Two Days in Great Company

A Day Out in Guildford

One of the nicest features of the transgender community lies in some of the lovely and interesting people you get in touch with, one way or another. It's probably not altogether surprising that in these contacts you find those with similar interests to yourself, outside of course the rather complex business of being a trans woman.

For me most of these contacts have been made as a result of my presence on the photo sharing site Flickr. I've maintained my own account there for the past few years and I've been lucky to make some good friends as a result. One such contact is Amanda Parnell, a fellow trans woman from the North of England. Amanda shares a love of visiting the many varied and interesting place our country has to offer. In particular we have an interest in our Cathedrals.

Recently in the course of correspondence we agreed that when the opportunity arose we should meet and visit a cathedral together. Almost immediately such an opportunity arose and after discussing where to go, we agreed to meet in the town of Guildford in Surrey and visit its 20th century cathedral.

It has to be said that both of us prefer medieval Gothic when it comes to church architecture. Guildford cathedral on the other hand is very much a product of the 20th century. The diocese was created in 1927 out of the ancient diocese of Winchester. At first a local church was used as the cathedral, but it was soon resolved to build a new one for the new diocese. The site selected was Stag Hill which is located about a mile to the North-West of the town centre.

The foundation stone was laid in 1936 and work progressed well up until the outbreak of World War II. Then all building work stopped until the early 1950s. Even with the end of the war in 1945 there were greater priorities for building materials. By the time work was able to re-start the original budget of £250,000 had jumped to nearly £1 million. However, an ingenious fund raising scheme whereby members of the public were invited to buy individual bricks at 2/6 (12.5p) each was well received and eventually the cathedral was completed. It was consecrated in 1961, although fund raising was not completed until 1968.

Amanda and I started our tour in the refectory with a nice cup of coffee before moving on to the cathedral proper. Although very much a building of the 20th century, I was immediately struck by its medieval proportions. In the middle ages cathedrals were deliberately built on a huge scale as a way of overwhelming the members of the congregation. So Guildford Cathedral too presented itself on a huge and cavernous scale, although the use of modern materials gave it a softer appearance.

The only thing that marred our visit was the presence of a huge amount of scaffolding in the choir and sanctuary. This meant that the high alter and surrounding fitments were wrapped in protective covering, not that we would have been able to get near to them anyway. It was explained to us that this was a result of cleaning work being carried out during the summer. Indeed, some of the dirt being removed was a result of the cathedral standing half built for 16 years World War II.

Amanda and I found the staff were very friendly, especially a husband and wife team who took in upon themselves to explain the history of the building. It was clear that they both had a love for their work and such friendliness to us helped make our visit.

Having seen the interior it was time to tour the outside of the cathedral.Although nowhere near as decorated as its medieval equivalent, the exterior does feature a number of modern sculptures, the most interesting of which was the Gilded Angel on top of the tower. Apparently this sculpture has a telecommunications aerial inside it and the income from its owners helps towards the upkeep of the building. In my working life I saw a number of such aerials on church buildings, but never one as well appointed and striking as this one.



The South Doors - Guildford Cathedral

Another feature we found interesting was the South Door. In fact this consists of two pairs of bronze doors set a few feet apart. The left hand pair have six views depicting typical women's roles and are balanced by six male roles on the right hand pair. Quite what today's gender activists would make of this can only be imagined. But the cathedral guide does recognise the such roles were less well defined by the time they were completed in the 1960s.

At the East end of the cathedral is a huge wooden cross. This was originally erected on Stag Hill in 1933 to mark the future site of the building. The original location is marked inside on the floor. The cross was made from timbers recovered from HMS Ganges. This was a Royal Navy second rate ship of the line built in 1821 and finally broken up in 1930.



Amanda and Susan at Guildford Cathedral

It was near here that we paused for some photography. As well as the usual stills, Amanda wanted to shoot one of her "Where am I?" videos. These are proving popular on Flickr and invariably they tend to be close to various cathedrals. This time however she had the assistance of me as her camerawoman.

Amanda's usual method is to shoot a number of videos and then select the best for uploading to Flickr, bearing in mind their 1.5 minute limit. With the first one "in the can" we went for take two. At this point, however the screen went blank. The battery was exhausted! Fortunately, as it turned out, the video we had was within the time limit and was a good one.

So, with our tour of the cathedral coming to an end it was time to move on to the rest of the day. Amanda had to be away from Guildford by late afternoon but this left us a couple of hours so we headed to the town centre for something to eat and a spot of shopping. The town centre wasn't too far away, but with the cathedral on top of a hill the idea of struggling back up there afterwards wasn't too appealing and so we drove into town.

