Work commitments had kept me extra busy for some weeks and I hadn’t even had the chance to see my close friends who live nearby. For the monthly meal we settled on a return to Eden, to try the atmosphere with a few more diners. For the second month running I’d tried to get in to town before 5pm, so I could go and do a bit of shopping in King Street, but again, the timing was against me and I didn‘t get in to town until about 6pm. I was very early for the meet at Eden though, and had a cocktail in the bar area, and settled to read the paper. It was all quite relaxed in there.
Eventually June, Kate, and then Jaime arrived, and we had a lovely meal with superb service. Afterwards it was over to Nap’s, to show June the new premises, where we stayed until closing time. The place was buzzing, and it was a pleasant surprise to bump in to Cathryn and co. Mary told us about the changes with Northern Concord, and the new re-branded Manchester Concord, which I’m happy to support. Anyway, I’m now member 39! They’re also going to have a great location at the Rem for Sparkle in June, with a good view of the proceedings in the gardens on the Saturday.
Sunday, 4 May 2008
The Monthly Meals
I plan to continue these in the Village this year for newcomers and old friends. It’s what got me back in to the scene when I re-started, so I want to offer the opportunity to other girls who are looking to get out in safe company for the first time.
In January we went to Eden in Canal Street; a cold evening in mid-January, so not much atmosphere, and our group of 6 were initially the only diners in Eden at 8pm! Then later, 1 other t-girl came in and ate alone, before eventually joining us later on. This night out gave us the chance to visit the new Northern Concord venue at the Rembrandt upstairs. Very, very impressive premises, and far better and more convivial than the previous place at Hollywood’s.
Happy New Year!
Our monthly meal in February was at the Little Yang Sing in Chinatown, as it was the Chinese New Year about that time. There were 7 of us at the meal, and for some it was the first time they’d ventured out of the Canal Street/Village environment. The atmosphere was great and they looked after us really well. It was also good to catch up with Linzi again who’d come up from the West Midlands.
I think the funniest moment was when we all trooped into the full restaurant, and for a split second, heads turned to watch us, then a split second later, they were back to their own conversations. All in all, a good evening out!
In March we went back to Taurus for the monthly meal, which I think always has a good atmosphere, as some people just use the bar, so there’s always people coming and going. We were joined this month by Emma from Bakewell, and Jaime, who’d come from South Wales. Emma had seen the post on Angels and had planned the visit with military precision, and was staying the night in a local hotel. Kay had offered to do the chaperoning from the hotel, on what was Emma’s very first night out. You wouldn’t have believed it, as she looked so natural! Later after the meal she told us that she’d had to nip down to the ladies to deal with a slipped boob, but, we all get these problems from time to time I’m sure! It was lovely to meet Emma and Jaime, and we appreciated that they’d travelled so far to join us. I look forward to the next time.
Afterwards we tried the Rem, where hostess Mary made a fuss of Emma, and so now there’s a photo of Emma on Mary’s Manchester Concord blog! Later on we went with Emma to Nap’s, where she later stayed with Kay for a bit longer. At this stage it’s worth noting that Emma’s blog on the evening makes far better reading than these lines, so if you can find it I’d recommend a read!
In January we went to Eden in Canal Street; a cold evening in mid-January, so not much atmosphere, and our group of 6 were initially the only diners in Eden at 8pm! Then later, 1 other t-girl came in and ate alone, before eventually joining us later on. This night out gave us the chance to visit the new Northern Concord venue at the Rembrandt upstairs. Very, very impressive premises, and far better and more convivial than the previous place at Hollywood’s.
Happy New Year!
Our monthly meal in February was at the Little Yang Sing in Chinatown, as it was the Chinese New Year about that time. There were 7 of us at the meal, and for some it was the first time they’d ventured out of the Canal Street/Village environment. The atmosphere was great and they looked after us really well. It was also good to catch up with Linzi again who’d come up from the West Midlands.
I think the funniest moment was when we all trooped into the full restaurant, and for a split second, heads turned to watch us, then a split second later, they were back to their own conversations. All in all, a good evening out!
