Double trouble

Hi,

I think this might be the most unusual place I’ve started a post: sat in the car wash. Luckily, I’m inside the car, as I don’t need a jet wash or hot wax. 🙂

Besides, my waxing appointment was earlier in the week. I feel I’ve shaken off some of the winter funk, and that brings a welcome sense of being brighter in myself. Does that make sense? What a joy to have that! Ah, the luxury to having your body closer to how you’d like it. Even if the body is wider and more rundown than it was a few decades ago. As long as the old gal keeps ticking, eh? 🤭

Perhaps another title for this week’s babble would’ve been you wait for ages and two come along at once.

Oh, and do get comfy, as this may be a long read!

A day out

With the chance to book some leave midweek and with everyone in the house away, so it was that my luck held for a trip out. I was both looking forward to it and rather nervous. As I was saying to Val on Thursday night – yes, this post will jump around – I couldn’t quite understand why I was so on edge. I mean, I’ve been into town many times, out in Lynn mode too, and I’m meeting a friend (Val) for a coffee & a chat.

Yet all that…. and, if I’m honest here… if I hadn’t had agreed to meet Val, I think there’s a strong chance I would’ve bottled it and not gone. Which I am very glad didn’t happen. I mean, giving into the fear doesn’t help, it would’ve wasted a day, and I think I would have been cross with myself for not trying. But, hey, Big Girl Pants on, deep breath, and out you go 💖

Despite the above nerves, I’d planned my outfit and checked the weather to make sure I’d not be shivering my way round the city. Been there before – and that’s just in Bloke Mode 😉 I was just about on schedule and decided to park at the bottom end of town to save time in traffic. Unfortunately for Val, the M1 was playing up, so I had a bit of time to make my way up from Broad Marsh.

I had a quick look in New Look just to see if there were any coats on sale. As I’d put on my go to ‘office coat’, I felt it was a little snug and a look at the label answered that: size 14. Yeah, I’ve not been that for a time, so that was the only thing on my list of things to look for. Anything else would be a bonus.

Talking of office, I’d gone with my red dress, my new flat boots, and as a change, gone with chocolate coloured tights. I had thought about a heeled boot, but I felt these were more modern, and as much as a six foot bloke can try and blend in.

The south end of the shopping district is still very empy. There’s two big stores – New Look and a sports shop – that hang on, but the rest appears closed up. That or fly-by-night clearance pop-ups. I’ve said it before, but I really think Nottingham took a hit to it’s retail post COVID19. Is it Catch 22? Folk don’t go in so much, because there’s less choice (if they have the money in the first place). So if folk aren’t going in, less shops open. I know the Jones Massive don’t go in very often. If we do go anywhere, it’s to a village or the outskirts. Cheaper parking, more shops & cafes that suit our needs, and it’s a significantly easier journey there & back.

I met up with Val in the Victoria Centre and after a welcome hug, we set off back to check out the charity shops and find an independent cafe for a drink. I only wear my glasses when I’m driving or for reading, so I was in blissful ignorance of anyone looking. I don’t go out in Lynn mode to be seen. I go out because this is part of who I am. Sure, visibility may help folk understand that trans folk are here (and always have been).

It seems the old grumble about highstreets being full of vape stores and charity shops has been and gone. Not that I vape or smoke, but I think we found three – maybe four – ‘new to you’ shops still going. I think there are more in Bridgford now, and that’s a wee suburb.

After stopping for coffee and having a chat about family, what we’d been up to recently; we set off on a wider loop back to the Victoria. Passing down Hockley (the cool / theatre part of Nottm), I spied a photo op on the Pride crossing. Val pointed out that we were outside the Nottingham Centre for Transgender Health, which I think I’d passed at Pride, but not made the connection as we were out.

