Despite howling gales, torrential rain and freezing wind enough to freeze your bits off, the 4^th Enigma Ball at the Bletchley Park Mansion Ballroom on 24^th November was a resounding success, according to all the feedback we’ve had from those attending.

200 glamour pusses mingled, met old and made new friends and danced to the fabulous Swing Smiths live 9-Piece band, who also see this as one of the highlights of their year. And I mean GLAMOUR – this was our best yet and is proving to be the one occasion across the whole Transgender Social Calendar when T-Girls/ Cross-Dressers/ Transvestites (whichever name you’d like to apply), and friends with open minds, can truly go to town on wearing their best evening wear and ballgowns – everyone had risen to the occasion. Some even had gowns specially made for the evening! The standard of dress, make-up and hair gets better at every Ball. The ultimate comment I heard was “Look around tonight and there is not one person here who looks like what people think transvestites should look like. It’s just an evening full of elegance with people out to be themselves, enjoying a superb venue and soaking up a fantastic atmosphere”! And you can’t ask for more than that!

For some girls this was not only their first Ball, but also their first-ever outing dressed en femme, which makes it all worthwhile. If you’ve only ever dressed in the comfort and security of your own home it may seem inconceivable that 200 ‘girls’ could have the confidence or ‘sheer balls’ to not only go out in public in stunning evening gowns, but also be comfortable enough to enjoy themselves at the same time. Two points to mention here:

1. Whatever anyone says, it does take balls for men to go out in public dressed in clothes of the opposite gender. Even in today’s society it’s still very difficult for Alpha Males to show any sign of weakness. And the majority of those who dress are traditional heterosexual males, believe me because I’m one of them!
2. When I say ‘girls’ there were probably 30 genetic females among those at the Ball who were either partners/ wives/ better halves of some of the ‘ladies’ or supportive and helpful to the Transgender Community, like Lynne and her team from Femesque. Another very interesting insight for me came from a group of 6 ‘real’ girls at the Ball who initially felt very nervous that they wouldn’t be accepted as they felt they were intruding in our ‘manor’ – how wrong they were, as all we want is to be treated with respect in our chosen mode of dress.

So, if you’ve ever been tempted but felt that you just couldn’t take that next step, a place like Femesque is the perfect place to begin. You could leave home as your average ‘Joe’ (but who wants to be average anyway?!) and the neighbours wouldn’t suspect a thing! You then put your faith in the very capable and supportive hands of the girls at Femesque who will talk you and walk you through the process of transformation, and you’ll emerge as you could never have imagined it would ever be possible ….. as Joanne! Simples!

 “But that’s easy for you to say!” I hear you thinking. True, it is now, but we’ve all started somewhere with those same fears and tremors. I just happen to have come to terms with myself and accept that although I still don’t truly know why I like to dress occasionally in women’s clothes, I can now celebrate my ‘difference’ and think this malarkey has added so much to me as a whole person. I have never wanted to transition, I don’t feel the need to ‘change sex’, but I now enjoy the benefits of knowing myself today better than I ever have before. And Lynne at Femesque is a very special friend on my continuous journey to further enlightenment. Whoaa ……!

Anyway, back to the plot …. Take a look at the Gallery Pages of www.enigmaball.co.uk and you’ll see the fun everyone had at the Ball – how many more smiling faces could you see on any other site?

This year is the 100^th Anniversary of the birth of Alan Turing who is finally acknowledged as the inspiration behind cracking the German U-Boat Enigma Codes in WW2, and the forefather of today’s computer. A truly enigmatic character who I’m sure would have given us his blessing had he been around last week and who must have been smiling down on us in all our finery. As a result of his life, we are very fortunate to do what we do nowadays, and we should be very grateful that there are opportunities like Femesque and The Enigma Ball to help us on our way. It makes it all worthwhile when we get feedback saying it was a “life changing experience” for some people.

Thanks Lynne!

Big hugs and lots of love. Mwah!

Kathy

xx