In March we went back to Taurus for the monthly meal, which I think always has a good atmosphere, as some people just use the bar, so there’s always people coming and going. We were joined this month by Emma from Bakewell, and Jaime, who’d come from South Wales. Emma had seen the post on Angels and had planned the visit with military precision, and was staying the night in a local hotel. Kay had offered to do the chaperoning from the hotel, on what was Emma’s very first night out. You wouldn’t have believed it, as she looked so natural! Later after the meal she told us that she’d had to nip down to the ladies to deal with a slipped boob, but, we all get these problems from time to time I’m sure! It was lovely to meet Emma and Jaime, and we appreciated that they’d travelled so far to join us. I look forward to the next time.
Afterwards we tried the Rem, where hostess Mary made a fuss of Emma, and so now there’s a photo of Emma on Mary’s Manchester Concord blog! Later on we went with Emma to Nap’s, where she later stayed with Kay for a bit longer. At this stage it’s worth noting that Emma’s blog on the evening makes far better reading than these lines, so if you can find it I’d recommend a read!
Sunday, 20 April 2008
A fabulous weekend...
I was back in Blackpool about 10 days later, where I stayed over on the Friday night before the Angels Christmas meal on the Saturday in Manchester’s Village. It was going to be 48 hours of Lisa-time. I’d called in at the Trafford Centre in the afternoon on my way up to Blackpool, to get a few last minute ‘necessities’. The plan was to meet up with a friend and have a night at Roxy’s on a busier night, and then the next day I’d set off for Manchester to meet up with Jen, Imogen and Linzi for a day’s shopping, before having our big night out, and then another day’s shopping in town on the Sunday, before ‘de-Lisa-ing’ on the way home.
At John Lewis I wanted to buy a brown scarf and matching gloves. Downstairs the sales assistant was being very helpful with colours etc, and then we looked at the gloves, and I said I needed a big stretchy pair. So we settled on a pair that I was happy with.
‘Are you sure they’re big enough?‘ I asked. ‘they’re actually for me, as I don’t always look like this’, I said to her, pulling my usual photo out of my wallet to show her the other me. The assistant gave me a really cool smile, and a ‘wow, come back again soon!’ she said.
I’d called in to Selfridges to see GG Lisa on the perfume section, but it was her day off. I’m sure one day we’re going to get her to join us with her friends on a night out in Manchester.
Well first snag; my friend couldn’t now make it due to domestics. Shame really, but I was determined to go out, so went alone. Lynda told me where the scene was in town, and after a stroll around the block and along the Blackpool prom for a block, I got into the car and headed for town. I got there about 60 seconds later. Well, I was in heels! I parked where we were last time, and knew that Roxy’s was only a short tottering distance away. But this time it was busier, AND, I had to pay on the door. That never happens at Naps!
It was already 9-ish, and full with Christmas party groups, so not the best mix of regulars to meet, even if there were any. In fact from my point of view it was a lousy atmosphere, as those in there for the Christmas parties wouldn’t normally be in there, in my opinion. Including a few middle aged women in works’ groups giving me odd stares. Still, I chatted to 2 or 3 friendly girls, and stayed and watched the show for a couple of hours before getting back to Lynda’s.
The next day all started off ok, and I got to the Charles Street car park in Manchester just a little bit later, by which time Jen and Linzi had already gone off to Selfridges on the other side of town. I was getting a bit nervous at this time, late Saturday morning, having to get across town on my own. I didn’t think I’d have the confidence to make it. Anyway, I was in the car park, and still waiting for Imogen to get in touch. Then I get a text ‘I’m in the car park’.
So I text back ‘I’m on level 2’.
Imogen replies, ‘so am I!’
