Looking back through the telescope

The question that everyone seems to be asking this week is "where were you when man landed on the moon"? I remember very vividly in the way an 8 year old does - well I was actually 8 and 3/4 to be precise! .......... I watched the whole thing upside down on the couch at my parents house (I was practising hand-stands at the time!!) - I actually wasn't allowed to do that but mum was busy in the kitchen and dad was at work - so I saw my chance to be naughty!

I think I watched it in black and white as I don't remember us having a colour TV then . The thing I remember most was wondering why they had gone all that way to play golf!!

Saturday Night Admiration

Last Saturday dawned complete with rain and cloudy skies .....and Kate and I both seemed to be suffering from PSD (Post Sparkle Depression) so we decided to cheer ourselves up by having a mooch around the sales at our local shopping centre - we are very lucky to have under one roof a New Look a Peacocks a Select store not to mention a Superdrug a QVC outlet an Argos as well as an Asda and several Hairdressers - a T Girls paradise !!!

Although we were not supposed to be looking for anything given that both our wardrobes are full to busting we managed to accumulate two tops, a dress, 2 pairs of going-out shoes, a sparkly belt, a bag, some undies and some jewellery. Pleased with our new purchases we decided to make up for missing out on last Saturday night in Naps (we had graciously stepped down so that the girls from out of town could enjoy the experience) haha!

So suitably decked out in our new 'clubbing' gear we headed out for a 'late night session'. The evening started quietly and obviously there were not all that many T Girls in - seemed to be more fellas and gays around. After a stiff drink to get us in the mood we headed upstairs for a boogie and seemed to be getting alot of attention from what I assumed were 2 young gay fellas - however they were a little too 'hands on ' for my comfort level... So we beat a hasty retreat realising they were probably 'admirers'. Later on quite a few T Girls turned up including Tanya and friends.

When Kate had gone to the loo I was approached by one of the 'admirers' who chatted away but I couldnt quite figure out why he would be interested in me until I realised that I had taken my wedding rings off earlier in the day to do the washing-up and forgotten to put them back on!!

I mentioned it to Kate on her return - Oh yeah she said he was chatting to me when I was at the bar - there I was feeling quite chuffed I could still pull (a much younger guy) at my age ...not!!

Sparkle - The Conclusion

Hope I haven't bored the socks off you all - with my Sparkle 'debriefing'. If any of you are still with me - or still awake I just wanted to say that I had an amazing time.

My top tips for surviving the whole experience are.... knowing when to call it a night (or the next morning!) .. a comfy pair of shoes for walking home in, sunglasses and of course an umbrella - Not to mention a bottomless purse for the bar bills!!

But seriously Sparkle is all about Fun and Friendship. For those of you who missed out we have mini sparkles on a regular basis - just check out the 'Angels Forum' under events/places to go.

For those of you who are nervous don't be scared - a stranger is just a friend you haven't met yet!!

Sparkle 2009 Part 5 - Sunday Shopping and 'Bobbing' around the village

As Sunday dawned it was the perfect sort of day to go shopping -(dry but slightly overcast).
So off we trotted to Picadilly first of bumping into Tanya as 'Bob' and then Mandy and Tina who we hardly recognised 'without their clothes on'!! They were on their way back from Witherspoons where they had a hearty breakfast apparently the antidote to staying out until 6am!! (It was hardly worth them going to bed really). As we sat drinking a latte and listening to the Peruvian Pan Pipers near the gardens - everything seemed so normal in regard to us being out and about dressed.

We walked through Harvey Nicks admiring the 'juicy couture' bags but didn't dare stop to look at prices (not that any were on display) very much a look but don't touch kind of environment. It was a relief to cross to M&S and find my comfort zone - I am obviously not WAG material !
Kate dragged me into Primark to look for some tights and we selected some nice belts - but I couldn't face the horrendous queue - so she volunteered bless her! Despite having the luxury of a late check-out we were aware that time was marching on (why does it go twice as fast when you are shopping?) So we headed back for a very welcome bite of lunch at Velvet (Tim squeezed us in without a booking as we are such regulars now). Then it was then reverse Cinderella time to pack and 'decloak' before heading for home. .....

Sparkle 2009 Part 4 - Saturday Night ....Singing in the rain!

After a quick reviving shower we changed into our party dresses and headed out to the Chinese to meet up with the gang and were joined by Nikki and her sister (who had the same dirty laugh and vibrant personality) and her hubby. The restaurant was fairly quiet for a Saturday so the service was extra good, after about half an hour we noticed that June from Ireland was in with Penny and Deirdre who was looking really well - she had just 'come out' to her father and it had gone really well for her so she was very happy. We hadn't expected June to be at Sparkle so it was a nice surprise to see her - but she was equally gutted at the loss of our dancing facilities (she is our dance teacher).

