Friday night at Sparkle
Sparkle was a fantastic success if you look at numbers attending, but I think the real success is all the personal stories that we may or may not get to hear about - the fifty or so "girls" out for the first time, those who've been out before but used Sparkle to debut in daylight.
And I'm sure there are other stories of "firsts" - perhaps the Sparkle Web site would be a good place for inviting those who attended to recount their experiences - just a thought...
I had a few "firsts" myself: Going out with my "normal" friends, Trevor and Helena. Eating out at an Indian restaurant on the curry mile. Mind you, combining both was brilliant. That was the Friday night and we drove from Glossop to Rusholme to try the "Shere Khan" restaurant, picked almost at random. An excellent choice.
It was good to note while we walked to the "Shere Khan" that nobody seemed to care or notice two straights and two T-Girls - in fact we were invited into one restaurant, twice, by a guy on the street trying to get punters in - were they desparate, didn't he care, or didn't he twig?
Of course, as those who know me know, I have no illusions about "passing" so take the last comment as very tongue-in-cheek! I mean, why delude oneself. By accepting the fact and getting comfortable with it I can get on with enjoying whatever I'm doing as Rachel.
And we certainly did enjoy ourselves. The food at Shere Khan's was excellent and the service impeccable. We had a 23 year old indian waiter who was very taken with my T-Girl friend Vanessa - even asked for her phone number. And bless him he gave me advice on what to do with my hair - like can anyone tell me how to "grow" my wig a little bit longer!?!
But what really made it for me was getting my friends out for the first time. I thought Helena might have come out with Vanessa and me, but to get Trevor to come out too was a real surprise - I know he's very laid back generally, but I'd sort of got a vibe that he didn't want to "do" trannie outings. OK, I was wrong. Vanessa commented on how totally at ease he seemed to be.
Anyway, if you're ever in Manchester and want to eat out I have no reservations about recommending the curry mile - Shere Khan's is at 52 Wilmslow Road, Rusholme.
Afterwards, I asked if we could go to Via Fossa for a quick drink and to hear Elephant Shelf
- I knew Vanessa was tired (the three previous nights didn't see her in bed 'til the early hours) but they were game.
And the first people we saw were Karen, Aly and Della in the basement bar. After a quick chat we went upstairs again and bumped into Laura - Haven't seen Laura since a couple of Angelics ago where we had a long chat so I wondered if she'd recognise me, but she did, instantly. Not sure if that's good or bad if you know what I mean?
And, of course, the person I'd been hoping to see was Siobhan - Man, she's got a hug on her! And sorry girl, I still have to send you those photos of you - mind you they're crap (not you, my photographic skills) so I'm only going to send them to prove my point!
Siobhan was a little tipsy (a bottle of champagne and two of red?) so Trevor forgave her when she told him he hadn't "tried hard enough".
The band, Elephant Shelf, were fabulous, loved the music and the atmosphere was brilliant. They're a band I could go to see again and again.
We all shot off about midnight as Vanessa was beginning to feel those previous nights. And although I really enjoyed the evening the fact that Trevor and Helena did too was what really made it for me. And they're up for another night out... soon, YAY!!
I'll get round to posting the piccies and an account of Saturday soon (promise) but now I have work to catch up with, ciao.
And I'm sure there are other stories of "firsts" - perhaps the Sparkle Web site would be a good place for inviting those who attended to recount their experiences - just a thought...
I had a few "firsts" myself: Going out with my "normal" friends, Trevor and Helena. Eating out at an Indian restaurant on the curry mile. Mind you, combining both was brilliant. That was the Friday night and we drove from Glossop to Rusholme to try the "Shere Khan" restaurant, picked almost at random. An excellent choice.
It was good to note while we walked to the "Shere Khan" that nobody seemed to care or notice two straights and two T-Girls - in fact we were invited into one restaurant, twice, by a guy on the street trying to get punters in - were they desparate, didn't he care, or didn't he twig?
Of course, as those who know me know, I have no illusions about "passing" so take the last comment as very tongue-in-cheek! I mean, why delude oneself. By accepting the fact and getting comfortable with it I can get on with enjoying whatever I'm doing as Rachel.
And we certainly did enjoy ourselves. The food at Shere Khan's was excellent and the service impeccable. We had a 23 year old indian waiter who was very taken with my T-Girl friend Vanessa - even asked for her phone number. And bless him he gave me advice on what to do with my hair - like can anyone tell me how to "grow" my wig a little bit longer!?!
But what really made it for me was getting my friends out for the first time. I thought Helena might have come out with Vanessa and me, but to get Trevor to come out too was a real surprise - I know he's very laid back generally, but I'd sort of got a vibe that he didn't want to "do" trannie outings. OK, I was wrong. Vanessa commented on how totally at ease he seemed to be.
Anyway, if you're ever in Manchester and want to eat out I have no reservations about recommending the curry mile - Shere Khan's is at 52 Wilmslow Road, Rusholme.
Afterwards, I asked if we could go to Via Fossa for a quick drink and to hear Elephant Shelf
- I knew Vanessa was tired (the three previous nights didn't see her in bed 'til the early hours) but they were game.
And the first people we saw were Karen, Aly and Della in the basement bar. After a quick chat we went upstairs again and bumped into Laura - Haven't seen Laura since a couple of Angelics ago where we had a long chat so I wondered if she'd recognise me, but she did, instantly. Not sure if that's good or bad if you know what I mean?
And, of course, the person I'd been hoping to see was Siobhan - Man, she's got a hug on her! And sorry girl, I still have to send you those photos of you - mind you they're crap (not you, my photographic skills) so I'm only going to send them to prove my point!
Siobhan was a little tipsy (a bottle of champagne and two of red?) so Trevor forgave her when she told him he hadn't "tried hard enough".
The band, Elephant Shelf, were fabulous, loved the music and the atmosphere was brilliant. They're a band I could go to see again and again.
We all shot off about midnight as Vanessa was beginning to feel those previous nights. And although I really enjoyed the evening the fact that Trevor and Helena did too was what really made it for me. And they're up for another night out... soon, YAY!!
I'll get round to posting the piccies and an account of Saturday soon (promise) but now I have work to catch up with, ciao.
