I found my carpark ticket!, the one I lost in March. It seems that Bob, in a moment of absent mindedness hid it in his wallet; .... well actually.... I think he did it on purpose to embarrass me.
Mrs Kate and I escorted Mandy on her first escape to the Village this week. She was awfully brave, her first outing ever (apart from Teelas) and in daylight... and in mentioning the weather, very warm and not very makeup friendly... but Mandy braved all this and had a thoroughly good time!
Friday, 25 July 2008
Sunday, 20 July 2008
Sparkle!
A number of girls have asked of me the question, 'What did you think of Sparkle?', usually from a perspective of whether I shared their view or not. The views I think might range from 'absolutely fabulous' to 'damn embarrassing'; but being my/our first, we can't really comment on how this one compares with past events.
In a nut-shell, I generally enjoyed it for a number of reasons that really had nothing to do with the events that took place; I was able to be myself for the longest time ever - quite literally chucking 'Bobs' clothes into a corner of the bedroom on Friday afternoon, only to pick them up again Sunday as we prepared to return home; and of course be with Mrs Kate.
There were a number of events that Kate and Mrs Kate only found about afterwards, despite having one of those handbag sized leaflets. Whilst there were a number of activities, I felt it was hard to identify with them; probably as result of how it was all organised - a lot was going on but not much co-ordination between them all.
Big disappointment was 'The Magic Theatre' what ever that might have been; it was to take place in AXM Late which translated as being the old Hollywood Showbar that Northern Concorde used to meet at (I only ever visited that once when it was the Christmas get-together). Mrs Kate and I gave up all hope of the elusive entertainment shortly after midnight; returning to our apartment for much needed rest.
But on the upside, we met many familiar and new faces; some interesting sights - some of which made me feel better for my efforts at trying to be myself!
Here's my 3 tips for attending future events :-
Epilogue - would we go again?; not sure, possibly, well maybe, .... where else can you have the comfort of being out in public with your life-partner, have a little fun etc. without the shackles of established society?
In a nut-shell, I generally enjoyed it for a number of reasons that really had nothing to do with the events that took place; I was able to be myself for the longest time ever - quite literally chucking 'Bobs' clothes into a corner of the bedroom on Friday afternoon, only to pick them up again Sunday as we prepared to return home; and of course be with Mrs Kate.
There were a number of events that Kate and Mrs Kate only found about afterwards, despite having one of those handbag sized leaflets. Whilst there were a number of activities, I felt it was hard to identify with them; probably as result of how it was all organised - a lot was going on but not much co-ordination between them all.
Big disappointment was 'The Magic Theatre' what ever that might have been; it was to take place in AXM Late which translated as being the old Hollywood Showbar that Northern Concorde used to meet at (I only ever visited that once when it was the Christmas get-together). Mrs Kate and I gave up all hope of the elusive entertainment shortly after midnight; returning to our apartment for much needed rest.
But on the upside, we met many familiar and new faces; some interesting sights - some of which made me feel better for my efforts at trying to be myself!
Here's my 3 tips for attending future events :-
- Map out what you want to see before you go - there's more going on than might be apparent.
- Keep an emergency Mars bar in your handbag - waiting for girls to turnup so we can sit down and order a meal is likely to be about an hour after the agreed time.
- Expect it to be noisy, crowded and this goes on into wee-hours - so choose your hotel/apartment carefully (oh! and no thanks to the dipstick who set the fire alarm off by burning their toast in the morning).
Epilogue - would we go again?; not sure, possibly, well maybe, .... where else can you have the comfort of being out in public with your life-partner, have a little fun etc. without the shackles of established society?
Tuesday, 1 July 2008
Bye bye brolly
Well, you see, it was like this.... Mrs Kate had her second outing a couple of weeks before Sparkle. June Collins was visiting again and we agreed to meet up in Eden and have a meal. Kay joined us and afterwards, seeing as it was a Wednesday, we popped along to the Rembrandt to see the girls at Manchester Concorde.
It was on leaving the Rembrandt that it happended, most of the evening the rain had been a bit on and off, and as we left, the weather was without exception - for Manchester. But just as we rounded the corner by the Rembrandt to cross over Canal St, a strong gust of wind blew our brolly inside out and then snapped it off the handle.
That was the last we saw of brolly, making for Portland St and skittering about avoiding any passersby in case they should capture it - for one I wasn't going to go after it, not in my heels!
It was on leaving the Rembrandt that it happended, most of the evening the rain had been a bit on and off, and as we left, the weather was without exception - for Manchester. But just as we rounded the corner by the Rembrandt to cross over Canal St, a strong gust of wind blew our brolly inside out and then snapped it off the handle.
