More than music

A little while ago I mentioned the music of Emily Maguire.

After listening to Emily's music quite a lot and watching her play at The Slaughtered Lamb in London :

we booked tickets to a gig at the Sakya Buddhist Centre in Bristol on Saturday December 8 2018.

The day didn't go completely as planned.

The Andrea plan ran something like this:

• 14:50 to 16:20 - do the makeup
• 16:20 to 18:00 - drive to Bristol and find somewhere to eat
• 18:00 to 19:30 - eat somewhere in Bristol - Gloucester Road maybe?
• 19:30 to 19:45 - get to the venue
• 19:45 to 20:00 - mingle and wait around at the venue
• 20:00 to ??:?? (whenever things wind up) - enjoy the poetry and music
• ??:?? to ??:?? + 94 minutes - drive home

At 15:00 all is well. The makeup doesn't really take 90 minutes to apply. There is certainly more to life than makeup.

Denim skirt + blouse + cardigan? Or dress and shawl?

I consult my fashion adviser (aka Sally). The dress wins - though the shawl isn't so popular an item.

Shaving takes way longer than on a non-Andrea day.

And then there's all the other stuff.

Cleansing lotion with cotton wool.

Moisturiser with fingers.

Primer with fingers.

Pause. Panties. Tights. Bra. Falsies.

Red door.

Lipstick with a concealer brush around my mouth. It acts like a concealer to hide the inevitable pre-bristly grey shadow that asserts itself as time passes.

Foundation with a foundation brush.

Powder. On with a powder puff. Off with a brush.

Shadow with a shadow brush. More shadow with a shadow brush.

Liner under the eyes with a stick. Ober the eyes with a pen.

Mascara with the spiky thing that mascara comes provided with.

Blush with a blush brush.

Lipstick with an applicator.

Dress.

Shawl.

Necklace.

Hair.

Earrings.

Watch.

Rings.

Bracelet.

Lip gloss.

Flat shoes - for driving.

Andrea pops her house keys into the handbag. "I've got the keys" she calls out as Sally puts her coat on.

Andrea checks that the tickets are there.

Her purse - complete with money, credit cards, drivers licence.

Bits and pieces of makeup.

Phone.

The kind of things that belong in a handbag.

Pitter patter raindrops lead her to collect an umbrella.

And pick up her coat.

Some not so flat shoes, which have nothing much to do with the weather but look nicer than the flat ones.

She opens the rear door of the car and unloads her arms onto the seat.

Sally closes the house door. Climbs into the passenger seat.

The new TomTom is pre-programmed. She speaks with the computer-voice of Serena.

Off they go.

Innocently unaware that the tits-up experience is only minutes away.

Serena doesn't seem to be traffic-aware. Andrea decides it's time for a pep-talk.

It goes something like this - with contributions from Andrea, Serena and Sally.

"Hello Tom-Tom."

Silence.

Louder than before: "Hello Tom-Tom"

"Hello. I'm listening."

Beep.

"Activate phone."

"No phone is connected."

A pause.

"Hello Tom-Tom."

"Hello. I'm listening."

Beep.

"Activate phone."

"No phone is connected."

A longer pause.

"Please can you check my phone. In my handbag on the back seat."

"I can't find it".

"It should be there."

"I can't find it."

Andrea pulls over and parks.

"Let me see".

Beside the shoes? Beside the umbrella? Under the coat? On the floor? Under the seats?

No. No. No. No. No.

"Oh. Maybe it dropped onto the driveway?"

Inside a thought bubble: "I hope".

Five minutes driving.

Serena suggests that a U-turn would be a good idea.

The driveway is bare.

Andrea begins to wonder.

"When I picked up my coat, the umbrella and my shoes - what happened top the handbag."

Well - maybe it didn't get as far as the car.

Sally is amazingly at peace.

He handbag is complete with phone.

Unfortunately it has no keys.

Andrea was pretty clear that she had them.

In her handbag.

Unfortunately.

Andrea doesn't have her handbag.

Time for a chat with Google.

"I'm locked out of my house."

"Locksmiths - 24 hour callout."

17:00 the locksmiths are called.

"We can have someone with you in 60 to 90 minutes."

Tesco sandwiches rather than a Gloucester Road restaurant.

17:30 the pone rings.

"We should be with you in an hour."

BP provides some diesel.

17:57

"We'll be about 30 minutes."

Serena is connected.

"Oh ...".

The alarm is false. Bluetooth is capable of reaching through the front door and shaking hands with Andrea's phone.

"Hello TomTom".

"Hello. I'm listening.

Beep.

"Activate phone."

"Phone activated."

Beep.

"Mmm."

Sally phones Andrea.

Serena rings.

Serena is turned off.

Sally phones Andrea.

The sound comes from the hall table.

Sally and Andrea are amazed that they didn't try this a long time ago.

But it would have made no difference.

18:28 the cavalry arrive.

Andrea explains the position.

The locksmith bats no eyelids and sets to work.

18:35 the door is open. Handbag and it's goodies are retrieved. The papers are signed.

Andrea has keys.

Sally has keys.

18:45 journey recommences.

"Only Andrea would have done that."

"What?"

"Left home without a key."

Andrea ponders on this. Maybe its a shortage of pockets and an excess of handbags?

Serena is exceptionally helpful.

It rains. And rains. And rains some more.

20:08 arrival.

20:12 The room is pretty full, Sally apologises for being late.

"Emily hasn't come down yes."

At that moment, Emily comes down the stairs and heads for the microphone where Christian, complete with double bass, awaits her.

Andrea and Sally sit on cushions on the floor and enjoy the music and the poetry.

It's especially nice to hear some of the history behind how the book of poetry came into existence and how some of the songs came to be written.

If I'm remembering this correctly, Emily said that before writing The Borderline she'd gone through a long period where she hadn't been able to write anything. It was suggested she try waking  very early sometime, spend some time meditating and then see what happened. And this, The Borderline was born. At the moment it's a song that is very special to me.

The music is more than just music. The poetry is more than just words.

After the music is all over Andrea says thank you to Emily. Buys a book complete with autograph. A small glass of red wine. A chat. A thank you to Christian.

And the journey home ... with a renewed commitment to making sure that there is always a key available somewhere for the next time.

Documentaries, Café Rouge and more documentaries

Things have been busy over the past few weeks.

On Sunday November 25th there was a Surrey Swans meeting where we were visited by Nate, Harri, Alex,Terrell, Evie and Elisha from the University for Creative Arts who were putting together a documentary as part of a project for the course that they are studying.

On Monday December 3rd I spent a lovely evening with Tina, Susie and Chloe at Café Rouge in Windsor. It’s always lovely to meet up. And here we are … Chloe, Andrea, Susie and Tina:

Part way through the evening we talked about identity and who we are. Susie shared a simple and yet profound truth. She said that really, she is just herself. She’s not a label. And that is true. It really is.

On Wednesday December 5th I visited UCA in Farnham as a follow up to the documentary. It involved some filming and chatting with people involved with the Trans society there. I found that to be really helpful for me. It was really special to share some thoughts and feelings with younger Trans people. It reminded me a bit of Emily Maguires Song, The Borderline in that we each knew that the borderlines are things that people invent and that really each of us is just a person. The fact that we are trans is an incidental thing. Mainly, we are just people.