Last one

I said I'd link to everyone, so completists might want to know that Penny has blogged about Transpocalypse. :-)

More angles

Isobel and Chrissy have blogged about Saturday, and Jane has written something rather nice prompted by the night. Go comment on all of them to show your appreciation, and come back here when you're done, m'kay?

Transpocalypse Liverpool

Hmmm... what to say about last weekend?

I've not got much to add to the usual comments like "it was great to see everyone", "getting everyone organised was a little fraught" and "I really wish I'd had more time to properly chat to everybody".

I did do my best to mingle, but inevitably I barely touched base with most, which is a real shame.

One of the great thing about organising a tranny even for a bunch of bloggers and friends is that you can guarantee at least a few of them will do all the writing-up for you afterwards. :-)

So, in the manner of those multi-angle things on DVDs, you can already see Saturday night's action from the point of view of Pandora, Clarissa, Valerie and Joanna.

Of course, the others don't have to blog about it, but if they do get round to it, I'll link to their posts too. :-)

Transpocalypse Nigh!

Just 48 hours to go before possibly the biggest Liverpool-based UK tranny blogmeet of this weekend, if not the whole of January!

If you think you're coming and you've not just received the final details via email then let me know as soon as possible and I'll sort you out. :-)

Scratch that

Sorry, Transpocalypse on the 4th of November is cancelled. :-(

I didn't realise quite what an effect a Liverpool home game against Reading would have on the hotel availability situation. Basically it's become impossible to get a hotel room anywhere near the centre of town. I didn't like the idea of people finding odd hotel rooms all over the place, especially lone trannies away from home! One of the nice things about last year's event was everything was in walking distance, and I want the next one to be the same.

So...

4th of November: CANCELLED.

New date: 27th of January 2007.


Updated FAQ:

Q: Why so late?
There weren't any good dates in late 2006. Plus this gives people a bit more time to prepare. 27th of January was the first good weekend with nothing major happening in the city. (Yet... you might want to book a hotel room before they decide to hold an FA cup match there or something.)

Q: Where can I stay?
A: I suggest the Travelodge Liverpool Central.

Q: So what's Transpocalypse, then?
A: Transpocalypse is a get-together for people in the Tranniesphere. We had one last year in Birmingham. People seemed to enjoy it. :-)

Q: What's the tranniesphere?
A: It's a word that Siobhan invented to describe the community of tranny blogs. Although in this context it includes non-tranny bloggers on the edge of the tranny scene, who might just link to a tranny site or comment/contribute regularly. And trannies who might not "blog" but do maintain a personal website.

Q: So can I come?
A: If you fit into the categories in the answer above, yes! We'd love to see you.

Q: When is it?
A: The 27th of January. It will probably kick off around about 8.00PM-ish.

Q: Where is it?
A: Liverpool City Centre.

Q: Why Liverpool?
A: Why not? Basically because it's a place I've "trannied" in the past and I know it. I'd toyed with other locations but they would have been a bit of a shot in the dark. Also, there are lots of tranny events down south, so this makes a bit of a change.

Q: But isn't Liverpool a bit, you know, straight? Won't it be dangerous going outside the main tranny "scene"?
A: If you get enough trannies in one place we make a scene. (In more ways than one!) And the parts of liverpool we'll be going will be in and around the gay club areas, so pretty safe. I've been out in Liverpool several times with no troubles.

Q: What will happen on the night?
A: Probably a meal and a chance for a chin-wag, then off to a gay club in Liverpool. Plans are a little open at the moment, it will depend on numbers!

Q: I want to come! What do I do?
A: Email me so I know! Répondez S'il Vous Plaît!!:-)

Remember remember the 4th of November

A date for your diaries: this year's tranny blogger meet, Transpocalypse II will be the 4th of November. Location yet to be decided!

Any tranny with a blog or website is invited. Nearer the time I'll put together a proper announcement and start getting numbers.

At the moment I'm just interested in getting ideas, where would be a good place to hold it? Last year it was a meal and club in Birmingham. This year I'd like to try somewhere else. Any ideas?

If you're interested in coming and want to know what last year's event was like, I suggest looking here.

Of course, it being a tranny event, there are also lots of pictures from last year.

