All posts

All posts in chronological order, newest first.

• Welcome back! 9-Sep-2019 - A while back I migrated from wordpress.com to self-hosted WordPress (you can read about it here). At the time I thought that the migration process would bring all my followers across, but it didn’t. Well, today I found an option hidden away in the settings for JetPack that does exactly that, and I ran it. […]
• Cookery: The Juicy Lucy 2-Sep-2019 - I’m not really much of a cook, and this is the first time I have blogged about cooking. But I thought I would share an experiment that I did in creating a Juicy Lucy burger. I was watching Man vs Food recently, which I enjoy watching for the Travelog aspect and the food, although I […]
• But is it art? 25-Aug-2019 - Having recently bought yet more nice art, as mentioned in my previous post, I’ve had a bit of a spending spree on even more art today. I only popped out to the supermarket, but I decided that whilst I was out, I’d pop into White Lion Antiques and ended up buying a number of things. […]
• Out and about 21-Aug-2019 - Work is a little slack with so many colleagues on holiday at the moment, so yesterday I decided to take the day off and go shopping. It’s been a while since I last visited Henley-on-Thames, so that was my main destination, but as it turned out this was just one of many places that I […]
• Thruxton again 11-Jul-2019 - A year ago I posted about popping over to Thruxton Race Circuit for a track day. Gold Track were back there again this year, so I popped over to see the guys and girls. I wasn’t planning on driving on the track this time, not least because I’m still running the same tyres which are […]
• And then I went out… 9-Jun-2019 - Well, having stated in my post yesterday that I seldom go out, I decided to go out today. 🙂
• Not going out (much) 8-Jun-2019 - I’m not entirely sure how many people actually read my blog, or follow me. When I moved to self-hosting, very few people have re-followed me and I’m not sure if my followers from wordpress.com still get notifications for posts made here or not. But, regardless of whether or not anyone reads this blog, I thought […]
• Enforced absence 27-Apr-2019 - Sorry about the lack of posts and new pics lately. Back in January I developed a cyst on my eyelid that progressively got worse. In the end it was felt that minor surgery was needed, which was done under local anaesthetic as an out patient at my local hospital. It was an unpleasant procedure, and […]
• 20 million views 26-Feb-2019 - I never thought, when I joined Flickr in February 2009, that 10 years later I would be seeing peaks of hundreds of thousands of views per day, nor that I would see 20 million views. I wish it were possible to see the lifetimes stats, but Flickr doesn’t retain these. But I think the growth […]
• What do any of us really know about the shoes in which we have never walked? 14-Feb-2019 - Someone sent me a link to this short TED talk by Paula Stone Williams It’s very good. The key quote I took from it was “What do any of us really know about the shoes in which we have never walked?” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lrYx7HaUlMY
• Review – Alita: Battle Angel 11-Feb-2019 - I’ve been a long time fan of the manga Battle Angel Alita, known in Japan as Gunnm (銃夢 Ganmu, literally “gun dream”), by Yukito Kishiro. Alita’s search for identity has been something extremely special and personal to me, and it is probably my favourite manga. I have been aware of James Cameron’s love project to […]
• Pin up art, and a new purchase 10-Feb-2019 - In this post, I buy a reproduction of a painting by Gil Elvgren, and trace some of the history behind it. I also have to modify the painting in order to be able to hang it.
• What You Need to Know About Transgender Rights 9-Feb-2019 - This article was published a year ago, and is still utterly superb. The fight for transgender rights is an urgent battle against what some have called the last bastion of socially acceptable bigotry. If we take the notion seriously that all humans are due equal rights, as many of us do, we must care about […]
• New pen – Sheaffer Triumph with V-inlay 2-Feb-2019 - I was at an antiques trade fair recently, and a few of the sellers had the odd fountain pen here and there. Nothing that caught my eye. But one had a reasonable collection and amongst them I spied a Sheaffer.
• Welcome to the new web address! 24-Jan-2019 - Why have I moved my blog? You may have noticed that the web address of this blog has changed! Ever since I started this blog around 6 years ago, I have used WordPress via their free hosted offering at wordpress.com It’s worked well enough for me, but since then I have become quite au fait […]
• Photo manipulation 23-Jan-2019 - I read an article in The Guardian today about “Selfie Dysphoria” It’s an interesting article about how selfie filters are driving many people to use cosmetic surgery to make their face look more like their selfies, and how in the past people would bring photos of celebrities to a Cosmetic Surgeon whereas these days they […]
• Ten Years 17-Jan-2019 - There is a “10 year challenge” doing the rounds on Social Media at the moment, which is fairly timely for me as it is now 10 years since I first came out in public.
• Diary update – an eye infection, and new artwork. 13-Jan-2019 - No new self portraiture pics right now, I’m afraid. I have a cyst / lump on my eyelid at the moment which means I can’t really wear makeup. It’s affecting my vision too, which is a little worrying.
• New Year, same me. 2-Jan-2019 - I’ve been a bit remiss about posting lately, so thought it was about time for an update.
• Women in Motorsport – the W Series 11-Oct-2018 - It’s been recently reported in the Media [1][2] that there is a new female-only motorsport series being launched called “W Series”. British IndyCar driver Pippa Mann calls it a “sad day for motorsport” and that it will segregate women drivers. I agree with her.
• Girl Racer 17-Aug-2018 - Eagle-eyed readers may have noticed from my recent Flickr pics that I have a new car, and that I have also published a pic of me wearing a crash helmet in the car. So, since I haven’t blogged for a while, and since several people have asked me for more information, I thought I should […]
• Out shopping 10-Jun-2018 - I popped out to a local Antiques & Collectables fair in Hartley Wintney today. Despite having far too much jewellery, I couldn’t resist this cute pair of silver earrings for £9. I liked how the inner and outer hearts moved independently of each other. I also bought yet another ring, despite having far too many […]
• Continuing journey 31-May-2018 - I received an absolutely lovely comment on one of my Flickr pics recently: What a pleasure to see the subtle but striking changes from your first photographs to this one, you have changed into such a pretty woman 👍 Looking back on my photos over the past 10 years (have I really been on Flickr […]
• A visit to the hairdresser – wig revitalisation 20-Jan-2018 - a.k.a. “Getting wiggy with it” Like any girl like me, I’ve got a number of wigs. Many are cheapies that I bought for photo shoots and general fun, but my four main ones are expensive ones costing several hundred pounds each. I bought them on two separate visits to Beesley Wigs in Sandhurst using their […]
• Laser update: bikini line 9-Dec-2017 - In a previous post I mentioned the new course of laser hair removal that I am doing. It’s going very well, and it’s time to give you an update. I’ve had one more session on the face since then, but this post is an update on how successful the sessions on the tummy and bikini […]
• Lost and found 4-Dec-2017 - It was the Monthly Market at Farnham Maltings on Saturday, and as regular readers will know it’s something I like to go to regularly. I started to put together a skirt & leggings type outfit, but it just wasn’t working, so in the end I went for jeans, boots, and a top. I chose a […]
• More laser hair removal (pew pew anew!) 11-Nov-2017 - In a previous post I mentioned that I was re-commencing laser hair removal after 3+ years, and since then I have had several sessions so I thought it was worth posting an update for those that are interested. I’m going to go into some fairly intimate detail, so if you might be offended by such […]
• Shopping trip 28-Oct-2017 - Today I decided to get into girl mode and to pop into Camberley for a spot of shopping. I wanted to pick up a few things, specifically a valance for my bed, and also perhaps something sexy for a photo shoot. I’d previously bought something on eBay for the purpose but it turned out to […]
• Time to break out the lasers again 18-Aug-2017 - It’s now been over 3 years since I last had laser hair removal treatment. Mostly, things have stayed pretty much static on my body. As I mentioned in my last post on the subject, regrowth on my arms and legs has been minimal – I still have individual hairs here and there; nothing that a […]
• More fountain pens, and a pencil 26-Jul-2017 - I’ve been keeping an eye on eBay for more fountain pens recently, and picked up a few bargains (to a greater or lesser extent).
• Waterman C/F 24-Jul-2017 - In a previous post I mentioned that I had acquired a 1994 Waterman C/F in 9K gold, but the ink sac in the converter had perished and needed replacing. So in this post I will detail stripping the pen down and replacing the converter.
