August 29, 2005 12:46 PM BST
Hi Elspeth, it was a year and a half ago so I can't remember any names of the clubs we went to, apart from the one we ended up in - Frenchies (AKA French Connection) on Rose St Lane north. It's just a tiny pub, but as far as we could see it was the only advertised tranny place in the whole of Edinburgh. But I'm sure you will know about the Pink Triangle if you're from Edinburgh, and all the pubs and clubs there are used to seeing all sorts. You'll be fine there so don't worry about a thing. To be honest, I see women dressed as men all the time, so I don't think you're going to shock anyone at all! We went on a Tuesday night, so it was pretty quiet everywhere. I did like Edinburgh, lovely place.
On my first night out in Manchester (a month later), we met a f2m in "Vanilla", a lesbian bar. He asked if he could join us and I'd just assumed he was a young bloke until he told us, but he had been on hormones for a while. In some ways f2m's have advantages over m2f's with hormones, their beard will grow and their voice will deepen, but unfortunately that doesn't happen in reverse for us types. Surgery is another matter of course...
He was perhaps the first person that asked me the question, "Why not?" (With regards to transitioning), he had a point, why not indeed? And here I am!
xx
April 30, 2006 11:17 PM BST
I was out with Lucy on her first night dressed in Edinburgh (my first too). Edinburgh doesn't really have a tranny scene, but the locals seem fairly tolerant. We didn't get any trouble.
As Lucy says, Frenchies is the place to go. This is the only openly tranny-friendly place in Edinburgh. There are lots of tranny-suitable photos on the walls, and the staff treat you as the lady you are.