"From the cradle to the crypt is a mighty short trip - so you'd better get it while you can"

Please note that this is my pre-Covid account and that I don't post my pictures here any more. You will find those on my new Flickr page.

July 2019 update - Well, well, well. Here I am moving into the twilight of my life and I think, and hope, that Annabel can still look as delightful as ever, and certainly more delightful than I ever dreamed possible. How many ladies can say that at 60? What a joy this parallel universe has given me, the joy of feeling younger rather than older every day. I know the point will come when Annabel's delightfulness has peaked, but my current enjoyment from days out as Annabel is a real benefit of my lifelong gender fluidity, a benefit that compensates a lot of the other baggage that goes with a trans life. And that baggage seems so unnecessary in the modern day where there seems no tangible reason left to keep dividing the population up into two groups, and then immediately telling each group how to dress and what colour to associate with. After all, I've spent most of my working life working with women who are, to all intends and purposes, wearing the same "uniform" as me.

I should re-iterate that I am straight, yes truly I am. Some people find it hard to believe but with an open mind you may one-day understand. And by virtue of being in a monogamous relationship I also not interested in sexual encounters, regardless of how tempting you might be.

I have now been posting my pictures for several years on Flickr and I appreciate all the compliments, faves, and humorous conversations that have sprung up. I have discovered that girly joy of being flattered, something totally absent in my more prosaic male persona, and therein lies another of the benefits of this parallel universe - I understand women a lot more than I used to. So thank you to all of you who have made Flickr a pleasure to post on. I post my photo's partly for you, and partly for me. I hope I do inspire others' in some small ways, through my outfits, my photo settings, or just my enjoyment of being out and about. But I also post to create a timeline of my parallel life as Annabel, as brief as it is.

I would also like to thank the many many people who have inspired me. I fave pictures because I like something about them, it might be an outfit idea, the colour co-ordination, the pose, the setting, the look, or just the beauty of the person. I find so many of you inspiring and thank you so much for posting pictures and sharing your life with me.

When I am out and about I always attempt to conduct myself with courtesy and kindness, and I have found that the majority of people respond positively to that, many don't care either way, but sadly a few fringe views, along with the "everything's a laugh" types, do still exist. I have had nice conversations with people who have probably never encountered a trans person before, and that has to be a good thing for all of us. I am convinced that the key to acceptance is to be non threatening (and recognising that our very existence is threatening to some people). So I always aim to go about my business quietly but un-deterred, neither forcing myself on people nor attention seeking, but doing what I want to do and what I have every right to do. There are plenty of bad things out there in this crazy world, and dressing this way is not one of them.

July 2018 update - I have been going out publicly since November 2015 and have found a lot of lovely people in the transgendered community, some that I now call good friends. I have enjoyed so much of this new lifestyle, have found it rewarding in several ways, and have even learnt things that help me be a better person whatever persona I'm adopting. I have found it helpful to accept that I am a man in a dress when I go out (avoids the anxiety of perfectionism) but I also try to be a man in a dress who is doing his best to present as female, with female characteristics and a feminine attitude. I believe that if we are to be accepted for who we are then we need to leave that blokey attitude behind at all times when presenting as female. If we don't then we simply add fuel to the views of those who do not wish to share their world with us in an inclusive manner. I cannot pass, that I know, but I can do my best to be the person I'm trying to be, if only for a few brief hours on a Thursday night. So I am trying to find the style that I want, and carry it off as best I can. Please be forgiving when I don't quite get it right. I am also trying to strike a balance between posting the pictures that I like, or create a record of Annabel's life, and those that might be appealing to others.

But all this time I have had a niggling feeling that I needed a name that was more in keeping with my age and also the style that I was trying to achieve, and this style had become apparent over the last few years while going out. So I have decided that since I consider there is still some development left in my female persona, I would like to do this as Annabel. I hope that Annabel will overtake what was achieved as Amy in a year or two's time. So I have changed my name to Annabel, and Amy is consigned to my initials.

Original post

I am a lifelong dresser finding more opportunities to dress as I get older, though fear it's too late to do myself any real justice. Oh to have those missing years again and be a little bolder with them. But the simple thrill of being dressed is as good, if not better, than ever and I am beginning to expand my horizons by going out more in public. I have an accepting wife and plan to grow the Annabel part of my life without letting her take over completely. I am straight, and not looking for sexual encounters, but I happily accept that's part of the rich tapestry of transvestism for others.

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