When I was six or seven or eight, I cannot remember exactly but I had been in Walton Children's psychiatric unit for some time when one day a very pretty girls was pointed out to me and I was asked very abusively. (By a psychiatrist no less!!)

Do you want to turn out like that?

At the time I was too confused and insecure to say anything, I just looked and looked and wished I was allowed to walk around like she was allowed, that is to come and go freely and not be locked up in my ward/room/prison cell all the time. The pretty girl was April. As to wanting to look like her and be like her, I was totally screwed up inside and sometimes my sense of gender seemed to change with the days, even the hours sometimes, or so it seemed to me.

Now, coming full circle, Sam Bowler is a good friend of mine and we meet quite often down in Wow bar though since she's transitioned, she's tended to go more stealth and prefers me to be in male mode so as not to draw attention to her stealth status. When I see her these days I respect her real fears and usually meet her when I'm dressed in male mode.

My God, it's a very small world! (And a dangerous one sometimes.)

Sam in her early days pre-transitioning. Obviously she's the girl to the right in the piccie.