Friendship Observed

A quiet weekend by normal standards, but I think I made progress being out and about locally and with a long time friend.  

Saturday

Finally got the nerve to go dressed for a drink with an old friend, one of the first people I came out to.

He had only seen a few pictures of me I had shown him at the time, we were both very drunk when I did the deed initially.

We tend to go out around Wakefield, just the two of us, meetup just after lunch and then get our wives to pick us up around tea time before things get too messy.

I also took the opportunity to try out some more pubs, I was hoping for some weird beers to try and did manage to find some nice ones.

I did pre-warn him that I would be dressed in a manner that he doesn't normally see me, and he replied he was fine with that. I didn't want to shock him - he asked me to wave if he didn't spot me. I wish I was so good at makeup that he might not recognise me !!

I ended up in the pub on my own waiting for him, as he is always late - despite him already delaying the start time, he operates on his own time zone :)

I grabbed a seat in an upstairs area as there was no room downstairs where the bar is. A lady came and asked if I was expecting anyone else, as she didn't want to intrude by sitting near me if I was. Overheard her refer to me as a 'young lady' to her husband when he came up and asked her why she had sat so far away - that was nice :)

He arrived after 10 mins or so, he did spot me unfortunately. It was really as if there was no difference, it was all nice and normal and not awkward at all. We spent a good 4 hours wandering around Wakefield, this is the pub list :

• Luis Bar - Favourite Real ale place, our normal starting point
• Polka Hop - One I had been to before, quiet but has a few nice beers on
• The Black Rock - Really good, had an amazing Chocolate porter
• The Calder and Hops - Bit like a Weatherspoon's, sub tropical temps, no ale
• The Talbot and Falcon - We were the youngest people in there aside from the staff, no ale
• The Lockwood - Motown, no Ale, even the Guinness was from a can !! 

I was pleased that didn't get any negative treatment in any of these places, aside from one of the staff calling me 'mate' when ordering, but I can forgive that. 

Going out so close to home is still a lot more nerve racking to me that being somewhere far away for some reason.

I had a KFC on the way home, and some left over pizza from the fridge too. 

I got a nice Txt from him to say that he had enjoyed it, which was also good !

Sunday 

Following up on my success of the previous day, I had intended to go for a local walk in the countryside
- but the weather was not great, and despite owning enough pairs of boots to fit out a small army, none of them are really great for mud.  

I rectified this, but splurging on vinted, a red waterproof coat and a pair of black wellies with a spot detail are on the way.

Again being out close to home does make me very uneasy, but some of it is that I am not that confident even in man mode.  Being out in the middle of nowhere on a towpath or disused railway line, you just don't know who you are going to run into, and there might be nobody around to help. 

But I really want to try and make sure I am happy doing the things I previously was able to do in female mode.  Coincidentally there is a Trans-Wakefield walk planned for December at the lake I walk to sometimes, next to the real ale pub I walk to sometimes.  I hope to walk to the lake, might get my wife to pick me up.

I was also experimenting with my makeup, cutting it down to the bare minimum, foundation and colour corrector on the lower half of my face only, no fake lashes. I wore my jeans, black knee high boots, a jumper and my male waterproof. 

In the end I decided to walk to my local Aldi, which was something I had avoided doing, as - and this may sound snobbish, but there are more down to earth people shopping there, and I was worried I might stand more chance of getting negative reactions.  

The world didn't end, and I got some lamb for tomorrow, even the group of kids I passed on the way back didn't say anything. I really don't feel that feminine in jeans, and the male coat and beanie didn't help. But I guess it's less likely to attract attention than flouncing about in a dress. 

So that's all the supermarkets done now :) , I guess I should do the few charity shops next. 

 

Vertical Food and Parakeets

 

Last weekend was Gainsborough beer festival.  I went for two days 

I was meant to be staying at the Travelodge, but they had water issues when I arrived, so I booked some rooms above a pub very nearby.  I  was supposedly one of the roughest pubs in Gainsborough, and my friends were a little concerned. But there was no trouble.

I've left them a nice review on TripAdvisor.

The festival was at Gainsborough Old Hall ( https://www.english-heritage.org.uk/visit/places/gainsborough-old-hall/ )

I was pre-warned the main part would be unheated, so I needed to dress warm.

Day 1 - Friday

I decided on a halter neck peacock print dress, with my new DM's and a big fluffy green coat I got at a charity shop in Lancaster the previous month. I also had my steampunk clock handbag too.  

Got there by lunchtime at Friday, and had a beer at the festival, then had to sort out alternative accommodation with a quick Google, as my friends had told me about the hotel issues.

I had a KFC while I waiting to check in at the pub. Then back out to the beer festival.  We spent the rest of the afternoon drinking, I was mainly on stouts and porters, as my tummy seems to deal with these better than fizzy IPA's.