That was the last we saw of brolly, making for Portland St and skittering about avoiding any passersby in case they should capture it - for one I wasn't going to go after it, not in my heels!
Sunday, 8 June 2008
Mrs Kate makes her debut outing
It's always a bit awkward referring to ones other half whilst out - 'Mrs Kate' makes it easy for some of the other girls to quickly introduce themselves; of course it's also hard for Mrs Kate (or 'D' as I refer to her on here) to not call me by my birthname!
For Mrs Kate, it was a last minute decision to come out to the Northern Angels monthly get together, quite literally deciding about an hour before I planned to leave. I wanted her to come along and see what Canal St was all about before Sparkle; the May outing was as likely to be the last before the big event, to introduce her to a few T-Girls without the head-on impression that Sparkle is likely to engender.
But I needn't have worried, Mrs Kate took it all in her stride, the other girls made her feel very welcome and she said it was lovely to be out with girls that were warm and friendly. Mrs Kate has for sometime visited the Angels website and is an avid follower of some of the girls blogs; so she was quite prepared and enjoyed the evening.
The meal was held at Villagio's and attended by a number of new faces - Paula, Penny, Simon, Diana ... (er ... run that by me again 'Simon' ?) and others that have visited before; June and Lisa. 'Simon' was very entertaining - although Lisa did try to explain why 'Simon' (I guess we've gotten used to expecting girls names when we're en femme!). Afterwards we paid our usual respects to Mary and the girls at Manchester Concorde where it was 60's night; with some very 60's outfits - miniskirts were obviously mandatory for the era - although both Mrs Kate and I are a little young to remember that time - (we were both still at primary school by the end of the 60's!).
Of course for the uninitiated being taken to Naps on your first outing to Canal St is a rite of passage. We only called in to see what it was all about - so at least Mrs Kate could say she's been there, done that; then it was off home before we both turned into a pumpkin (personally I had been up and about since 5:30am!).
Mrs Kate thoroughly enjoyed the evening and has been buzzing about it ever since. She's booked a hotel for Sparkle so we don't have to travel between days and between us we've bought some new outfits - she was especially excited when she found some lovely shoes in M&S, she sent the picture to me via her mobile phone exclaiming that she had found her Sparkle shoes! .... whilst on the subject of shoes, for outing to the Village I wore my new sandals which by the end of the evening were in complete disagreement with my feet .... yeaow.... !
For Mrs Kate, it was a last minute decision to come out to the Northern Angels monthly get together, quite literally deciding about an hour before I planned to leave. I wanted her to come along and see what Canal St was all about before Sparkle; the May outing was as likely to be the last before the big event, to introduce her to a few T-Girls without the head-on impression that Sparkle is likely to engender.
But I needn't have worried, Mrs Kate took it all in her stride, the other girls made her feel very welcome and she said it was lovely to be out with girls that were warm and friendly. Mrs Kate has for sometime visited the Angels website and is an avid follower of some of the girls blogs; so she was quite prepared and enjoyed the evening.
The meal was held at Villagio's and attended by a number of new faces - Paula, Penny, Simon, Diana ... (er ... run that by me again 'Simon' ?) and others that have visited before; June and Lisa. 'Simon' was very entertaining - although Lisa did try to explain why 'Simon' (I guess we've gotten used to expecting girls names when we're en femme!). Afterwards we paid our usual respects to Mary and the girls at Manchester Concorde where it was 60's night; with some very 60's outfits - miniskirts were obviously mandatory for the era - although both Mrs Kate and I are a little young to remember that time - (we were both still at primary school by the end of the 60's!).
Of course for the uninitiated being taken to Naps on your first outing to Canal St is a rite of passage. We only called in to see what it was all about - so at least Mrs Kate could say she's been there, done that; then it was off home before we both turned into a pumpkin (personally I had been up and about since 5:30am!).
Mrs Kate thoroughly enjoyed the evening and has been buzzing about it ever since. She's booked a hotel for Sparkle so we don't have to travel between days and between us we've bought some new outfits - she was especially excited when she found some lovely shoes in M&S, she sent the picture to me via her mobile phone exclaiming that she had found her Sparkle shoes! .... whilst on the subject of shoes, for outing to the Village I wore my new sandals which by the end of the evening were in complete disagreement with my feet .... yeaow.... !
Friday, 16 May 2008
Is this Summer?
