Year: 2018

Inspired

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Hi, I heard recently that my line manager from job long since left, died recently. We’ll call him W for now, although that’s not his real name. Even now, I’m a bit touchy about naming people specifically, but hey-ho. It’s not like you know the city, my bloke name, where I work, or what I do. Plus, there’s a photo here and there to truly out me…. but, moving on. 🙂 So W was not – by his own admission – someone with an IT background. He said to me that he could read people and provided I was straight with him, he’d do the same. He wasn’t a politician, but he was diplomatic. He wasn’t technical, but he got projects […]

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Trouser trouble

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Hi, The quest for a good pair of trousers continues. Buying clothes when you’ve two wardrobes is an odd experience. What I mean is, when it comes to bloke’s troos, there’s a few basic rules: long enough, wide enough, and do they suit? If you’re young and hip you don’t want dad jeans, and if you’re a dad, you don’t want dad trousers either. 😉 Well, at least not obviously. With women’s trousers, there’s a myriad of styles, sizes, and lengths, that seem to come and go so quickly. The size thing is particularly troublesome. From Shop A, the 16s were the right length, but just the wrong side of tight on my waist. The size 18 pair from Shop […]

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Helping in little ways

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Hi, After a week or two of zero trans related activity, two things come along at once. If it helps, feel free to imagine a pair of Clapham omnibus rolling in. Tickets ready? Ding ding! 🙂 Bus 1 Earlier in the week, it was time for a training event in Nottingham. I’d arranged it some time ago and managed to squeeze it in my lunch hour. I try not to swing the lead too much when I’m at work. I may not have the best record for timekeeping, but I like to think I put my all in when I’m in. Well, that’s my excuse and I’m sticking to it! 😉 I called just before setting off to make sure everything […]

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Freedom in movement

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Hi, I was in a cafe the other day and one of my favourite pop songs came on. For a moment I was – as the lyric goes – lost in music. While I don’t listen to as much new stuff as I used to, music is still something that moves me. The right tune summons memories long thought lost and there are times when I’ve found myself deeply moved by certain lyrics. Yeah, this jaded heart of mine still beats 😉 But, for me at least, the dance floor is where I find freedom. I do know I need to ‘dial it down’ a bit when in Richard mode, but on a trans night out, there’s no such bar. […]

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Greener grass

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Hi, Ah, the long Easter weekend is upon us. Let’s hear it for bank holiday breaks and two weeks off with the kids. Well, not that I’m off for two weeks; chance would be a fine thing 😉 Antisocial Media It’s been an odd week in that last Friday I took the decision to remove Facebook from my smartphone. The allegations around data use by various third parties have been rumbling for a while, but I think it was that Friday when something finally clicked in my head. Wittier folk may like to think that someone clicked the ‘dislike’ button, but I’m not sure I’ve the energy for that gag. 😉 So, why the change? Now, I’m a social creature […]

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Hair raising

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Hi, I was out at Chams last night and we had a visit from the fab Trendco team: Nicola and Steph. TrendCo, in case you don’t know, are our friendly neighbourhood wig experts. Chams was fairly busy, so there was a fair bit of interest in the wigs brought in. For me, a good wig is more than something that works for your face, or your outfit. It becomes, at least for me, a part of my identity. My current do is darker than my natural hair colour. While I’ve tried lighter colours, I find myself coming back to chestnut colours time and again. I’ve done long and medium hair, but collar length seems to be working for me. At […]

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