• Doctor Who is now a woman 16-Jul-2017 - Just after Wimbledon Men’s Final, fans everywhere learned what they had been waiting till the end of the match for. Not who won, but who would be the new Doctor Who. To the shock of few, the new Doctor is to be a woman. This could raise some really interesting gender pronoun questions and bring […]
• More fountain pens 8-Jul-2017 - I visited my parents recently and, as I mentioned in my previous post, there were some fountain pens involved in the visit. I had brought my fountain pen collection with me, and showed them to my parents, talking about the detective work I had done on some of them to determine their age and provenance. […]
• Warco pillar drill, and other tools 3-Jul-2017 - My father has decided that his days of DIY are over, and asked me if I would like to take over custodianship of his Warco pillar drill, plus various other tools that he has accumulated. Not an entire clearout, but passing on things that he thinks may be of use to me. The star attraction […]
• Girls who do Maltings 2-Jul-2017 - One of the things that my various social media accounts often results in is contact with other t-girls, and one such girl is Siobhan Hapgood who regularly comments on my Facebook posts and who has become a friend as a result. We’ve been meaning to meet up for a while, and Siobhan suggested that since […]
• Workbench 3 – the final workbench 25-May-2017 - In a previous post, I mentioned how I had built two workbenches out of plywood and planed timber. Only a few days after building the smaller one, I sold the grey fridge freezer which meant that I now had much more space and would need a wider workbench there. I popped up to my local […]
• Jinhao 992 21-May-2017 - One of the amusing things about buying cheap Chinese pens is that the 6-8 weeks delivery time means by the time they arrive you’ve almost forgotten that you ordered them. Yesterday a pair of Jinhao 992 pens arrived in the post, one in solid black and the other in transparent brown, which I had bought […]
• Two people, or two facets? 10-May-2017 - As a genderfluid / two-spirit / 3rd gender person, I sometimes present as female and sometimes present as male. I’ve covered this several times in the past. Often I see fellow t-girls referring to their girl side in the third person, even going as far as to say things like “Susan wants to come out […]
• Building a workbench or two 9-May-2017 - At the end of my series on restoring an Art Nouveau style cabinet, I mentioned that I had another project I wanted to tackle. That project was building a workbench. I’ve never made anything like this before so I rather made it up as I went along. I actually completed the project in the days […]
• Weekend Away (Part 4) – the journey of eight legs 8-May-2017 - This is the final part of my series of posts on my trip away for the Bank Holiday weekend, which included front row VIP tickets to Caro Emerald‘s 2017 UK “Emerald Island” tour and also a gig by my best friend Claire’s band Iconic at Lady of the Lake in Lowestoft In Part 1 I […]
• Weekend Away (Part 3) – Iconic 7-May-2017 - This is Part 3 of my trip away for the Bank Holiday weekend, which included front row VIP tickets to Caro Emerald‘s 2017 UK “Emerald Island” tour and also a gig by my best friend Claire’s band Iconic at Lady of the Lake in Lowestoft In Part 1 I told you about my journey there, […]
• Weekend Away (Part 2) – Caro Emerald 5-May-2017 - This is Part 2 of my trip away for the Bank Holiday weekend, which included front row VIP tickets to Caro Emerald‘s 2017 UK “Emerald Island” tour. In Part 1 I told you about my journey there, and how we barely arrived at the Ipswich Regent Theatre in time for the Meet & Greet. So […]
• Weekend Away (Part 1) – The Journey there. 4-May-2017 - I’m a big fan of Caro Emerald, and almost a year ago I bought two tickets for her 2017 UK tour. In fact I think I might have bought the tickets the moment they went on sale. I went a little over the top and bought VIP tickets with a Meet & Greet with Caro […]
• Baoer 801 27-Apr-2017 - After a wait of almost a month, some new pens have just arrived from China. I’ve mainly bought Jinhao and Hero up until now, so the Baoer is a new one on me. This is the Baoer 801 in “Black Shimmering Aurora Borealis” finish. It’s quite a nice pen and a little bit different. Looks-wise, […]
• Diary update – Lady driver 23-Apr-2017 - Recently I popped over to Thruxton Race Circuit for a track day organised by Gold Track. It’s a circuit I have driven several times before, but on this occasion I was not driving as my sports car is too noisy for Thruxton and my current road car is too boring. The reason for my visit […]
• Art Nouveau style cabinet – part 4 22-Apr-2017 - This is Part 4 of my restoration of an Art Nouveau cabinet which I had bought and whose base was riddled with woodworm. As you will see from Part 3, I ditched the idea of using 18mm MDF and reverted to the original construction of a sandwich of plywood and mitred softwood. Caution: This is […]
• Parker 51 and 61 19-Apr-2017 - I was at the Monthly Maltings Market at Farnham a few weeks ago, and was tempted by some fountain pens that a seller had. He is there every month, and I had previously looked at his pens but not bought any. I had been somewhat tempted by a Parker 61 Flighter as I had liked […]
• More fountain pens 14-Apr-2017 - I visited my parents recently, and had a bit of a pen-fest. First off, my dad gave me his old Sheaffer pen. Some might see this as worn out and beaten up, but to me it is gorgeous wear and patination, and I love it. There is a matching rollerball, which he also gave to […]
• Art Nouveau style cabinet – part 3 2-Apr-2017 - This is Part 3 of my restoration of an Art Nouveau cabinet which I had bought and whose base was riddled with woodworm. As you will see from Part 2, it was my intention to use 18mm MDF to construct the new base. I decided that it would be best to use dowel joints to […]
• Sheaffer 440 fountain pen 31-Mar-2017 - Following on from my previous post about fountain pens, I was at an Antiques and Collectors fair at Ripley in Surrey last month, and one of the sellers had some fountain pens. He had several Jinhaos and also some Chinese knock-off versions of the Parker 51, which he invited me to try and they were […]
• Fountain pens 31-Mar-2017 - I’ve been getting back into fountain pens in a big way lately. Well, that’s not entirely true – I have never really stopped using them. When working on client sites, I tend to keep a hand written day log and enjoy using a Parker 45 fountain pen to write it. It gives me a small […]
• Art Nouveau style cabinet – part 2 22-Mar-2017 - In a previous post, I mentioned an Art Nouveau cabinet which I had bought and whose base was riddled with woodworm. At the time I thought it was beyond economic repair. However, I decided that I had little to lose by stripping it down to get a better idea of the extent of the damage. […]
• Art Nouveau Bed 3-Mar-2017 - Oh my goodness, I think I have just found the most beautiful bed ever created! I was looking for something on google and stumbled upon this amazing bed by William Doub Custom Furniture in New Hampshire in the USA. This is just so “me” it is untrue. The design is fantastic, and the attention to […]
• Art Nouveau style cabinet 28-Feb-2017 - Today I went to the huge twice-monthly Antiques and Collectables fair at Kempton Park Racecourse at Sunbury-on-Thames. Unfortunately, despite walking around for over 4 hours and walking 5+ miles (according to my FitBit Alta), I didn’t find anything I wanted to buy apart from a tall galvanised bucket to use as an umbrella stand which […]
• Picture frame rejuvenation 26-Feb-2017 - Recently I bought a picture frame containing three advertising postcards for OXO, Bovril, and Bisto, mainly because my best friend and I have a running gag about Bisto but also because I like retro advertisement art. The frame was in pretty poor condition. The backing of the frame was cardboard and was rippled and warped, […]
• Diary update 23-Feb-2017 - I’ve been very remiss of late in keeping you up to date with how things are going with the job. As I mentioned in my previous post, I have been predominantly working from home with occasional face-to-face meetings which I have been conducting in girl mode. The initial contract had been for 3 months, and […]
• Sunbury Antiques Market (31-Jan-2017) 31-Jan-2017 - Today I got up at a frankly ridiculous 5:30am, and left the house at just gone 6am heading for the Sunbury Antiques Market at Kempton Park Racecourse in Surrey and arrived at 6.40am. Here are a few pics that I took with my phone.
