2015 TransFormal

[Rebecca]

Hi just wanted to mention accomodation in and around Katoomba is becoming very difficult to find for that weekend. I think there are some other events on. If you are heading up for the weekend book a room asap.

Discovered the northface 100 fun run is on the same weekend.

[Adrian]

Rebecca wrote:

Hi just wanted to mention accomodation in and around Katoomba is becoming very difficult to find for that weekend. I think there are some other events on. If you are heading up for the weekend book a room asap.

Rebecca,
Thanks for passing on the tip about accommodation.
Certainly one possible reason why budget rooms have been soaked up is the North face run.
http://www.thenorthface100.com.au
This has always clashed with TransFormal but up to last year they had a contract with the Fairmount Resort in Leura for rooms. That was turned down this year and I was asked many months ago if we wanted to move TF so that the Carrington Hotel could offer accommodation to the runners. I turned that down and so I assume the runners have had to go elsewhere.

I ran a quick check and the Metropole only has single rooms now for that weekend, but there are also rooms available at other mid-range places.

BUT Rebecca is right – it may pay to book a room early if you aren’t planning on staying in the Carrington.

[Adrian]

This Wotif search may help identify options outside the Carrington.

http://www.wotif.com/search/results?minDay=2015-02-18&startDay=2015-05-15&country=AU&region=1313&adults=2&searchTerms=&descriptionSearch=true&formSear

we have a block on 40 rooms at The Carrington. When they are sold we will have to compete with others for any remaining space at the hotel.

[Adrian]

Quote:

“You really want to look your best at the Dinner Dance on Sat at Transformal – don’t you ?

After receiving mixed feedback about the skills of the makeup artists invited in past years we decided not to make any makeup arrangements for TransFormal 2014.

But we also listened to the feedback that many of you value having someone to help you look your best on the night. So this year we have negotiated the services of an absolute professional; an artist who is highly regarded and experienced in doing makeup for stage performances.

Our Makeup Artist this year is Michelle Rieussset of Luminance. She has a Diploma in Entertainment Makeup and 12 years experience in this field, including some work with the Victorian State Opera Company.

Michelle has been introduced to us with high recommendations.

Quote:

We had Michelle come along and turn me into Lady Catherine and give Jessica her first time ever professional makeover. After my “Lady C” makeover she then did a different “after 5” makeover on me and turned me back to “normal” Caty. In both instances, I defy ANYONE to pick that under all her wizardy and skill lurked the “male me”. Jess was thrilled with her makeover too..

Take up this outstanding opportunity quickly as there will be limited sessions available commencing at 1.20pm. Each session will be approximately 40 mins long. Michelle guarantees that even if you have an early makeup session you will still look absolutely fabulous by the end of the evening.

Cost for this service is $50 with payment by paypal / credit card.

[Anonymous]

Hi all,

As the “Caty” in the quotes provided by Adrian above, all I can say is those that wish to take advantage of Michelle’s services, “GET IN QUICK”.

She’s not only very very good at what she does, she is also a fun person to be with.

The proof of her skills can be seen in my profile. With the exception of a makeover “elsewhere” late last year and barring any shots where it obviously looks like I’ve done the make up myself,the other two are Michelle’s artistry. See the Lady Catherine and “Southern Belle” crinoline dress shots and the accompanying albums. My avatar is the perfect example of her work

She not only completely transforms the male me into Caty, but knocks circa 20 years off my age.

Now that is SOMETHING………..!!!!???!!

Caty

[Adrian]

Caty wrote:

….all I can say is those that wish to take advantage of Michelle’s services, “GET IN QUICK”.

And they did!

We have taken paid bookings for all 8 places. I’m not sure if any other sessions will be made available. But we have enough firm interest to make it worthwhile for Michelle to attend TransFormal.

Thanks once again for everyone being SO enthusiastic about TransFormal.

[Adrian]

I’m pleased to announce our keynote speaker and guest facilitator for TransFormal 2015.

