July 28, 2013

There were over 20 girls at the Swans meeting, which was great.

There was a school uniform theme to the evening and quite a few girls dressed the part:

Claire organised a quiz, which went very well.Emma got the highest marks (17 out of 20). No-one knew what a bumbershoot was at the beginning of the evening, but we’d all have been grateful for one before the evening ended.

At round about 9:00 it was, as is usual, time for the raffle. This was a little more cheek-reddening than normal, since Laura insisted in making sure everyone got to read the message that was following me:

In fact, no-one did.

May 26, 2013

Last night was a regular Surrey Swans get together. It was different in that it was actually warm enough to sit outside for a while in the early evening.

This did pose some challenges.

Four of us were sitting at a table. Myself, Laura, Chelle and Brenda.

“Hello Andrea” says Chelle.

We struggle to see each other. The sunshade / parasol is down and positioned right between us.

“Maybe we can take it out”, says I.

Then, after a short struggle.

“Maybe it would be easier to just put it up” says Brenda.

So I hold onto the pole with my left hand and the sliding bit with my left and start pushing.

“Omg …” says Andrea.

“What’s up dear?” asks Laura.

“I think I’m losing a boob”.

At this moment Andrea loses interest in the parasol and catches the boob as it slides out from under her blouse.

The opening of the parasol is completed with an upturned silicone boob sitting on the table.

As I slide it back into place it reminds me of a joke I first heard as a schoolboy. I share it with the others.

"A friend placed his left hand on his chest and solemnly declared ‘You know, sometimes I feel a right tit.' "

We giggle like a group of schoolgirls.

Rozz is serving drinks for the night. It’s really nice to see her again.

Part way into the evening Claire introduces herself.

It seems that in the near future she’s running a lingerie sale kind of event at the pub as a charity fund raising event. Mike, who runs the pub, had mentioned to her that we might be interested in the lingerie. So she asked if we’d be interested in taking a look at some catalogues that she had brought.

Oh and the lingerie as well.

Things were then quiet for a little while as people studiously looked through the catalogues.

 

 

The pictures were taken just before the rack of lingerie was assembled.

It was really nice to meet Claire and she was really helpful to everyone. I think a few people had checks on bra sizes.

On checking with Emma, it seems that the first ever Surrey Swans meeting was in September 2003. So in September 2013 we’ll be 10 years old. That’s cool.

April 28 2013

Another really nice evening at the end of April with about 18 girls.

We had a visit from Lisa of yourSanctuary.

yourSanctuary, formerly called Surrey Women's Aid, is a local charity that provides a range of services which offer emotional and practical support to people and their children who are experiencing or have experienced domestic abuse.

Along with providing services ourselves, we also work closely with other agencies to offer a package of support. Although we work with these other agencies we are a voluntary organisation and are not part of a statutory agency. This means we are able to offer impartial support and provide information to enable people to make informed choices about what they want to do. We do not make decisions for people or make anyone do anything they do not want to but we do help to look at options.

yourSanctuary works to prevent domestic abuse and undo the damage it does to individuals, families and communities. In addition to direct services to women, men and children affected by domestic abuse, yourSanctuary provides comprehensive prevention, advocacy and educational programmes. Our clients come from diverse communities, sexual orientations, religions, ethnicities, socio-economic groups and age brackets. We are based in Surrey, where one in three women experience domestic abuse as opposed to the one in four nationally. We don’t restrict our work to the Surrey borders, reaching out to fleeing families from around the country and answering calls on our 24hr helpline from whoever needs help.

She chatted with quite a few people about the kind of work that yourSanctuary do and the widely different forms that abuse can take. It was really nice to meet her and very informative as well. Hopefully she’ll pop along again once in a while and keep in touch with us. Here’s Laura with Lisa:

When it came to collecting the attendance fees and managing the raffle, Tina and Laura gave me a night off and did all of the work. The event wasn’t without incident however – a couple of tickets were pulled out of the bag that no-one admitted to having bought.

The mystery was eventually solved. Linda had bought two strips of tickets but had inadvertently been given three. One was stuck to the back of the other.

The was a special request for a theme evening sometime in the future. The barmaid for the night was wearing pigtails and someone said that she’d look nice in school uniform. She wasn’t so keen on being the only schoolgirl in the place though, so it was suggested that if there was a school uniform theme evening everyone could join in. So, it’s due to happen on July 28th.

February 24 2013

Another great time to meet up with people.

Again, there were about 18 of us – five of whom were newcomers and we also welcomed maid, Stacie.

January 27 2013

The meeting at the end of January was, as always, really nice.

About 18 people were there, with quite a few people making only their second visit.

It’s great to see old friends and also to get to know new people.

November 25 2012

The meeting on Sunday 25th November was, as ever, great. There were about 20 girls there. For several people it was their visit, and even a first trip out as a girl in public.

One of the nicest things about Surrey Swans is that it provides a safe and friendly environment for transgendered people to “come out”. The girls that attend the meeting are very friendly and easy to get along with. All us us remember those first frightening steps out into the world.

The day before the November meeting I received an email that mentioned:

I intend to give … her first proper outing tomorrow night and come along. Must admit am very nervous, but looking fwd to it. I will be the one arriving about 830 looking terrified!

It was really great to meet her. She looked great and despite the feelings of terror en-route to the meeting, settled into things very quickly.

If you’re reading this and are transgendered and haven’t been able to express that other part of yourself then feel free to get in touch and come along to a meeting sometime.

However … there isn’t a meeting in December, the next one is on Sunday January 27 2013. Dates for the rest of next year are here.

October 28th 2012

I couldn’t get along to the Swans at the end of September because I was on holiday. However, Emma organised the evening and it went well. And here she is:

This past Sunday there were about 18 people and it was a really nice evening.

It was especially nice to meet Stacy who’s first visit had been in September, and Petra, who’s first visit was that very night.

Stacy (on the right) is next to Christina here:

It was lovey as well to meet Chantelle who provides the drinks and things during the evening. September was her first month at the Swans. All the way from South Africa, though she has been in the UK for about 10 years now. Here she is along with Laura:

And here are a few of the other people that were there:

 

 

 

Christina mentioned a new trans-group called R-Trans that is starting up in Reading. There are details on facebook here.