After our meal with the usual chatter and banter we got ready to nip over to the Rembrant where Marianne had arranged to put on some live music. It was absolutely teaming down by this time and we nipped back to our apartments to get our umbrellas and gave Nikki a quick tour. The Rem was packed but the music and atmosphere were very good and we just about got a seat well Di and I shared a seat between us! I was delighted to get a chance to chat to Vikki who is Mariannes other half and she was looking really well having just gotton back from a "European Road Trip". After a couple of 'Sex In the Cities' the cocktail of the day we decided to move on to Napoleans but it was absolutely packed out and NewYork was the same. By this time the rain was very heavy so we decided to run for home (well back to the apartment!)

The cocktails had kicked in by then and we were so tired we just watched a film and went to bed!!

Memorable moment - the goth in transparent underwear leading a gorgeous 'slave' girl who was dressed in a lovely black and white dress complete with a spiky black collar as they passed us soaked to the skin she bade us a very cheery 'Good Evening'!!

Sparkle 2009 Part 3 - Saturday Daytime in the park

After a lie-in and a leisurely breakfast we headed out to see what was going on in the gardens. The volley ball was in full swing and most of the stalls were set up so we had a walk around and Kate had volunteered to help out on Teelas 'Transpose' stand so she changed into a 'Teelas Angels' t-shirt over her 'sporticus' style designer pieces doing a good impression of the 'Repartee' girls in their pink lycra gear ready for her 'shift'.

I had a little wonder around on my own and noticed that Jaimie and his wife who had been heavily pregnant at last years Sparkle were sitting on a picnic rug with their gorgeous baby boy who seemed to be enjoying the goings on - I sat with them for a little while to chat and catch up on things.

The weather forecasts had been for 'a wash-out' but despite a little bit of spitty rain the day stayed dry - I did help things by taking my umbrella and an 'emergency poncho' for extra insurance .

By 2 o'clock we were ready for a bacon butty but the catering company were a little too trendy
for their own good as the chick pea curry on offer is not a good choice for girls who are dressed in white and as I had a white skirt and jacket on the menu was a non starter. So we headed off to Taurus for a club sandwich along with Emma, Tina and Mandy and were greeted like the regulars we have become (Mrs Emma had gone to do some shopping as she needed some leggings). As we sat in the window seat watching the world go by the sun came out closely followed by Marlene sashaying down the street - she stopped for a chat and took some photos from her vantage point. As the weather was hotting up nicely we decided to head back to our apartments to change into something cooler and have a little 'time out'. Despite Kate having carefully selected some 'pumps' to match her outfit they were too tight and she had ended up tottering around the park in her 4" wedges!!

After a short break we headed over to the Shang-Hai to watch the film/video presentations - but were shocked to find that the function room - the scene of our Dancing Events had been split up into cubicles for Karaoke!! As we headed back to the gardens we met up with Bev who looked amazing in her 'Ascot' outfit a beautifully elegant navy and white suit complete with matching hat we commented that she looked like the Mayoress! We then had a slightly surreal moment when we went onboard the 'Repartee Route-master bus' and upon going upstairs Bev who is tall to start with found she was touching the ceiling in her hat and had to stoop down in order to get to the seats!

We then bumped into Mrs Emma, Mandy and of course Emma who had changed into the dreaded shorts - Then she had the cheek to complain that 2 old men had tried to chat her up! I do admire her spirit though - as she put it she should have done these things when she was 21 and was making up for lost time (30 years worth!). She also said that if she didn't do it today she never would - so we kind of forgave her - but still need counselling!! Time was moving on and we decided to have a little pre-dinner drink together in Taurus before getting ready to go out for the evening meal ...........

Sparkle 2009 - Part 2 .. Friday Night Fever!

Having got changed into our party frocks we headed up to Emma and Mrs Emmas apartment and on the way were joined by Tina and Mandy who looked great. We then had a toast to Emma who has just gotten a new job after recently being made redundant, sadly this means we may see less of her in the future.

We headed up to Villagio's which was very busy and we were joined by a new girl called Selena who had come with Teela and Dave and a recent addition to the clan- Marlene who is a sweetie. Emma kept us entertained throughout the meal as usual by threatening to wear a pair of very short denim shorts on Saturday - we quipped that if she did we would have to bill her for the therapy sessions afterwards (Emma's alter ego male is a rugby player) enough said!!!!

