Chapter 1 A happy childhood

As I have now reached the grand age of 60, and I am beginning to ease back from the hustle and bustle of work and family responsibilities, I have more and more time to look back at all the thingsI have enjoyed and experienced in my varied life.
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I am Gino Morgagni, named after my father, Luigi, who stayed over in Britain in 1945, after the war. Whilst a prisoner-of-war at a camp in Cornwall, where he was in a working party helping on one of the local farms, he had met, fallen in love with, and married a local girl, my mother Jean. They settled in her family farm near Perranporth, a small town on the west coast of Cornwall, near Newquay, that was beginning to sell itself as a holiday resort. This was in the days when package holidays to the Mediterranean had not really started and most people holidayed at the beach resorts at home. After the hardships and austerity of the war more and more people were enjoying the delights of the beautiful Cornish coast and countryside and the mild climate.

True to the caricature stereotype, Papà started an ice cream business, initially selling from a converted van down by the beach in Perranporth, but building up to a couple of cafes, and a fish and chip restaurant in the bigger, busier, nearby resort of Newquay. In the early 50s the area was becoming more popular, as a growing network of train and bus routes opened the area up to holidaymakers from the industrial towns and cities of the Midlands and North, and for people escaping the hustle and bustle of life in London. This led onto Papà e Mamma - as we called Dad and Mum - converting some of our fields to camping and caravan sites and then opening some bed-and-breakfast Guest-Houses in Perranporth, Newquay and St. Agnes. They were not rich, but made a comfortable living.

By the time my twin sister Gina and I came into the world in 1958, the tourist industry was reaching its peak, package holidays were starting, and the hardships of the war years forgotten and there was a general feel-good factor. When we were toddlers, life was wonderful, we lived well, always had plenty, we lived in a beautiful house on the outskirts of Perranporth that had originally been Mamma’s family’s farm but was now just a pretty large family house in its own extensive grounds, but unfortunately the good times took a big setback when Papà was killed in a road accident when we were only four years old. This had a big effect on our lives, Mamma had us to look after and a home to run, so had to employ a manager to help run the businesses, which obviously ate into our income. We had to economise a bit, so moved out to a smaller house in Goonhavern, a small village a couple of miles out of town.

When we were young there were not too many children our own age in the village, and all the boys were a lot older than me, I was a lot smaller than them and was just not up to their strength or ability in kicking a football around or keeping up with them running around or climbing trees. I therefore spent most of my time with Gina and her friends Alice and Jane. Most of the time we just got up to what most kids do, walking, playing ball games, swimming down at the beach in Perranporth and so forth. The girls were all a bit tomboyish, so climbing trees, fishing for tiddlers in the stream were all part of our life, but this was balanced by playing house and dress-up with the girls when the weather was too bad to go out to play, we were all kids just having a good time, at that age boys and girls are not that much different in their interests. As we went through the village primary school, life did not change much, it was all mainly girls in my age group and the few boys all lived out on farms a few miles away, so between my Mamma, my sister and friends, and my classmates, my formative years were heavily influenced by femininity. A lot of my mannerisms, conversations, interests and approach to life became more girlish rather than boyish.

Gina’s friend Alice was the first to have a sleepover party, and as I would otherwise be on my own I was invited too. It was all pretty normal at first, watching Disney’s Cinderella with Gina, Alice, Katie and Emma, eating popcorn and chocolate, chatting and giggling and having fun, until it was bedtime. The girls went into the bathroom one at a time to change into the nighties, but I had forgotten to bring my pyjamas with me and didn’t know what do do.

“You can’t sleep in your clothes, and Mum would go mad if she came in and found you in just your underwear,” Alice said, “ I’ll see if I have something that will fit you.” She came back with a cotton nightie that was a bit like her own, with flowery patterns and a bit of ribbon around the hem and collar. “I’m sorry but this is the best I can do, all my pyjamas are in the wash. Don’t worry, there are only us girls here and nobody else will know.”

A few minutes later, having changed into the nightie, which felt really soft, loose, and very comfortable, we having all having a last chat before going to bed. “You know what Gino,” said Alice “ wearing that nightie you look a lot like Gina. I know that boys and girls can’t be identical twins, but you two are not far off, if your hair was a bit longer and Gina’s a bit shorter you could pass for each other.” This caused a bit of embarrassment for Gina and me, but the others had a really good giggle at it.

