Manchester Sparkle

 

 

 

 



I have just bought this wonderful summer dress to wear to Manchester Sparkle in early July this year (2017) Weather permitting that is. Since the horrendous attack on the Manchester Arena this week (22nd May 2017) I'm more determined to attend the Sparkle event than ever before.


Manchester is a fantastic city with some great places to visit and see, the Manchester people are strong and always pull together when facing adversary of any kind. This terror attack will be handled in the same way that Mancunians have done so for years. This is not the first explosion to rock the great city. “We won’t take defeat and we don’t want your pity” is a phase you will see in the UK press and on the internet and its just about sums up this proud united city.
Tony Walsh a self-styled Longfella recited an ode at the recent vigil gathering in the cities centre. thousands were in attendance.

"We keep fighting back with Greater Manchester spirit
Northern grit, northern wit, and Greater Manchester’s lyrics
And these hard times again, in these streets of our city
But we won’t take defeat and we don’t want your pity."

 

Everyone at the vigil gathering roared their approval, and there was prolonged, heartfelt applause as he finished the ode. His words have now gone viral across social media around the world, capturing a moment that summed up the mood that evening.

The city is open for business and the Transgender Sparkle event is just one event in the city that will continue to happen in and around Manchester regardless of terror attacks or any threats. Sparkle will once again take place in Sackville Gardens, Manchester in 2017 as follows:

• Sparkle Fringe        1st to 7th July 2017
• Sparkle Weekend   7th to 9th July 2017

 

The Sparkle event is open to all to attend you don't have to be LGBT just human (I think and that's flexible by the sounds of things :-))  So get your party pants on and get down or up to Sparkle Manchester 2017 it's going to be great, and even greater if more than last year turn out to support Transgender people.

 

 

Fat Sick and Overweight.

I am currently changing my diet and lifestyle to a healthy one...a plant-based diet avoiding processed foods meat and dairy.

I like many watched Joe Cross in his personal mission to find a cure to an illness he had and he turned to a juice diet and plant based foods to try to cure himself. The movie is on Netflix and is called Fat Sick and Nearly Dead its worth watching and may give you the inspiration to change your diet and think about what you are eating and is it making you sick?

I know the diet I was on and my lifestyle wasn't doing me any favours, it wasn't bad as such, but unhealthy quite a lot of the time and I knew before watching Joe’s movie I needed to change,

To date I have lost over 26lbs and the weight is still reducing, like any “diet" if you revert back to old eating habits and portion size you will gain weight so I know I need to change my lifestyle as well then my new eating habits will be reinforced and my weight is more likely to stay off.

I am hoping my Ulcerated Colitis will disappear from its current state or reduce to a level that is acceptable and my M.E. reverses somewhat. A big ask I know but I do not have much choice in the matter. Any transgender person is at the mercy of the surgeon if they are Male to Female, as they use a weight to body mass index scale to see if you can have any lower surgery called the BMI.

The gatekeepers of the NHS in England are very strict and will happily leave a person waiting if their BMI is too high. I do not think transgender M2F patients really put much in to their weight loss when they first start on the pathway I know I did not. Thinking back to over two years ago, when I did initially start at the gender clinic my main thought was to get the medication I needed,  I should have addressed my diet then and that way it wouldn’t be at my foremost thoughts now.

As my next appointment at the gender clinic looms. I know the consultant will weigh me and see what kilograms the scales display, the last time he said “let’s see what the hormones have done to you”  so not wanting to hear that again, and trying to lower my BMI has been my secondary driving force to change my diet and lifestyle.

Therefore, when I read that 43 million Americans are on a diet at any given time, and the reality is that most of these people –anywhere from 65% to 98%, (depending on the research source) – will regain the weight they lose within 12 months of losing it and that worries me. So a total change from 2017 onwards is required of me, at diet and lifestyle change and one that I can live with.

The UK’s BBQ season is under way so I have to think of dishes that can be cooked outside on the BBQ, that fulfil my diet of plant based foods. The medium done double steak burger with cheese and bacon will not be made as they smell just too good and be swapped for a bean burger of some kind, and roasted vegetables with sweet potato fries.

I know I will have slip up and “fall off the wagon” as most people do, even Joe Cross found it is difficult to keep his weight off all the time, and you know that’s okay. I know I will have bad days and good days. Getting back on the wagon is just a part of the weight loss and lifestyle change I need to make.

I used Joe’s movie as the extra motivation and inspiration to change what I was eating and what I did, it’s a guide not a rule and like anything in life if it’s worth doing you might as well do it well. I have always tried to live my life according to a few basic rules or principals most of which comes from my parents including being honest with yourself and others, as it normally comes back to you in the end… so it saves a lot of heart ache and time if you upfront as my dear father would say…

Being Transgender is not easy and staying positive while you wait for Gender clinic appointments and surgery is not easy, in fact it's really hard at times.  Having personal goals you wish to achieve is the way to proceed in my view every step I take brings me closer to my goals and wishes. I'm lucky in that I have a close family bond, good friends and work mates who help and support me. I know some don't have this back up and I'm grateful for everyone's support.