Then I look across and see that she’s parked just 2 spaces away from me in the car park! After we’d stopped laughing, we set off to the hotel for a comfort break, and to check when the rooms at the Days Inn would be ready. We still had a few hours to spare, so we thought we’d try and catch up with the other 2 girlies across town. As we set off, we came across the builders digging the hole in the road, that Jen’s already blogged about on Angels. Well I wasn’t ready for any hassle so crossed the road early, but Imogen wanted to take the test and walked right past them without getting any comment. By this time I’d made a significant observation. Imogen walks quickly. Very quickly. In 3 ½ “ heels, I don’t. by the time we’d got to Piccadilly, I couldn’t keep up with the pace. I had to let Imogen catch up with the other girls, whilst I sat in a coffee shop for a while, to rest my feet. After a while I was well-rested, and set off towards King Street. I’d got my confidence by this time; well what could I do otherwise? I was in the middle of town! I nipped in to Karen Millen and had a browse and tried on a few outfits, but they were very pricey. A gorgeous black floaty skirt, but for £90? The staff were very friendly and helpful though, and the atmosphere in the store was quite cool. Then I got a text from Jen: ‘we’re having a late lunch in a bar in Portland Street if you want to join us’. well I got there in 15 minutes and was glad to sit down. We had a lovely lunch and some nice wine, and then headed back to the hotel to check in and get ready for the evening. I wore my favourite black and grey lacy dress, with black heels.
The Christmas meal
We’d booked a table at Villaggio’s for about 18, and had a great evening in there. The place was full, with a lively and noisy atmosphere. A few new girls joined us, and hopefully we’ll see more of them in 2008. The one downside was that they didn’t provide the after-meal entertainment music that they’d promised, so we had to go to AXM for that, and in the end it was a good move. We were upstairs and the dancing went on until the early hours, and it was a good atmosphere in there too. I chatted to this half-merry nurse from Hull at the bar, who called herself a brunette Pamela Anderson, and you could see the similarity. She promised to buy me the same bodice that she was wearing. I was being a bit careful with what I said to her, as I didn’t want to upset her boyfriend who was at the bar too. It turned out that he was a gay friend who fancied the barman, and that‘s why they were staying at the bar! I vaguely remember Kay Denise taking some photos at this time; my new Yorkshire friend hanging on to me for dear life, as she was ready for a fall!
The place was buzzing, and I remember seeing Nicki dancing until later on she couldn’t stand any longer, with her feet up on the coffee table. We were joined by a group on a works party from North Wales. There was one girl who was an absolute stunner, blonde with the black dress. She told me it came from Axos.com. A few moments later as we were chatting, she leant forward, and asked me what perfume I was wearing, so I told her it was Missoni. ‘Well I’m getting married next year and that’s the perfume I’m going to wear on my wedding day, in that case!’ I was quite chuffed with that!
Somehow, during the chatting I noticed that my friends had disappeared back to the hotel, so I tried to catch them up, but eventually walked back to the hotel on my own.
The next morning I was in the bathroom just about to get made up, when there was this bang, and out of the corner of my eye I saw one of the light bulbs in the bedroom go shooting across the room, and all the lights went out in the room. Fortunately Imogen was still in her room and allowed me to use her bathroom to finish off my face-trowelling! I’d decided on the short beige cord skirt from Polo, cappuccino opaque tights, and my brown boots, with a patterned top, and short black fitted leather jacket. I thought it was a ‘blendable’ outfit, anyway!
Breakfast for the 4 of us was a quiet affair, a few families and couples in the dining room, but it was as if we were the invisible women! We decided that we’d stroll in to town and do some shopping, and have lunch, and then say our goodbyes in the mid-afternoon. Again, this was a big step for me, as I’d not been out in the day until this weekend, and we were going in to the city centre, 2 Sundays before Christmas, when it was going to be absolutely packed.
By 11am we’d reached King Street, which is what I’d suggested, and after we all browsed in Boots the Chemists, we then split in to a few of the local shops, keeping in touch by text. By this time I’d found Hobbs, and they were having a sale! I’d seen this lovely tailored light brown skirt, which I tried on downstairs in the dressing rooms. And then, I’ve absolutely no idea what happened for the next hour, but I was having the best time of my life! The assistants were really helpful, and great company too! I saw a lovely black suit on the hanger, but they didn’t have my size. Better still, they had my size in the brown colour, which was even better! Then there was the blouse that went with it, so I just had to have that! The best thing I saw was this gorgeous flowing silk dress, with a wide tie bow at the back. When I tried it on, it was like it was made for me, and so I just had to have that too! The other thing about trying clothes on in here is that you could go out in to the main bit of the shop, and use the big shop mirrors, whilst other women were in there browsing and trying things on, and nobody seemed to notice me in there at all. It was the most natural experience, and I was in no hurry to leave. But, eventually, I realised I’d committed most of my shopping budget, and more, in this store, so had to get going and meet up with the other girlies for lunch!