The next day, we got dressed, thanked Alice and her Mum, and all went home, Mum was out seeing her business manager and it was raining heavily outside so Gina and I just mooched around the house . A bit later she came and sat next to me, “Do you feel like a chat? This may sound strange and I know that Alice was half-joking, but she had a point, we do look very similar. While Mum is out why not come up to my room and try on some of my clothes to see how you would look fully dressed, it should be good for a laugh, besides it’s raining so there is not much we can do.

We went upstairs and I stripped down to my underpants. “ Ok Sis, you’re in charge, what next.”

“First thing, if we are going to do this properly, we’ll go out from the skin, change your underpants for these panties. I’m just starting to develop so, in case you hadn’t noticed, I’ve started wearing a bra, and it is padded to give me a bit of a figure, so you better have one too.” This was all topped of with a gypsy blouse with what Gina said was a bit of Broderie Anglaise and embroidered little roses around the collar, and a pleated denim just-above-the-knee skirt.

In the sixties it became common for boys to have slightly longer hair styles, like the Beatles and Rolling Stones, not shoulder length but well over the collar and ears. Gina messed about a bit, brushing it differently and added a couple of clips and a long clip-on fall hairpiece.

“Come and stand in front of the mirror next to me, and let’s see how close we look.” We were astonished as although not totally identical we were very alike most people would not be able to tell the difference.

“Hi Gina, I’m back.“ Mum said as she came up the stairs, “Who have you got in there with you. Oh my god, is that you Gino, which is which, let me have a good look, I hadn’t realised how alike you both are. What are you up to anyway, why is Gino dressed like that?

We told mum about the sleepover, the nightie , and Alices’s comment, and that we thought we’d just try and see how alike we were, she didn’t say anything, just stood there thinking. The phone rang and Gina went to answer it and came back all excited. “That was Alice, she and her mum are going into Truro for some shopping and asked if I wanted to go too, is that ok Mum.

”That’s fine but why don’t you ask if your sister can go too, while she is dressed she may as well have a girly day too. But we can’t have you both called Gina, it will be too confusing. If your Dad and I had had another girl we were going to call her Maria, unless you have got a better suggestion lets go with that.” Mum called up Alice’s mum, and when they had finished having a good giggle about it, it was all agreed.

I was about to spend a special afternoon with my sister, her friend Alice, Mum, and Alice’s Mum.

To be continued.

Chapter 2 Early teens

I was about to spend a special afternoon with my sister, her friend Alice, Mum, and Alice’s Mum.

When they rolled up in their car and we climbed in , Alice and her mum were amazed at how alike Gina and I were, and commented that i looked a really pretty girl., which made me a lot happier and more relaxed. This pleased Gina too, as it meant that she also was a really pretty girl. Mum and Alice’s mum sat in the front and us girls in the back where we gossiped and giggled and planned how we were going to spend the day.

Truro is the capital of Cornwall, and although some other towns have larger populations, it has probably the best selection of shops and things to do, with its old buildings, Cathedral, and busy quayside. We arrived parked up, and made for the main shopping area. We went round lots of the shops, mainly those selling clothes, and mum insisted on showing me dresses and skirts holding them up to me and suggesting that I try them on, she even suggested that I get my ears pierced and buy some pretty studs. I was sure that she was deliberately trying to embarrass me to discourage me from dressing as a girl again, but all the time I had spent with the girls, including going shopping with them, made the comments ‘go in one ear and out the other’ and I didn’t take up her offers or feel embarrassed, I was just enjoying my day out with them all so much.

Our mums decided that they wanted to go off on their own for a while, and having given us a bit of money, told us to go and amuse ourselves, and they would meet us later. We went around a lot more shops, looking at clothes and accessories, but didn’t buy much, the girls got a few hair accessories and bits of cheap costume jewellery, and even talked me into buying some hair ribbon and a bracelet for myself to wear for the day. We wandered into one of the department stores, which like most others had all the beauty counters near the main entrance, and we were all staring at the amazing array of products.

“ Hello girls,” said a really lovely lady behind the counter, who had a name badge naming her as Elizabeth - beauty Consultant, “in a few years time you will be coming back here and buying and using a lot of these products, but you are a bit young at the moment and don’t need make-up to look pretty. If you think your mums won’t mind, would you like it if I I put on a little lipstick for you.” The girls faces lit up with excitement, and so we all left with frosted pink lips, feeling all grown-up, and with a cheery smile and wave back to Elizabeth.