We ate at 'The Clockhouse' where I ordered a hanging Kebab, which was different - fairly nice, I enjoyed posing with it as much as eating it. 

We tried to get back into the beer festival, but there was a limit of 200 people in the venue, and a queue had formed, so we went to a pub nearby, had one in there, then headed back to find the queue gone.

We left when they chucked us out at 10:30pm :)

Getting to my room at the pub was uneventful as there was a separate entrance I had been given a key to, it was very lively in the bar so wouldn't have wanted to go in that way.

Day 2 - Saturday 

We were aiming to meet for breakfast at a café at 9am.  I hadn't slept that well - not due to the hotel, they had left me earplugs.  I had a few cups of tea while plastering my face, and that revived me. 

I ended up following a friend at a distance, I didn't feel confident at shouting in my manly voice to attract their attention.  

The breakfast was really nice, the sausages were locally produced and the best I've had in a long time. Got a nice photo of us by the river after breakfast. 

On the way back to the hotel, we passed through the market square where

there were people fundraising for the poppy appeal.  I got a fab selfie with a Parakeet while there :)

The festival didn't start until midday, and I had offered a room to Cindy as she had not intended to stay the Saturday, but I had a twin room and nobody using the other bed, so had offered it to her.

So we got her bags from the Travelodge, then decided to go around town and look  for bargains in the charity shops. I was getting quite a few nice comments about my handbag around town which I enjoyed :)

I had been a bit cold the previous day, so I was on the look out for a hat, and found a sort of  Russian looking one that I really liked the look of. So bought that, and also a necklace too.

Cindy and myself had a drink in the pub we were staying at, which wasn't that crowded during the day - there were a few people still dressed in uniform for the vintage fundraising going on in the square. Felt safe and friendly enough in there.

We headed to the beer festival shortly after.  I was on cider for most of the day, but was flagging a little in the afternoon, and had a few more teas.  Also some sausage rolls and crisps, as we didn't really do lunch. I had a fab Ginger beer - it was very strong tasting, nobody else liked it.  

We went for a Pizza at Prezzo's around 6ish, which I was most glad of.  Then to a pub for a final drink after that.  I think we were back in the hotel for 9pm , we had all run out of steam by then. 

Day 3 - Sunday

I had slept a lot better thankfully, but we were still up fairly early.  I had a shower and got dressed and packed, then headed to the car with my friend. My plan was to drive us both just around the corner to the shopping centre, where I could charge the car, and we could have breakfast in one of the cafes.

Turns out only Greggs was open, so that limited the choice, but we had a nice bacon roll each, and a hot drink.

I headed home after saying my goodbyes to my friend - it was a very foggy return journey, but no issues. I was home for 10:30am.  Spent the rest of the day dressed and catching up on a bit of housework.

All in all a very nice weekend, and it did help chase some of my post LFF blues away ! - This is likely to be the last Beer festival for a while, so glad it was a good one.

Minimal changes

Updates

There haven't really been many things of note, my dad was sent home from hospital for a bit and he seems to be doing OK aside from feeling the cold a lot more than usual.

Had been feeling quite down post the latest LFF -  Friday the 3rd of this month, and hadn't felt like posting anything. So we are now fabulously late with reporting on that one.

I had to miss Chameleons as it was parents evening last Thursday night, but I was at Gainsborough beer festival Friday afternoon, to Sunday morning, so am socially topped up at least. I will post about that separately to ensure nobody falls asleep half way through reading.

The title eludes to not much happening, and also a reduction in the need to change my outfit a billion times a day on the last few socials. 

Leeds First Thursday

Two of my friends Alice and Rebecca were doing Thursday / Friday  this time, so I decided to join them. I was sharing a room with another friend on Friday night so ended up booking the same hotel for the Thursday - Travelodge Vicar lane. 

It's a bit further out, and in a bit more of a dodgy area, but was fairly cheap - the markets car park was also really cheap, so it did save some money on that too.

I was really keen to wear my new peacock dress from 'Banned' that I bought in Sheffield the other week, matched with my patent boots. With my hotel being a bit further away, I wasn't planning on going back to get changed.

We did a bit of shopping then headed to Rosa's Thai in the Trinity shopping centre for lunch - I had another bubble tea, and a something fairly spicy but I forget what :) 

Had a drink in Bankers Cat, then I went to check into the Travelodge, and we met back up at Northern Guitar, then to Tapped, and onward to Tharavadu for 'Leeds best curry'.   I had lamb chops, it was delicious. After this we moved on to 'The Brewery Tap' where we met up with Steph, and lastly to 'The Shed' for one last one before heading to bed. 