• Royal Worcester – Moments For You 15-Jan-2017 - Today’s Antiques Fair purchase – this lovely Royal Worcester figurine of a lady The seller had £35 on it and said he would let it go for £30, but I pointed out a long and almost invisible hairline crack in the glaze that runs down her entire length, and he said in that case I […]
• Review: Binky nail varnish 16-Oct-2016 - I was in my local Co-Op the other day and they had Binky nail varnish on special offer at £2 a go. Having really enjoyed wearing my best friend’s “Countess” by Barry M that we both wore during a weekend away with her recently, I was drawn to the glittery purple “Purple Shimmer” in the […]
• Dear diary 17-Aug-2016 - Somewhat surprisingly, people actually read my blog (I know – it came as a surprise to me too) and people have been asking me what I’ve been up to, and how the job is going. As I mentioned in my previous post, the job is predominantly based at my own home office, with most client […]
• A new chapter 29-Jun-2016 - As you may or may not know, I work on a freelance basis rather than being a permanent employee of a company, although often it is on a contract basis with just one client. For the past 2+ years I have been having a fairly long distance daily commute to just such a client. Although […]
• Transgender – Richard O’Brien and Germaine Greer 17-May-2016 -   Well… wow. What do you make of this? Richard O’Brien responding to Germaine Greer’s comments on transgenderism. I agree with Germaine Greer and Barry Humphries. You can’t be a woman. You can be an idea of a woman. You’re in the middle and there’s nothing wrong with that. I certainly wouldn’t have the wedding tackle […]
• Ted Cruz, Toilets and Transgenders 16-May-2016 - A month ago, I posted a reaction on my public Facebook page to Ted Cruz’s comments on North Carolina’s decision to pass a law which makes transpeople use the public toilets (restrooms) of their birth gender rather than their identified gender, particularly his rather horrific comment that ‘Men should not be going to the bathroom […]
• Specifying your gender on Facebook 30-Apr-2016 - Just over two years ago, I wrote a blog post entitled “Does a rose by 58 other names smell as sweet?” where I talked about Facebook’s attempt to allow users to specify more than just a gender binary of male or female. I also mentioned how I wouldn’t be using it as I had already […]
• Project Reorganise: Jewellery Rack 18-Apr-2016 - Recently I found a jewellery rack for sale on Amazon. It’s the first one I have ever seen for purchase that doesn’t require you to remove the back from a post earring, push it through a hole, and then reattach the back. Instead, you put it through a larger hole and then let the earring […]
• Art Nouveau – Alphonse Mucha exhibition, UEA. 19-Mar-2016 -   I’m a big fan of the Art Nouveau movement, especially the works of Alfonse Mucha, Charles Rennie Mackintosh, and Charles Horner. I have a number of reproductions of Mucha’s works and a few items of jewellery in the style of Mackintosh. Sadly I don’t have anything by Horner as even reproductions are expensive. I […]
• Marriage, and garden implements 12-Mar-2016 - I wrote this a few years ago to illustrate a point in a debate about marriage equality, before it was legalised in the UK, and the person I was debating with said that they couldn’t see the issue as homosexuals already had Civil Partnerships which were the same as marriage, so why wasn’t that enough? […]
• Walking between two worlds 16-Feb-2016 - An observation of how differently you get treated when presenting as a guy to presenting as a woman.
• Don’t forget Facebook! 7-Feb-2016 - Often I have little snippets of blogette to post and don’t feel like they really belong here on my ‘proper’ blog, so I post them to my public Facebook page instead. Sometimes these are incorporated later into a more formal blog post here, but quite often they don’t make it into one and the only […]
• Go East, young woman 8-Jan-2016 - Growing up in the digital age, it’s funny to see how relationships can form in ways that in previous generations would be considered unconventional. To my parents’ generation, getting to know people on-line is rather strange and they consider that the friends thus made are not ‘real’ friends until you have met them face-to-face. My […]
• Ruby Shoo 21-Oct-2015 - Recently, one of my colleagues wore the most GORGEOUS pairs of shoes to work. They were a pair of either black or dark Navy court shoes in a Mary Jane style, in material / fabric, with an ankle strap and a bow on the ankle, in a kind of vintage retro style. Initially I didn’t […]
• Home photography 5-Oct-2015 - I’ve been interested in photography for a very long time. In fact, back in the days before we all used digital cameras, I even had a darkroom and used to process my own Black & White 35mm film and make my own prints. Lately I’ve been becoming very dissatisfied with the self portraits I post […]
• Photo shoot: In the Storeroom 12-Sep-2015 - In my previous post, I mentioned that I had bought an office style / school style blouse for a photo shoot, and also if you follow my Flickr, or my Facebook page or Twitter, you’ll know that I also bought some fake glasses for the shoot. Last Saturday I actually did the shoot, and it’s […]
• She’s the man – getting ‘read’ in public. 2-Sep-2015 - It’s been said[1] that trying to ‘pass’ as other than your birth gender is like playing a game where the moment someone becomes aware that you are succeeding, then you have just failed. On Saturday I played just such a game, as I do every time I go out in public in girl mode. I […]
• Project Reorganise: Shelves and chair 28-Aug-2015 - I have been on the lookout for some shelves to go above my dressing table, and finally found something suitable on Amazon from a seller on the Marketplace. They do two versions; both the same height and the same number of shelves, but differing widths. On the photographs, at least on cursory inspection, they looked […]
• Project Reorganise: Parental house rummage 9-Aug-2015 - As you’ll know from previous posts about Project Reorganise, I have been on the look-out (amongst other things) for a chair for the Dressing Table. I visited my parents one weekend a few months back, and they let me have a good rummage through their sheds and garage. These have become the repository for stuff […]
• Farnham Maltings (August) 2-Aug-2015 - Yesterday I returned to Farnham Maltings for their monthly market. You might recall from a previous post that I went to the June one. Given the slight confusion that buying earrings in guy mode caused a seller last time, I made the effort to go in girl mode this time. I wore the Dorothy Perkins […]
• Eastleigh – Charity Shop Central 22-Jul-2015 - If you are into clothes shopping in charity shops, then I can thoroughly recommend a visit to Eastleigh. And if you’re not, then try it – there are some ridiculous bargains on nearly-new (and sometimes actually new) clothes to be had. There are a disproportionately large number of charity shops in Eastleigh, in the area […]
• Bargain Hunting 30-Jun-2015 - I had the day off on Monday, so went to the IACF Antiques and Collectors fair at Newbury Racecourse. Or, more specifically, I took the day off so that I could visit it. You may recall that the last time I went, back in April, there was terrible traffic congestion due to roadworks with three-way […]
• Farnham Maltings 11-Jun-2015 - On Saturday I popped over to The Maltings in Farnham for their monthly Maltings Market. I’ve not been to one of these before, despite Farnham not being too far away for me. But a recent advert in a magazine mentioned that it has around 200 stalls of arts, crafts, jewellery, antiques, collectables and memorabilia, and […]
• Comic Con – the aftermath 31-May-2015 - As I mentioned in my previous post about Comic Con, the following day I decided to drive across London to get home, and to stop off at Old Spitalfields Market at Shoreditch. I was in two minds about doing this as my feet and my hip joints were all very sore from Comic Con the […]
• Comic Con 26-May-2015 - As you’ll know if you follow me on Facebook, Comic Con went really well. In fact, to quote GLaDOS from Portal: This was a triumph. I’m making a note here: HUGE SUCCESS. It’s hard to overstate my satisfaction. But I’m getting ahead of myself here. I drove up to ExCeL on Friday afternoon, where I […]
• Jewellery update 28-Apr-2015 - I was at one of the bi-monthly (as in, once every 2 months) Antiques and Collectables Fairs at Sandown Park Racecourse on Sunday, and was looking forward to catching up with Amita Vetta of Love That Jewellery. Amita and I had already exchanged a few emails prior so I knew that she would be attending […]
• Project Reorganise: Dressing Table 26-Apr-2015 - Project Reorganise has slowed down a little of late, but I have managed to get to a milestone on the Dressing Table. I’ve been holding off posting about it until I had found the right mirror for it, which I found at a Big Surrey Fair at the Tolworth Recreation Centre on the A3 a […]
• What earrings and clothes say about you. 21-Apr-2015 - Do you know which ear a guy who wears an earring wears it in says about his sexuality? If he wears an earring in his left ear, then it means he has an earring in his left ear. If he wears an earring in his right ear, then it means he has an earring in […]
• Countdown to Comic Con 20-Apr-2015 - London Comic Con is being held at ExCeL London Exhibition and Convention Centre on 22-24 May 2015, and I’m planning to go on Saturday 23rd. I’ve not been to a Comic Con before, and I’ve not tried Cosplay before either, so naturally I had to dive in head-first and do both at the same time. […]
• Art Deco ceiling light 17-Apr-2015 - As I mentioned in a post about lighting for Project Reorganise, I have what has turned into a bit of a project over an Art Deco ceiling light. To recap, I was in a charity shop in Camberley and I saw an absolutely lovely Art Deco style brass chandelier. It wasn’t in the best of […]
• Jewellery making 16-Apr-2015 - I’ve had in the back of my mind for a while now a few ideas for some modifications I wanted to make to some jewellery, and recently I decided to actually do them. My ex used to make jewellery, long before I met her, and had a box of ‘odds & sods’ which she left […]
• Project Reorganise: Necklace rack 4-Apr-2015 - I buy too many necklaces and am starting to have trouble storing them. I have a table-standing necklace rack but it’s getting pretty full and also I find it looks a little messy. I’ve seen a product for sale that is a full length mirror that is actually a shallow jewellery cabinet, but the quality […]
• Off to the Races 1-Apr-2015 - On Monday I took the day off in order to go to a big Antiques & Collectors Fair at Newbury Racecourse. It’s something I have wanted to do for a while, as week-day events tend to be bigger and are often more trade-focussed. Pricing was such that 8am to 10am was £10, and 10am onwards […]
• National Cleavage Day 28-Mar-2015 - “National Cleavage Day”. What, really? Guys need a special day where it’s ok to perve a girl’s cleavage and this is somehow meant to empower them them in some way? Ok, knock yourself out. Here’s my cleavage. Hope you like it.