Julie Peters has kindly accepted an invitation to deliver the keynote talk at our reception on Friday night, and facilitate a couple of engaging workshops on Saturday.

Julie Peters
Julie has been active in trans politics, in Melbourne since the early 1990s. She ran for the Democrats five times and is currently doing a PhD (Deakin) on how to empower trans people, living in this highly gendered world.

“Becoming Yourself – Against the Odds”
The Keynote will look at Julie’s personal journey – who, from as young an age as she can remember, Julie wanted to be a girl.
But everyone insisted she was a boy.
Things got much worse at puberty when her body turned traitor.
This led her into very dark ages.
But eventually she realised that, at a practical level, she could change most of those things that said she was male – the way she walked, talked, the facial hair etc. – this enabled her to become who she was always meant to be – herself.

“It’s not all about you”
People who transition or make any big changes to their lives, impact on everyone they are close to, especially partners, family, friends and colleagues. This workshop opens up discussion on these impacts and encourages us all to share our successes and to improve on strategies that didn’t work.

“Strategies for Changing the World”
Very much part of being trans or non-conformist in any way, can lead to loss of friends or work, ostracism and public vilification. Often our initial reaction is to be secretive about our non-conforming status. In this workshop we discuss ways of changing the social consensus on what is considered to be normal, with the aim of including a much broader range of us.

Don’t miss out on what promises to be both an entertaining and informative lead up to the Formal dinner. All FREE with a Weekend TransFormal ticket.

[Adrian]

Once again some of the early birds have been lucky enough to reserve a room at the Carrington Hotel in TransFormal central. All the Traditional Rooms have now been ticketed. There are still plenty of Colonial Rooms available at the hotel – but don’t hang back – as the cheapest accommodation in Katoomba always sells out first.

[Adrian]

TransFormal Tastings

This year we have two exciting new tastings planned for the weekend. Here are the details.

For guests with a FULL WEEKEND TICKET ONLY
Your weekend ticket includes admission to one or two special tastings at the Carrington Hotel. Admission is subject to availability.

Each tasting will run for 2 hours. One tasting session will be held at 4:30pm on Friday, and the second session will be at 4:30pm on Sunday.

COCKTAILS @ 3000 FEET

Quote:

New to TransFormal this year. Explore the art of cocktail making with an award winning Cocktail maker. Evan Brown, who returns to share his passion & expertise in making excellent Cocktails for you to sample.

WINE TASTING – Around the world in 80 minutes or so

Quote:

Our wine tasting last year was a great success, so we are repeating it with a slight twist. This year we explore the world of wine with resident Sommelier, Andrew Russell and wines chosen especially for this event.

If you would like to attend these special events then log in to the event website and let us know which sessions you can attend (either Friday, Sunday, or both). And also let us know if you have a preference which tasting you would like to enjoy.

After preferences have been received, the two tastings will be scheduled and places allocated. Everyone who is allocated a place at the tastings will receive their ticket(s) prior to the weekend.

Whilst we will try to make reservations consistent with your expressed preferences, we reserve the right to allocate places in a way that maximises the enjoyment of all guests. If demand exceeds the availability of places then places will be allocated in ascending order of TransFormal Weekend ticket number.

[Adrian]

Announcing TransFormal Friday – Brunch and Golf

Some slight changes to the Friday schedule this year. We will be playing golf in the early afternoon – giving everyone time to drive up from Sydney in the morning. And we will be meeting beforehand for an early lunch/late breakfast/coffee at a cafe in Leura. Here are the details.

FRIDAY BRUNCH/COFFEE @ Leura

This year we will be meeting at The Wayzgoose Cafe in Leura on Friday morning at 11am.

Even if you can’t make it for a round of golf, why not break your trip the mountains and start your weekend with a tasty brunch or just a nice cup of coffee?