We probably shouldn't have had that last one, but Steph had come into Leeds especially to see us, and felt a bit guilty about leaving her after one drink. 

Friday - Pint's and Straw's

We were going to give 'Farmhouse' a try for breakfast as one of our friends had been the previous month and really enjoyed it.  I put on a basic makeup look, and my favourite popsy peacock print dress - you can never have enough peacock dresses. 

The breakfast was immense and although I made a valiant effort it defeated me - although I managed all my sausages, unlike another friend. But I felt quite fat for a while afterwards.

I waddled back to my room and got glammed up for the rest of the day, as with the previous one my plan was to not come back until I needed bed, so I was a tad overdressed for the daytime activities perhaps. I was gothing up again, as I hadn't really had much use out of all the dresses I bought for Whitby. 

I had spotted some Doc Martens in one of their two stores in the centre the previous day, and found this gorgous high heel version with parent toe, heel and a strap on the top. They didn't have my size in the shop I spotted them in, but they were kind enough to phone the other one and they did. So I met back up with my friends and we went there first.  I tried them on and they fit really well, so I blew some daft money on them ! 

We had a coffee at Flamingos, slow service as always, they really do take their time some days. Our friend Benni joined up, and then we headed to Tapped as we were hosting our official LFF pub crawl starting at 1:30pm.

The pub crawl went well, we did Tapped, Bankers Cat then moved on to the North Taproom just south of the Central Travelodge. We didn't get as many attendees as the last time, only about 10 of us in total. But we had a good time.  There were some fairly strong beers in the North Taproom, and I had one that was 7% and one that was 10% - but only a 1/2 and 1/3rd respectively. 

Gemma who I had met at Chams and also Invasion came along for her first LFF experience and met us in there too. 

It was soon time for food - I was feeling quite tipsy by this point, and I wasn't really sure I could cope with food, but I needed something if I was going to do any more drinking. We had a table booked at Gino's in the Marriot so headed there. I had a pizza, and managed most of it, with a coke to try and sober up a bit too. 

Then I hung around the Marriot reception while the others changed outfits, and soon we headed to the Bridge for the Newcomers meeting.  Met a lovely young girl called Olivia in there, who was great to meet and talk to.  Caught up with the primary Gemma (LED Gemma)   in there too, who was also Gothing , and was unusually not lit up !

We went to the Viaduct for a bit, I had a cocktail it seems, thank god for selfies , then to Bankers cat for the 3rd time that weekend :)    , then Tapped again, and then for a bit of a long walk over the river to the 'Bridge End Social' where I tried a Yorkshire take on Baileys - which was lovely.

It was getting close to midnight and we had been drinking for 12 hours, so we decided to call it a night at that point.

I said my goodbyes near the Marriot, then walked back to my hotel - was feeling quite on edge, it was a fair way from the safety of the 'Freedom Quarter' and seemed to be attracting more attention than usual. Although nearer the hotel a man strode past me, he was wearing a bright orange suit, with matching orange leather shoes. So I did wander if everyone was looking at him as he walked behind me. 

Anyway I ended up following him into the hotel and we caught the same lift too, I did think it amusing that we were probably both thinking 'what the f*ck are you wearing' at each other - I was tempted to talk but was too shy.

I didn't sleep that well, as there was a loud pub across the road, and it didn't die down until about 3am.

Saturday

I walked to the market with my friend Arabella, and bought myself a glow in the dark necklace from a stall selling Uranium Glass objects.  

I don't think it's a uranium piece, but I may see if I can wave it near a Geiger counter at some point.  We had breakfast at a little place in the market, it was a bit more greasy than the posh place, but they did at least have size options, so you were not forced to buy a huge one that you really didn't want.

We looked at a few other shops, then I headed home mid morning. 

. 

Darkness Descends

Updates

I forgot to mention in my previous post that I had laser on the Tuesday before the Sheffield beer festival. I had the owner this time, who seems significantly more thorough than the normal person I get. It hurt quite a bit more than normal, but I was actually glad - felt like it was working better.

She wants to switch me to an 8 week schedule now, as she thinks will give a better result now we are going after the more stubborn growth.

My wife hadn't been reading this blog, so I did eventually point out to her that I was on the hormone gel now. We had discussed it previously, and I had sent her information to read, but she hadn't noticed I was on it. She isn't that happy I am on it, but she said would never stop me.

Adventures

This weekend was Whitby Gothic Weekend, my in-laws were up visiting from Wednesday to Friday night. They were in a hotel thankfully, but still meant I had to hide a lot of things. 

I was also a bit concerned there would be negative comments about my hair, but other than it being likened to a 60's look it wasn't mentioned.  

I wasn't able to go to Chams because they were here, we went to a local fish and chip place for a meal instead.