• In search of Fanny 24-Mar-2015 - On Saturday I decided to drive up to Reading to visit Fanny’s Antiques, which is an antiques and architectural salvage shop on the North side of the Reading ring road. It’s not the first time I have been there, but I haven’t been there recently. Before I set off, though, I decided to grab some […]
• Project Reorganise: Initial progress 22-Mar-2015 - Just a quick update on how things are shaping up with Project Reorganise. Earlier in the week I finally moved my memory foam mattress from the spare room and onto my new bed, thus officially moving into my “new” bedroom. I’d also that day taken delivery of a lovely rose garland that I bought on […]
• Project Reorganise: The delivery 19-Mar-2015 - As I mentioned previously, the bed and the furniture were due to arrive last weekend and I was going all out to get my bedroom cleared in time. Fortunately I achieved that goal and by Wednesday evening the room was cleared, hoovered, and ready. With the room clear I could see that the carpet was […]
• Project Reorganise: Lighting 11-Mar-2015 - As mentioned in my previous post, I am in the process of reorganising my main bedroom and my spare bedroom. In this post I want to tell you about lighting, mainly because it’s been a bit of a journey and also because of a brilliant find I made in a charity shop which I’m really […]
• Project Reorganise 6-Mar-2015 - It’s been well over a month (6 weeks, in fact) since I last posted, and a few people have asked me what I have been up to and said that I should post it on a blog post. I confess that I have been wary of turning this blog into a “Dear Diary” one which […]
• I am a div 21-Jan-2015 - On Saturday I cracked a bleary eye open at 7.15am and rather grumpily cursed myself for agreeing to a 10.30am appointment for Voice Coaching with Christella Antoni. Crawling out of bed, I made my way to the bathroom and started my morning routine and by just after 8.30am I was ready and left the house. […]
• Mini rant: Facebook 20-Jan-2015 - I really hate Facebook sometimes (no, bear with me). I saw a post from a friend I haven’t heard from much in a while, clicked on their name to get to their wall, and saw loads of posts that never made it to my Newsfeed. What is the bloody point, Facebook? Do you guys honestly […]
• In the News: British Army’s first transgender officer 19-Jan-2015 - As I mentioned a few days ago, transgender issues do seem to be appearing in the mainstream news a lot more than they used to. Is it actually (gasp!) becoming socially acceptable to acknowledge that we exist and that it’s a real and legitimate issue? Today story was about Hannah Winterbourne, the UK’s first transgender […]
• Review: BBC Radio 1 – The Surgery with Aled and Dr Radha (14-Jan-2015) 15-Jan-2015 - As I mentioned in yesterday’s post, last night the weekly Surgery with Aled and Dr. Radha on BBC Radio 1 was on the subject of Gender Identity. The entire hour of the programme was given over to the subject, and Aled and Dr. Raha were joined by Stephanie Hirst, a M2F trans woman and ex-DJ […]
• In the News 14-Jan-2015 - I don’t know if it’s just because I am more aware of it, but there does seem to be a lot more media coverage about transgender issues and Gender Identity in the mainstream media at the moment. Tonight at 9pm on BBC Radio1, Stephanie Hirst is a guest on Aled’s Surgery and will be discussing […]
• Cantbearseditis 12-Jan-2015 - I’ve been feeling rather blue lately. On Friday night I was a rather down from a poor week, and had rather a lot to drink and filled Facebook and Twitter with a load of rubbish (much now deleted), then awoke on Saturday morning feeling contrite and a little hungover (but not as hungover as I […]
• Transgender in the driving seat 12-Jan-2015 - You’re probably aware that Russia recently passed a law that effectively bans all transgender and transsexual people from driving, on the grounds that it is a ‘mental disorder’. Also affected, amongst many others, are amputees – even those with “prophetic limbs” (sic), according to the Daily Telegraph (one would assume that a limb that can […]
• Facebook 1-Jan-2015 - Me: Sort by “Most Recent” please.FB: OK you’re the boss! …FB: Hey! I thought you may have changed your mind! So I put it back to “Top Stories”!Me: Wait.. what? No! I didn’t change my mind. “Most Recent” please!FB: Oh, my mistake. Right you are, boss. Got you!Me: Thanks. Just leave it like that forever […]
• Take another Five 31-Dec-2014 - On Sunday I was back at the Woking Leisure Centre for another of Take Five‘s fairs, this time for a 20th Century, Art Nouveau and Art Deco fair. These are generally less packed with stalls than the “flea, antiques & collectors” markets but the sellers tend to have more expensive and larger items for sale. […]
• Sequins no more 18-Dec-2014 - As I mentioned in a previous post, I had been planning a night out with a friend and had bought the “Two-Tone Sequin Bodycon Dress” by Top Shop in anticipation. That night out was meant to be last Friday and was to have been the December BNO at Pink Punters, but for one reason and […]
• Take Five 15-Dec-2014 - On Sunday I attended one of Take Five‘s flea, antiques & collectors markets. These are held roughly once a month at the Woking Leisure Centre, although some events are 20th Century & Art Deco events. You can find a calendar on their website if you are interested. I got there just after midday, which probably […]
• Butterfly 6-Dec-2014 - The butterfly and the dragonfly have both long been emblems that are special to me, representing as they do the concept of rebirth, metamorphosis and transformation. One of my favourite necklaces is one that I posted about back in May 2013 and which you’ll have seen many times in my pics since. On the way […]
• Black Friday 3-Dec-2014 - On Friday I had the day off and decided to go shopping to look for a party dress as I am going out with a friend in a couple of weeks for a night out and need one. The first that caught my eye was in Next. I spied it on a wall poster and […]
• Gifts for boys – a Tesco Tweetstorm 27-Nov-2014 - Tesco were recently in the news for having a sign which referred to a superhero alarm clock as a “gift for a boy”, and suffered a Tweetstorm of bad press after a complaint from a seven-year-old girl, resulting in them removing it. It was a minor victory in the fight against gender bias and the […]
• It’s a man’s world 21-Nov-2014 - As many of you will know, I’m the kind of transgendered person who is equally happy (or unhappy) in either gender binary, being fortunate not to suffer from gender dysphoria, so I tend to present in whichever gender will make my life the easiest whilst still making me feel personally comfortable, although my preference is […]
• 2 Million Views 10-Nov-2014 - Back in August of this year, I posted on Flickr that I had just passed 1.5 million views (or, as Dr. Evil might say, “Wun point five MEEEELEON” views). It had taken me 5½ years to get to that point. Well, today I realised that I have just passed 2 million views. I must confess […]
• Out and about 10-Nov-2014 - Yesterday (Sunday) I decided I was definitely going to return that Plunge Bra to M&S for a refund, and I thought it would be nice to go in girl mode. If for no other reason than I know some of you want to see me in my new bewbies. 🙂 I decided to go for […]
• Bras for t-girls 7-Nov-2014 - Due to buying larger breastforms, I needed to buy some new bras to fit the bigger cup size that they give me. Naturally my local Marks & Spencer flagship store was my first port of call. M&S do a vast range of bras, but the ones that caught my eye are in their Post-Surgery Bra […]