We were now all feeling hungry, so went to a coffee bar for some sandwiches and a drink. Gina nudged Alice “Those three lads over there keep looking over at us, if you notice them doing it again give them a smile and look friendly.” Before long they came over to join us and introduced themselves, as Joe, Bill, and Charlie. They were about the same age as us, but like most young lads they were a bit shy and awkward around girls. We chatted a bit and they soon began to relax with us, they asked us if we knew the town very well and offered to show us around. We spent the rest of the afternoon with them, going down to the quayside and markets, and had a really good time until we needed to meet up with the mums and go home. We thanked the boys for being nice to us and hoped that they enjoyed the afternoon as much as we had, and as they were leaving the each gave us all a quick kiss on the cheek and said they hoped to see us again sometime.It wasn’t much but it was my first kiss other than close relatives, and gave me a strange feeling.

We met up with the Mums, who had also had a good time as they were carrying lots of bags, and made our way home.

When we got settled in mum insisted on showing us what she had bought, a beautiful floral print summer dress, some sling-back sandals with a 2” heel, and some underwear. It was the first time that she had ever talked about underwear in front of me, but dressed as I was she just seemed to accept me as one of the girls. Talking more to Gina than to me, she showed the bras she had bought and explained the different types and how different outfits needed different styles to get the best effect. This was a bit embarrassing to me, how many mothers talk about bras to their sons?

When she had shown us all her buys, she pulled out a lovely yellow sleeveless printed summer dress with a belted waist for Gina, who immediately took off her skirt and top and changed into the dress in front of me, without any embarrassment at me seeing her in her just her panties and bra. Normally she would shout and scream at me and try to hide her body, if I caught her at an awkward moment. It really suited her and in a way I felt jealous.

“ And don’t think I've forgotten you Maria,” she said pulling out the same dress she had just given Gina, only in pale blue instead of yellow, “and I've also got you some underwear and shoes of your own so you don’t have to borrow Gina’s.”

I was shocked, I hadn’t expected that, but I felt strangely excited and I hurried to get changed and try on the dress like Gina had, my first very own dress! It felt wonderful, light and floating, and I loved the swirl of its skirt around my legs. Gina immediately made a phone call to Alice who came straight over with Emma and Katie, and we all went for a walk down to Perranporth to let us show off our new dresses. I loved the feel of the breeze and the brush of the skirt on my legs. Although I normally mostly wore shorts not long trousers, and was used to bare legs, it just felt different , and I really liked it, the dress seemed much less restricting than my usual clothes, and the softness of the material was just so different. My dress got a few more outings that summer, when I went out with the girls, but when the holidays were over it was back in the wardrobe to get ready for school again.

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We were all now 11 years old and it was time to transfer from the local village school to the large secondary school in Newquay, and when we went shopping for the new uniforms, Gina had a good time selecting with Mum, all the daytime uniform and sports wear, but I didn’t get too excited as my stuff was a lot more plain and boring, i actually felt jealous.

As we lived well away from the school, there was a special bus service which went around, the villages picking us all up. As Goonhavern was the bus’s first call. Gina, Alice, Katie, Emma and I all rushed to the back of the bus, which was considered to be the best seat, and chatted while the bus did its tour round the other villages and up to school. On the bus on the way home I tended to sit with the boys in my class. the conversations were totally different to that of the girls, mainly about football, cycling and girls. Getting both sides of the story, I was amazed at the total misunderstandings and misconceptions about what the boys and girls each thought about the other gender, and from both sides there was a lot of childish smutty comments, I just took it all in and didn’t particularly argue with any of them except with the exceptionally ridiculous ideas.

For the first time I was is a masculine environment. Although the school and the classes were mixed the boys tended to hang around and sit together in class, as did the girls. I also tended to meet with the boys out-of-school and often go down to the beach with them at weekends, and my time with the girls was now rare, although Maria did turn up at a few parties and shopping days out over the next couple of years.

In the 1960’s due to influence of the Beach Boys’ music and TV programmes featuring Hawaii and Australia, surfing became very popular in the UK, and Newquay became the surf capital and main centre in the UK due to its sheltered bays which channelled the Atlantic rollers and the comparatively mild climate. Newquay, Perranporth, St Agnes and the nearby beaches all prospered and took advantage of all the new opportunities that this brought.

Mum was a shrewd businesswoman, as well as being in the right place at the right time, and along with her manager, who had become her business partner, made some shrewd purchases, and soon had a chain of small hotels along the Cornish Atlantic coast. These were mainly of the ‘cheap and cheerful’ type catering for the youth market visiting for the surfing and the associated nighttime social life. they weren’t particularly interested in luxury facilities. They spent all their time on the beach or in the bars and all they really wanted was a clean bed to fall into at the end of the days and nights out. The hotels were not expensive, but were very profitable, as for most of the year they were completely full.