The Wazgoose Cafe is in Leura main street, down the bottom on the East side.
You can also enter the cafe from the Woolworths car park behind.
If you plan oncoming then please reserve a place at the Wayzgoose cafe in Leura.
This will help us to reserve the right number of seats.

T-off Transformal with a round of golf
Come and enjoy the views and a few laughs while playing golf at beautiful Leura Golf Club.

This year we are teeing off in the afternoon to give more people a chance to get to Katoomba.

We have two tee times arranged for 4 people each.

1:30pm for experienced golfers

1:42 pm for novices

11 holes will cost $25

Club hire if you need it is $15 and carts $25.

If you are interested in starting your TransFormal weekend on the golf course then contact Caroline on caroline@trannyradio.com or through the contact form on the TransFormal web site.

[Adrian]

[Adrian]

Well over half the tickets have gone… so perhaps it is time for some of those meaningless statistics I usually come up with at this time.

So first we have the state of origin of those attending.
Bookings from Queensland are surprisingly strong – but where is Tasmania this year – not even on the score card!

1 in 5 tickets so far has been sold to someone attending TF for the first time. So if this is your first trip to The Carrington you won’t be on your own.

And I keep stressing that TF is NOT a TgR only function. Currently about 1/3 of the tickets have been purchased by someone with an email that isn’t registered with TgR. So that is why you have to go to the Transformal website to get all the latest information – and not these forums.

[Adrian]

Announcing another fun workshop for everyone attending the TransFormal weekend

– presented by Ophelia Williams from Cross Dress With Class.

For a truly polished look, no woman can forsake her need for good nails.

This hands-on workshop is all about your hands. Do you dream of your pointy ends having a perfect paint job? Are you frustrated with your natural nails and how hard it is to keep them the same length and always looking nice? Are you tempted but afraid to wear the glue on types for fear they may never fully come off, be painful to remove and/or leave you unable to text?

Nail application techniques for the veteran glamour girl will be demonstrated in this session. Participants will each be given a set of nails to varnish which they can either keep for a rainy day or wear that night. Our focus is on equipping everyone to see that in spite of small details being sometimes devilish, in practice feminine little fingers can make a big difference.

[Adrian]

Over the last couple of weeks I have been positively bombarded with emails from people wanting to get involved in Transformal. The enthusiasm is most gratifying and of course makes my job a lot easier. If anyone else wants to join in the fun there are still a limited number of time slots / rooms empty – but be quick!

[Adrian]

What are the ticketing options for TransFormal 2015?

TransFormal is a weekend of activities from Friday to Sunday – to enjoy all the fun buy a Full Weekend Ticket.

But TransFormal is also a formal dinner dance – you can buy a ticket just for Saturday Night.

Plan your TransFormal to suit your own needs – buy tickets for as much or as little as you want.

Everyone attending TransFormal must have one of the two TransFormal tickets – but what about accommodation and all the other activities? Once you have purchased a transformal ticket you can then go to the add-ons and purchase accommodation and reserve space on activities.

FULL WEEKEND TICKET
The essential ticket! Gives you access to the entire weekend from Friday to Sunday. Includes:
Friday Supper Reception
Saturday Lunch
Saturday Formal Dinner
Cocktail/Wine Tasting (subject to availability)
A weekend of activities and workshops
$213 for 3 days (including formal)

OR

FORMAL TICKET
If you can’t make the full weekend don’t miss out completely. Buy a ticket just to the formal dinner on Saturday night. Includes 3 course dinner and live band.
$111 for the evening

Then (if you are quick!!)

VALUE ACCOMMODATION ADD-ON
If you have a full weekend ticket then grab the best bargain of the weekend – The TransFormal Central accommodation at The Carrington Hotel. Very limited quantity so be quick!!
$259 for a room for two nights

Tickets now on sale!!
http://www.trannytix.com/transformal

[Adrian]

I’d like to thank the following people for joining the T Q &A panel.
As in previous years we have a very diverse panel who should be able to provide an interesting perspective on our questions about “Acceptance”.