This week the weather has been very warm and I've seen the first swifts flying overhead so it must be Summer, so 'D' and I went to our favourite shop in Southport to look for some Summer outfits each; (sigh) sadly more outfits than the budget can stretch to, but I got a lovely pink/purple skirt and top, a white/black two piece skirt and top (very shapely) and a rather slinky turquoise gown going for £1 - yes a £1! .... I think they got the sizes wrong on it 'cos it should have been enormous even on me, but it fitted nicely in all the right places!
In considering the pink/purple skirt, I wasn't certain if an 18 would be a better fit than my usual size 16; 'D' actually suggested I should them both on ('D' is the one who usually gets nervous when we're looking for outfits for 'Kate'), but I bottled out as we approached the changing cubicles as they had become quite busy where as a few minutes previous they were deserted. We opted for the size 18 without trying it, on the basis that we're now getting wise to the 'Roman' label - the sizes are actually a little on the small side of what they actually say they are; this was later proven after we got home when I tried the skirt and it comfortably fit my normally size 16 figure!
Time for tea
But I must mention the tea shop we visited; it reminded us of Jess Harts exploits at the Tea Cosy in Brighton, we found the Westminster Tea Room on Southports Lord St. to be nearly as 'unique' although a little less formal. We had seen it on a previous shopping trip and made a note to visit the next time we were in town, mostly for the variety of cream teas they were advertising outside. But once inside, it's all very proper! The girls are properly attired in waitress uniforms hailing from the 1930's (black dress with a white blouse that's buttoned right upto the collar) and the decor is all wooden paneling, crystal chandeliers, large potted plants and 30's recorded music that sounds as though it was still being played from the original wax cylinders.
We ordered a 'Regal' tea each which comprised of a large pot of tea served in china cups, a very nice fruit scone, clotted cream and a house preserve each - I had blackcurrant, 'D' had strawberry. This was presented on a very proper 3 tier silver cake stand complete with a lid covering the scones.
The whole environment although very prim, very proper, was nice and exceptionally chav-free! Although it was very prim and very proper, at least they didn't play the national anthem at 4pm! (even so, it wouldn't have seemed out of place!).
In considering the pink/purple skirt, I wasn't certain if an 18 would be a better fit than my usual size 16; 'D' actually suggested I should them both on ('D' is the one who usually gets nervous when we're looking for outfits for 'Kate'), but I bottled out as we approached the changing cubicles as they had become quite busy where as a few minutes previous they were deserted. We opted for the size 18 without trying it, on the basis that we're now getting wise to the 'Roman' label - the sizes are actually a little on the small side of what they actually say they are; this was later proven after we got home when I tried the skirt and it comfortably fit my normally size 16 figure!
Time for tea
But I must mention the tea shop we visited; it reminded us of Jess Harts exploits at the Tea Cosy in Brighton, we found the Westminster Tea Room on Southports Lord St. to be nearly as 'unique' although a little less formal. We had seen it on a previous shopping trip and made a note to visit the next time we were in town, mostly for the variety of cream teas they were advertising outside. But once inside, it's all very proper! The girls are properly attired in waitress uniforms hailing from the 1930's (black dress with a white blouse that's buttoned right upto the collar) and the decor is all wooden paneling, crystal chandeliers, large potted plants and 30's recorded music that sounds as though it was still being played from the original wax cylinders.
We ordered a 'Regal' tea each which comprised of a large pot of tea served in china cups, a very nice fruit scone, clotted cream and a house preserve each - I had blackcurrant, 'D' had strawberry. This was presented on a very proper 3 tier silver cake stand complete with a lid covering the scones.
The whole environment although very prim, very proper, was nice and exceptionally chav-free! Although it was very prim and very proper, at least they didn't play the national anthem at 4pm! (even so, it wouldn't have seemed out of place!).
Friday, 2 May 2008
Embarassing moment No.1
I've called this post 'Embarrasing moment No.1' in recognition that reality all to often likes to throw a few 'curve balls' our way; this was my first.
Having survived the aforementioned Flu, I was just about fit enough to venture out for an impromptu outing with Lisa and new girl Karen who was visiting from Scotland.
We had a lovely meal in 'Velvet', followed by paying our respects to Mary and the girls at Manchester Concorde. Before I knew it, it was time to say my 'goodbyes' and make my way back home.
When I got to the carpark, to my horror I couldn't find my ticket; you know how it is with handbags, they contain everything except what you need - and I really needed that ticket, without which I couldn't make my exit through the automatic barrier. I turned my handbag out twice and searched my car for that darn ticket before resigning to the fact I would need to try and contact an attendent to help me - the carpark is one of those automatic sort and is unmanned after about 7pm.