Thankfully they decided to pop over and take my kids to their hotel for breakfast on the Friday morning, which mean I could get changed here, and get on my way dressed. I would have gone in man mode otherwise.

Day 1 - Friday

My outfit of choice was a Miusol dressed purchased from Lynn from Chameleons some time ago, with fishnets over normal tights, and my big black wool coat, and my biker boots. I had spent a while practising some gothic eye makeup and did a reasonable job even thought I was stressing about getting away in case my father in law came back earlier than expected.

I took the leaf, and stopped to charge at Malton, taking the opportunity to get some selfies. 

The rest of the journey was pretty smooth, not much traffic, and I was parked up in a rather wet looking Whitby just after midday. 

The sports centre I was parked in coincidentally was one of the three venues for the alternative/gothic markets that were running over the weekend. 

So I popped in there first to have a look around. I bought myself a new more gothic brolly, as the Velcro on my trusty amazon one (purchased for Whitby last year) had stopped fastening.

Next I went to find lunch, and settled on 'Jet  Black Jewel' which was a very nice little place, with cool decor.  I had : 

MAHARAJAH'S SHAKSHUKA EGGS BOWL (V/VG) :  A brunch fit for a king: tomato and bean chilli topped with a poached egg, feta & mint and smashed avo.

Also had a hot chocolate with cream, sprinkles and marshmallows, because I am a child :) - it was fantastic, and the food too.

Then I proceeded to head all the way to the opposite side of the town, and up the 199 steps to the brewery opposite the Abbey on the cliff top.  It was raining fairly badly , so I got some use out of the new brolly. 

I had researched online before going, and wanted to try a half of their 'Black Death' gothic stout, which was 6.66%  - so I ordered one of those, and asked some people if I could sit on the end of their table as it was very busy in there.  I also tried 'Whitby Whaler' which is a bitter.  Really liked the stout, wasn't so keen on the bitter.

After this I headed back down into town, had a wander down the pier and had a pumpkin spiced latte in a coffee shop, then went to go find my friend Arabella as she was due to arrive soon. 

Met up with my friend and we checked into the Air BnB and I got my bags out of my car. We popped into the sports centre again so she could have a quick look too, but they were closing up so not all the stalls were still open.

She did a quick outfit change back at the BnB, and I  swapped to some more gothic looking boots and then we headed out to do some pubs, and get some food.  

We tried :

• 
  The Arch and Abbey
• Beer O'clock
• The Esk Vaults

Shared a gorgeous pizza in the Esk Vaults, then headed to a cocktail place where an online friend of Arabella had told her she would be.  We had a nice drink in there, ended up talking with some random girls on another table who were very interesting - personality wise I mean !

Then we headed to the Pavilion where the main music event was being held. 'The Mission' were playing all night, and we spent a while there -  I had never heard their music before, but I really enjoyed it. Arabella managed to end up next to someone who was a senior manager at the place she worked at too, which was a bit of a coincidence.

I think we got back at a fairly reasonable hour, all in all a very nice day !

Day 2 - Saturday

I had decided to wear a 'Punk Rave' black moon detail lace dress, and attempt to do similar makeup to the previous day.  

By the time we were both ready in the morning, it was getting on for 10:15am , so we had more of a brunch than a breakfast.  I had told my friend about the 'Jet Black Jewel'  and she seemed amiable to going there, so we headed in there first.

I had a 'Hand of Glory' breakfast, which had sausage, egg and black pudding and potato, but all diced. It was rather salty but I still enjoyed it.  I had a cup of chai too. 

Then I took her for a stroll back up the cliff on the steps again - she was a Whitby virgin so I had to get her to do the stairs at the very least.  She isn't a beer bore, so wasn't that fussed about the brewery,  or the Abbey either. 

But we did end up having a wander inside the church, and had a cup of tea and a brownie in there, Arabella was having fun chatting with some vicars who had been called in to assist with the influx of visitors on the Goth weekend. 

 There was a funny moment when a visitor asked one of them if they were a 'real' one, as it seems like there had been instances of people dressing like them for the weekend.

We had a look around - but it was rammed, hard to get anywhere the tiny cobbled streets kept coming to a standstill whenever anyone stopped to take a picture.  

We popped into the Co-Op on the way back for some chips, as we were planning on making use of the oven at the Air BnB to save some money on food. 

I did a quick outfit change into a Roman Raspberry dress, which had a fab black lace outer covering - seemed suitably gothic to me.

Then we headed back about out.  Tried the 'Abbey and Arch' again as we had liked that the previous night, and it was close. It turned out the ladies from the Wakefield job centre were there on a night out, and we got chatting to them - they were lovely, and we had a fun time talking with them. They got the pronouns wrong a few times, but not maliciously. Was most amusing to have come so far and ended up next to people from the nearest town.