Announcing the panel for T Q & A.
Julie – our guest facilitator. Julie is writing her PhD on how to empower trans people living in this highly gendered world.
Tanya – from the BreastForm Store. Tanya has helped many girls with their first steps out of the closet.
Kayh – our resident Yoga teacher and unstoppable trans socialite
Liz – a creative writer, our TransFormal evangellist, and devoted to her family
Helen – makeup artist, registered nurse, artist, designer, teacher, wife, mother, step mother, and confidant.

Now all we need is some questions!!!

[Adrian]

All 56 seats at the Friday reception are now taken. So there are no more weekend tickets that can be sold. There are still Formal tickets up for grabs for Saturday night.

[Adrian]

Newsletter 3

All the seats for the TransFormal 15 full weekend have been taken, so bookings have closed. This is the largest weekend attendance ever!
There will be 56 guests at the Friday supper/reception.

We are however still selling tickets to the Saturday night formal.

In this Newsletter you will find the final program for the weekend and some details of events that have been added since the last newsletter.

But first a very important announcement…..

IMPORTANT!
As weekend bookings have now closed we will be allocating places for the Transformal Tastings in the next few days.

If you want to be issued with a ticket to a tasting but have not made a reservation request then please tell us your preferences immediately.

Everyone who has requested a Tasting will be allocated at least one Tasting Ticket.
After the Tasting tickets have been allocated and the hotel advised on final numbers we cannot accommodate any latecomers.

NO RESERVATION REQUEST >>>> NO TICKET ISSUED >>>> NO TASTING

Don’t race home!

There are two good reasons to hang around in Katoomba on Sunday morning.

1 The first is that we have a rare chance to make a public statement about gender diversity by joining the Blue Mountains Council IDAHOT celebrations.

We even have a professional banner to gather under.

2 The second reason is that the ladies from Abras Kadabras are repeating their very popular private shop opening in the afternoon.

A Bras Kadabras is a speciality lingerie store located close to The Carrington Hotel on Katoomba Street. At aBrasKadaBras you’ll find:
• A warm and friendly shopping environment.
• Enthusiasm about giving outstanding customer service
• Ability to show compassion to customers with various needs
• A sensitive and professional approach to fitting you in the perfect Bra.
• Our Passion and knowledge of lingerie

The shop operates on line so you can check out their range here:
http://www.abraskadabras.com.au/

I have met with the shop owners Gina and Katrina who are very supportive of gender diversity.

Their private opening at the 2014 TransFormal was popular and great fun!

Gina will open her Katoomba shop on Sunday from 1pm to 4:30pm just for TransFormal guests.
It s a short distance from the hotel, down the main street. Wander down any time during the afternoon and you will be assured of a warm welcome.
This is a unique opportunity to both browse and shop in private, but also to take advantage of Gina’s skilled fitting service.
You can come away with something that not only looks good – but which actually fits!

Yoga @ Transformal

Do you want to channel your inner femininity more effectively;
become one with your true self;
lose some lard from the dreaded love handles;
provide some pertness to the posterior;
free up some flexibility to the hips;
or perhaps simply bathe in a bath of spiritual bliss?
If any of the above appeals to you then read ommmmm!

On Saturday afternoon at 3:15pm Kayh Andersson will be giving a yoga class to calm the nerves, limber up and invigorate before the big night. You’ll be walking tall, swinging those hips and maybe even throw in the splits on the dance floor!

All are welcome and encouraged to attend even if you don’t know your downward dogs from your hot dogs. The class will be gentle yet stimulating using the concept of cyclic relaxation to deepen the experience.
If you own a yoga mat please bring it along, otherwise a large towel to lie on. You will need to wear either loose or stretchy clothing that does not restrict movement, so unfortunately corsets, hobble skirts and heels must be removed in advance! Apologies for the inconvenience.
Very much looking forward to seeing there:-)
Kayh

This session will finish at 4:15 giving plenty of time for everyone to glam up for the evening.