( On Thursday, Val suggested we might have popped in to say hello and introduce ourselves as two of the organisers for Nottingham Chameleons. Maybe next time! )

We headed back up Parliament Street and back towards the Victoria, before saying our goodbyes. I was conscious of the time passing, as I had to get home, get the dogs walked, and be in Dad Mode for the afternoon school pick-up. Plus, I’d promised Child 2.0 that I’d be Token Adult Passenger, so he could practice his driving. The latter was a golden oppurtunity to return some of his library books too.

Thursday: colours, Chams, and theatre

A second time out in a week. What a treat! Still, pleasure is often followed by pain! 😉 As this was the second close shave in 48 hours, I was feeling a little delicate around my snowplough style jawline. Ouch! 🤕

I had toyed with the idea of switching wigs and trying the most recent purchase from Wigeroo. The plan was to give Ol’ Curly a wash and respring her curls wet n set style, but time got away with me. I am loving the colour of the new ‘do, and I’m wondering if Nicola might shorten/style Ginge 2.0 to more of a lob (long bob) style. Something to think about.

So, Chams! I was off early as we had a visitor, the amazing Gary Clarke, coming from the Gary Clarke Company who are an awarding winning theatre group who specialise in dance and contempory history in theatre. Yeah, I am absolutely not doing Gary and the team’s work justice. You can find more about Gary and the amazing work the production company have done. Coal which is about the experience of living through the Miners’ Strike in the 80s and a follow-up, Wasteland which covers the after effects of the collapse of working communities and the rise of rave culture in reclaiming those empty factories. The reason for the visit, other than to hear about the theatre and Gary’s personal experiences, is that Nottingham will be hosting Detention, which is all about Section 28 in the 80s/90s. Here’s the trailer:

Okay, so why am I featuring a theatre production? I, uhh, don’t hear you ask 😉Firstly, let’s the blog guff out of the way: I’m not being paid for this and neither are Chameleons. I’m sharing all of this because I think it’s important for queer voices to be heard. You don’t need to look far these days to see anti-queer hate – yeah, I’m calling it what it is – poison in the news, dripping from the lips of those in power, and whispered into the ears of useful idiots.

Voices mean representation too, and this was something that we touched on last night during the talk and subsequent discussion. That many of us in the group – myself included – would lean towards any crumb of trans representation that there was. I started watching Out on Tuesday – the Channel 4 magazine programme for LGBT+ folk in the 80s – because I’d spotted a trans person in the trailer. Crumbs of interest in the cis-het TV programming of a pre-Internet world. You took what you could and tried to keep it quiet because it wasn’t safe to be queer in the 80s.

Maybe it’s upbringing, maybe it’s a me thing, or maybe lots of folk do it; but I have the keep-your-feet-on-the-ground vibe that says yeah, you’re you, but you’re not *that* special. I don’t say that as a negative thing, but sometimes ego can get in the way of good things happening, so I try my best not to be That Guy. So, I had – wrongly – assumed that lil ol’ me had known about Section 28 in the 80s, that other folk at Chams were likely to have too. No, not the case – even folk of my own age.

Damn. Do you not get an early doors voucher if you’re an old school Social Justice Warrior? Well that sucks 😉

Gary had also brought along photobooks of newspaper headlines from the 80s, information about the Miners’ Strike, and stills of the dance troupe from the shows. All really impressive and interesting stuff. Sadly, we ran out of time, having only an hour, and Gary had to be off early for another meeing in the morning.

Winding down

With the weather having turned back to decidely wintery, my Chams outfit was not going to include sheers. Certainly not after a long walk around town in the bracing wind! 🙂

I spied a turquoise skirt that had been lurking in the wardrobe and given Wednesday’s I’m-not-going-to-do-black-opaques-again thought, I decided to try something a bit brighter. Felt cute, might delete later 😉

So, an amazing night and a good week filled with some happy memories. Did I mention I’m also off as it’s No Work Friday for me? Ah, I feel like the stars have aligned (and not in a scary Lovecraftian way, thankfully).

Whatever you’re up to: stay safe and safe fabulous!
L x