Jen had sent me a text to say they were in Deansgate, so I made my way up that way, past Kendals. As it was a sunny day, I had my Dior sunglasses on, so I think this gave me a bit of confidence too. I had a look at the handbags in Ecco whilst I waited for them. When we met up we decided to eat at Café Rouge in Deansgate, as it’s where I’ve eaten before on my own. When we went inside, heads turned, but just for a split second, and then we were ignored by the other diners. ‘That usually happens’, Linzi said to me. The restaurant was quite full with families, but we were served courteously by friendly staff, and had a good natter.
After lunch, it was getting late, so we said our goodbyes, and I headed back towards the car park in Charles Street on my own. It was 3pm by this time, but I was feeling very confident after the experiences of earlier. I don’t know why, but I went by King Street (!) again. And then I saw Planet. And they had a sale on! Well, you can’t ignore that, can you?! I’ve got to add that the 2 sales assistants were really friendly. So 30 minutes later, and with another 2 lovely dresses, one gold, and one beige and brown, I was back out in to the street, laden down with shopping bags, and heading back to the car a very happy t-girl!
With my confidence levels sky high, I decided I was going to take on the workmen in the famous hole in the road, around the corner from the car park. And? When I got there, they completely ignored me as I walked, no, strutted, right past them!
An hour later, I was in my office in town, de-Lisa-ing, but with a grin that seemed to last for weeks afterwards!
At John Lewis I wanted to buy a brown scarf and matching gloves. Downstairs the sales assistant was being very helpful with colours etc, and then we looked at the gloves, and I said I needed a big stretchy pair. So we settled on a pair that I was happy with.
‘Are you sure they’re big enough?‘ I asked. ‘they’re actually for me, as I don’t always look like this’, I said to her, pulling my usual photo out of my wallet to show her the other me. The assistant gave me a really cool smile, and a ‘wow, come back again soon!’ she said.
I’d called in to Selfridges to see GG Lisa on the perfume section, but it was her day off. I’m sure one day we’re going to get her to join us with her friends on a night out in Manchester.
Well first snag; my friend couldn’t now make it due to domestics. Shame really, but I was determined to go out, so went alone. Lynda told me where the scene was in town, and after a stroll around the block and along the Blackpool prom for a block, I got into the car and headed for town. I got there about 60 seconds later. Well, I was in heels! I parked where we were last time, and knew that Roxy’s was only a short tottering distance away. But this time it was busier, AND, I had to pay on the door. That never happens at Naps!
It was already 9-ish, and full with Christmas party groups, so not the best mix of regulars to meet, even if there were any. In fact from my point of view it was a lousy atmosphere, as those in there for the Christmas parties wouldn’t normally be in there, in my opinion. Including a few middle aged women in works’ groups giving me odd stares. Still, I chatted to 2 or 3 friendly girls, and stayed and watched the show for a couple of hours before getting back to Lynda’s.
The next day all started off ok, and I got to the Charles Street car park in Manchester just a little bit later, by which time Jen and Linzi had already gone off to Selfridges on the other side of town. I was getting a bit nervous at this time, late Saturday morning, having to get across town on my own. I didn’t think I’d have the confidence to make it. Anyway, I was in the car park, and still waiting for Imogen to get in touch. Then I get a text ‘I’m in the car park’.
So I text back ‘I’m on level 2’.
Imogen replies, ‘so am I!’
Then I look across and see that she’s parked just 2 spaces away from me in the car park! After we’d stopped laughing, we set off to the hotel for a comfort break, and to check when the rooms at the Days Inn would be ready. We still had a few hours to spare, so we thought we’d try and catch up with the other 2 girlies across town. As we set off, we came across the builders digging the hole in the road, that Jen’s already blogged about on Angels. Well I wasn’t ready for any hassle so crossed the road early, but Imogen wanted to take the test and walked right past them without getting any comment. By this time I’d made a significant observation. Imogen walks quickly. Very quickly. In 3 ½ “ heels, I don’t. by the time we’d got to Piccadilly, I couldn’t keep up with the pace. I had to let Imogen catch up with the other girls, whilst I sat in a coffee shop for a while, to rest my feet. After a while I was well-rested, and set off towards King Street. I’d got my confidence by this time; well what could I do otherwise? I was in the middle of town! I nipped in to Karen Millen and had a browse and tried on a few outfits, but they were very pricey. A gorgeous black floaty skirt, but for £90? The staff were very friendly and helpful though, and the atmosphere in the store was quite cool. Then I got a text from Jen: ‘we’re having a late lunch in a bar in Portland Street if you want to join us’. well I got there in 15 minutes and was glad to sit down. We had a lovely lunch and some nice wine, and then headed back to the hotel to check in and get ready for the evening. I wore my favourite black and grey lacy dress, with black heels.