Are you staying at The Metropole?
One of the guests staying at the Metropole has asked if there is anyone else there who could walk with them across the road to The Carrington.

If you would like to make contact with others staying in The Metropole just email me saying when you will be arriving (and perhaps a mobile phone number). If there is any response then I’ll share the details.

[Adrian]

Last Week – Last Table Released – Last Chance

TransFormal Tickets SAVE $25

Credit Card / Pay Pal sales only

[Adrian]

Here is the final program for IDAHOT on Sunday 17th May.

I’m hoping that most of the 80+ guests who are in Katoomba for the TransFormal formal will delay their departure to take part in this important celebration. It is important because the issue of Transphobia is something we all deal with, and because this is a truly unique opportunity for a significant number of transgender people to stand up in public and increase awareness.

If you are wondering what a flash mob dance is…then here is the video.
Have a rehearsal and let’s show Katoomba that the girls can dance!

[video width=425 height=344 type=youtube]dqsLdW8tTMg[/video]

[Elizabeth]

This is a fantastic opportunity for us as a group to support a segment of the Katoomba community. In turn, Katoomba supports us, and I know that many of the townspeople are fully behind us. Transformal has become a traditional part of the Katoomba calender, not forgetting that we do bring business to the town.

My mobility is a little limited, does IDAHOT accept shufflers to the Council offices and back?

[Adrian]

I have had two other invitations from the Blue Mountains IDAHOT committee. I’ll copy them below. And if anyone coming to TransFormal wants to step up to the challenge please let me know.

Opportunity 1:

Quote:

We are planning guest speakers right now and I would like to invite a member of your group to be a guest speaker. We’re not sticking religiously to the theme of youth but if there is anyone (or yourself) that feels comfortable speaking in front of a crowd about their experiences as a young transgender person that would be fantastic. We’re looking at speakers talking no more than 10-15 minutes (but flexible) so if this is something you think is possible or if anyone is interested, let me know.

Opportunity 2:

Quote:

Also – are there any performers attending that are up to join the entertainer? I’ve got some great performing groups from last year keen to perform again (King Parrot Samba and Hands, Heart & Feet) and I’m organising one or two shorter performances as well. Possibly looking at 10-15 minutes performing, depending on what kind of entertainment but if you’ve anyone interested let me know their details. We do pay a small amount to those that perform on the day, if relevant, so keep that in mind.

[Jennifer_1]

I haven’t been marching for years but would be happy to have a go, please count me in for the march. I don’t think I would have anything to speak about on the topic of young trans people, I was a late bloomer.
Cheers Jenn

[Sophia]

Hi all I attended the function on the front lawns last year and met some lovely women who where so supportive of us girls and the transformal event They did mention to join up for something the next year so I be in for joining in the march but will have to re arrange my departure time. I usually leave on the Sunday for my 7 hr road trip home. However I very interested in attending, maybe more? sing a song? but will have to give it some thought. Great you want to connect up Amanda! kind regards Sophia

[Adrian]

Ticket sales for 2015 have now closed.
Numbers are very slightly up on last year with a few last minute ticket purchases.

Some statistics:

22% of guests are coming to their first Transformal
60% of guests are coming for the full weekend
We have guests from every state except Tasmania
70% of the attendees come from NSW.
We have booked 84 room/nights staying at The Carrington Hotel

And the weather at this stage looks promising

[Adrian]

I thought I should explain the $3 ticketing charge that applies to tickets on the web site.

If you look at the FAQ for Transformal you will find this explaination:

Quote:

Why do you charge a handling fee?

Payments made through Paypal (for credit cards or paypal funds) attract a hefty fee. The terms of service for Paypal however preclude us from directly recovering these costs. Worse still, PayPal insist in their terms that you must not charge a higher price for a Paypal transaction than cash.