When down at the beach with the lads, I had really taken to surfing, and had graduated through the training boards and shortboards onto the longboards and I was getting quite capable of riding the bigger breakers. One weekend the boys were off doing things with their families, so I went down to the beach with Gina, Alice and the others, we were all fairly casually dressed just in shorts and tee-shirts, just watching the surfers. Newquay had the reputation but the waves were almost as good at Perranporth.

“You are always on about the surfing and how good you are getting,” said Gina “ how about showing us how to do it?” The swell wasn’t too heavy and the sea looked looked about right for learning in so we agreed to give it a go. We went up to the Surf Shack, and I went to get some of the lighter shorter training boards whilst Gina went inside to select some wet suits, and some ponchos to cover us whilst we changed.

“Gina, have you all got the right suit, the one you have given me is a girl’s.”

“i didn’t realise there was any difference, what’s the problem, the guy in the shack must have assumed we were all girls and just sorted out matching suits for all of us.”

“i feel daft, Its got pink stripes on it and the logo ‘surfer Girl” all across the front”

“ Oh, stop whinging, it’s not as if you haven’t worn things a lot more girly, and you’re not exactly a muscle-bound hunk, although with the suit being so tight it might look better if you did something to hide your boy’s bits, if you are going to be one of the girls for the rest of the day.”

I just got on with it, took the girls into the water and taught them the basics, and kept a sharp eye on them rather than doing much surfing myself. The light training boards are ok when you are learning, but are quite tame when you have progressed a bit. At the end of the afternoon they were getting on quite well, and after falling off a few times, they did all manage to get to standing up, although their rides were not very long. When we all had had enough we got changed and took the kit back to the Shack.

“I had fun watching you girls, it looked like it was the first time for most of you, hope to see you down here again, it makes a change to see such pretty girls having fun on the boards.” We all blushed at this comment, particularly me.

The girls decided that they would go home to get changed and take the bus up to Newquay to surf the shops, and invited me, as Maria, to go with them. I was still quite slight and about the same size as the girls, so with a quick brush of the hair, and putting on a light summer skirt and sleeveless top, and a bra with a bit of padding up-top, I joined them. I loved the light airy feel of the clothes and the soft feel of the material on my skin as we walked around the town. A gang of young teenage girls in the middle of testosterone-fuelled surf-city meant we got a lot of attention, but the girls were all a little bit young to do anything other than coyly flirt, and I just kept quiet. At the end of the day we sat around chatting, and they focused on boys they had seen, clothes and make-up and I realised that their interests and mine were drifting apart. Although I was normally very happy in their company and loved dressing and going out with them as one of the girls, it was probably the time for me to leave the gang put Maria away, and become a full-time boy.

That’s what I thought at the time, but life was full of unexpected twists and turns.

To be continued.

Chapter 3 Maria Comes Back

At the end of my time at school I had done well in my exams, I had the choice of staying on to get the qualifications for university, but Mum and I agreed that if I was going to follow her into the family business, it may be best to learn things from the bottom up, and so I spent a lot of time working reception, behind the bar, and waiting at tables learning the ‘nuts and bolts’ of the business. Gina had decided that she was more interested in starting up a hairdressing and beauty business, rather than working in the hotels, so I became my mother’s heir-apparent.

I enrolled on courses at our local college and for the next two years studied all operational aspects of the hospitality business, and at weekends and holidays worked at our main hotel about 5 miles out of Newquay. Over the years the business had stayed very profitable, and Mum and her partner had decided that as well as the surfer hotels in town that there was a market for more luxurious breaks. They had bought an old Victorian country house which had seen better days, but was structurally sound, although the decor and fixtures were a bit dated. Rather than totally modernise the property It was just freshened up a bit, keeping it’s character and charm. They also joined a hotel franchising group and although the ownership and management remained their responsibility, they had the benefit of a nationally-known marketing brand and booking system, which provided a steady stream of clients mainly on 2 or 3 day mini-breaks.

We also had a lot of long-stays, and soon there were requirements for more facilities, and a spa, gym, sauna and mini-pool were added. Obviously after a session in the spa, a lot of the ladies felt the need to have their hair styled and other general beauty treatments, this led Gina into opening a part-time salon in the hotel, which gave her an opportunity to grow her business and for us to offer a wider range of facilities for our clients.