• Transgenderism – in the news 5-Nov-2014 - My friend Jo T brought two articles to my attention today. The first was a Huffington Post Blog article by Marvi Matos called On the Other Side: The Good, the Bad and the Ugly about how her husband became her wife, and the three categories that their friends and family fell into – good, bad […]
• Windfall 4-Nov-2014 - As regular readers will know, I bought two new (and rather expensive) wigs recently, which I have posted about on this blog and which have also appeared in my latest Flickr pics. And I’ve also bought the IPL machine that I mentioned in my previous post. Recently I bought new bewbies. My current ones are […]
• Review: Homedics Mē Plus 19-Oct-2014 - Manufacturer: HoMedics Product: Mē Plus (also known as the HoMedics Me My Elos Plus) EAN: 4051123000848 RRP: £449 Price: Around £200 Introduction This is a review of the Mē Plus by HoMedics, a home permanent hair removal system using a combination of IPL (Intense Pulsed Light) and RF (Radio Frequency) technologies. I bought this in […]
• Heads up: Home IPL on special offer at Costco 16-Oct-2014 - Heads up Costco members who want to give IPL hair removal a go. Costco currently have the HoMedics Mē Plus (also known as the Homedics Me My Elos Plus) on offer at £18 off the usual price, making it £179.99 rather than the usual £197.99 (all prices include VAT). This is an in-store price available […]
• She’s not so dumb 13-Oct-2014 - I had been planning on going to the Flea and Collectables Fair at Woking on Sunday, but when I got up the weather was a little grotty and I decided that I really couldn’t be bothered. Besides, it was the final rounds of the BTCC and also there was a F1 race. So I decided […]
• Brain off, computer on 8-Oct-2014 - When I was at school, we were taught when using a calculator you should also do a mental arithmetic “first approximation” (ie. rough guess, ballpark figure) to verify the result. A useful cross-check for not being way out due to miss-keying or getting a decimal point in the wrong place. This lunchtime I handed over […]
• End of Stays 7-Oct-2014 - Yesterday was the last day of my Staycation and I was back to work today. That meant that last night I had to get my nail varnish off, and trim my nails back a bit. I generally wear them as long as I can get away with in guy mode but they were way too […]
• Staycation: Update 3 4-Oct-2014 - Following on from Staycation: Update 2… Thursday. The plan for this day was to get up at a reasonable time, get ready in girl mode, and then head over to London to do whatever in the morning and then meet up with two girl friends for lunch, and then after that do whatever. Various options […]
• Staycation: Update 2 3-Oct-2014 - Continuing on from my previous post… On Wednesday, I headed down to Southsea via Lee-on-the-Solent. Or, rather, I set off, realised I had left my camera at home, turned round and went back, got it, and headed off again. I had made arrangements to visit the Hovercraft Museum, which is located at HMS Daedalus. Officially […]
• Staycation: Update 1 2-Oct-2014 - As I mentioned in my last post, I took some time off for a Staycation. Well, that was this week and I am over halfway through it. It’s been a week of ups and downs. And in one case, an “up” that didn’t happen – namely the gliding. Sunday was a beautifully sunny day with […]
• Staycation 26-Sep-2014 - I haven’t had a holiday in a while. Being freelance means you tend not to take a lot of time off – you’re either working, or in the times between clients, you’re looking for work and can’t really relax. However, since I have steady work at the moment, I decided I could do with some […]
• Dear ‘Drunk Me’ 15-Sep-2014 - On Saturday afternoon a parcel from Amazon arrived at the Amazon Locker at my local supermarket, so I popped down to get it and whilst I was there picked up two bottles of wine. I was planning to go to the Take Five Fairs Big Indoor Flea & Collectors Market on Sunday morning, so when […]
• Hotel adventures 8-Sep-2014 - In my previous post I mentioned that I was considering staying in a hotel mid-week to break up my long-distance commute a little. A local Spa Hotel had a special rate last week where they had 20% off their standard room-only price, so I thought I would give it a go, just for one night. […]
• Tyred out 31-Aug-2014 - I’ve had a bit of a roller coaster this weekend. On Friday I got home from work early, and I decided to get dressed and reshoot the Biker Girl look that I did a few years ago. A friend suggested that since I’d lost quite a bit of weight, it would be worth revisiting. Plus […]
• Fashion update 24-Aug-2014 - As I mentioned in a recent post, I recently bought the ‘Baroque Print Skater Dress’ by Tenki but had not taken a photo of me wearing it. I’ve now taken one, as you can see. I can’t say I’m totally happy with the way it sits on me, though; especially in the under-bust area. Definitely […]
• Kellie (née Frank) Maloney 11-Aug-2014 - I must confess that I know almost nothing about boxing. However the news is buzzing with reports about former boxing promoter Frank Maloney announcing that she is transsexual and is transitioning to female and henceforth wishes to be known as Kellie. From what I have seen of the media so far, people are being more […]
• Tolerate this 1-Aug-2014 - As some readers may have guessed from my post on creating a Rainbow Dash handbag charm, I’m a fan of the TV show My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic. If you’re not familiar with this, it is a TV Show that, although primarily intended for girls up to 11, has gained a much wider audience […]
• Colour-correcting Concealer 13-Jul-2014 - A good t-girl friend of mine recently asked me for recommendations on concealer, particularly one able to hide shaving redness and beard shadow. And although I replied immediately in email, it has inspired me to write a blog article on it to go into more detail in case it is of benefit to others too. […]
• Don’t look down on me 11-Jul-2014 - Ok, not the best title for this picture, but it was the best I could come up with. :o)   I took this pic with my tripod on its maximum height, looking down on me sitting down. There was quite of a lot of perspective distortion which I had to correct post-production, and there is […]
• Holy Crochet! 8-Jul-2014 - I mentioned in my last post that I had gone out shopping after I had done my makeup. I popped down to Festival Place in Basingstoke (Amazingstoke!) for a spot of Retail Therapy. I bought this “White Crochet Fringed Hem Top” by New Look which cost me £22.99. It’s not something I would normally buy, […]
• Getting my eye back in 6-Jul-2014 - Yesterday I finally got myself motivated to put on my makeup and go out in girl mode. I gave liquid eyeliner another go, and it came out pretty well I think. I used an old Virgin Vie liquid eyeliner on the upper lid, and on my lower lid I used a Maybelline ‘Master Drama’ black […]
• ORLY? 29-Jun-2014 - YA RLY I got this sparkly red nail polish on the front cover of a magazine like Cosmopolitan. I forget which one it actually was. Anyway, this is the first time I have worn it. It went on pretty well and looks nice so far. I do have to giggle at the name “ORLY” though, […]
• Infatuation 28-Jun-2014 - I still haven’t made a purchasing decision on a new wig yet. I’m still thinking long and hard about the Show Stopper by Raquel Welch but it is very expensive and also I have learned that it is being discontinued so maybe it will shortly be marked down in clearance or else may become hard […]