The Christmas meal
We’d booked a table at Villaggio’s for about 18, and had a great evening in there. The place was full, with a lively and noisy atmosphere. A few new girls joined us, and hopefully we’ll see more of them in 2008. The one downside was that they didn’t provide the after-meal entertainment music that they’d promised, so we had to go to AXM for that, and in the end it was a good move. We were upstairs and the dancing went on until the early hours, and it was a good atmosphere in there too. I chatted to this half-merry nurse from Hull at the bar, who called herself a brunette Pamela Anderson, and you could see the similarity. She promised to buy me the same bodice that she was wearing. I was being a bit careful with what I said to her, as I didn’t want to upset her boyfriend who was at the bar too. It turned out that he was a gay friend who fancied the barman, and that‘s why they were staying at the bar! I vaguely remember Kay Denise taking some photos at this time; my new Yorkshire friend hanging on to me for dear life, as she was ready for a fall!
The place was buzzing, and I remember seeing Nicki dancing until later on she couldn’t stand any longer, with her feet up on the coffee table. We were joined by a group on a works party from North Wales. There was one girl who was an absolute stunner, blonde with the black dress. She told me it came from Axos.com. A few moments later as we were chatting, she leant forward, and asked me what perfume I was wearing, so I told her it was Missoni. ‘Well I’m getting married next year and that’s the perfume I’m going to wear on my wedding day, in that case!’ I was quite chuffed with that!
Somehow, during the chatting I noticed that my friends had disappeared back to the hotel, so I tried to catch them up, but eventually walked back to the hotel on my own.
The next morning I was in the bathroom just about to get made up, when there was this bang, and out of the corner of my eye I saw one of the light bulbs in the bedroom go shooting across the room, and all the lights went out in the room. Fortunately Imogen was still in her room and allowed me to use her bathroom to finish off my face-trowelling! I’d decided on the short beige cord skirt from Polo, cappuccino opaque tights, and my brown boots, with a patterned top, and short black fitted leather jacket. I thought it was a ‘blendable’ outfit, anyway!
Breakfast for the 4 of us was a quiet affair, a few families and couples in the dining room, but it was as if we were the invisible women! We decided that we’d stroll in to town and do some shopping, and have lunch, and then say our goodbyes in the mid-afternoon. Again, this was a big step for me, as I’d not been out in the day until this weekend, and we were going in to the city centre, 2 Sundays before Christmas, when it was going to be absolutely packed.
By 11am we’d reached King Street, which is what I’d suggested, and after we all browsed in Boots the Chemists, we then split in to a few of the local shops, keeping in touch by text. By this time I’d found Hobbs, and they were having a sale! I’d seen this lovely tailored light brown skirt, which I tried on downstairs in the dressing rooms. And then, I’ve absolutely no idea what happened for the next hour, but I was having the best time of my life! The assistants were really helpful, and great company too! I saw a lovely black suit on the hanger, but they didn’t have my size. Better still, they had my size in the brown colour, which was even better! Then there was the blouse that went with it, so I just had to have that! The best thing I saw was this gorgeous flowing silk dress, with a wide tie bow at the back. When I tried it on, it was like it was made for me, and so I just had to have that too! The other thing about trying clothes on in here is that you could go out in to the main bit of the shop, and use the big shop mirrors, whilst other women were in there browsing and trying things on, and nobody seemed to notice me in there at all. It was the most natural experience, and I was in no hurry to leave. But, eventually, I realised I’d committed most of my shopping budget, and more, in this store, so had to get going and meet up with the other girlies for lunch!