At weekends we occasionally offered entertainment in the main large dining hall, usually a band or singer with backing tapes , but to offer a more friendly package, rather than just a slick professional presentation, the staff took turns in putting in a session. I did solo sessions mainly playing guitar and singing ballads but with a few sing-along songs for the audience to join in, and Gina, Maggie one of the waitresses, and a couple of the barmen, Bob and John, did an Abba routine, which was very popular. The girls went to town on this with the satiny all-in-one jumpsuits, copycat Agnetha and Anna-Frid wigs, and high-heel boots and the guys were not much different except for the Björn and Benny wigs and boots. They had really got the routine off very well and used me as a critic to suggest improvements, so I knew their routine very well and often sang with them when they rehearsed.

On the afternoon before one of their performances, Gina came to see me with a worried look on her face.

“Maggie has a bad dose of tonsillitis and can’t sing this evening, and we’ll have to cancel the show, which is a shame as many of the guests have said they have heard about our routine and were looking forward to it, unless…………..”

She argued that I knew all the routines pretty well from the rehearsals, I had enjoyed dressing with her and the girls when I was younger, and passed really well, never being recognised. She said that my singing voice was reasonably high and I could probably do the backing vocals as Anna-Frid and she would do the lead as Agnetha. As there were also two guys in the band if my voice drifted a bit it would just get lost in with theirs and wouldn’t be noticed.

I spent the next 2 hour in Gina’s salon. I thought that there was no need to do anything with my hair, as I would be wearing a wig, but Gina reminded me that they always took the wigs off at the end of the session so that the guests could recognise who had been performing for them. I didn’t want to be recognised as having performed as a girl so she styled my longish hair more femininely. trimmed my eyebrows a bit , and gave me several facial treatments to soften my looks, before glamming me up with heavy make up, particularly a lot of eye-liner and mascara, ready for the stage appearance.

I was soon dressed in lace underwear, but with tight speedos to hide my ‘boy’s bits’, and false boobs in my bra that she had found from somewhere, the satiny jumpsuit, high-heel boots and the Anna-Frid wig, and was ready for our show. The show went down really well, the audience joined in most of the songs, and when we finished off with ‘Dancing Queen’ many were up from their seats dancing along with us.

As normal, when we were taking our bows at the end of the show we all took off our wigs, shook our hair free and were ready to leave the stage, when Gina grabbed the microphone and made an announcement. “Ladies and Gentlemen thank you for being such a lovely audience tonight.
Maggie, who normally performs with us as Anna-Frid is ill tonight, but my cousin Maria stood in at the last minute, and I’m sure you will all agree that she did an excellent job, let’s give her a special round of applause.”

Feeling very embarrassed I walked to the front of the stage, clapped at the audience, blew a couple of hand-kisses and walked off to more applause. Leaving the rest of the evening to the professional acts, we were back in the changing room relaxing and talking about how the show had gone when Mum came in with a lady we did not recognise.

“Right guys, this is Jo, she’s with the marketing department of the hotel chain, she came over to talk a bit of business today, and stayed to watch the show. She really liked your act, and wondered if you would be interested in performing at some of the other hotels in the chain. We are the only one in this area that does entertainment so it would mean travelling a couple of hours each way to Ilfracombe, Minehead, Torquay, Exeter, or Plymouth. As well as giving you an opportunity to develop the act and have some fun, it might be good publicity for us if you can give our hotel a bit of a plug”

“Obviously you would be paid extra by the other hotels,” chipped in Jo, “and if you feel that travelling is a bit much you can stay overnight, free, at the hotels you are performing at. If you are ok with it, one of the hotels in Exeter had one of their acts for this Friday and Saturday drop out, and I could get you booked in there”

“We’ll check with Maggie to see how she feels about it just give me a minute.” said Gina who seemed to have taken on the role of group leader.

“Maggie is very happy with it but she won’t be able to do this weekend or next week as her throat is still sore, how about Maria staying with us for a few days, until she gets back”

After Jo left us we were able to have a more open discussion, because as far as she was concerned, I was cousin Maria.

“ Sorry guys, Unless you want the act to get a bit of an unwelcome reputation I couldn’t turn up as Gino and suddenly turn into Maria, and you know how long it took to transform me for tonight, it would be a real pain to do that every day, so I would have to become Maria until Maggie gets back. It’s one thing performing on stage but its completely different living as a girl full-time, even if only for a few days, I’m not sure that I could keep up the act and am worried that I would be recognised as a male.

