Retrospect - Leaving the Closet Behind -2

Next Steps.........

After the excitement and activities of November, the rest of the year was very quiet. Looking back, it would appear that after my day out at Winkworth with Jane, I only had two more trips out before the end of the year.

The first of these was the Femesque Christmas party in the second week of December. As is always the case I travelled there as Susan, having my makeup done again for the evening. That's always a lovely treat to have someone else make you up. However, the day seemed to start and continue with a series of mishaps. For the occasion I'd decided to give one of my favourite LBDs (Little Black Dress) an outing. To make it more special I'd obtained a petticoat for it to try and give it more volume. What's more, I'd treated myself to a black corselette and a pair of seamed stockings. I'm not usually big on foundation wear and in fact hardly ever wear stockings, preferring tights. But this felt like a special occasion and so I felt it was worth the effort. In fact I was to find that seamed stockings are rather difficult to buy in the high street but in the end I knew it was worth the bother.

So, come the day of the party I was dressed and made up and ready to leave home. At this point one of the suspenders decide to break. I wasn't totally surprised as the stockings had proved to be too short for the suspenders, or maybe it was the other way round. But whatever the case Plan A had failed. Plan B consisted of getting out of the corselette and donning a pair of black seamed tights that I had bought, just in case. However, in the process of putting on these not inexpensive replacements, I put my fingers through one of the feet. By now I was getting angry and had to resort to Plan C. This was a pair of cheap, black non-seamed supermarket tights of the sort I wear for everyday use. Needless to say these went on easily with no further mishaps.

So, having got over this I headed off for Aldershot. I should mention here that it wasn't a particularly nice day, weather-wise and so I was wearing my brand new red coat. I had it in mind to stop at Godalming on the way and perhaps do a bit of shopping. However, as I pulled into the car park a woman came up to my car and informed me that my coat belt was hanging out of the door. And so it was, soaking wet and covered in the mud and road dirt of some twenty miles of driving. So, one brand new coat (dry clean only) with a muddy belt.


Somehow this took the shine off proceedings and I decided to head on to Aldershot. Once there I popped into a local supermarket to get some money for the evening. But I was still left with some time to kill so I headed for a nearby garden centre for a wander around.

Readers outside of the UK may wonder what the attraction of a garden centre is, especially in deepest December. However, these places are more than just a shop that sells garden supplies. In fact most of the bigger ones are like mini shopping centres selling a wide range of gifts and other items. The one I visited on this day was one such establishment, and their range included pets, food gifts and a large restaurant.




Christmas Party Girl

So, it was lovely just to wander and look at all the items on sale and with my self confidence growing all the time. The pets corner was a particular treat. After all, who can resist fluffy little animals. Sadly though, when it came to the restaurant I found myself standing at the entrance unable to go any further. Clearly my self confidence still needed some attention.

After this it was on to Femesque when the lovely proprietress, Lynne, took pity on my muddy coat belt and cleaned it for me. I had my doubts at first but thankfully she was able to bring it up as good as new without resorting to the dry cleaners. It was then time for the makeup chair and for the lovely Michelle to work her magic. The results can be seen in this photo, here. By this time I'd added my petticoat to my dress and it really gave it a feeling of volume.

I'd also tried to change my shoes for the evening. I'd brought a pair of strappy sandals along but when I got them out of the car I found that I had an odd pair. So I was left having to rely on the pair I'd been wearing all day. Yet another of the day's mishaps but this one was thankfully the last. But whatever the case we all had a lovely evening in some wonderful company.

Blown away in Eastbourne

The only remaining outing for 2011 was a few days later when I visited the Eastbourne area of East Sussex. Looking back I can't really remember why I went there, other than maybe to get some photos on the seafront. In the end that's all I did. The photo here shows me leaning on the railings and what might look like a clear, dry sunny day. That's a fair description and indeed if it wasn't for my obvious winter coat you might think it wasn't a week before mid-winter. Perhaps the state of my hair is a clue because the wind was blowing off the sea something rotten. In fact this is one of the few photos I took that are presentable enough to publish.



Yes, it IS windy!

For those of you who know Eastbourne this was taken close to the the Wish Tower - the Martello Tower on Eastbourne sea-front. Behind me is Eastbourne Pier and if the sea doesn't look too bad I can assure you it was rough and definitely not a day for a paddle. I wasn't parked too far away but by the time I reached my car I found that my wig had been blown to one side and wasn't far from leaving altogether. That's the first time it's happened to me and I'm determined to make sure it's the last. So, that about wrapped it up for Eastbourne as far as I was concerned. The town has an excellent shopping centre but at this time I still wasn't ready to take Susan there. That was to come later.

Instead I drove up to Beachy Head with the idea of perhaps taking some photos up there. Beachy Head is a headland over 500 feet in height and is where the chalk hills of the South Downs meets the English Channel. On a fine calm day it's a wonderful place the enjoy the scenery. But not on a windy day and quite why I thought it might be otherwise is beyond me. After the strong winds I'd just experienced at sea level in Eastbourne, I could hardly expect it to be any better up on the Downs. In the event, the wind was so strong I had great difficulty in getting the car door open.  I had intended to use the ladies whilst there but by now I realised that my hair-do would be blown away completely if I dared to venture out of the car. So I headed on down to Birling Gap where there was a little shelter and I used the facilities there.



Bring on the Snow!

By now my day at the seaside was looking decidedly ill-advised, but then what else do you expect in the depth of an English winter? It was time to head inland and the first stop was East Dean, a village about a mile inland from Birling Gap. I wanted a photo for use as a Christmas greeting and hoped I would find a suitable site here. In the event I found an ideal spot outside the parish church and one of the photos is shown here. Somehow it would have looked more seasonal if there was snow all around rather than bright sunshine. On the other hand I doubt I would have been there under such circumstances.




Winter in the Cuckmere Valley

From East Dean my journey home took me past the Seven Sisters Country Park at Cuckmere Haven. Here there is a car park alongside one of the river meanders and I felt an ideal place for some photos. And so it was and one of them can be seen here. In spite of the bright sky it was still a windy winter's day, but I always feel that even in the deepest winter, there is still beauty to enjoy in our countryside.


The last part of my journey home took me past the garden centre near Ashdown Forest I had visited in November. Being close to Christmas I knew the displays would be seasonal and I just fancied a stroll around. It was a nice way to end what had been a windy, but enjoyable visit to the seaside and other parts of Sussex.

This was to be my last outing as Susan for the 2011 and it's worth considering where I was by now. At the end of the summer I had become very frustrated by my reluctance to venture into the outside proper when out and go to more public places. So, had I made any progress since then? The straightforward answer has to be "yes", as my writings in these blogs undoubtedly show. I had started going to places where there would be contact with the public and in this I had received help from some fabulous friends.

But the old frustrations remained and I knew there was much more to do. 2012 was going to require some serious thought and deeds.

Thank you for reading this

Susan XXX