After coffee and a bite to eat we toured the shops, although the rain did its best to dampen things. To add to this my umbrella finally broke but not before warding off some of the damp stuff. Priority at the shops was a new battery for Amanda's camera. There was nothing wrong with the other one apart from being flat, but it is always a good idea to have a spare.

There were other stops we both wanted to make but all too soon it was time to head back to let Amanda leave for her evening engagement. On the way back to the car the sky was alive with thunder and lightning, so perhaps our timing was fortuitous. It had been a lovely day and nice to meet Amanda at last. As trans women we have of course something special in common. But it's all the nicer when you share other interests too. Hopefully we'll be able to do this again soon.

Another Femesque Cheese and Wine Party

Five days after my Guildford trip was the latest Femesque cheese and wine party. I've written about these before and the take place roughly every six weeks. They are held at Femesque's premises in Aldershot and hosted always by their proprietress, the lovely Lynne. The enthusiasm and genuine affection for the TG community shown by Lynne and her staff always ensure that you have a lovely time.




Enjoying the Sunshine

I had travelled there dressed, as usual but had arranged to have my makeup done for the evening. On the way I stopped for shopping and refreshments. Also, to kill a little time I parked up for a while for some outdoor photos.

There's an awful lot of military land in the Aldershot area which is not surprising as it is the home of the British army. Much of it is used for training purposes but at the same time, they do try and open up as much as is possible for public use. There is one place not far from Femesque which is a car park on heathland which is very popular for dog walkers and those just wanting access to the countryside. And of course it's a handy place for a girl to while away a bit of spare time and take a few photos.

The weather was very good this day and I took full advantage of it and ran off some photos and even a few short videos. Whether or not I publish the videos remains to be seen. But here is one of the photos I took.

I arrived at Femesque earlier than usual as I had arranged for my favourite wig to have a wash and blow dry. Of course this is something that can be done at home but to sit in the chair in the salon and have it washed, dried and styled with the wig in situ is something that just has to be experienced.

Poor Lynne had forgotten about my hair appointment and was rather surprised to see me so early. She and her staff do work so hard on these evenings and she was dashing around getting everything ready for us. Soon though I was in the salon chair having my hair done. As soon as she was finished it was off to the make up room and I was in the hands of Claire to have my evening warpaint applied.

Applying make up is something that trans women have to learn and it usually happens later in life than for a woman who is Female at Birth (FAB). Girls will experiment with make up just as soon as they're allowed to and by the time they're old enough to wear it out in the world they've usually become quite proficient at it. But for us it's a learning curve and a great way of doing this is to let an expert make you up and learn from their methods.

Claire has done mine on a number of occasions but I never fail to pick up little tips. This time she offered and I accepted a pair of false eyelashes. I've only worn them once before and that was at a dressing service a few years ago. They always have a dramatic effect on your appearance and whilst I'd never wear them for ordinary daytime trips out, evenings are a different matter. But applying them is not an easy task and so far I've never tried it. So it was nice to wear them again and have them expertly applied.




The Finished Product

Anyone who's ever worn false eyelashes will know that the worst bit is keeping your eyes closed for several minutes after they're put on to allow the glue to set. So there you are with these miniature caterpillars stuck to your eyelids and trying to avoid the natural desire to blink. But I managed it, only to to have to have them removed and done a second time as one of them refuse to stick. Once you do open your eyes it's rather like waking up in the morning after a heavy night's sleep. In other words both sets of eyelids are stuck together and you really need to help them open with your fingers.

But we got there and the results were delightful and apart from the fact they dusted the back of my glasses every time I blinked I wasn't really aware I had them on. Taking them off when I took my make up off at home was quite easy and I can assure you quite painless. I now have them safely stored and waiting for the day when I have a go at putting them on by myself.

So, fairly soon Claire had finished her magic and I was ready for the evening. With my hairdo freshly done and my makeup expertly applied I felt pretty good. The evening itself was as enjoyable as ever with lots of chat with plenty of lovely girls. Lynne and her team always ensure you have a wonderful time and it's impossible for me to leave without feeling that extra special glow.

The following day I had a lunch meeting with some old friends and Susan wasn't to be a part of it. After feeling so at home in my female role the previous day it felt difficult to leave it behind the following morning, even if it was to spend the day with good friends. But then being transgendered is never straightforward and we all have to learn how to cope with this rather unusual lifestyle of ours.

Thank you for reading this,

Susan XXX