• I’m on Twitter! 26-Jun-2014 - I’ve been getting increasingly annoyed with Facebook of late. In case you are not aware, ever since Facebook introduced “Promote”, you only see about 20% of the posts that anyone makes unless they pay to promote them. So for getting timely bulletins about stuff you are interested in, Facebook is pretty rubbish these days. So, […]
• Use the Spork 12-Jun-2014 - Recently the wonderful Mr. George Takei posted the following pic (see left) to his “Oh Myyy” Facebook page. I had to have a big chuckle about this as it really rather brilliantly illustrates the complete lack of understanding that some people have. A total disconnect and “does not compute” error as they desperately try to […]
• New wig? 8-Jun-2014 - I’ve been looking for a new wig for a while. Of the two I currently have, one is by Ellen Wille and has a monofilament parting, and the other is by Raquel Welch and has a full monofilament crown. What is the difference? With a mono parting the style is pretty much fixed, but with […]
• Pew Pew Anew! 7-Jun-2014 - It’s been almost 5 months since I had my final session of laser, and in the intervening time I have kept an eye on how successful it has been. On the whole it’s been pretty good; an awful lot of my hair appears to be gone. However, I have had some regrowth. On my arms […]
• Eurovision 2014 (cont’d) 12-May-2014 - Now that people have had a few days to think about Eurovision a bit more, and the implications of Conchita Wurst’s act, some interesting debates are coming out. And rather than update my previous post again, I thought I would create a new one. There seems to be some confusion as to who or what […]
• Eurovision 2014 11-May-2014 - Got to say that I’m absolutely sickened to read people referring to Conchita Wurst (the winner of Eurovision 2014) as “it”, “that” and “that thing”. Comments like that speak volumes about the person saying it, and their narrow-minded bigotry. She’s a bloke in a dress. It’s not exactly a hard concept to grasp, FFS.   […]
• Sizing to flatter 9-May-2014 - Vanity sizing is nothing new. And no matter how hardened we are to it, there is a secret little thrill to getting into something the next size down. That’s why they do it, of course. The thing that *really* miffs me, though, is when the sizing is completely wrong the other way and there is […]
• Does a rose by 58 other names smell as sweet? 4-Apr-2014 - Facebook recently vastly expanded the gender option you can select for yourself on your profile, adding a bewildering 56 additional gender declarations to the more traditional “male” and “female”. Well, for users of US English anyway; those of us who use proper British English (and variations thereof) they are not yet available. As a transgender […]
• (whispers) I’m Joanne 28-Mar-2014 - My work has taken me back down to Hedge End on a regular basis, and I was in Sainsbury’s Hedge End recently, which was where the Brides in the Aisles photo shoot was. I saw the young Sainsbury’s employee who was roped into the photo shoot, but I was in guy mode so obviously she […]
• Oops, shopping 9-Mar-2014 - I was out for a little drive today, and I happened to drive past the Holme Grange Craft Village near Wokingham. Since it was a lovely day, and I had nothing better to do, I popped in and wandered around the shops there. Whilst in one of the shops, I completely failed to resist buying […]
• But I have wings 8-Mar-2014 - I recently saw this quote on Facebook and it struck a chord with me.   I think one reason it struck a chord is because it rather sums up the ‘support’ I get from my family. If I fold my wings up and act all caterpillary when I see them, then all is well. Another […]
• Fashion update 2-Mar-2014 - As I mentioned on a recent post, I managed to pick up some more bargains on a recent shopping trip. From New Look I got a lovely jumper for £11 (in the sale) and a vest top similar to the blue one I am wearing in the woods but in wine for £2 (also in […]
• Making your own handbag charm 2-Mar-2014 - Charmed, I’m sure Today I made a handbag charm out of a My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic blind bag figurine of Rainbow Dash, a screw-in eyelet, and an old key chain. The first thing to do was to assemble the chain, clip and eyelet. Using two pairs of long-nose pliers, I gently opened up […]
• Wood you believe it 27-Feb-2014 - I’ve lived near to a common / Country Park with lots of bridleways and footpaths for over a decade now, but have never walked them. Earlier this week that changed, and I went for a nice long walk along them (about an hour or so). Then the next day (yesterday) I did it again but […]
• Lean times 26-Feb-2014 - As you can see, there hasn’t been a lot of activity on my blog for a little while. This is mostly down to the fact that there hasn’t been a lot of activity in my t-life either; the muse has not been upon me (so to speak). Also I’ve been out of work for a […]
• The final “pew pew” (for now) 13-Jan-2014 - Today I had my sixth and final full body laser hair removal session. That’s not to say this is the last time I’ll have laser, but it is the final session of the six full body sessions that I paid for up front in exchange for a discount. For this session I was with a […]
• MAC Attack! 11-Jan-2014 - On Thursday I had a make-up lesson with MAC Cosmetics in Guildford. MAC do a number of offers like this, from a taster, to a makeover, to a full 90-minute tutorial / lesson which is what I went for. It costs £50 for the 90 min lesson, but you get that money back as credit […]
• I’ll get me coat 31-Dec-2013 - In my previous post I mentioned that I really wanted to get a ladies overcoat and I have now managed to find one. I went over to Camberley on Sunday and had a good wander around, especially in House of Frasier (née Army & Navy). I saw this coat by Kaliko almost immediately, and the […]
• Gilt-y pleasure 30-Dec-2013 - On Saturday evening I spent a rather nice few hours with the wonderful Miss Sarah Lovely who I know via Flickr, who more than lived up to her adopted surname. If you haven’t visited her Flickr stream then be sure to do so as she is indeed, er, lovely. Sarah and I have been meaning […]
• Let your mind go and your body will follow 17-Dec-2013 - Regular readers will know that I tried going to Salsa for a while but for one reason or another, mainly confidence, I stopped going. Since I’ve spent so much time and money on laser hair removal and Voice Coaching, I decided I may as well press on and address that too, and so I contacted […]
• Llamas in wellies 9-Dec-2013 - On Saturday I went up to London again for another Voice Coaching session, only this time it was a group session rather than one-to-one. I was due to meet a friend for lunch beforehand. I had a rotten journey up and was pretty late, and then we found everywhere very busy for food. We got […]
• Zap, Crackle and Pop 2-Dec-2013 - On Saturday I had another session of laser hair removal, and since this was session 5 of 6, I wanted to see some real progress. That’s not to say that there hasn’t been huge progress already; far from it. My legs and arms are pretty much hairless apart from the odd little clump of hairs, […]
• Brides in the Aisles 2-Dec-2013 - The Countess Mountbatten Hospice Charity have now published their official pic for their “Brides in the Aisles” Guinness Book of Records challenge, which is the attempt to fill the aisles of Sainsbury’s, Hedge End with 1,000 brides on Sunday 9th February 2014. To get involved, click here for more details.
