nicely covered by an awning that kept off the occasional heavy showers. Emma visited the Mac and Benefit shops just off Carnaby Street for some of their excellent products and processes. A drink in our favourite pub in the area, the Mason’s Arms in Maddox Street, preceded a good value dinner at our favourite Bistro 1 in Beak St (I really must write an eatery blog). 

(Note to self: Choccywoccydoodah cake and chocolate shop in Fouberts Place is something to be revisted … often.)

Our second day saw us revisit Camden Market which is a TGirls’ paradise. We spent ages and much money in a burlesque outfit shop and enjoyed browsing everything else. Burlesque was on our minds most, though ...

We went home to change into posh evening wear as we had tickets for the Hurly Burly Show. Such a fun show, a modern take on burlesque. Saucy, witty, imaginative, with plenty of laughs and providing inspiration for the aspiring TGirl. Miss Polly Rae and her curvaceous Hurly Burly Girlies were outstanding performers. We were only a handful of people who had made any effort at all to smarten up for the occasion and so had our photo taken by the theatre’s photographer which we hope to find on Facebook soon. Why did so many people come totally scruffy in jeans? Beats me.

http://hurlyburlyuk.com/ [Update 26/3/25: The link is redundant.] Enjoy their teaser trailers with short exerpts from this and previous incarnations of the show.

Miss Polly Rae and her Hurly Burly Girlies - aspirational! (Credit: Exposay.com)

Well, after that. what better way to end the evening than dinner at our well-tried favourite, Salieri, close by and where they are always so welcoming. And a stunning view of London’s river by night.

Thursday, however, we piled our girly baggage into Emma’s car and headed up North for Sparkle, the best event in the trans calendar. That merits a separate post.

Sue x

London Olympics 2012

And they're off!

It's been quite a buildup, what with the bid for the games gathering pace almost a decade ago and then with the announcement on 6/7/05 that London was to host them (a memorable date because four deadly bombs were set off in London the next day). The torch relay passed near home last week and now the games have officially started. I have no tickets, but there are plenty of events that don't require them.

I confess that I'm one of the least sporty people around, but I have always enjoyed the Olympics, probably because of the sheer variety on offer. Every organised sport under the sun all going on in one place.

This weekend the men's and women's cycling road races went from the Mall out to Box Hill in Surrey before returning. I caught the outward and inward legs of both events and here are a few pictures. Although the event passed by in just a few minutes each time, the atmosphere was enthusiastic and partylike, with the police seeming to be cheerleaders or warm-up artists!

I'm beginning to think the venues for many events have been chosen for their beautiful backdrops, showing the UK off to best advantage to foreign TV (Horse Guards Parade, Greenwich Park, Hampton Court, the leafy lanes of Surrey ...)

I hope to see the cycling time trials as well, and the marathons, too.

By the way, I'm really loving the way all the shops in South West London are displaying as many international flags as they can lay their hands on. And how the Met Police were really jovial over the weekend. Who says Londoners are aloof and unwelcoming! (Well, OK, OK, it'll be business as usual in two weeks' time!)

Hope you enjoy whatever Olympic events appeal to you.

Sue x

Men's road race heads out of London in a long snake.

Men's road race heads back to London (you can see the city in the background). How appropriate to be viewing this from Sawyer's Hill where I first learnt to ride a bike (which was my sister's girly bike).

Women's road race heads out of London, all bunched up. They all whizzed by in a couple of seconds.

Just over 15km to go here. The women cyclists headed back to London in widely separated groups. This was the penultimate group, battling heavy rain in Richmond Park