This weekend was a bit of a disjointed affair In so much as several sides of me that simply don't meet face to face were competing along side each other.
Geeks
A quick flit home from a Friday night out saw me grabbing cameras & assorted paraphernalia from my flat & running out the door again.
The first call of the day was the other side of the county. The first flickr group meet of the year.
A sunny day , bit breezy . Just right for a walk along the North Norfolk coast.
I cant explain the Norfolk coast to anyone who has not witnessed it, but it has an overly calming effect on me, in the way that many big empty spaces do. I think it may be a decluttering of modern life , because the landscape is essentially featureless in great parts . Which I love.
I digress.
I don't know why , Ive done all but one of these Flickr meetings for the local Norfolk group since they started a few years ago.
I cant put my finger on why I like them .
They are different every time I guess. The geeks (I shouldn't say that should I ) are not full on camera club folk, mostly happy bumbling about with the simple equipment they have (like me).
There is no real fixed agenda , & it's interesting to see other folks perspective of a day . A slightly different take of the same subject matter.
The main channel to wells harbour. ....and yes it is low tide.
The local birds
The local chaps
I can't to get away from boats. I seem to live my life around them , sailing , repairing, teaching photographing. Dreadful obsession
Beach litter....Norfolk style.
So , nice meeting . Met a few old friends, some new.
Had a pleasant walk & took photographs of stuff.
I also ran it to another one of the local trans folk, whom came along to the meet.
I'll admit it took a few seconds to recognise.
So this is the way my lives can rub up against each other sometimes.
I chose for the sake of being discrete not to say anything, & am still unsure whether I was clocked or not. Maybe. If so I hope I didn't make things awkward for her.
A quick thrash back home, with a brief stop off at my parents half way to catch up on the rugby scores. Well this was an excuse to grab a cup of tea really. I'm so shallow.
The evening out had been planned with friends.
Two of them had entered and made it to the finals of the LGBT Talent contest.
Sounds cheesey, well maybe, but both are good musicians & have so much to offer.
So it was new dress , new coat time & out the door again with a spring in the step.
As I finished getting changed The door bell rang, & I waited as the colour drained out of me. It was pretty obvious I was home. All the lights on in the house.
...and so it kept ringing . I'm afraid I was terribly rude & just waited till they gave up.
When I finally got around to sneaking out past the neighbours to the car that is when I discovered that the car had rolled back into the street of its own accord.
Now I knew what the fuss was about !
...and its not easy to sneak out when your the center of attention in the street.
Anyway, not a great photo, but this is my new dress, navy, Thia-dye affair. The Jacket is a waist length military style, black velvet with small brass buttons , which I sort of fell in love with .Muggles
The evening was held at a local club.
Not a know venue , not one I had been to before , so this was approached with some trepidation.
Essentially a straight club, in a bit of an odd area of the city. Oh well first time for everything.
Well several hundred folk inside & one tranny, was a little ....shall we say intimidating at first .
I grabbed a G&T & found a seat. The bar staff were pleasant at least & had the courtesy not to flinch one bit or do the 'Sir' thing to me. Which was good of them I think.
It was early. The show not due to start for an hour.
Muggles , I think is the popular term for the beige folk in these post potter days. Which ever. It was the first time I've spent in public with so many folk I don't know.
I was glad to spot the odd familiar friendly face as the place slowly filled.
When a chap walked up to me & exclaimed 'I know those legs' It took a few moments to recognise friends in drab. They were all still getting ready for the show, so popped up & disappeared periodically.
Daisy Chainsaw, the face of Welsh drag queens.
(she was not totally unamusing)
Ill not go through each of the acts , just to say Freddie Mercury giving a recital of Barcelona from his dentured, urn was to say the very least Bizzah.
The girls pretty much had their turns ruined by a shoddy sound system & their chances of the £500 scuppered. Oh well.
A fickle judiciary gave some strange decisions, but the winners were whom the crowd shouted for the loudest so . I suppose all was fair in the end.
A few tears at the end , but all was a nice evening .
I plain forgot where I was which was reassuring in retrospect that some of my confidence issues are subsiding.
It was nice to be invited back to the Pub by the owner and her friends.
An offer I accepted. Wouldn't have a few months ago maybe.
The girls pretty much had their turns ruined by a shoddy sound system & their chances of the £500 scuppered. Oh well.
A fickle judiciary gave some strange decisions, but the winners were whom the crowd shouted for the loudest so . I suppose all was fair in the end.
A few tears at the end , but all was a nice evening .
I plain forgot where I was which was reassuring in retrospect that some of my confidence issues are subsiding.
It was nice to be invited back to the Pub by the owner and her friends.
An offer I accepted. Wouldn't have a few months ago maybe.
Rings of fire
I added these , not because it was a great act, but I just liked the flamey effect I was getting as I fiddled with my camera :O)
I added these , not because it was a great act, but I just liked the flamey effect I was getting as I fiddled with my camera :O)
The rest of the weekend was just plain sailing.
...but that's just another aspect.
...but that's just another aspect.
6 comments:
"..still unsure whether I was clocked or not."
I'd say recognised rather than clocked: it's so much more positive. Can I presume that my own discretion was effective then?
My early departure was due to a flat battery: VR lenses are rather greedy, and I hadn't topped up the charge beforehand :o/
I think it's so cool the way the tone of your posts have changed over the last year or so. So much more confident and, dare I say, happier?
And don't worry about being clocked by Isobel, I've clocked her in a day job several times. ;-)
And hey, next time go up and say "gate of ivory? It's me from blurred lines!"
What have you got to lose? If you ever clock me, ill be dissapointed if you don't say hi! :-)
My apologies Isobel, not the best wording , but the simplest way of describing a silent,uncommunicated recognition.
It's an odd position to find yourself in though. I value other folks privacy, as if it were my own. I guess there are unwritten rules about times & places you can bound up to folk & make your life known to the world. This didn't seem like one of them . Hope you didn't find me rude in that aspect.
You probably found yourself in the same situation, so yes your discression was effective :O)
It's not a position that has occured for me before. I guess it may happen more often now that I'm out and about more frequently.
Oddly , the only folk Ive nearly run into before Is Becky & Jane.
She once blogged about a new years day walk on Holkham Beach which when I read was fully aware I was there on the same day. Ships in the night though that time.
Either way It was nice to meet you & Sorry you had to leave early. It was a bit of an odd Flickr meeting. Normally have a little more focus than that(no pun intended). I think I am going to suggest another scavenger hunt for the next one. These are fun & the results always good.
As for Becky's comments. Yes you probably are right , & think I have grown in confidence over the last year. Warranted or not. Happier?, Maybe. Simply because I'm sharing a bit more of this situation now with others.
My next step is to try to stike a balance between confidence & wrecklessness.
May be not to easy :O)
You weren't being in the least bit rude, Lara. There were half a dozen different openings I could have used to introduce myself, but since it was a Flickrmeet rather than Transpocalypse III (whatever happened to that?) any off-topic conversation stood a high risk of being gatecrashed. It looks like we share a similar sense of privacy, as well as our taste in music.
I've always thought you also share a certain je ne sais quoi. :-)
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