There are also labour costs involved in proceessing bank transfers as they do not process automatically through the web site, and we frequently have to manually chase missing transfers.

As we are forced to charge the same for every transaction irrespective of how you pay we charge a fixed handling fee for every order.

Note that the charge is only applied on each order irrespective of how many tickets you buy. The more tickets you buy at once the lower the cost to you (and if you pay through PayPal the bigger loss we make on the transaction!)

[Carol]

Just heard that my sister-in-law, brother-in-law, nephew and nephew’s wife will be in the Blue Mountains for some running event this coming weekend. That could lead to interesting reunions.

[Adrian]

Carol wrote:

Just heard that my sister-in-law, brother-in-law, nephew and nephew’s wife will be in the Blue Mountains for some running event this coming weekend. That could lead to interesting reunions.

It’s the North Face 50k & 100k endurance race. We discussed it earlier because of its impact on budget accommodation in Katoomba this weekend. The run is on Saturday – with the 100k fitness freaks running through the night!! The race is hosted by Scenic World this year – so stay away from the Scenic railway if I was you!

[Carol]

Yes I worked out it was the North Face 100 straight after posting. The youngsters are serious international endurance racers. Problem is the oldies will be all over Katoomba doing the shops. My wife is in a blue funk. She seems to have forgotten she told her sister about my crossdressing 30 years ago! Que sera sera.

[Anonymous]

So tomorrow afternoon I’ll leave home with my wife’s blessing for 3 days spent as a woman or at least as much as my nerves can take.
I’ve tried on different combinations of clothes and feel comfortable that I’ve got 3 decent daytime outfits and a couple of evenings. Sadly I’ll have to have radical rib reduction surgery before Saturday or my evening dress I bought will be very difficult to zip up. It seems very good quality. Which is a shame,but I do have an alternative lbd.
I plan on driving as far north on the 9 hour trip as is safe, stay in a motel over night tomorrow and then continue on friday morning enfemme. I can avoid petrol stations and cafes until I arrive unless I need the ladies!
Once up in the blue mountains I hope I’m not too cold as I don’t have a winter coat!

[Terri_2]

Congratulations to Adrian, her marvellous assistants, the staff at the Carrington & the members of the Bigradiodynamite band for another totally enjoyable weekend
From Friday nights reception, all the workshops, Saturday night, to Sunday’s interaction with the IDATOT event everything just flowed into a great experience
Thank you to everyone who took part
Terri

[Adrian]

So Transformal is over for another year.
Back home we have to wind down from the excitement, download the pictures from the camera, and think back over our memories.
On many aspects I feel it was one of our best yet.

I still can’t believe our luck in having good weather for the 6th year running. Occasionally I have thoughts of changing the date so it doesn’t clash with the North Face run, but then I figure the Gods may be confused and forget to let the sun shine.

This year was memorable for me because of our significant contribution to the Blue Mountains IDAHOT celebration. We carried our banner with pride and were welcomed by the local LGBTI community. The speeches might have over-run the official timing but were eloquent, relevant, and at times very moving. The Gods smiled on us bringing out sunshine to counter the mountain chill, and as the rainbow flag was raised at the Council Chambers the wind picked up to blow it out.

It is always a pleasure to go back to the Carrington Hotel and be warmly greeted by the staff. After 6 years I feel we belong there and our return is appreciated. Things ran very smoothly from my perspective this year, even though my partner wasn’t able to help with the organisation as much as she wanted to.

It was lovely to see the Grand Ballroom full on Friday night, with so much happy chatting (probably we should have used that microphone). Then on Saturday Julie Peters challenged us to become ourselves, we grappled with the difference between tolerance and acceptance, and Ophelia excelled herself exposing the real deal on false nails. I was lucky to have the time to attend Kayh’s Yoga class which both helped us relax from the buzz of TransFormal, and tone up our muscles for the dance floor.