And here's a handy button:

Transpocalypse in video

Well, more of an impression.

;-)

Transpocalypse in blogs

As well as generating loads of pictures, due to it's very nature the event was one of the most blogged about tranny gatherings ever! So here's a round up...

Clarissa:"it was certainly nice to be doing something away from the regular 'tranny scene' and with people who are never going to be mistaken for a 'bloke in a frock.'" Gemma: "I am humbled: each girl was different to how I imagined her." Miss K: "They are FOLDING CLOTHES AND PUTTING THEM ON SHELVES!!" Gillian: "As we left I went over at a couple who had been eyeballing us all night 'What do you think?' they couldn't have been nicer, said how wonderful it was to see us and how beautiful we all looked (thats like tickling a puppys tummy to a trannie)." Steph: "But it wasn't just ordinary lettuce, oh no...this was shredded, Iceberg lettuce...The dirty bastards." Siobhan: "I think the words "Trannie Sandwich" were running through my head as I eventually went to sleep." Joanna: "Discovered the horror that is German Pop Idol in Siobhan and Miss K's hotel room." Jane: "Just one thing Bex, please next time choose a name that I can spell."

And that's just the blogs of people that were there. A quick technorati search while researching this article turned up quite a few bloggers who were there in spirit, if not in person!

Transpocalypse in pictures

The thing wot I organised

I've often said that marshalling trannies is like herding cats. This was based on my experiences of going out with small groups of T-girls, or watching the efforts of people like Kim Angel, who seem to take a perverse pleasure in organising massive Busby Berkeley-esque congregations of T-Girls. Now I've experienced first-hand the trials of trying to ensure a large group of trannies are in the same place at the same time I think I've understated the case.

Organising trannies is not like herding cats. Organising trannies is like trying to herd drunken kittens driving miniature bumper cars, using only the power of your mind.

Whilst blindfolded.

Early on Saturday evening Jane and I were returning to the hotel when we happened to spot Siobhan, Miss K, and Joanna sitting in the bar next door. We got talking about plans for the night, and I said that I was going to get everyone to assemble at 7.00 in the bar we were in, before heading over to the restaurant at 7.30.

"Make it 6.30," Siobhan said. "You know what trannies are like."

I did, and I agreed. A text went round to everyone not present: "meet in the bar 6.30."

That meant I had to start getting ready almost straight away. We headed back to the hotel room and I started messing about with outfits. The funky check skirt I'd bought in River Island earlier and planned to wear that night turned out to be too big, which was quite pleasing but it did mean a good amount of faffing over what I was going to wear. Luckily I had my own personal style advisor in the form of Jane, she's managed to set her taste thresholds a bit lower than normal or I wouldn't be able to wear anything in my wardrobe!

You know that thing they do in films to show the passing of time, where the camera pans up to the clock, and then fades to show a time a few hours later? I swear that it's an actual physical phenomena that occurs at some point every time I prepare for a night out. Somehow 4.15 became 6.15 and I still had to finish my lipstick, brush the field mice out of the wig, and put on some jewelry. I'd said 6.30, and as I was organising things I didn't want to leave people waiting on their own, so I rushed about and we made it down to the bar at about 6.35.

Of course, we were the only ones there.

At this point a little voice in the back of my head started saying "no-one's cooooooooming," in a little-girl-in-Poltergeist style.

The problem isn't only that trannies often think of timetables as things invented for other people; they also tend to have sudden attacks of nerves, last-minute crises of conscience, and good old-fashioned bouts of can't-be-botheredness.

Of course I knew that Miss K, Siobhan and Joanna would be there. Although they all knew that 6.30 was a ruse to get people there on time, and I knew that they'd roll down when they felt like it. But I had a horrible feeling that maybe everyone else had decided to stay in and watch The X Factor. I wasn't so much worried for my own self-esteem, you understand, I was worried for my bank balance. There was a 20-seat table at the restaurant that might have to be paid for whether people turned up or not!

Luckily we were soon joined by Gillian and Clarissa, and then other trannies started appearing in dribs and drabs, and by 7.30 we were almost at full strength. Very special thanks to Gemma for very generously clearing everyone's bar tab, which sped things up a great deal! By 7.50 we'd actually made it into the restaurant. 20 minutes late, which I suppose by tranny standards is quite good. A glass of wine steadied my twanging nerves and I started to enjoy myself!