But ah-ha! I spied an emergency phone.... bright yellow and a sign that said 'press any button to contact security'... ok, so it's going to be a bit embarrasing to explain I've lost my ticket and I'm dressed like a woman... do I try my best female voice? ...hmmmm... I decided that in doing the latter might just make things even more embarrasing ..... but then I found that didn't matter since the phone didn't work anyway - even after trying all the buttons.
I then decided to run up to the next floor (in heels) to see if there was another emergency phone.... and then up to the next .... and the next... and the next.... about 6 floors later and no phone. Nothing for it but to try at the hotel just a little down the street to see if they had a contact number. At this stage I was wondering if I was going to have to get room in this hotel and wait until morning .... what would 'D' say if she found I hadn't come home the night before?
Confidence is an intersting thing, so is adrenaline ... and I had just run up and down 6 flights of stairs, but it was thought of having to explain myself to 'D'..... so I strolled into the hotel reception with as much confidence that I could carry; to the amusement of about half-a-dozen guests who were sat at the bar.
The nice man behind the reception desk was very professional. After all , over the Sparkle weekend this hotel is affectionately known as 'Tranny Towers', so they should be used to seeing the odd t-girl. When I asked if he had a contact phone number for the carpark, he directed me to rather large sign at the front - which had a very clear number to contact in emergencies - fortunately I had my mobile with me... but clearly my common sense had long since left me for examining the obvious.
Back at the carpark and I called the number, and with great relief it was answered. The attendant appeared within minutes and took my details with all due professionalism; and let me out promising that the University will contact me in due course.
Next visit, I'm going to staple that ticket to my head.
Having survived the aforementioned Flu, I was just about fit enough to venture out for an impromptu outing with Lisa and new girl Karen who was visiting from Scotland.
We had a lovely meal in 'Velvet', followed by paying our respects to Mary and the girls at Manchester Concorde. Before I knew it, it was time to say my 'goodbyes' and make my way back home.
When I got to the carpark, to my horror I couldn't find my ticket; you know how it is with handbags, they contain everything except what you need - and I really needed that ticket, without which I couldn't make my exit through the automatic barrier. I turned my handbag out twice and searched my car for that darn ticket before resigning to the fact I would need to try and contact an attendent to help me - the carpark is one of those automatic sort and is unmanned after about 7pm.
But ah-ha! I spied an emergency phone.... bright yellow and a sign that said 'press any button to contact security'... ok, so it's going to be a bit embarrasing to explain I've lost my ticket and I'm dressed like a woman... do I try my best female voice? ...hmmmm... I decided that in doing the latter might just make things even more embarrasing ..... but then I found that didn't matter since the phone didn't work anyway - even after trying all the buttons.
I then decided to run up to the next floor (in heels) to see if there was another emergency phone.... and then up to the next .... and the next... and the next.... about 6 floors later and no phone. Nothing for it but to try at the hotel just a little down the street to see if they had a contact number. At this stage I was wondering if I was going to have to get room in this hotel and wait until morning .... what would 'D' say if she found I hadn't come home the night before?
Confidence is an intersting thing, so is adrenaline ... and I had just run up and down 6 flights of stairs, but it was thought of having to explain myself to 'D'..... so I strolled into the hotel reception with as much confidence that I could carry; to the amusement of about half-a-dozen guests who were sat at the bar.
The nice man behind the reception desk was very professional. After all , over the Sparkle weekend this hotel is affectionately known as 'Tranny Towers', so they should be used to seeing the odd t-girl. When I asked if he had a contact phone number for the carpark, he directed me to rather large sign at the front - which had a very clear number to contact in emergencies - fortunately I had my mobile with me... but clearly my common sense had long since left me for examining the obvious.
Back at the carpark and I called the number, and with great relief it was answered. The attendant appeared within minutes and took my details with all due professionalism; and let me out promising that the University will contact me in due course.
Next visit, I'm going to staple that ticket to my head.
Cough, sniff ahhhh.....choooooo!
'Coughs and sneezes spread diseases'. I put it down to some jobsworth who was on the train a week or so back; why can't some folk stay at home when they're sick?
Both 'D' and I came down with a very nasty flu bug the likes of which we've not experienced in about 20 years. Forget paracetamol, this nasty sucker only waved the white flag after it was treated to about half a bottle of Scotlands finest!
Both 'D' and I came down with a very nasty flu bug the likes of which we've not experienced in about 20 years. Forget paracetamol, this nasty sucker only waved the white flag after it was treated to about half a bottle of Scotlands finest!
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