“Other than what I had to do to your hair, the make-up and getting ready to face the world routine is something that we girls have to go through every day. If you got your hair styled and you gave yourself a complete body and legs shave before we left, the only extra thing you would have to do is a close face-shave in the mornings and evenings, nobody will ever discover who you really are.”

The three group members and mum kept on at me until they convinced me that I was still passable as a girl and I agreed to do it.

The next day I had another session in Gina’s salon, had my hair set in large rollers with a soft perm to give it more of a wave, and fixed to last for a while, had my nails and toe nails shaped and painted a deep crimson, had several facial scrubs and treatments including a full body and leg wax, and was fitted with 38C breast forms, which Gina took a great delight glueing to my chest. “ Now you’ll know what an inconvenience it can be walking around with those puppies on your chest all day.” Obviously I could not now go out as a male, so Gina came back with a lacy matching bra and pantie set, a sleeveless low-cut summer top, a light floral skirt, sandals with a 2” heel. and a shoulder bag. I didn’t need much more as it was too hot for stockings or tights, or coats or cardigans. A little bit of light daytime make up, some eye-liner and mascara and Maria was ready to face the world. Apart from different hair styles Gina and I were still almost indistinguishable

Gina decided that I needed to get comfortable with being a girl, so we decided to over to Truro for the afternoon to let me have some time out in public. On the way, we collected Alice and Katie, as she thought that I would be less noticeable in a group. They all welcomed Maria back after being away for a long time, gave me a lot of compliments on my looks, and looked forward to seeing me again soon.

We had a really pleasant afternoon, I soon forgot about how I looked and just became one of the girls out for the day. We just wandered around the shops, trying things on but our only buys were a couple of pairs of shoes for me, a dressy black open-toed pair with 3” heels which were not too comfortable but the girls told me that that was the price of being a sexy girl, and a pair of pretty blue flats for comfort around the house and hotel, and a delightful full-length white satin nightie, which they insisted I needed to keep in character 24/7. Luckily my credit and debit cards just had the initial instead of the full forename, so I had no problem paying for things.

We returned home, had a good-luck drink with the girls, finished packing for our trip to Exeter, and had an early night ready for an exciting day tomorrow. I wore my new satin nightie, which just revealed the swell of my false breasts and a bit of cleavage, they almost looked real. I loved the way the nightie hung and the clinging but soft feel of it next to my skin, I thought that I could get used to this and went to sleep dreaming about my next few weeks as Maria.

To be continued.

Chapter 4 Showtime

We all met for breakfast in our hotel before setting off, and the boys couldn’t believe how I had been transformed, they even said that they had been out with a lot worse lookers than me, and that they might have to provide a bit of muscle to protect me on our travels.

John, who was a couple of years older, drove us in his Triumph 2000, which was bit of a tight squeeze getting all our costumes and clothes and things in the boot, but as we were only away for a few days we didn’t need much personal stuff, at least the boys didn’t.

At the hotel in Exeter we were given two twin rooms, Gina and I sharing one and Bob and John in the other. As far as anyone else was concerned I was Maria and was totally accepted as such by the hotel staff. We set up our sound equipment in the concert room, and ran through a couple of the songs to check the acoustics, and had the rest of the day free before we had to get ready for our show.

We had always thought of Truro as the big city, but Exeter was something else, about four or five times the size, the cathedral was massive in comparison, the shops made Truro look like a village store, and there were throngs of people everywhere rushing about their business, it was a bit overwhelming. After wandering down to the quayside of the river Exe and visiting the cathedral Gina and I hit the shops.

We weren’t particularly intending to buy anything but we were both really taken by a couple of ‘little-black dresses’ in a window display that Gina thought could be easily accessorised differently to change their appearance for different occasions. I didn’t see the need for me to have another dress, but with Gina’s encouragement that every girl needs a LBD, and after trying it on, it was a must-have, I loved the way it flattered my figure. Again according to Gina, a new dress needs a different pair of shoes to set it off, and one thing led to another, and so we ended up back at the hotel with a collection of shopping bags.

“We need to start getting ready for the show, get out of your day clothes, take off all your make-up as we need a totally different look for the show, shave off what little facial hair you have, and I’ll help you with your get ready to be Anni-Frid.” ordered Gina taking charge. Our rooms were near the concert hall so we just got ready there in private rather than using the glorified cupboard that served a s dressing room

She was definitely right about getting a different appearance. she talked me through the process of applying a glossier, and more dramatic foundation and much heavier eye-liner, shiny eye-shadow and mascara. I had become quite good with my normal daytime make-up and managed by myself, but different effects for different occasions were still beyond me, and poking around my eyes with an eyeliner and mascara wand still made me shiver with fear.