• She’s a model 21-Nov-2013 - I had a fabulous opportunity to be a model yesterday. My good friend Del is a photographer, and he had been approached by the Countess Mountbatten Hospice Charity to take promotional photos for their “Brides in the Aisles” Guinness Book of Records challenge, which is the attempt to fill the aisles of Sainsbury’s, Hedge End with 1,000 […]
• A little more real 3-Nov-2013 - I’ve had quite an epic long weekend! I’ve had friends over since Thursday evening, staying over till mid-morning Monday, and I have been in girl mode for that entire time, which is the longest continuous period I have done that for. I’ve learned several things. Firstly, it’s a bit of a palaver and I think […]
• Getting Friendly 21-Oct-2013 - I had an absolutely fabbo day on Saturday! I was going up to London anyway as I had another Voice Training session, but about a week or so ago I started corresponding with a really nice guy and since it seemed to be going well, we agreed to meet up after my session. We both […]
• Pew! Pew! Swipe! Swipe! 14-Oct-2013 - A couple of days ago (ie. Saturday) I had another session of laser hair removal. Nothing much to report really – it hurt like hell as usual, and it took two hours as usual. I’m definitely showing progress though, with large areas of my body completely hairless now apart from annoying little clumps here and […]
• Friday on my mind 13-Oct-2013 - On one of my recent fashion updates I mentioned that I had bought a lovely Rockabilly-style dress from Friday On My Mind. Well, now have photos of me wearing it. Woot! This pic is a close-up that doesn’t really show the whole dress, but I liked it a lot so decided that this would be […]
• Same Love 11-Oct-2013 - I heard Macklemore’s “Same Love” on the radio today for the first time. I confess I didn’t know of it until now – sorry for being so late to the party here. My initial reaction was that it’s a positive thing that a mainstream music song is saying that it is ok to be gender-queer […]
• Humour: Pinocchio 11-Oct-2013 - This is just so wrong. So, so, so wrong. But I laughed my tits off. Then had to glue them back on again.  🙂 WARNING: Probably NSFW
• Follow you, follow me – Flickr changes 9-Oct-2013 - I see that today Flickr has renamed ‘Contacts’ to ‘Following’. I know a lot of people hate change, but this makes a lot of sense to me because that’s what it has actually always been in all but name. Contacts on Flickr have always been initially unidirectional (ie. not actually contacts) and it’s only when […]
• Strictly plant inspecting 7-Oct-2013 - I had a great weekend just gone. It started off with a bit of drinksitting on Friday evening and staying up into the early hours of the morning talking drunken rubbish to friends on Facebook and IM, and then a lie in on Saturday morning and a little bit of a hangover (a far more […]
• Fashion update 29-Sep-2013 - Recently a catalogue (a real, actual, dead tree one) popped through my letterbox from the French company La Redoute. I’m not entirely sure where they got my details from, but no matter. I confess I haven’t heard of them before. I had a quick flick through and saw a t-shirt top I absolutely adored and […]
• Gender roles 15-Sep-2013 - A little while ago I discovered The Advocate, with some of the articles really making me think and some of them blowing my mind, such as the one that suggested that the fundamental flaw in being transgendered and trying to pass as a women is that it is a game where the only time you are succeeding […]
• Give us the money! 12-Sep-2013 - Hmmm. I see that WordPress have started to put adverts on my blog posts, and say they will continue to do so unless I pay them $30 per year to turn them off. Which is fair enough – they have to recoup their hosting costs and there is no such thing as “free”. And it’s […]
• Fashion Roundup 12-Sep-2013 - Not much to report on my recent purchases, but there are a couple of things I wanted to share. First up is to say how brilliant the Customer Service is at DUO Boots. I bought their Neva boots, as I mentioned in an earlier post, but felt that I wasn’t totally happy with them. I […]
• Apparently sane 7-Sep-2013 - I had a very productive session with the Counsellor today.  Mostly it just confirmed what I already knew and had already worked out; that perhaps you don’t need to have a destination in order to enjoy a journey. And if I’m happy, and enjoying the ride, then what’s the harm? One thing that I did […]
• Ma heeed 4-Sep-2013 - I’ve got an appointment with a Counsellor who specialises in Gender Identity issues this Saturday. Probably no prizes for guessing who they are since it’s a very small world. I’m not entirely sure why I made the appointment, to be honest, but it’s mostly to do with the fact that sometimes I wonder why I’m […]
• Balance restored 1-Sep-2013 - I wrote previously that I had spent £50 on a pair of shoes I didn’t like, and completely undone all the savings I had made from bargain hunting. Well, balance is restored! I went into my local branch of Barratts today and they were more than happy to process a full refund on the shoes. […]
• Pew!Pew! Six 1-Sep-2013 - I had another session of laser yesterday. It hurt just as much as the last one but I just gritted my teeth and got on with it. The pain is only transitory and the redness and swelling goes down really quickly with me. By the time I left I didn’t even look like I’d had […]
• Madam… madam… sir 26-Aug-2013 - Had a rather odd day today. I needed to go up to London for a Voice Coaching session today, but there was an Art Deco & Art Nouveau fair in Woking this morning and my appointment was in the afternoon, so I detoured via Woking on my way up to London. It’s sort of on […]
• Bargains Galore 25-Aug-2013 - Regular readers will know that I love shopping, especially when I get a good bargain. Well, in the past week or two I’ve had a positive orgy of shopping resulting in a Smorgasbord of items arriving at my house. First up is an adorable dress from Crew Clothing, which has a bit of a story […]
• Deeper Underground 18-Aug-2013 - Yesterday I went up to London for another Voice Therapy lesson. As usual, I drove to Hammersmith and parked up, then jumped on the tube from there to continue the journey. It works well for me as I know the Hammersmith area and also the street parking is free on the weekend. I got to […]
• Japanese Rose Garden 16-Aug-2013 - Japanese Rose Garden, a photo by Joanne (Hay Llamas!) on Flickr. I did my nails tonight ready for my trip up to London tomorrow. It’s an O.P.I. nail varnish called Japanese Rose Garden (NL F04) I love OPI as it goes on so well, yet also very precisely; I rarely get overspill. I also love […]
• Blue & White 13-Aug-2013 - I had some friends over on the weekend, which was nice, and I wore this outfit. I’ve not actually worn the skirt before but the girl of the couple who came over suggested it would really work with this top and she was right!
• Return of the MAC 5-Aug-2013 - Last Saturday I popped up to London again for another session of Voice Coaching, and also to meet a friend for lunch. I got up there in good time, met my friend, we had a light lunch, and then we went to the Westfield shopping centre at Shepherd’s Bush. It’s huge!!! After what seemed like […]
• Pew!Pew! Five – with added ‘ewwww’ 29-Jul-2013 - I had my third session of laser on Saturday. I decided to grit my teeth and go for the 15mm rather than the 12mm we had to drop to last time. Initially it was very painful but then I sort of got ‘dialled in’ to the pain and it became a lot more bearable. It […]
• Making a meal of it 18-Jul-2013 - Making a meal of it, a photo by Joanne (Hay Llamas!) on Flickr. My friend Jo took this pic of me when we grabbed a nice meal together last Saturday. It came out better than I expected! The frozen caramel yoghurt dessert was yummy, BTW!
• Wistful envy 18-Jul-2013 - I walked down to the local shops today to buy lunch, since it was a nice day. It’s around 10 mins each way, which is just right especially in this weather! Whilst there I saw a gorgeous girl-next-door type; brown hair up in a neat pony tail, subtle yet perfect makeup, slim yet curvy body, […]
• A great day 13-Jul-2013 - I had such a brilliant day today. I had a nice lie-in, and a nice lazy bath before I got ready for my trip up to London for my first meeting with the Voice Coach. It took me longer to get there than I thought it would, and I was beginning to panic that I […]
• Anklet 10-Jul-2013 - A good friend recently persuaded me to buy an anklet and always wear it, just to remind me who I am. It arrived on Monday, and I haven’t taken it off yet. I’ve never owned or worn an anklet before and I really like it. You can just about feel it’s there even when wearing […]
• Selfie 7-Jul-2013 - Selfie, a photo by Joanne (Hay Llamas!) on Flickr. Just another silly self-portrait.
• Voice Coaching 6-Jul-2013 - I’m so excited! This weekend I made an appointment with a Voice Coach in London who specialises in Transgender issues! She’s going to help me find a more feminine voice for when I’m in girl mode. I have an acquaintance who is a trans-woman who has had extensive training from this Coach and has the […]
• Effortlessly Elegant 4-Jul-2013 - Effortlessly Elegant, a photo by Joanne (Hay Llamas!) on Flickr. Well, that’s the name of the dress from Joe Browns anyway. Not sure if I am! LOL. I absolutely love the dress though.
• Lashes 2-Jul-2013 - Lashes, a photo by Joanne (Hay Llamas!) on Flickr. I played around with some subtle false lashes over the weekend. I’m quite pleased how they came out, although I think I need a little more practise on them.
• Summer at last 30-Jun-2013 - Well, after yesterday’s little setback, I had an absolutely wonderful day today. It was sunny all day, and by mid afternoon was 27°C which was rather nice. So after I’d finished watching the British F1 Grand Prix I got out into the sun and took photos in three different outfits. And I felt so happy […]
• Quite clear 29-Jun-2013 - Had rather an odd experience today whilst I was out shopping. I was taking a break from my shopping (with very sore feet) in Costa, having a cup of coffee, and to my left, perpendicular to me and with his back to me, was a guy in one of the armchairs with a wheelchair next […]
• A little Burlesque 23-Jun-2013 - I finally overcame my inertia and got myself all made up and did a photo shoot yesterday. My plan was to do some outside in the sun, as I have been waiting for some nice weather for ages, and the forecast was “sunny spells”. Sadly I didn’t get any sun, but I did get some […]
• Pew!Pew! Four 16-Jun-2013 - As I mentioned in my previous post, I had my second session of laser treatment yesterday. It was my third visit but only the second time any one part of my body had been treated. I confess I had been expecting it to hurt a whole lot less, but I was sadly wrong there. Actually, […]
• Running out of steam 12-Jun-2013 - I really don’t want this blog to go the way of so many, where the author has an initial burst of enthusiasm and then runs out of steam and posts less and less. The truth is, the loss of steam is not in my blog but in my life. I’ve had a little bit of […]
• Check out my rack! 16-May-2013 - I recently bought a jewellery rack from eBay to keep all my many necklaces on. You may recognise some of them from my previous pics. I couldn’t believe the state it arrived in though! The seller had wrapped it in some bubblewrap, then a black bin bag, then some brown parcel tape. The ends of […]
• Phoenix dactylifera 11-May-2013 - I spent an absolutely wonderful 8 hours today with a very lovely man (and I’m not just saying he’s very lovely because he’ll be reading this!) We met up at lunchtime and went to La Tasca for lunch. Due to a slight miscalculation on my part, we ordered rather too much food so were, um, […]
• Here comes the sun 6-May-2013 - I thought that, since it was such a lovely day today, I would allow some sun to fall on my pale and pasty skin and take an outdoors pic. The dress is the one I got from Primark a few weeks ago. I’m really pleased with it!
