Life Goes On

In Millar & Carter Banbury

Life is tough at the moment for everybody, but especially so  for those of us in the Trans
community, we are under attack like never before.  I don't need to go into details here but if you want a fair assessment of the current situation then I would suggest paying a visit to Queer AF. However all is not lost, we are here, we have always been here and we always will be here. Despite governments around the world and anti - trans groups trying their hardest to erase us from society, we can still be out in the real world enjoying life, without any harassment or problems. I am confident in saying this because I recently had a five day trip to the Cotswolds here in the UK and had a fabulous time. 

We started our trip in Banbury as we so often do, with a two night stay at the Premier Inn, a good hotel, nothing special, but good value for money and a decent room. That night (a Sunday) we went to Millar & Carter steakhouse which is situated just across the car park, next to the hotel. We had a fabulous meal, the staff are lovely and we always get a very warm welcome. Monday was a full shopping day starting with breakfast in Gails, very nice but very slow at producing two slices of toast.... then onto the shopping, Next,  Primark and Marks & Spencer before driving to the town centre, which is always nice even if we had a lot of problems trying to pay to park as the machines were not working.... We visited a number of shops before heading back to the hotel. Everywhere we went we were greeted with smiles and friendly comments, it was just a pleasure to be out in the real world enjoying life doing 'normal' things that CIS people take for granted. 

Tuesday after a late start we drove to Chipping Norton and had lunch in Salt Shed, a lovely little cafe run by a group of women who always give us a warm welcome. After some more shopping including finding a fabulous blue skirt in a charity shop for £2.50 we drove to the cottage we were staying at for the next three days in a village called Blockley. We knew from some prior research that the village was beautiful but we were blown away when we arrived at just how beautiful it is. Situated in the Cotswold hills just north west of Morton in Marsh it has become quite famous as the location of the BBC TV series Farther Brown and assumes the name of Kembleford.

In the cottage in Blockley

The cottage in which we were to stay is situated right in the middle of the village by the town
square in full view of the wonderful church. After unpacking and settling in we walked up the road to the Crown Hotel, a former coaching inn that dates back to 1755. We ordered our drinks from very happy and helpful bar tender at a very reasonable price, it turns out we had just arrived before the end of 'Happy Hour'! That night we had food in the cottage. The following morning we took a short walk to the Village Cafe to have breakfast, this is a community run venture, along with the village shop next door which quite rightly has a wonderful reputation. The food was great and the staff very welcoming and pleasant, in fact we both commented that everyone we talked to in the village were very happy and welcoming and often people out walking the dog would stop for a chat, it was just lovely.

The last night we had a lovely meal in the Great Western Arms, a pub on the east side of the village which dated back to the 1880's when the railway was being built in the area by the GWR (Great Western Railway). Again we were not treated any different to the other patrons and had a wonderful evening. The following morning we left the cottage to return to Banbury where I would drop my friend at the station before returning home. 

All in all another wonderful trip and it shows that despite all the doom and gloom we have to suffer, Trans People can get out and about, enjoy life and feel free to be our true selves......

If you want to read news that affects our community take a look here https://www.wearequeeraf.com/