We did two sessions that night, as we were no longer just a novelty staff entertainment but were looked on as a proper act, and when we ended up, as usual, with ‘Dancing Queen’ a lot of the audience got up and danced around the tables. It was a successful night.

After the show we all got cleaned up and changed, and at Gina’s insistence wiped off the heavy make-up off and refreshed our normal day look, it’s definitely a lot of work being a girl.

Relaxing in the bar afterwards a lot of the audience came over and told us they really enjoyed the show and that we had made they holiday more memorable, which was really appreciated. Although we have quite a tiring stage dancing routine we still managed to get up to dance when asked by a couple of young men. Dancing in heels and with boobs took a bit of getting used to, the whole balance and posture is completely different, but copying Gina’s moves I soon learned to move gracefully but still move around and have a good time. Gina was enjoying herself but my partner started to get a bit hands-on and I was getting a bit worried, but luckily John seen what was going on and came over to the rescue with a polite “excuse me, I think it’s my turn now.”

“If you are going to look that attractive and swing your hips about like that on the dance floor, you’ll have to get used to a bit of unwanted attention,” advised John “you need to get some tips from your sister on how to politely but firmly deal with wandering hands, she must have learned to deal with things over the years” Attractive ?

I discussed this with Gina afterwards and with a smile on her face she told me that wandering hands were a problem girls always have to put up with, and as long as it didn’t get too aggressive or personal just to sit back, smile, and enjoy it, rather than make an embarrassing big issue out of it. It wasn’t exactly what I wanted to hear, but she said just go with the flow and have a good time.

Saturday in Exeter was pretty much the same, we did a slightly different routine with a few changes in the songs, and although some in the room were also there the previous night, Saturday is a big change-over day in hotels, so the audience was still fresh and appreciative.

As we were leaving to go home the next morning, the manager asked if we were interested in a regular booking. The others were all for it, but Maggie would soon be back on the scene and I would be going off to university, so I told them that it was up to them, but that I would continue for the next few weeks.

We were booked for a couple of shows midweek and weekend for the rest of the main season, travelling to most of the big resorts in Cornwall and over the border into Devon.

I stayed as Maria to save the bother of changing back and to several times a week. Most of the time that we were not doing shows I was working reception at the hotel, dressed in a smart business skirt suit, heels and tights and full make up and it soon became routine and I began to not even think about how I looked. Even when not working all my casual gear was female, mainly leggings with long tunic tops to cover my lack of hips and bottom and It was just becoming natural for me to be a full-time girl and I was beginning to talk, walk and make gestures in a very feminine manner without realising what I was doing.

The shows went down well everywhere and by the time Maggie was back on the team, they were travelling three or four days a week around the County for the rest of the high season. I was glad to give up Maria and return to life as a boy, although the money I had earned doing the shows would help me settle in at University. The main things about being a girl that I would not miss was as we mingled with the guests after the shows there was an occasional pat on the bottom or an accidental brush of a breast and a lot of cheesy chat-up, but following Gina’s advice I just smiled sweetly, pretended it had never happened and moved on.

It was a bit of a culture shock getting rid of my boobs and feminine clothes and returning to life as a boy, even though i had lived as a boy for eighteen years, it still felt strange, the clothes were rougher and heavier, I felt naked without make-up, the only thing not a problem was my hair. The soft perm I had would take a while to grow out, , but with a slight trim and a change in brushed style, it looked a bit ‘surfer boy‘ which would fit in ok at University

To be continued.

Chapter 5 Settling in at Uni

To allow me to get professional business qualifications I enrolled at the University of Plymouth for a degree course in Hospitality Management which in addition to the basic operational skills covered Marketing, man-management, employment law, food hygiene and basic commercial cooking which would let me the able to discuss menus with our chefs. I also decided to do accountancy as a special subject, as bookkeeping, cash-flow, and annual returns would be part of my responsibility when I became full time with the Hotel group.

In the first year most students opt for living in one of the halls of residence as this lets them meet new friends and take a bigger part in the social life of the University, these are in great demand and the vacancies are soon filled. I had pre-booked an en-suite study/bedroom in a grouped flat sharing a common kitchen and small lounge with 5 others.

