Tomorrow's Chip Wrapper

Well today came and went. Just your average snowy day in Stoke....Except somehow I've found my mug plastered on the front on the local newspaper. ( I may have mentioned this about 50 times already)

I woke with trepidation and alarm, though the later was courteousy of my mobile phone. I new the feature on me was due to be published today and my short video interview was to be on the web site.

I entered the Coop supermarket with a forced casualness, and walked over to the newsstand. There on the front of the topmost copy of the paper is my mug alongside the masthead. with the tagline "I FEEL MORE NORMAL AS A WOMAN". It's a crap quote as I think normal is an absolute, but I did say it. On the scale of 1 to 100 in cringiness, buying a newspaper with you face on the front ranks at 97. I bought 2 copies and folded them front to back so as to hide my picture, forsake someone thought I was only buying them to read about myself. Which of course I was.

My reaction to the article so far has ranged through horror, annoyance, self satisfaction, nonchalance, pride, embarrassment, vanity, petulance, acceptance and hunger. Although the last one is due to skipping breakfast.

Everyone had been positive about it, but I feel frustrated that I didn't end up saying something more meaningful and I have been a bit picky about some of the finer points. One particular bugbear is the fact of my weight. Now I mentioned to the reporter that I had to lose a significant amount of weight to be referred for Gender Reassignment Surgery. I mentioned that I had been nearly 30 stone and had lost over 6 ½ so far. All that was said was that I was well over 20 stone and no mention of my weight loss. So great, the only reason I declared my weight to the populous of Stoke was to demonstrate my weight loss commitment. On top of that they knocked 2" off my height, so I am now to everyone squatter and fatter. Still it was never going to be my dating profile. To be fair to the reporter the article is well put together and is a positive take on the old story. It's interesting to note that the thing that seems to have bothered my parents most is the fact that I underplayed my 'O' levels! (It didn't even mention my 'ology). Anyway if you are bored enough to want a gander then you can read the whole shebang on The Sentinel's web site at here.

The video from the web site is another matter. I have never been filmed before, so had no real idea how I would come across. The filmer and editor Martin has performed miracles to make something vaguely intelligible from my machine gun waffle. I just wish I had done one or two things differently. My hair, My Makeup, My Outfit, My stupid big hands, My stupid big gazing out of the window, My stupid big waddle along the canal. and most of all my voice, which is a cross between George from Rainbow and Brian Blessed. Apart from these minor points , oh and the words I used too. Apart from all this my performance is a huge tour de force.

Checking the article online this evening (like I haven't checked it a thousand times already), I discovered that my bit had created some comment. Most of it was supportive though one comment caught my eye.

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I think this is an absolute disgrace. Not only is this persons behavior kept in privicey of their own for walls but also is a union representative. this is just another factor why Britain is on a slippery slope down into oblivion.

m. davies, blythe bridge

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commented on 03-Feb-2009 14:46

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I think m.davies is very insightful. My behaviour kept in privicey of my own for walls is a disgrace. I have been known to wash coloureds and whites together, leave the top off the toothpaste and once ate a whole packet of Cadburry's fingers in one go (actually more than once).

Still lets all enjoy the slide to oblivion together.....WWWWEEEEeeeeeeeeeeeeeee