Tuna pasta meal

Tuna pasta meal
Originally uploaded by rachelw80.

How many of us trannies take an active part in the more mundane activities of the Real Girl world, and how many of us do our best to steer clear.

It's all very well bleating on about being in touch with our feminine sides, but for those of us who are married or in long-term relationships with a real Girl, how do they honestly feel about selective feminine attributes espoused by our goodselves?

My guess is they are singularly unimpressed by the length of time we are prepared to spend on doing make-up as opposed to doing the ironing, grocery shopping or washing up.

So here's a recipe you can cook so when your gal gets home from a hard day's work you can have her gobsmacked by the very fact that you''ve picked up a saucepan...

OK, so now I'm going to get it in the neck from those enlightened, new age trannies, but what the 'eck!

Take one large saucepan, boil a kettle and add the boiling water plus one teaspoon of salt.

Add 125g of Spireli pasta to the boiling water and cook for about 13 mins or 'til ready.

When ready, drain off the water and stir in one and a half dessert spoonfuls of pesto (I use mediterranean pesto, which contains pine nuts).

Next, open and drain off the sunflower oil from the contents of a 185g tin of tuna. I suggest using a fork and scrapping the tuna into the saucepan.

Stir it up thoroughly and hey pesto (sorry) you have a tuna pasta meal in 20 minutes and only one saucepan to wash up!

You can accompany it with a bag of, say, ruby salad and you've just saved your better half from having to think about what she's going to cook you tonight.

Of course, if you're eating alone then it's a really quick, easy way to a satisfying meal and only one pan to wash - sounds good to me...

All ingredients can be bought at Asda or any other supermarket, I'm sure.

Bon appetite!

Biker Admirers

Biker Admirers
Originally uploaded by rachelw80.

I had to record this. Now we've all heard of trannie admirers haven't we, but Biker admirers - what's that all about?

Deluding oneself

I've just come across Stassa's blog and really must recommend you go have a look at her take on the unquestionable truth on gender.

One of it's central themes is all the self-delusion that goes on in the heads of TGs (yes, I know she's talking about the issue from a TS viewpoint, but as a TV I know it to be true for us as well.

And although I've mentioned the question self-delusion before Stassa has some useful insights into what it's like for Jo Public. And you know what? I'm beginning to have a lot of sympathy for the Public when you think what certain members of our community are asking them to swallow - you seriously must read Stassa's article. Right on, girl/boy whatever...

Driving: Generalisations...

OK, here's a subject I can get very bigotted about (aren't we all?) and also bore the pants off other people - I'll try to keep it short and only mention a couple of miscreants, and I do appreciate I'm stereotyping here so spare the "But I drive a ***, and I'm not...", coz I'm not interested, kewl.

1.) The BMW driver, Mr 3 series, "I'm an important executive, I'm in a hurry and you'd better get out of my way" type who drives accordingly.

A mate of mine (biker) was sent flying into the rear wheels of an artic on a roundabout by a "3 series" driver (male) "pushing" his way through. BTW, "White Van Man" has nothing on these guys! My mate survived, but when he returned home you could literally see how white he was.

Are BMW M3 drivers worse - make up your own minds - M3 driver's opinion.

If a BMW 3 series driver ever makes it to a 5 or 7 somewhere along the line they seem to lose the aggression.

2.) Volvo drivers (as seen by a biker) - to be honest, you know how it is... as a biker you have a near miss with a Volvo and you forget about all the other drivers who've done stupid maneouvres in front of you, but I still have to ask myself why the Vulva driver has got this reputation amongst bikers - perhaps this partly explains... - see point 3.

And just to finish off, I know bikers come in for their fair share of criticism, but just remember, when you're cocooned in your "tin box with a wheel at each corner" who's going to come worse off in an accident - bikers do know that and what may appear to the uneducated observer as a questionable maneouvre may in fact be perfectly safe. Take fast overtaking, it's generally safer to overtake quickly than hang about taking all day about it. And chances are the car driver that gets surprised when a biker overtakes hasn't been been using rearview or wing mirrors for the past half-hour!

Think I'll stop there... any thoughts?

All dressed up and no place to go

Blinding
Originally uploaded by rachelw80.

Sound familiar? I'm sat here in a pair of tan leather trousers, black cowl-neck top and cream shoes, with no where to go.

You know I never dress at home but it's our 26th wedding anniversary today, and my wife and daughters are in Portsmouth by some quirk of fate and won't be back 'til tomorrow.

