A month of highs and lows
Well here we are again! Another month has passed as we slowly start to come out of lockdown and start to return to a new normal! I think I am almost up to date with my sell by dates on the beer stock and It’s good to hear that mail deliveries on Saturday have started up again.
Being clinically vulnerable there are not many places I can go to, but necessity called in the first week of this month when the car needed servicing. It was due at the end of March, but lockdown put a stop to that. So I celebrated this event by going out en-femme for the first time in 3 months. Oh what a joy it was, to dress up, make up and travel to Norwich.
I wanted to imagine I was off to meet friends, a theatre show, or even an Oasis meeting instead of a car service, but still the afternoon was good, first dropping off the car and then walking in the sunshine to Catton Park, for a stroll. Strangely it was nice to be “read” occasionally, even though I know that’s impossible as I look like a real woman!
Everything seemed so normal for those few hours in the park, even down to the purchase of a “99″ from the ice cream van. It was only when I returned to collect the car that the effect of the virus hit me. Perspex screens, 2 metre floor labels, latex gloves and wearing a mask! (which just ruins the makeup)
Again we had a lovely June Zoom Oasis session this month, thanks to Petra with 15 attending including partners. It was good to hear (as her camera was not functioning) from Julie, our newest Oasis member.
This month marks the first anniversary of the sad death of Lizzy Vaughan, one of our Oasis members. Lizzie first contacted Oasis around August 2015, and arranged to meet at the Bicycle Shop in Norwich. She wanted to join our group desperate to express her female side, which she had hidden for so long, initially with a view, then to be a bridesmaid at a friend’s wedding.
From our first meeting Lizzy was a bubbly, joyful person and a great asset to our group. She stayed with us at Oasis for several years, attending when she could and building her confidence. She embarked on her transition journey and became involved in Norwich Pride and the Pride Choir and was out and proud.
It was with great sadness that we heard the news of the death of Janett Scott, a true transgender champion, who passed away in hospital on Saturday, June 20, at the age of 86. Janett was a former President of the national Beaumont Society and worked for very many years to broaden public understanding and acceptance of transgender people. She, more than anybody else, helped bring us out of the ‘dark ages’ of the 1980s into more enlightened times. Whether talking to millions through media appearances or one-to-one with concerned individuals, she was the human voice of our hidden community – always self-effacing and always with a smile. (Source Northern Concord).
Listen to an interview with the Beaumont Society ex President and Trustee. Broadcast in 2012 from the Transgender Zone. In part 1 (about 1 hour) of the Podcast From Primary to President – Janett tells her life story. In part 2 The Beaumont Years – Janett tells us about her role as President of the Beaumont Society, and her television work on behalf of the transgender community. Click on this link or Janette’s image to here this interview – well worth a listen or read about her life here.
Finally I attended the funeral on Thursday, just gone, to say farewell to Sylvie Yvette Wilding. Almost a year to this date I meet Sylvie and her partner Shona to discuss how Oasis might help them to see a way through the conflict they were going through, which was having a devastating effect on the continuation of their relationship. After some meetings there seemed some understanding and a possible way forward for Sylvie’s gender dysphoria. Unfortunately, Sylvie and Shona were not ready to come to Oasis last year but hoped to visit us once we were back running.
So I was so saddened to hear from Shona that Sylvie had died. Her gender journey proved too great. When the time is right Shona will tell us Sylvie’s story.
Our thoughts are with both Lizzy’s and Sylvie and Shona’s family and friends at this difficult time.
Those we love remain with us, for love itself lives on and cherished memories never fade, because a loved one is never gone.
Beccie
oasis norfolk 