After a very nice meal we headed back to our apartment to change into something more suitable for dancing in (ie alot shorter) and shared another bottle of wine with Di and the Emmas. We then headed to Taurus to meet up with Michelle for dancing but I had gotten the wrong night DOH!! as the disco wasnt until the Saturday! So we settled down for a few drinks instead. Around midnight we headed towards Eden to join Mandy and Tina and the memorable moment of the night was the guy sitting behind them whose eyes were out on stalks at the sight of Di and Kate walking down the steps in very short dresses and posing for photos (the tarts!).

We then headed up to Naps for a dance and had loosely agreed not to stay past 2am -As we had all of Saturday to go - but it was more like 3.30am when we hit the hay after quite a few more drinks!! We did meet up with Michelle but we had danced ourselves dizzy by that time and our shoes or should that be feet had reached Cinderella time.

Sparkle 2009 Part 1- Friday Afternoon....... Friends old and new

Having decided to drive into town this year - rather than take the train like we did last year -allowing the luxury of extra dresses and shoes we packed our cases and drove into Manchester in record time - having had a charmed journey during which the traffic was light and the traffic lights were mostly in our favour.

We checked into our apartment which was huge and as requested in a quiet spot away from the traffic noise at the front of the building. Within 30 mins Kate was ready to meet her public and we made our way in the sunshine up to the Rembrant to meet Diana at the Welcome Party. We bumped into Anna and Jane M outside who looked gorgeous in white jeans and a summery top and after a brief chat we made our way upstairs.

The room was nicely decked out and the atmosphere was nice and relaxed. We chatted to Karina who we had met last year and her friend Michelle who I got along very well with especially when I found out that she (amongst many other things) was a Salsa dance teacher - so we arranged to meet up later for a dancing session.

I loved her attitude to life when she informed us she would be playing volleyball on the Saturday morning in a tankini I told her she was very brave but she just said "you've only got one life so just enjoy it -why worry what other people think you just never know what's around the corner". This really struck a chord with me as so much has happened since our first tentative steps at last years Sparkle when we met up with Lisa and Karen for the first time and they have become very good friends over the course of the year- but life has thrown alot at them in various different ways and for various reasons they were unable to join us this time.

I was always aware that things wouldn't or couldn't last - in the same way that we experienced during that mad but wonderful 'turbo tranny ' year that saw us out almost every week and sometimes twice aweek or more! I feel so lucky and blessed to have shared so many special times together and they will always be very special to me. ....I just hope life will treat them kindly in the future.

After several drinks with Di who looked amazing in her black jeans and black 'Rock Chic' t-shirt we returned to our apartment to change and get ready for the evening meal and entertainment.
More to follow soon in Part 2 dear reader.........watch this space but for now I am off to make tea now and attend to the mundane things in life !

Sparkle 2009 -- Introduction

Well we have just attended our second Sparkle and have lived to tell the tale!

So much to tell that I dont quite know where to start!!

Its still all a whirl in my head and I will post more soon when I have had a chance to unpack and get my thoughts in order.

In a nutshell we had a fantastic time with so much laughter and fun that my face hurts from smiling so much!!

The Only 'Girls' in the Village

Well Saturday night saw us out and about on our own in the Village and it was absolutely packed out!!..... We fought our way past the crowds- which consisted of the usual hen parties and various groups of assorted gay guys, couples and friends - to Velvet restaurant where we enjoyed a lovely 'dinner a deux' and drinks afterwards. We ended up dressed in similar blue dresses - well I had a dress on without any tights as it was so warm -but madam Kate had a tunic length dress with matching shocking blue tights and her usual high heeled stilletos .

We then decided to have another 'quiet drink' in Eden and were informed by the 2 ladies at the entrance that it was 'ladies night' ........great we thought that will do us......but then quickly realised that they meant 'lesbian ladies' ........we made a hasty retreat and headed for NewYorkNewYork as a change from Naps but we were met by a group of gobby Hen PartyGirls and a very long queue so we headed for the relative 'peace' of Naps. We nearly didn't recognise the place as it has had a bit of a make-over consisting of a fresh coat of black paint (a contradiction in terms surely?) and some new very 'open' windows fitted. It was OK in the bar area but rather disconcerting to see out from the upstairs bar where it has lost some of its 'Night Club' feel. ......I believe the Lady-Boys were on in the marquee outside in the gardens - so there was plenty of action going on outside which we could see from the new windows - (the old ones had shutters fitted over them - so we normally couldnt see anything of the outside world.

It was good to finally catch up with some 'girls' although we didnt actually know many of them apart from Tanya and friend. .............;;It was very much as if every one was making the most of things before Sparkle comes to town next week.....but I for one will be glad when it does!!!