| Reviews of Trans-MISSION
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To save you hunting around the internet to see what other tranny folk have said about Trans-MISSION, we thought we would collect a few reviews here, toghether with links to the sites that published them so you can see we aren't making it all up!
Sadly, not all of the cross-dressing and transvestite web-sites that originally wrote these reviews are still in existence, but we have left the reviews here for posterity!
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Review from TheTransvestite.com
Quite easily the premier Transgender Club in London, created by those human dynamos Vicky and Jasmine! The Club is held on the 1st Saturday of every month and has now expanded to Manchester. The venue is situated at The Extra Time Bar, Long Lane, Barbican from 8pm to 2am.
The club has a delightful setting with all the facilities a Tranny should expect! The basement floor has a wonderful 'speak-easy' environment, with plenty of 'seasoned' trannies on hand to help those who need to get 'made-up' and 'dressed' for the evening. The ground floor has a large bar and ample seating, tailored perfectly for the 'meeting and greeting' that takes place there throughout the evening.
After you are completely 'talked out', a narrow staircase takes you up to the 1st Floor where you can really let your 'wig-hair' down. Here the skillful DJs works their magic on the decks. The music is a wonderful blend of 'pop' and 'hand-bag house'. As the night goes on the 'house' does tend to get a little 'harder', but by that stage everyone is in such a good party mood and crowding onto the floor, the music aids and abets lots of intimate dancing!!
So, what can you expect from a Transmission night?
- The largest collection of the most active Transvestites in London, all available to chat and give advice.
- The easiest and less traumatic '1st time out' environment in London.
- Space to swing a cat or strut around, whichever is easier!!
- Good value, £7 entry and competitive bar prices, can't be bad.
- A respectable representation of all the main TG community help groups and internet TG celebrities.
- Photographic souvenir of the night from Vicky and her roving digital eye!
- A polite, efficient minicab service for revelers at the end of the night.
- Also, there's always someone there to come with you to the WayOut Club afterwards!!!
- Lots of confidence, so that you can check out the myriad of clubs that welcome TG people in London.
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 Transmission is a London Transgender Club night held monthly in the Extra Time Bar in the Barbican. It claims to be London's hottest reception. It just so transpired that my glamorous friend, the lovely Ms Joanne Starr was arranging a girls night out and asked if I'd come along. Not being one for being couped up indoors on my own I agreed!
Joanne and I chatted on MSN beforehand; although a lot of my other girlfriends would be there, Jo wanted me to surprise them! So we kept Mum about my arrival...
I dressed and started out the journey; I'd never been to Transmission before so it was a venture into the unknown made a little sweeter by the prospect of many warm faces I knew being there. I got delayed by almost an hour due to a car crash (not me!) en route and arrived close to 12.30am. Fortunately there was parking outside, so even though it took me a good ten minutes to parallel park (leave it out, I am a girl after all!) I was able to step right up to the door passing only a few people on the street without notice.
I stepped in and the place was packed with TGirls, many of whom where stunningly dressed. I was beginning to regret my usual Tomboy look, feeling decidedly drab compared to the array of party frocks, short skirts and glamour wear I was seeing. I only had a designer denim skirt, my "Thank God I'm a VIP" ribbed top and body warmer... with trainers! I felt like a lesbian at a fashion show! But everyone smiled and greeted me warmly, so I started to look for my friends.
Went to one end - no sign. Went to the other - no sign. I was starting to feel as confused as a baby in a topless bar! Was this all a wind up! Finally I found my dear old adopted auntie, the lovely Janie Saxton downstairs at the pool table with hot chick Jayne from Cheshire. Phew! Janie took me to see the others who were all upstairs on the dance floor. There were two real party girls, JoYo and Anna, who'd come literally hundreds of miles to be there. Sarah Jayne and Briony were with them as was Zenny and Sandra. Sadly the only person who couldn't make it was Joanne Starr. But we all got gabbing and in no time we were getting on like a house on fire! Next time Jo...
Transmission itself takes place on three floors:
- The main floor is kinda like a pub. You've got a long bar and plenty of tables with music playing.
- Downstairs is the cloakroom as well as the pool table
- Upstairs has a dance floor and DJ with a bar. The music is pretty easy going, a mix of hard house and trans-favourite pop tunes like Kylie.
Overall I have to say that the place is real easy going, if it had of been a wind up and none of the others turned up, or if I had just gone there alone, I think it would've been easy to make friends. There were a few guys, with few being the operative word, as well as several genetic women, some who were partners of TGirls there, some lesbians and not forgetting Sammy, who does make overs there. You soon realise that people don't stare at you, if you should catch each others eyes normally you get a smile and a wave and that's all. No awkwardness.
My overall rating for the club out of ten would be eight or nine. It's very welcoming and has everything you need for a good night out. It caters for all ages and styles, has TG friendly hotels all around as well as a small queue of taxi drivers waiting at the end of the night if all that dancing in heels has made your ankles to sore to walk! I personally like it when there are more guys there as I like to drool over the cute ones and I like banging dance music on a huge floor, but then I am young and bi and most people find that quite intense for a night out, so it's no detraction from what Transmission are doing. I had a wicked time even though I was only on lemonade and I'll definitely go again. Transmission costs £7 entry.
