Catch up

Well here I am again trying to play catch up. Life has been so busy and I no longer have a reliable personal laptop and hate having to write anything lengthy on my phone due to the damn auto correct which changes almost every word I write once I have moved off the word. Frustrating!

Sometimes I think that some of my posts are just general ramblings about what we have done and don’t think they are very interesting for anyone other than Lucy and myself. Well I like writing them so here we are......

We went for the murder mystery dinner at Jenny and Ethan’s and dropped into Pinks on the way the night before. We checked into our room at the DoubleTree Hotel (this hotel is built around the MK stadium) only to be confronted with twin beds….. ooopss… now this is not our thing. 

 After trying to work out whether or not we could push the beds together we concluded that one of us would end up on the floor down the gap in the night so Lucy rang reception and they moved us to a lovely double room…. 

Unfortunately it was right round the back of the stadium which is a 10 minute walk from the entrance.  We settled in and Lucy started unpacking and I put the kettle on…… big mistake…. All the electrics blew one side of the room! After waiting nearly an hour for someone to come and sort it we were eventually moved into the room next door. They offered us a free breakfast but we are never up in time for that so requested a late check out (2pm) which they granted. By this time it was late and after getting ready to go out it was 1am before we actually walked into Pinks.

It was a non ‘trans’ night which was great. I’ve said before that we like those types of nights as it is more of normal club night environment. As much as we love meeting many of our trans friends we do love these sorts of nights too. It was a really fun night, met some really lovely people and we stayed out far later than planned. It was daylight as we made our way back to the hotel via McDonalds so Lucy could get herself (and the taxi driver) a breakfast meal which she then ate at the back of the hotel.

The next day we headed off to Cheshire to meet up with Jenny and Ethan. They live in a small village and we stay in the local pub B&B. They are very friendly and Lucy has not had any issues there which is great. The room was lovely last time and this time they had done all the rooms up and all had new bathrooms.

It is a small room but very quirky and we love staying here. We hadn’t planned on going to BNO at Pinks the following week as we had been there this week however while we were getting ready for dinner someone posted on Facebook about getting a great rate at the Doubletree for that night and before I knew it, Lucy had booked!

We had a great time at their murder mystery dinner and met some more of their lovely friends. This time I was Colonel Jockstrap....

We met up again the following day and went off to a nearby outlet village with lots of little shops but some big brand names. We had a lovely cream tea with massive scones. There was a rowdy group walking round and I was on alert expecting them to possibly make some comments to Lucy but luckily they didn’t however they did have a security guard following them around so I don’t think it was just me who thought they may be trouble. Everyone we encountered was really friendly and polite and we found the Romans store which Lucy loved and bought herself a couple of dresses. They have some really great things in there so think this is now an addition to her favourite clothes stores. She also found a bath bomb place so she was in her element. We ended back at the pub for a fab evening meal before we headed off home.

The following Friday we were back to the Doubletree for the BNO at Pinks. No dramas with the room this time and we had a room right by the lift. What a fantastic night we had and met lots of our friends and made lots of new ones too. A few weeks ago Lucy had gone through her wardrobe and got rid of a whole heap of stuff which was going to be donated to our local charity shop. I always have a rummage through it as you never know and sometimes our daughters like some of the bits. In there was a Primarni leather look pinafore still with the tags on.... so I nabbed that for me and purchased an all in one black body to wear underneath. This was my outfit for Pinks and when Lucy saw it she pretended that she didn't recall getting rid of it and told everyone I had taken it off her!! She is just jealous as it looked good especially with long boots! 

In any case it was one of the best nights we had ever had there. Again we left when it was light and the birds were cheeping in the trees. The taxi ride home went via McDonalds to get a breakfast meal for Lucy and the driver. On the way in we tapped up the night manager and we blagged a late check out for 2pm… result! More so for me as after a 2 hour drive home I was only at home for a couple of hours before I was back to Milton Keynes for a family birthday party. Unfortunately they don’t know about Lucy as I could have stayed with them rather than going back and forwards.

In other news……

The complaint with Lloyds Bank is still ongoing and not resolved. This is disgusting treatment as it has been 4 weeks now and to make it worse they are Stonewalls Top Employer for 2017….. so they look after their staff but not their customers! It would be great if they could just get someone to ring Lucy back to discuss the issue but it seems impossible! On one phone call chasing them up the first thing Lucy did was explain her situation before getting involved on the call and then during the ensuing conversation the agent said she couldn’t talk to Lucy as she was not the account holder! Lucy referred her back to the initial discussion at the start of the call and the agent admitted that she hadn't listened to a word of it……. Unbelievable!! They contacted her yesterday saying someone would ring her and she is still waiting.... appalling!

Lucy got her passport! Yay!!! What a momentous moment for her. It all went through very quickly and no queries which was a relief. It came while I was working from home and a day earlier than she expected. I couldn’t wait to see her face when she opened it, even though she gave me permission to open it but it was her big thing and it had to be her. I cannot describe the big smile she had on her face!

She has received the electrolysis funding letter from the GIC and has been speaking to a technician and is now just waiting for the first appointment to be confirmed. They have to check back with the GIC to confirm and then it is all full steam ahead. I know these free ones are only a drop in the ocean of what she needs but it is a start.

Her hair is getting longer but is still very curly. The thinning patch still has the baby fine hair which is also getting longer. Her hair is so long now it is getting difficult to tuck inside any of her wigs. The newer wigs she does have are over a year old now and need replacing. We have been looking around and don’t want to go back to the place in China where we got these from as if you remember it was all a bit of a nightmare. A friend had got a lovely new wig from a place in Kensington called A-List Lace Hair so we had a look at the reviews and Lucy made an appointment to go and see them which she did last week. They have measured her up, sorted out style and colour and it is now being made to order. It is taking about 6 weeks and is 3 times the cost of the one’s we bought from China however we are expecting the quality and fit to be better. When it is ready she has to go for a fitting, style and finish. Watch this space!

Lucy’s hair does stress her out quite a bit and is a hindrance to her being full time sooner (along with a couple of other things). A few days ago she discovered something called Mesh Integration System. This is where they stitch a hairpiece or pieces of hair to her own hair using a mesh cap. It looks great but isn’t cheap and will need maintenance but looks like another alternative to a wig. Something else to consider but I know it will make her feel more confident.

We received some good news about Sparkle. Lucy has been selected to be one of the DJ’s for the opening night on Friday 7^th July, aka DJ Lucy London. This is great news and will be the first time she has been able to DJ as herself. We are both very excited and we have some of our friends that will come down to see her too. We are just waiting for the official announcement so we can share the poster to more of our friends. Sparkle itself is shaping up to be a great weekend. Lucy is helping out at the main stage on the Saturday so I will be mooching around the park with friends and when she is finished we are off to the Sparkle Ball. On the Sunday we are off to the famous Richmond Tearooms before heading back to the park to see Jordan Gray who is the compare and host for the day. We are now staying until Monday so will be out and about with friends that evening too. Should be great fun! 

Oh, and I got banned from a Trans Support group for daring to be CIS and supportive! Long story but there is a whole blog post coming about this.......