Today I’m going to continue writing about Sparkle, as I said previously, it’s a pretty big topic and so it’s going to take me more then one post to cover some of the key events of the weekend from my perspective. Sparkle takes place in and around Canal Street on a Friday, Saturday and Sunday normally in July. While there are things happening on all three days, the biggest events take place on the Saturday, and the most popular of these is the Tranny of the Year competition.
I understand that in the early years of Sparkle (the event only began in 2004) the competition had been known as the ‘Miss Sparkle’ pagent but somewhere along the line someone decided to rebrand the event. Personally I feel that Miss Sparkle is a better name than Tranny of the Year however I must admit that ‘TotY’ is a useful acronym. I do feel however that it might blur the edges of who the competition is for as some people might not like to refer to themselves as a ‘tranny’ while others feel that the name implies it should be limited to transvestites. I was chatting to someone after the event who told me that they did not feel it was fair as transsexuals were allowed to enter. From my own perspective I did not mind but I can see where they were coming from.
When I attended Sparkle last year I bumped into my friend Jessica, a girl I knew from chix who had entered the competition. It seemed like a lot of fun and a great way to meet new people (not to mention get a little attention) and so I thought that it would be fun to enter.
I sent in my application a couple of months before the event and swapped some emails with Leah True, tgirl extrodanair and one of the organisers of Sparkle. I received some instructions on things to consider when being marked during the pagent and an invitation to pick up my competition sash from AXM, the bar in Manchester which was hosting the launch party.
I arrived by myself on the Friday evening a flittered about as I usually seem to do at these events before catching Leah’s eye and introducing myself. Leah is a lovely person, very friendly and welcoming and we sat down as I registered and received my competition sash. In previous years the sashs had had the entrants name written on them, and I must admit this was one of the attractions of entering, so I was a little sad to see that the sashs were generic, with the name of the sponsor and event as well as an individual number. Leah explained that they had been short of entrants up until quite late and so did not have the two weeks needed in advance to send them to the printers. Also, the cost were a little expensive and it was one expense they perhaps didn’t need. (I should point out that there is no entrance fee for Sparkle or the contest and while I don’t know where they get the money from, the organisers manage to do a fantastic job.
After receiving my sash I had a new key card to use for getting into conversations which after all, was one of the main reasons why I had entered. I met several other girls who were competing and some of them I feel I clicked with very well especially two girls from Birmingham called AyCee and Cyndie. It was also easier to talk to other people and I met a very nice girl from Scotland called Cat and was able to catch up with another few friend who I had not been able to meet before including another Jess, this time from Leeds. Jess was a very cool chick and I had spoken to her off and on for a couple of years so to finally meet her was a high point for my weekend.
For the rest of the night I hung around with Cat, AyCee and Cyndie as well as meeting up with another friend Aleks who I had also been talking to for a couple of years and had met at the previous Indulgence, the BDSM club night in my home town. I was having a really good evening until I discovered that my clutch handbag had popped open and half of the contents had fallen out! someone on the street very kindly tapped me on the shoulder to point it out and I managed to scramble all of the bits lying at my feet back in. It was only later that I realised I had not gathered everything…
One of the great things about Canal Street is that its is the LGBTG heart of Manchester and also a place where many people go on hen and stag nights. Many people there are gay or bi but far from everyone and tgirls are a common site so abuse or negative comments are rare and often outweighed by the positive. I remember being accosted by a girl who was out with her gaggle of girl friends who wanted to pose with me and take photos which I took to be a compliment.
It was about 2am when I next opened my purse to check the contents and realised that I was missing something. Fortunately my money and card were still there but somewhere in Canal Street I had lost my room key! The key was a card that fitted into the door of my room and was pretty generic, but with it I had lost a small card that had come with it which had contained my room number and the name of the hotel. Fearing that some randomer might have found them and was now sleeping in my bed I decided, reluctantly, that I should return to my room.
As no one else was staying in my direction I had a long, lonely walk back but I made it to the hotel unscathed and the nigh porter let me in. I told him I lost my key and he checked my name off the list and issued me with a room key. I asked if I needed to pay anything but he waved me away implying that it was a common occurence. I went back to my room and found it in the same state I had left it a few hours earlier and felt relief but I was also a bit annoyed that my airheadedness had curtailed a good night. Still, it was only Friday and tomorrow was another day.