Transmission Review:
- Facilities: Dance floor, food, drinks, pool table
- Plus Points: Very friendly and well attended with over 200 TGirls on average, TG Friendly Hotels nearby, a great place to start with
- Minus Points: Very little chance of getting pulled except by other TVs, although that may be a plus point depending on how you see things!
- Overall Rating: 8 out of 10
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Review from Melanie's TV-Zone
Trans-MISSION bills itself as 'London's HOTTEST Reception' and is the brain-child of Jasmine Clarke and Vicky Valentine, themselves both transvestites. Inspired by the Way Out Club's Vicky Lee's statement on the closing night of the now defunct 'ronstormes.com' that London was big enough for there to be plenty of variety on the transgendered scene, they have sought to put together a place that they believed would be what t girls and their friends would enjoy.
Having chatted widely around the community they settled on a recipe that had at its core a stylish venue, and the Extra Time Bar, in London's Barbican, certainly meets the mark. On 3 levels, the venue provides secluded changing facilities that are open all night and have lots of mirrors, lights and space to store bags. The lounge area has a sophisticated feel with subdued lighting and some very comfortable leather seating allowing people to relax away from the music. The dancefloor, on the basement level, has its own bar and more seating so that high-heels can be rested between bouts of wild dancing. The fact that the venue is a bar and not a club means that prices can be kept down too, another advantage.
The other ingredients which Jasmine and Vicky believe are important are the right mix of music (both of them not only run the club but DJ there too), and a relaxed and unassuming yet lively party atmosphere where people of all backgrounds can mix and enjoy themselves in comfort.
Deliberately missing from the recipe are drag shows and other live entertainment, which they both felt tended to detract from their main aims, and anyway are catered for in abundance by the other London transgender venues.
Speaking for myself I think Vicky and Jasmine are right here. There are drag shows on offer at other venues and lets face it its nice to have venues that are different with their own character and feel and not just clones of other clubs.
I liked Transmission a lot - good atmosphere, plenty of places to lounge around and take the weight off the old stilettos, good music and a really fun feel to it. Much more like a normal straight club apart from of course us girls which was really nice.
It was very friendly in the club and I think it would be a great venue for new t girls who perhaps may be a bit intimidated by some of the other clubs in London.
Trans-MISSION launched in June 2002 and takes place on the first Saturday of every month. Asked if it might become a more regular affair, Vicky told me, "It's unlikely that our London events will become any more frequent, however we are keen to try and take the Trans-MISSION mixture to other places in the UK and do one-off special events as well. All that we ask is that people support us by coming along and joining the fun. We want to be able to continue providing what we believe is London's best transgender night-out and the biggest ingredient in that is you!"
So girls I hope you will get down to Transmission and support the event. Jasmine and Vicky have put a lot lot hard work in to give us girls somewhere else to go and a real alternative to the other tranny clubs... Nicole, Lissi and myself had good time there and I am sure anyone who goes will have fun.
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Sadly Deborah's web-site (www.getout-stayout.co.uk) is one of those that is no longer available. However we have left this review here as we feel it is particularly beneficial for any new-girls starting out and wondering what it feels like to take those first high-heeled steps out of the tranny closet!
| First things first, I joined a chat room, load of them about but I happened across TransMission's one and haven't really left since. Anyhow, get into one, build yourself a profile as soon as you go in. Why? We are gurls and hence become nosey as soon as the wig is sitting properly. It makes folk more inclined to speak or comment if they know something about you. I got chatting to a few gurls in there and found out what hotels were being used etc etc.
Anything in life is easier if you are not alone, except maybe peeing, that's something pretty hard to do with an audience apparently. So chat, then make arrangements to meet up with someone. There are plenty of friendly faces out there. I met my companions as my male self, in the hotel coffee bar thingie. We spent at least two cups of coffee just nattering and getting to know one another and it really does help settle your nerves. (which will come back, but more about them later !)
I arrived at the Thistle City Barbican, had done the meeting and greeting and had left myself plenty of time for a nice long soak in the bath before applying the war-paint to go out. This is where friends come in handy. I wouldn't have gone out at all if it wasn't for Silky. One of those nights when nothing goes right started with the make-up, easy to see where I had gone wrong once I realised I hadn't put my contact lenses in!! But she helped get me ready and out the door by a little after 8pm.
This was the most nerve wracking part and was in the end, a doddle. The leaving the hotel, dressed as a woman for the first time ever bit !!
There was Silky, Roxxi and myself going down in an elevator (to the ground floor, no need for smut!) and as the doors opened, there is a young lady who never batted an eyelid, could have been another Tranny but who knows. Now for the easy bit of the hardest part - LEAVING THE HOTEL! At the Thistle, the taxi rank is all of 10 metres from the door, and you don't even have to walk past reception. It was at this point we were wolf whistled at, bloody pervert men honestly !!
London Black Cab drivers are awesome, totally impervious as to who and what you are so long as you pay the fare. Within 5 minutes we were dropped off outside the doors of the ExtraTime bar, home of TransMission and safely inside within another nanosecond! I kid you not, the minute you walk through the doors you wonder what the hell all the nerves and fears were about when you see dozens of like minded souls look up and smile or nod a greeting.
It really is as easy as that.
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