They had told us about a fab cocktail place, so we went to that next, and I tried a French Martini - Arabella got a Pornstar one, she was dressed in PVC so it was quite apt :)

Then we headed over the river where we tried 'The Dolphin' then onwards to a place on church street that had a cheap cocktail deal on. I think we had Mojito's in there.

After this it was time to go back for some food, then onward to the Pavilion to see the bands for the evening.  The Abbey was lit up for an event, and we did stop to take some pictures of it - along with the full moon too on the way back.

We had some burgers and chips at the BnB, and walked the short distance to the Pavilion.  We were both pretty tired though, and we didn't spend a vast amount of time there, there was nowhere to sit down and it was quite painful to stand.  So we didn't get much value from our tickets that night.

We did see a few songs by 'The March Violets' though, who seemed good. We took the mutual decision to call it a night and I think we were back at the BnB for 11pm

Day 3 - Sunday

Another rainy day, so lots of brolly usage. 

Arabella had a 4 hour drive to get home, and my parking ran out just after midday, so we had agreed we would do some more mooching around the gothic stalls at the other two venues we had not already done, then head home after lunch time. 

We also had to get out of the Air BnB before 10am as well, so there wasn't a lot of time in the morning, and we both just got dressed in something fairly casual. I actually felt more comfortable like this, I like the goth look, but it's more of a costume than my day to day 'me' look.

We had got some croissants the previous day, so had them for breakfast, then dumped our bags in our cars before heading out again.  Firstly to the Pavilion where there were stalls in the lower section that were only open during the day.  I was good and didn't buy anything other than some chocolate covered coffee beans :)

Then we popped into the 'Cranberry Swamp' café for a hot beverage, I had a chai latte which wasn't OK but not the best I've ever had.

Then we went to the Brunswick Centre which was in an old chapel, and fab inside. There I was tempted by some Goth Soap !  and also a handbag which also had a massive clock on the front, which I just had to buy. But I did get 10% off, which is something.

After this it was time to depart, my parking only had 30 mins left on it, so we walked back to the sports centre and said our goodbyes.

I had a good run back, I had charged in the sports centre, but I would have barely made it home, so I did stop at Malton to give me an extra 20% safety margin. I think I was home by 3:30pm 

All in all a very fun weekend, and am already planning on a look for the next one - it doesn't matter what I wear or look like, I always feel underdressed compared to many other people who attend 🤣

Sheffield floods

 

Life updates

My dad seems a bit better, but kidney issues may delay his treatment. His taste seems to be coming back at least.

My in-laws visit on Wednesday, which I am not looking forward to, there must be comments on my hair this time. Not only is is much longer, but it's dyed now too. I'll probably try parting it further towards the outside of my eye, rather than the inside of my eye - which is a more male look.

I will also have to de-Izzy the downstairs, find all my shoes and get rid of any cosmetics on my computer desk in the kitchen. 

Don't think I mentioned it before, but I put a hole in one boob after returning from Lancaster, covered it in wide tape, it's not holding that well. It's on the back side. Shame as I thought these might last until I needed to buy smaller ones when I fill out more.

Hormones

I have used up my first Oestrogel 'Pump-Pack' canister - they sent me three of these. I first used it on Wednesday the 13th of September, but I did miss at least two days.  This is 38 days , so minus two makes 36 days of use.

According to the notes on the side, there should be 64 'pumps' per canister. Which should be 32 days, as I'm on two pumps a day - so it would seem to be pretty accurate. I guess I will ask for a new prescription when I start on the third canister. 

I've decided to start taking a photo of a nipple every so often with a 20p coin beside it to judge any changes. I won't be posting these in case this worries anyone 🤣

Someone had posted their prescription details on Instagram the other day, and I noticed they were only on three pumps a day, so perhaps my 'micro-dose' isn't actually that small !  Or is at least on par with a starting dose. 

Social Activities

I was at Sheffield Beer Festival at Kelham Island Museum Thursday until Saturday morning.  Unfortunately the heavy rain caused the venue to be closed on Friday, so I only got to enjoy one day of the festival.

I could have stayed there today, but would have had to fork out for another night, and I really should try to minimise my spending.

Day 1

I arrived at lunch time on Thursday, and met Alice for a Pizza in Rudy's.  Aside from a trip back to the hotel to check in, we largely remained at the beer festival venue for most of the rest of the day.

I had gone in a fairly goth look, as I wanted to try out my look for the Whitby Goth Weekend at the end of the month. It was also going to be raining a lot, and I would be wearing my big long winter coat for this reason too. It was a bit warm though, so I ended up leaving it at the hotel when I checked in.

