I’ve had the right to vote for forty years but for 20 of those, as an employee of the government, I rarely used that right and that didn’t change much after I left, some 18 years ago. The polarisation of politics in the UK, particularly England, didn’t help. Locally there was a regular fight between the town council and district […]
Going Green
Visit to Boulogne
Twenty years ago I was in Boulogne on a set of site visits. I have photos from two visits, 19 May 2004 & 11 July 2004. This animation is from the first of those dates.
Update – May 2024
It’s now 14 months since I transitioned and seemingly upset a few people! However, my life has continued without interruption. Lots happened back in March & April last year, starting with my name change and getting my NHS record amended. Banks, HMRC/DWP, Ofcom and the District Council were amongst the bodies I needed to contact. This was really just bureaucracy […]
Passing – options & decisions
One aspect of my transition that I don’t often touch upon is that of ‘passing’. In short, I don’t try! I’ve been blonde for 6 years and have been growing it all that time, and more, so I didn’t make that change to pass – in fact it’s mostly tied back! Make-up is something I very rarely use. I carry […]
Me and tech
I’ve written about my transgender identity often but not about my tech roots. I took and passed an A Level in Electronics 1982-84 and used a Commodore PET 2001 and a teleprinter with acoustic coupler during that time. I also soldered 555s and 741s into small circuits. Add Maths & Physics A Levels and 40 years ago I was quite […]
Looking back in time
Both of my “legacy” social media accounts were created some time before my transition but both had ‘Shiraz’ in the account name. One such platform (aka cesspit) reminded me that today that it’s the 12th anniversary of the account creation, so 11 years before transition, dating it to 20 March 2012. The other one dates to mid 2015 so is […]
My transition
I made a concious move to a feminine non-binary appearance in 2019 although this wasn’t a destination but rather another way-point on my journey to my eventual social & legal transition a year ago. I had known for 30+ years I needed to transition, so the outcome wasn’t in doubt. Four years of non-binary appearance meant that when I did […]
Transitioning story
NB The following text refers to my personal experience and is not intended to suggest this is the correct way to handle transition. I’ve transitioned twice, so you could say that I detranstitioned but that’s not how I looked at it at the time. My first transition, in 2008, was a spur of the moment decision (in the kitchen next […]
Referral timeline
Summary: My journey through the UK Gender Identity Referral process. It won’t be quick. I initially transitioned in 2008 without any support, having been refused a gatekeeper interview. That transition was short lived and ended after 6 weeks with a mental health breakdown. I next applied in 2012 and received approval, but the papers were lost. Finally in 2022 I […]
Moving forward
2023 is definitely a year of change I spent a large part of 2022 getting my referral to a Gender Identity Clinic under way, ten years later than originally planned (and a full decade after being authorised!) However, I didn’t feel that my GP was working with me. Scroll forward into 2023 and I hadn’t had a full response to […]