The idea was for me to get dressed in the morning and spend it as a Rachel day. Not something I normally do - in fact I can't remember the last time I cross-dressed in the home.

But to continue. With one thing and another I only got into Rachel mode about 6pm tonight - messed around with a camera trying to find out how the bloody self-timer works, and have ended up feeling that the whole affair has been a total anti-climax.

Anyway, the point of all this is that having got dressed I decided I'd break my long-held creed of not going out locally by descending on the Angel in Lincoln - TG friendly pub venue.

The idea was to call them to find out if they could recommend a friendly cab company that wouldn't freak out when I told them I was a trannie. But as luck would have it I haven't been able to get their number. :(

But while checking out their website (would they please note telephone numbers on websites are a bloody good idea if in business!) I discovered they're having a "Drag Queen Ball" on 2nd September - see the 2004 pics - any takers? If you fancy making up a party use the feedback form on this website - could be a lorra fun.

So there you go, "all dressed up and no place to go" - shite, as Bob would say.

Think I'll go and grab some dinner and another glass of Sancerre...

Has it really been that long?

Come Friday it'll be Rachel's sixth year "online birthday". Wow, I feel old - it's a fast life being a trannie (all those late nights, early mornings partying away) so I reckon it's time to take a break...

...recharge the batteries, get a grip on life, calm down... in readiness for the next trannie season starting October. OK, I didn't say I was retiring did I?

Truth is, I've been feeling very guilty about not updating this site, not adding to this blog, blah, blah, blah.

So seeya around - now where's that "Come on over" album.

Ciao babes!

Trannie Checklists

This post has been prompted, first of all, by Jo with the list she so kindly provided in her blog and Siobhan's latest musings into the "Why's and wherefore's"

There are two instances on Jo's checklist, "Going out dressd" and "Going out in daylight, dressed", which, for me, couldn't have been further removed from the theory that Trannies have a checklist to be "ticked off".

Now, I'm not saying this disproves anything Jo or Siobhan may want to say on the subject, it's just one "bloke in a dress" experience.

First, stepping outside as Rachel was something pre-1997 I considered to be one of the defining forms of insanity reserved only for the very brave or stupid, the first category of which I am definitely not a part of.

Secondly, the same applied to going out in daylight dressed - only more so!

So what changed my mind? Was it this "Trannie Checklist"? Answer: No.

As I said, to me the idea of going out dressed seemed ridiculous, pure madness, but circumstances, the short version of which I shall recount here and the unexpurgated version you'll find here, conspired against me.

I was visiting Northern Concord in femme mode for the first time and taken under wing by a group of three socialable trannies, who, after an hour of chat decided to go out round the village. I could either have looked to hook up with another group half way through the evening or go out. I was was persuaded to go out. I was quaking. Of course it was worth it and like many I've never looked back, but as you can see this was never on my "checklist".

Then there was the "daylight shopping incident" - again the unexpurgated version can be found here. I was meeting Melissa and a few of her friends in Manchester for a meal, and had planned to try out a wig I'd seen on the Internet before meeting up. I was really set on having this wig, because I liked it so much. However, circumstances combined to make it not happen that evening and the only choice was to try the wig the next day, in the morning, as I had to return home. Now, the only way for me to try a wig is with full make-up and clothes as only then can I be sure it's right.

So it was that despite all my prevoius fears/misgivings I decided to to brave the daylight and go out as Rachel. If you read the full version you'll see that the results of my decision had some very pleasant results, for me anyway.

But again this wasn't on the "checklist" - and if anyone had tried to talk me into going out in daylight just for the hell of it there's no way they would have suceeded!

What I'm trying to say ( and I know Jo's "Checklist was tongue in cheek) is that anyone else's checklist or schedule is theirs and should not be adopted by anyone else.

Mind you, apart from the tongue-in-cheek items on Jo's list, there are a good many that most Trannies would find themselves wanting to do regardless of anyone else's agenda, and in that way on a more serious note I think she did a brilliant job of it!

But what would appall me is the thought of any Trannie feeling pressured into anything they had reservations about. For instance, I've seen in the online groups people suggesting certain courses of action, which whilst they may have been right for those giving the advice, may not be so for those on the receiving end. And particularly where the circumstances involve others should it all go wrong for the person on the receiving end of said advice I can just imagine how they would feel!

So, at the risk of anyone being bored to tears with what I've said many times before, a Trannie has to go at their own pace and listen to that inner voice, and bugger what other people think!

Put very ineloquently as usual.

Off on hols... bollocks!