Actually, I think it was one of the best tranny gatherings I've ever been too. My unspoken agenda for arranging a "bloggers only" night out was that it was a good way of getting together a bunch of interesting people who had something to say for themselves. I think it worked!

I didn't speak to half the people I wanted to, and the ones I did I only spoke for half as long as I'd have liked. Rachel and I had a good chinwag cos she was sitting next to me at the meal, but I'm a little annoyed that I didn't get a chance to properly chat to bloggers like Gemma, Steph, Ian and Kim.

At about 8.45 Becca and April showed up, who made up for being very very late by bringing someone I had no idea was even coming. But they all paid for the full meal, so I'm not complaining. :-)

One of the minor annoyances of the evening was the gay bars in Birmingham don't seem to have taken advantage of the new late licensing laws so Hurst Street was more or less deserted when we wandered down to the club after the meal. In fact, it looked like some of them weren't so much closed as abandoned! I hope that this isn't the case because Birmingham had a vibrant little gay quarter and it would be sad if it went.

Here my memory gets a little blurred. I remember chatting to Jessica for a bit. Some clubbing was done. Some snogging happened. There was modicum of dancing, some drink-fuelled emotional moments. Then we went home.

It was a great night, it really was. But I've decided I never want to organise a tranny event again. It's too stressful.

Of course, I hope they'll be a Transpocalypse II. Next year. Bigger and better. Maybe even get people to come over from other countries! That would be ace. Who fancies it? Don't worry, I'll do all the organising! ... Oh bugger.

Transpocalypse Then

Well, that was fun!

Not up to blogging about it properly yet, still nursing a slightly sore head and trying to put things in order in my mind. I was hoping some early-bird bloggers would have written up the night so they could remind me exactly what happened, but so far only Gillian has surfaced, which has helped, even if she did skirt round the issue of Siobhan and the Arab.

Expect proper write-up later, with pictures and stuff. Promise!

Party Season

Transpocalypse is tomorrow, and as well as being the first ever official gathering of Tranniesphere bloggers, it will be the unofficial start of my Christmas Party Season.

The weekend after this one is the my work's Christmas do (casual bloke mode), then the weekend after that is Jane's work's Christmas do (very formal bloke mode!). The weekend after that is the Angelic Christmas do (girly mode, yay!), then Christmas weekend (bloke mode family gatherings), then New Year's weekend (80s themed New Year's party, not sure whether to do that blokey or girly yet!).

So all told I've not got a free weekend from now until 7th of January! Guess I'll get the Christmas shopping done that weekend. :-)

Whoops, Transpocalypse!

After months of waiting, the first ever tranny blogger gathering, Transpocalypse, is nearly upon us!

I have to admit, I'm not really ready! The meal's all booked and confirmed, and the tickets for the club have arrived, but I still have to have a think about what I'm going to pack and wear on the night!

To everyone who's coming, I'm really looking forward to meeting you all. The meal kicks off at 7.30, but I'll be in Birmingham earlier than that, probably doing a lot of last-minute shopping! :-)

One small thing, there's a couple of spaces opened up for the meal. If anyone fancies coming, just let me know ASAP and I'll happily squeeze you in.

Transpocalypse Update

The response to Transpocalypse has been impressive and I've already had a load of people email me to say they're coming to the first ever Tranny Blogosphere (Tranniesphere) night-out. If you're coming to the meal part of the evening, and you've not let me know personally via email, please do so as soon as possible so that you can be sure you're not left off the list. I'll be sending around details about the meal and other stuff soon.

A few people have contacted me to ask about hotels too, so you might want to sort out a place soon before they fill up. Details are on the invite page, I'm staying at the Ibis.

If you're not sure what the Tranniesphere is, Siobhan (who will be there on the night, naturally!) has posted an explanation of it's origins.

My friend Jessica is also coming and is even thinking about making special t-shirts!

So far we've just gone over the 20 places I've booked at the restaurant, but they're flexible so if you if you want to come, and you're linked to or part of the Tranny Blogosphere, get it touch!