Jen had sent me a text to say they were in Deansgate, so I made my way up that way, past Kendals. As it was a sunny day, I had my Dior sunglasses on, so I think this gave me a bit of confidence too. I had a look at the handbags in Ecco whilst I waited for them. When we met up we decided to eat at Café Rouge in Deansgate, as it’s where I’ve eaten before on my own. When we went inside, heads turned, but just for a split second, and then we were ignored by the other diners. ‘That usually happens’, Linzi said to me. The restaurant was quite full with families, but we were served courteously by friendly staff, and had a good natter.
After lunch, it was getting late, so we said our goodbyes, and I headed back towards the car park in Charles Street on my own. It was 3pm by this time, but I was feeling very confident after the experiences of earlier. I don’t know why, but I went by King Street (!) again. And then I saw Planet. And they had a sale on! Well, you can’t ignore that, can you?! I’ve got to add that the 2 sales assistants were really friendly. So 30 minutes later, and with another 2 lovely dresses, one gold, and one beige and brown, I was back out in to the street, laden down with shopping bags, and heading back to the car a very happy t-girl!
With my confidence levels sky high, I decided I was going to take on the workmen in the famous hole in the road, around the corner from the car park. And? When I got there, they completely ignored me as I walked, no, strutted, right past them!
An hour later, I was in my office in town, de-Lisa-ing, but with a grin that seemed to last for weeks afterwards!
Thursday, 10 January 2008
December playtime!
Mid-December saw the Christmas meal of the Renaissance group in Blackpool, with a meal at an Italian restaurant on the edge of town. Luckily we’d secured 2 places due to last-minute cancellations. Becks had set up the changing facilities near Bloomfield Road, and then we set off to the meal. There were about 30+ girls there, and we took over the restaurant. One of the girls there was convinced that I’d met her recently somewhere; I guess that could happen easily, as some of us are bound to share the same ‘hairdressers’! but I know it definitely wasn’t me, anyway!
It was good to finally meet Lynda Collins during the meal, who runs the group, and someone I’d heard about on the t-scene quite a few years ago. A legend! She runs the Gynway B&B in town, which is where Renaissance meet twice a month.
After the meal we hit Roxy’s lesbian bar in town, and took the place over. Well, as much as 30+ t-girls would do on a cold and otherwise quiet Tuesday night. There was a drag act on, but the star of the show I thought was the GG who sang on stage. She was a stunner! They made us welcome; it made us determined to try the place out on a busier week-end evening. Ok, it’s a lesbian bar, but still away from the safe environment of the Manchester Village.
It was good to finally meet Lynda Collins during the meal, who runs the group, and someone I’d heard about on the t-scene quite a few years ago. A legend! She runs the Gynway B&B in town, which is where Renaissance meet twice a month.
After the meal we hit Roxy’s lesbian bar in town, and took the place over. Well, as much as 30+ t-girls would do on a cold and otherwise quiet Tuesday night. There was a drag act on, but the star of the show I thought was the GG who sang on stage. She was a stunner! They made us welcome; it made us determined to try the place out on a busier week-end evening. Ok, it’s a lesbian bar, but still away from the safe environment of the Manchester Village.
Monday, 24 December 2007
And when in Paris....
I thought I'd stock up on some DIM brand hosiery, as they seem to be all the rage in France, and we can't get them easily in the UK. Monoprix had this policy of staying open until 9.30 in the week which suited me well. So one evening I bought 4 pairs of holdups and opaque cappuccino (well I was drinking so much of the stuff that week) tights, and went to the till to pay. Sometimes when you buy girly things you wonder what the assistant is thinking, so I mentioned to the African girl that they were for me, as she looked a bit puzzled. She seemed quite intrigued when I showed her my avatar photo, and she called her friend over to show, after I said it was ok. Then we had a bit of a chat about their hairstyles which were tightly braided; I think they were ok about talking to a guy about their hair and that, anyway they asked me to come back again soon.
You never really know how particular African groups relate or accept cross-dressing; I remember a few years ago I was in a nightclub across the other side of the world, when 3 rather extrovert Creole trannys came in and started making a lot of noise and fuss. Near the end of the evening they needed a lift to another club, where I happened to be going to next (I was semi-working, but that's another story), and I offered them a lift there. On the way, they were behaving more like drag queens, although I now vaguely recall the one in the passenger seat propositioning me. I think the club was quite near anyway, so I didn't get much info from them about the t-scene, although they said there were a lot more trannys in the south of the island, where they'd come from.