Yeah, right, from the title you may have guessed that its all turned to shit.

The car cost an arm 'n a leg to fix, and it also needs a new exhaust system, new windscreen, timing (cam?) belt, fuck, fuck, fuck.

Normally I wouldn't be so effusive, but with two thirds of a bottle of Macon-villages inside me it helps to relieve the frustration. Mind you no where near Siobhan's class in these matters.

Still, with Richard Cole and Jimmy Somerville (The Communards) playing very loudly in the background using a pair of ATC SCM50 ASL active's it's helping to blot out the shear frustration of a fucked up holiday. Little known fact - the Pope's sound system is louder than AC/DC's, ATC supply them both.

You know, I was SO looking forward to leaving all the shit of the last two weeks behind me that the thought of the family not getting away to go sailing on my sis and brother-in-law's yacht out of Portsmouth hadn't even occurred to me. Until, that is, yesterday when my regular mechanic took one of those sharp intakes of breath through his teeth, and explained that Skodas have "special" clutches, blah, blah, blah.

God dammit, why did we buy such an exclusive automobile?

So, what have I got to look forward to this week? Getting the exhaust fixed tomorrow and daytrips in what will probably turn out to be a crap week weatherwise - yes I know the weatherpersons have said we'll be having a hot week, but on present performance while the lot of you out there will be having said hot weather I'll guarantee it'll be pissing on our parade.

Fuck, the music's stopped... where's that Extreme album "Pornograffiti"?

Off on hols...

In theory, except for the fact that this is only possible if the car's clutch can be fixed tomorrow, pah!

Saturday at Sparkle

Just when you thought I'd never write another entry I have to go and spoil it all.

Well, it's like this - I'd promised a few folk there'd be piccies of the event, and I also recall thinking at the time, when reading other people's accounts of the day, I should put everyone right. I mean, there was Becky saying it was like a works "do", which while a very droll comment seemed to be a bit of a put down.

But time, as usual, lends a different light on the subject, and I can appreciate for some it would have been the "works do" kinda experience.

Me?

No. Saturday was actually the sort of experience I'd have least expected. Would you have thought you'd hook up with a lesbian gender activist - no, me neither.

Her name is Emma and she lives 10 mins away from the village. And for a 23 yr old she had a lot of well-formed opinions. And she'd met up with a lovely girl by the name of Linda from Texas, working in Denmark for another bloody IT company - is there a trannie out there with no IT experience?

Still, back to the day. Vanessa and I had a layin coz Trevor and Tina were off to see parents, so we didn't get into the village 'til about half-two, stopped by the trannie leaflet trailer, bumped into Mary-the-legs, had a wild stab at how many years it'd been since we last met and eventually caught the tail-end of Vicky Lee's talk on the subject of 'inbetweenies' - and without getting too political I agree with most if not all of what she had to say - precised - I'm a person, I don't have to be male or female, just owe it to myself to be true to myself. With a lot of witty stories to flesh it all out.

That's where we picked up with Emma who'd engaged Vicky in a discussion that gave us a view into gender politics for a lesbian, well actually a lesbian who'd decided to fight our corner after she'd witnessed the misfortunes of a TG friend - talk about getting the bit between your teeth, some very strongly held convictions there!

Vanessa and I took ourselves off for a meal in Via Fossa, and later met up with Emma and a newly acquired friend, Linda, a texan working in Denmark who'd flown over just to be at Sparkle.

Linda's is an interesting story - at the age of 24 she transitioned, and after she came to work as Linda she was told she wouldn't be client-facing anymore. However, a client of her company told them they wanted Linda at their offices and no one else - and I suppose when the client is UPS you do as you're asked. Anyhows, she's travelling all over the world working for various clients and it looks like her company have had to deal with it - too right!

As I'd planned in advance to be at the afternoon fashion show we all headed down to the Manhatten bar - piccies on home page.

The show was very well put together and it's good to see a young team of designers getting involved in such a project - hopefully a few more eyes and minds have been opened.

After that, another meal in the restaurant over the canal bridge - can't remember the name of it - about 11:15pm we left, wondered up Canal Street and bumped into Siobhan, Becky and Jo (in no particular order).

Unfortunately, Vanessa wasn't feeling too good so we headed home about 11:30. I felt the night was still young and I'm sure a lot of you reading this had a fabulous time after midnight - all I can say is next year I'll be partying to the bitter end - trust me on that one!

I know this is a bit short on views about the whole shindig, but I'm tired and grouchy and have a lot more work to do before I go to bed - that's all folks!