I met the lady who had signed me up at Stockport, she is lovely.  We got talking to a few chaps, and Alice caught up with a fair few people she had met at previous events.  

I had a Cheesy sausage for tea - wasn't as nice as those at Peterborough, but chap was friendly. Later on I had an Indian Samosa box, which was gorgeous.

The big steam engine was run at 7pm, it was huge and made the floor shake - it's the biggest engine that still runs, and well worth a visit. I will upload a video to my YouTube at some point.

I tried some porters and stouts initially, but switched to ciders - there was a lovely Marmalade one by
'Seacider', which was my favourite.   Nell Gwynne  by 'Celtic Marshes' was very nice too. Both of these are described as medium, so perhaps I shall concentrate on these going forward.

 I was mainly drinking 1/3rds or 1/2's and also having water too, so I didn't really get that tipsy. 

Think we left just before 11pm when it shut. It did start to rain.

Day 2

It was raining really heavily for the majority of the day, which caused there to be a flood risk at the beer festival site. 

We went for breakfast at a nice little place called Marmadukes on Norfolk row, where all had poached
eggs on thick cut sourdough toast , cooked really nicely. They only do full english on a weekend, but was still quite filling, 

After this we parted ways for a short while as Alice wanted to look in a few clothes shops, and I needed to get more foundation as I had run out getting ready. 

We met back up at the Emergency Services museum, and had an hour wandering around that - with my trying on every hat available, and getting photo's with any props :)

The plan was to leave there and head straight to beer festival, but as we were leaving we got a message to say it had been cancelled.  So we went to meet Gemma in the Harlequin - which was a pretty wet
walk away !

We had a few beers in there, then headed for lunch at  the 'Chop Shop Bar & Grill' which was really nice food. They had a two burger for £20 deal on, and they were really nice.  

After this we did the 'Kelham Island Tavern' where some famous female Gogglebox star took a picture of us - we only found out when the guys on the next table told us after she had gone.

Then we went to the 'The Furnace Bar & Restaurant'  for our evening meal -  I had a lamb kofta with coconut rice which was fab. Then a very sweet Salted Caramel Chocolate brownie to finish.  

After this we went back to the hotel to change, then to the Weatherspoons, where we had a truely awful flat pint that neither me or Alice could finish. Cindy's lager was OK i think though. 

We ended the night at the 'Two & Six Micropub' which was a lot nicer, and we met back up with some of the beer festival staff in there. I tried a 'Back to the future' themed IPL (India Pale Lager) which wasn't too offensive, but I mainly got because of the BTTF reference :)  - then a chocolate porter which was really good.

Then it was back to the hotel.

Day 3 

The Beer festival was definitely back on, but I had not had a brilliant sleep, the guy above had been doing Riverdance at 4am, and I had struggled to get back to sleep. 

Managed to get enough dregs out of my foundation to not need to open the new bottle.

I did have the option of finding another room and spending and extra day, but I wasn't really in the mood. I probably would have been fine after a few beers, but it would have been an expensive night as rooms were scarce due to a football match.  Gemma and Cindy were partly only going to the expense as their trains were cancelled due to the flooding, so had to anyway.

So I did the breakfast at Marmadukes with Alice and Cindy, and decided to go home.  I walked back to the hotel with Cindy and we bumped into Gemma on the way which was nice, so did get to say bye to everyone. 

Got home OK, and haven't really done much all day.  I did go to the Co-op while still dressed to get some food. I feel safer going there still.  

Frogs Legs

 

Things of note

My dad is still in hospital, suffering from chemo after effects, really horrible to see him like this. But he did seem to be getting a bit better this last time I visited. We are getting my mum in there as much as we can between us all.

I dyed my hair again on the 3rd of October, I went darker, still using Clairol Nice'n Easy, the shade is :  4W 'Dark Mocha Brown' . It has a few dark ginger tones which I wasn't expecting, but I am fairly happy with it.

Brief Summary of Events :

Thursday the 5th :  Trans-Wakefield

I met up with the group in the Café and had a bit of a chat, but Bennie and Ann were in around as had come up the day before LFF, so I sloped off to have a few drinks with them. 

We did 'Luis Bar' and then to 'The Polka Hop' where i had a fab scotch egg ! - I had skipped food to get to the group on time. Loved the Polka Hop seemed like a nice quirky and friendly place. Then we headed to the New Union mainly to see if any of the group had gone there after the café, then headed home after a soft drink in there.

Friday the 6th : Leeds First Friday 

I helped host an afternoon pub crawl around some real ale pubs with Ann and Alice. We did three pubs ,Tapped, then Bankers Cat, finishing at 'The Brewery Tap'. I think we had 12 people attend which was fab. Hoping to do it again in November.

I was staying at the premier inn this time, so didn't do many outfit changes due to the walk. 