When we got to the next club they bought me a drink and went their own way, and I vaguely remember spending the rest of the time there with a lovely French girl called Fanny.
You never really know how particular African groups relate or accept cross-dressing; I remember a few years ago I was in a nightclub across the other side of the world, when 3 rather extrovert Creole trannys came in and started making a lot of noise and fuss. Near the end of the evening they needed a lift to another club, where I happened to be going to next (I was semi-working, but that's another story), and I offered them a lift there. On the way, they were behaving more like drag queens, although I now vaguely recall the one in the passenger seat propositioning me. I think the club was quite near anyway, so I didn't get much info from them about the t-scene, although they said there were a lot more trannys in the south of the island, where they'd come from.
When we got to the next club they bought me a drink and went their own way, and I vaguely remember spending the rest of the time there with a lovely French girl called Fanny.
When in Rome...
Well, Paris actually. Can't go there and not shop, really, can you?! Despite the train strike which crippled the city a few weeks ago when I was there, (4 1/2 hours from Gare du Nord to Roissy airport on the number 350 bus, via every little bus stop in north east Paris) it meant that there was a lot of walking time from A to B, and B to A. On the way from my hotel to the train station every day I used to pass this cute little clothes boutique, and one evening I got there 15 minutes before they closed. Well the deux vieille dames who ran the shop were a hoot. Almost straight out of the John Cleese sales training video. I don't think I fazed them as a guy buying for my wife, but didn't have it in me at this time to say that the clothes were for me. Anyway, the way they interacted over the suggestions for clothes for me to buy, and getting the right size, was so funny. They must have been friends for a long time as it was like they could read each others minds. Well 15 minutes later I'd bought a short black leather jacket, brown mac, long brown skirt, and 2 tops. A good spell of shopping, on the back of a good day's work.
Sunday, 28 October 2007
Merci beaucoup, Aubrey!
Whilst in Paris on business I had a wander into Sephora, the big continental perfume and
cosmetics chain. I'd been really impressed with Kate Jones's travel make up kit recently, so
when I saw the new gift range in the store, I just had to treat myself to their cosmetic travel
case, which had only been out for 3 days. So, chatting to the gorgeous sales assistant, Aubrey, (Bob does have a tendency to flirt with the better looking shop girls) I asked her what else was new. So in the end she'd sold me some pro tweezers and also this fancy electric eye lash curler thing. By this time I'd told her that I was actually buying for myself, and showed her the avatar photo I carry in my wallet. She just gave me a little smile and approving nod, and didn't run off with her arms waving in the air screaming, so I thought I'd done ok.
So, as I join the queue to pay, she comes behind the till girl and says to me that she's putting in a few little samples for me, and I watch her drop a couple of things into the bag. I thought that was a lovely touch, and went over to say thanks again on my way out of the store.
Anyway, when I finally got back to the hotel and emptied the carrier bag, I found that she'd
actually put TEN different samples of creams and scents in the bag!
cosmetics chain. I'd been really impressed with Kate Jones's travel make up kit recently, so
when I saw the new gift range in the store, I just had to treat myself to their cosmetic travel
case, which had only been out for 3 days. So, chatting to the gorgeous sales assistant, Aubrey, (Bob does have a tendency to flirt with the better looking shop girls) I asked her what else was new. So in the end she'd sold me some pro tweezers and also this fancy electric eye lash curler thing. By this time I'd told her that I was actually buying for myself, and showed her the avatar photo I carry in my wallet. She just gave me a little smile and approving nod, and didn't run off with her arms waving in the air screaming, so I thought I'd done ok.
So, as I join the queue to pay, she comes behind the till girl and says to me that she's putting in a few little samples for me, and I watch her drop a couple of things into the bag. I thought that was a lovely touch, and went over to say thanks again on my way out of the store.
Anyway, when I finally got back to the hotel and emptied the carrier bag, I found that she'd
actually put TEN different samples of creams and scents in the bag!
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