Perhaps the saddest part of the weekend was hearing that our enthusiastic photographer Connie had been admitted to hospital on Saturday. We will miss not having her photographic record of the Formal, but our thoughts are with her for a speedy recovery.

[Carol]

Well as my second Transformal this year had no chance of matching the absolute high I was on at my first time last year but it came pretty close. Thanks to Adrian, Caroline and the other “permanent” staff. The IDAHOT involvement was brilliant (can someone more technical than me explain how I can download the pictures?). I’d heard that Connie couldn’t make the event this year but hadn’t realised she was in hospital. I hope she gets well soon.

[Adrian]

Carol wrote:

(can someone more technical than me explain how I can download the pictures?).

I’ll find somewhere “private” to upload the photos (and movies) I have.
I’ve done this in the past but very few others have shared their photos so it has been a very one-sided exchange. Any suggestions how to make it work?

I personally don’t think Facebook and other social media is the place to post pictures unless everyone in the picture is comfortable with their image being cached for posterity and viewed by the world. Obviously my personal opinion isn’t going to stop it happening though!

[Deleted User]

Yes a very special Transformal this year as a result of joining in with the IDAHOT Celebrations. Blue Mountains community has some wonderful enlightened people as evidenced by their moving speeches.

As always party time on Sat night was Fantastic. Not much space left on the dance floor.. thats a good sign.
Thanks Adrian for continuing to find ways of injecting new variations into the Theme of Transformal which has clearly become become a MUST ATTEND event .

Wonderful also to have many new people attend this year for the first time

[Adrian]

Thanks to everyone who has posted or emailed me sharing their enjoyment of TransFormal 2015.

Last weekend was the culmination of many months of work. Though I personally find the weekend exhilarating, exciting, and often exhausting, it is the positive experiences of others that really make it worthwhile.
I’m so glad it gave so many had a wonderful time!
Thanks for letting me know!

[Tahlia]

Like Carol, this was my second Transformal and while I did not reach the high excitement of being a newbie, I had a great time catching up with friends from last year and met some new friends this year. All the sessions were of benefit to me especially Ophelia and her nail tips. Transformal is a must attend event on the calendar and by miracle I have managed to convince my partner to join me for next year. If you need a photographer, let me know and I will bring my gear with me. I can dump all pics to a flash drive before the end of the weekend.
Thanks Adrian and all the team for making this a great weekend and event.

[Kristen_james]

Another wonderful, well organised weekend thanks to Amanda & her team of helpers. Lots to discuss in the aftermath & I look forward to reminiscing on the event next week @ the Glebe cafe night. K.

PS The Carrington Hotel rocks!

[Elizabeth]

And yet another Transformal is packed up and locked away, perhaps to be dissected. This now means starting to save for next year and the determination to acquire a new dress to add red carpet glamour to the 2016 Transformal event.

The 2015 Transformal is the event of the year on the Australian social calender surpassing the Golden Globes, Oscars and other star studied attractions; really our Transformal does put Katoomba on the world stage. I was a little miffed to discover all our illustrious TV channels had decided to give our extravaganza a miss; shame on them.
I was unable to join the march to the council offices supporting the International day against homophobic and transphobic hate owing to the fact I had over indulged with an excellent Shiraz from Champagne Charlie’s on Saturday night. I wasn’t pissed but the rustle of the Sunday Telegraph pages aggravated my addled brain.
On Sunday there appeared to be a generous parade of very ordinary members of the public from wide and far especially drawn no doubt to the Carrington and the spectacle of our community tarted up to the nines; it was a lovely spectacle.

It was a lovely weekend with riveting workshops and interesting discussions and gorgeous food. The Carrington staff and management were, as usual welcoming and accepting, although one male waiter delivering me a flat white, said, ‘enjoy sir’, me with my carefully applied makeup, long skirt and hair most carefully coiffured.; of well! Owing to my limited mobility I only ventured into the Katoomba air on Sunday evening for the now traditional dinner at the corner brasserie, a fitting end to an amazing weekend.