Was a bit tired for the main event in the evening but we still managed to get around quite a few places, including the Tiki Bar above 'Call Lane Social'.  

I stumbled across a first timer in the Viaduct who was looking a bit lonely, and introduced her to
Gemma and Emily's pose as they were showing another two girls around - met up with her later on seemed like she was having a fab night.

We ended up in 'The Shed' later on, did some dancing with some CIS girls to Metallica and a few other rock songs, but was quite tired and headed for bed about 1am. 

Saturday 7th : 

In Leeds for an additional day with Alice, Lexi and . We had breakfast at 'Bills' which was fab, did some shopping, had a few beers in the afternoon.

Flamingo's was rammed so I suggested the cafe in the corn exchange.

At 5pm we headed to the 'Skybar' on top of the Double Tree Hilton where I had some champagne, and we got some nice photo's.  Then we had a fab meal at Goucho's.

I tried the fillet steak this time as I wasn't feeling very good the last time I went, and just had a burger. So it sort of evens out in cost terms now :)

We ended the evening in Northern Guitar, was a really nice day.

The next day instead of getting dressed, I left Leeds in boy mode, and headed straight to my mums to take her across to see my dad. 

Thursday 12th : Nottingham Chameleons

I had wanted to attend as I knew I would have to miss the end of month meeting due to my parents in law being up. It was a nice night, I chatted to a few people, mainly Amber. 

There were a few faces missing but it was still a fairly full room. Got some nice compliments on my hair. 

Lynn attempted to get me to pose in professional fashion, but I failed, so have a comedy one instead :)

I was a good night, but I was really quite tired towards the end, so went home a little earlier than normal. I got back just after midnight

Saturday 14th : Lancaster Music Festival.

My friend Arabella from Blackpool was free for the Saturday, but didn't fancy going around her home
town, so we had decided upon Lancaster.   I had been searching for things to do there, and had not come up with , but entirely by chance noticed a band was on at one of the pubs. With further googling it became apparent that there was quite a big music festival on that weekend, with most of the pubs and bars hosting live acts !

I managed to get a room in the centre at a three star place for a fairly reasonable price - given there was a big event on.

One of our friends had recommend a nice French restaurant down by the river, so I booked that as well to make sure we had something planned for food.

We both arrived around midday, and coincidentally met at the car park pay machine. Had a swift half to refresh ourselves after our journeys. 

We spent the afternoon going around different events, one on a stage in the middle of town, others dotted around in pubs and bars.  There was a busker in a wine bar that was quite fun, I had never done a proper wine bar before, they had two menus 'Wine' and 'Not Wine' , we had a special guest red.

Did a bit of charity shopping too, I got a big green coat. We did also go to a café for a bit of cake and a non-alcoholic beverage as well.  

Around 5pm we walked to the restaurant which was down on the riverside, 'Quite Simply French'.

I had frogs legs to start, followed by duck leg, with some champagne - I may have developed and expensive taste.  My friend had some lamb ball things, followed by beef shin. We were quite full so shared a mini desert and a tea for afters.

The food and service was fabulous and we both really enjoyed it. 

We went back to our rooms to freshen up, and met up a little later to go back out. We did a several more
pubs in the town, and met a lady and her daughter who recommended on a bit more out of town down the canal.  So we decided to go there.  Was really good, but rammed. After a while we got fed up with being barged by random blokes, and found a table at the far end to sit for a bit.

Then we headed back towards the final bar of the night which was just across the road from the hotel. My friend really likes Ska and wanted to see a particular band.  They were called Peloton, and performed some Ska classics (so i was told, I didn't recognise them) plus some ska style covers of popular songs and some of there own. They were fab.  

We left about 00:30 I think, both fairly tired by this point.

There were quite a few rowdy people going back to bed later on, and the plumbing wasn't the best, so I didn't get the best nights sleep. But the view from the room was nice at least.

In the morning we met up for a full English at a local café, and headed off home.  I was taking my mum over to see my dad on the way back. 

All in all a fab event, would seriously consider going back next year. 

A mostly wigless month

 

Updates 

My dad has been in hospital for his 1st round of chemo to treat a blood cancer, and is likely to be in there for a number of weeks more as it didn't go as planned. So I have been doing my share of taking my mum to visit him.  He seems to be doing OK at the moment.

Hormones, it's been a few weeks - not sure if anything I've been feeling is actually due to them or not. I had thought it had changed my sleep pattern, I seem to be waking up during the night a lot less. No problems noticed at least. Not sure I feel any different emotionally, which I assumed I would. 

I am at least remembering to apply the gel every day !

My hair looks a bit of state in both modes, I have been trying  Frizz Ease conditioner which seems to work a little.  I need to dye it again really, I am thinking darker for the Goth weekend.