• Pew!Pew! Three 4-May-2013 - Today I had the rest of my first Laser Hair Removal treatment. Last Saturday was the easy bits – legs, bum, bikini line and back. But today I had the really painful parts; tummy, chest and face. I also had arms and shoulders, but they were inconsequential. God it hurt. I don’t just mean unpleasantly […]
• Latest photos 3-May-2013 - So, moving on from my earlier post, I took these pics when I got home from Salsa. I’ve started doing my eyeliner slightly differently. I think it opens my eyes a little more and I’m really pleased with how it came out.   The dress is the Per Una dress that I mentioned a few […]
• Bollocky 3-May-2013 - I had my first minor setback tonight. I went to Salsa classes, which on a Friday is in a different town to the Monday classes but as convenient for me (in fact, slightly more so). The venue is a bar with a function room out back, and as I walked in it wasn’t clear where […]
• Pew! Pew! Two 27-Apr-2013 - I had my first proper session of “Pew! Pew! Layzorz!” today. I had full leg, bum, bikini, underarms and back done. Next week will be chest, tummy, arms and face. After that I’m going to switch to everything in one session. The girl who did it was really nice and we had a good natter […]
• Yours insincerely 24-Apr-2013 - I’ve long noticed that on Flickr, the comments all seem to be predominantly very polite and positive. People tend not to post anything rather than post something negative. I’ve especially noticed this on pics of t-girls. Even when, to be brutally honest, they don’t actually look very good (to the extent it’s clearly a guy […]
• Salsa me up, baby! 22-Apr-2013 - I went to Salsa classes again tonight. And I was a little brave because the friend who goes with me was unexpectedly unable to go, so I went anyway! This is the outfit I wore. The flat shoes made spins easier, although I actually hate flats and much prefer a little bit of a heel. […]
• Pew! Pew! Lasers! 20-Apr-2013 - It’s said that even the longest journey begins with just a single step. Well, in my case, this one begins with a Patch Test. I have decided to embark on a programme of Laser Hair Removal, with a view to ultimately having a hairless face and body. I’m fed up with having to do so […]
• Bargains Galore! 18-Apr-2013 -   I do love a good bargain! There’s a quiet satisfaction in getting something you like, and knowing you paid under the odds for it. Take these. None was over £10 (excluding postage). From left to right we have a dress from Primark for £10 (new), a cute fleece hoody I bought new for £7.99 […]
• London-bound 15-Apr-2013 - I went up to London yesterday with a friend to hear a mutual friend singing at a bar. What a great night out! I took this pic before I went out as I wasn’t sure if we’d get a good pic there London-bound, a photo by Joanne (Hay Llamas!) on Flickr.   As it turned […]
• Salsa 8-Apr-2013 - I went to Salsa classes for the very first time tonight, with a good friend. Slightly brave of me, but I’m getting pretty comfortable going out in girl mode. I took to the basic steps very quickly because I’ve got a good sense of rhythm, but completely failed when we got onto spins and turns, […]
• Counting the Costco of transgenderism 7-Apr-2013 - One of the annoyances of leading a double life is the problem of having ID and membership cards in the wrong name and with the wrong photo. On a whim a while back, I contacted Costco customer services, said I am Transgender and asked if they would issue me an additional membership card in my […]
• Out & about 7-Apr-2013 - Out & about, a photo by Joanne (Hay Llamas!) on Flickr. Just a silly camera phone self-portrait I took whilst I was out shopping today. The jacket is new – I just bought it today. Yay!
• A compact post 5-Apr-2013 - I bought this gorgeous Stratton loose powder compact at an Antiques Fair for £18. I don’t think it has ever even been used as it had no traces of powder in it. I must confess I had never even heard of Stratton before I bought this, but no matter; I totally love it. And from […]
• More than a woman 20-Mar-2013 - The BBC published a very good article on transgenderism on the News Magazine area of their website entitled Richard O’Brien: ‘I’m 70% man’ The article, written by Jo Fidgen, quotes Richard O’Brien (of Rocky Horror fame) as talking about the gender spectrum, and how he sees himself as maybe 70% male and 30% female. However, […]
• In These Shoes? (2) 19-Mar-2013 - I completely failed to resist buying these when I was in Marks & Spencer last weekend. Now I just need an opportunity to wear them.
• Lunch 17-Mar-2013 - Lunch, a photo by Joanne (Hay Llamas!) on Flickr. I went out for lunch with a friend yesterday, wearing this outfit (plus a jacket). Unfortunately the pic we took of me didn’t come out very well, so I took this one when I got home afterwards.
• Fed up with Winter 13-Mar-2013 - I don’t know about anyone else, but I’m fed up with Winter. I want it all over with, so I can break out the nice Spring dresses and skirts, and dispense with jeans and jumpers. Today got my hopes up – it was gorgeously sunny outside (albeit cold). Then, without warning, my hopes were dashed […]
• Being social 10-Mar-2013 - One thing I am (slowly) starting to learn is that, as being Jo becomes more and more normal, so you start to realise that you don’t have to overdo things and that there’s a time and a place for things. What prompted this revelation? Well, I spent a lovely evening with friends last night. Just […]
• Is it Spring yet? 8-Mar-2013 - Is it Spring yet?, a photo by Joanne (Hay Llamas!) on Flickr. If I wish really hard, maybe it will be soon.
• In these shoes? 7-Mar-2013 -     I bought a shoe rack today, and now all my shoes and boots are nicely organised. Although I think I may need to lose a pair of boots so they can all be lined nicely along the back and the shoe rack can expand to the full width of the wardrobe. A lot […]
• 我爱你很长一段时间 6-Mar-2013 - 我爱你很长一段时间, a photo by Jo.Boyd on Flickr. I’ve wanted to own a Cheongsam for a long time, but have held off until I felt I was slim enough to do one justice. I think I am just about there, plus it was in a sale at £16.99, so I went for it! Yay me!
• Midnight at the Oasis 5-Mar-2013 - Midnight at the Oasis on Flickr. I bought this black leather dress by Oasis in a sale last Saturday, reduced from £60 to £15. If that’s not a bargain then I don’t know what is! Unfortunately the colour and contrast are a little wonky on this pic. I did my best to correct it, but […]
• Art Deco 4-Mar-2013 - I love the Art Deco style, particularly the later Streamline Moderne variant. I’m also a big fan of Dieselpunk (and totally loved the visual style of the film “Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow”). So I was overjoyed to find this ring in H&M today, and even more so because it was only £3.99 […]
• LBD 4-Mar-2013 - LBD, a photo by Jo.Boyd on Flickr. A Little Black Dress I bought on eBay. It’s rather cute, I think.
• Bargain bootment 2-Mar-2013 - Bought these today. What a bargain! And cute & comfy too!
• Skater Gurl 2-Mar-2013 - Skater Gurl, a photo by Joanne (Hay Llamas!) on Flickr. Via Flickr: A lovely skater dress by Oasis that I managed to get on eBay for £14. Bargain!
• We’re ess aitch oh pea pea eye en gee… 2-Mar-2013 - I went shopping today (quelle surprise) and found some absolute bargains. It seems everyone still has a sale on of some sort. I know everyone is struggling financially at the moment, but if you do have a little disposable income then there are some stunning bargains to be had. I got an uber-cute pair of […]
• Hello and welcome! 1-Mar-2013 - I’m really looking forward to this weekend. I have at least 3 outfits that I want to take vain self-portraits of, and also I have my new MAC makeup to try, now that I have found the missing items (long story). So that will be good. And, of course, once dressed up with no place […]
• Of corset I like you. 1-Mar-2013 - Of corset I like you., a photo by Joanne (Hay Llamas!) on Flickr. 700 views!   Update: 3,378 views as of 14-Aug-13!
• Testing… one.. two… one… 28-Feb-2013 - Yay I started a blog at last!