Need to spend some time watching some video's I think, work out if there is something simple I am missing in terms of styling. 

Despite this I haven't actually worn a wig (other than for some pics at Chams) for most of the month, even though I've been out quite a few times - which I think is an achievement. Might wear one to the next LFF though :)  

Adventures

Thursday 21st

Instead of my usual Wakefield group night, I had a drink with a friend - I was in drab, I mainly mention really as it was in working men's club and I'm a bit self conscious with how my hair looks in 'man' mode. There were no issues though.

Saturday 23rd - Blackpool

I didn't have any big meetups planned, but a friend in Blackpool had was unexpectantly free and asked if I wanted to visit. I got there at lunch time and they made me a nice meet free burger, then we went to a retro video game arcade.

You pay to enter, but all the machines were then free to play. It was really good, they had Time Crisis, Mario Kart,  lots of really old machines like 1942, Galaxian etc:  https://www.arcadeclub.co.uk/blackpool/  

We were in there a few hours, had a really fun time.  Afterwards we had an ice-cream at Notarianni , which I was told was the best ice cream in Blackpool - it was certainly very nice. We did some charity shops and I got a nice black dress for £6. 

While waiting for some pizza's to be delivered,  we watched a very funny but also terrible film : Scouts Guide to the Zombie Apocalypse !  Which I would totally recommend. 

Then we got changed and headed out into the town for a bit of a pub crawl, we did Galleon's , a soul place I've forgotten the name of, then back to Galleons. We were not really on a drinking session, just taking it steady.  

I stopped for a roast dinner on Sunday then headed home in the early afternoon. It was a very relaxing weekend, and a change from some of the more hectic things on the calendar, and really great to catch up with my friend.

Thursday 28th - Chameleons 

I wasn't able to sneak off work early as had a lot on, so by the time I had finished faffing with my fake lashes it meant there was no danger of me being early.  This unfortunately meant I wasn't able to meet up with Ann at the outlet before hand, but she was going to Chams afterwards anyway.  

I had been looking forward to going with a more autumnal look, as I don't have that many summery dresses and I feel I had gone my money out of most already this year. So went with a 'Kurt Muller' dress I got from Barnsley market last year. 

I stopped off at Tibshelf on the way down for snacks as I had neglected to bring biscuits, got a smirk
from a tradesperson as I walked in, but if that's the worst I get I am very lucky. 

There were already a few people there when I got to the centre, and the room soon filled up. 

It was nice to see such a good turnout again, and the room was full enough that we were able to fragment into smaller groups. Was really nice to catch up with the other girls. 

There was the additional fun of a charity used clothing and accessory sale, which meant we all had fun trying things on and messing about a bit. Got to poke some rather unconvincing boobs for instance :)

Lynn had tried on a wig which looked quite retro 80's and I decided to have a go with it too - I quite liked the way it looked so I put some funds in the donation box for it.  I posted the pics on Instagram and it went down quite well ! 

Anyway it was a very enjoyable night, certainly in the shortlist for the best Chams meeting of the year :)

I was in the Leaf so I had a more relaxing journey home, I had the day off the next day too, so it didn't matter it was quite late when I got back. 

Friday 29th - Bolton Abbey

I had planned on not doing anything at the weekend again - there was a beer festival, but I've been
spending a lot of time away, and the hotels are quite expensive, so instead I plotted a solo adventure day trip.  It was a dual purpose adventure in that I would be using the Morris as well.

I got ready at quite a leisurely pace, and it was fairly late before I set off. But I managed to get to Bolton Abbey for about 2:15pm. The drive itself was nice, no major issues, Josephine appeared to be in a good mood, not much crunching of gears or idling issues. 

The lady at the car park kiosk complemented my on my vehicle ! - which made me smile :)

I headed for the Café first and got myself a cheese and onion pasty, a hot chocolate with marshmallows and cream, and a bit of cake. All of the major food groups, fat and sugar.   

After this I headed over the river and down the opposite bank to where I had parked towards the stepping stones which would take me to the abbey.  It wasn't the nicest weather, I had taken my brolly just in case but didn't need it. 

I did some photo's at the stepping stones, but I couldn't actually cross as several had been swept away by tree's hitting them after being washed downstream in a storm. A bit of a shame, but I can always go back later. 

I had a brief look around the remains of the abbey, and the church next to it, then headed back to the car. Overheard a few people commenting on her as I was faffing around getting ready to leave, she does attract attention. 

My shitnav took my back through the middle of Leeds, which wasn't very relaxing, stop start traffic is no fun with no hydraulic assisted clutch and a crunchy gearbox. But we got home OK.

It was good to get some more miles under my belt, and fab to have a nice day out too.