On arrival at the university I booked in and registered for my course, and went to the accommodation office to find out which block my flat was in and to get a welcome pack. As there were too many people arriving that day to deal with each individually, they had left out envelopes for everyone, so after picking up and signing for mine I made my way across the campus to find my flat and get settled in.

I went in, heard voices, and thought I better introduce myself. To my surprise, in the kitchen were three girls and I wondered if I had come to the wrong place as the policy is to group people of the same gender together.

“Hi, I’m Gino, I’m booked into bedroom 1.”

“Gino ? We were told to expect a Gina, there must be some mistake, this is a flat for six girls.”

“ I better go back to check with the accommodation office, do you mind if I leave my stuff here until I get this sorted”

I returned twenty minutes later, having been told that although my academic registration was correct, someone had mistyped my name as Gina onto the accommodation list and I had been allocated a flat with the girls. The accommodation was in much demand and they did not have anything else immediately available, but would try to get something sorted. I told the girls what had happened

“ So the bottom line is that, unless you have a problem with it, although they do not normally do mixed-sex flats, I’ve been told to stay here for the moment. I’ll go and get some lunch and leave you to talk about it for a while.”

I returned an hour later to find that another two girls had arrived, and they had obviously been filled in on my situation.

“Ok girls, if you are not happy I will pick up my bags and find a hotel or something until the university gets me somewhere else, otherwise I think that this place looks clean and comfortable, and you all look friendly, and we could probably make this work. What do you think?”

“Let’s start all over again Gina,” said one of the girls who introduced herself as Linda, “we’re quite happy for you to stay, but we need to establish some ground rules first. Put your bags in your room and get sorted then we can all sit down for a chat.”

Over coffee and biscuits the girls introduced themselves, Linda, Julie, Carol, Sue and Megan, and we all gave a brief potted history of ourselves, where we came from, the courses we were on, family, and how we seen our time at University.”

“Our rules:

#1 No coming into any of our bedrooms
#2 No trying it on with anyone, we can all be good friends, but no more
#3 Keep to your own en-suite, no using the common bathroom, it’s a boy-free zone
#4 No girls brought back to the flat, other than you, it is all a boy-free zone
#5 Normal rules about what in the kitchen is common use and what is personal
#6 If we are all going to live together it would be nice if we could socialise together so at least one night a week we all go out together.”

“They all seem ok. My rules, and don’t take this personally but I have 18 years experience living with my twin sister:

#1 No walking around the flat in your underwear
#2 No leaving washing, particularly underwear, lying around to dry
#3 Same rule about coming into my bedroom without knocking on the door
#4 No bringing boys back to the flat, at least not when you know I am here
#5 Finally, when you are on your monthlies, please do not take it out on me.”

The last rule brought an embarrassed giggle from the girls, but whilst Gina and I got on very well, she did try my patience sometimes when she was ‘on’ .

“One last rule.” chipped in Megan “This is the first time any of us have been away from home and we all have very worried parents, who may not be happy with us flat-sharing with a boy, so we are all telling our folks that Gina is sharing with us, and so that we do not let it accidentally slip that’s how we will refer to you around the flat. Is that ok.”

“ That shouldn’t be a problem, I don’t think that any of you will share classes with me, but try not to call me Gina when we are out anywhere.”

I called up the accommodation office and told them that it was agreed that I would stay in the flat and that they didn’t need to look for somewhere else for me. They changed my name on the records but we agreed that to save anyone asking questions that I would stay on the address register and on the flat nameplates as ‘Gina’.

We all took to university life, settling into our courses, forming new friendships and following our own social interests, but kept a very close group relationship with our flatmates, and Monday nights, which were otherwise quite socially bare became our group night out together.

One Monday a few weeks later, after a few drinks and in a lull in the general conversation,Megan, who seemed to be the one that spoke her mind most, turned to me with a querying look.

“You know what Gina, you have fitted in with us quite well, you enjoy our company, when you are out with us you drink wine with us, you seem to be interested in our conversations about girlie things, your voice and patterns in speech and gestures are a bit girly, and you never seem to react when we forget the rules and you see us in the flat in our underwear, I hope you don’t mind me asking, but are you gay?”

“ No I am not gay, but I am not too offended as you are right, I do have a bit of a feminine side. However I would appreciate it if you all stopped waltzing around the flat in just your bra and pants, it does often have an effect on me.”

Having had a few drinks, my tongue was a bit looser than it should have been and I told them all ( well, most ) about growing up with the girls, and dressing occasionally, and about my summer performing as Maria/Anni-Frid. They were enthralled, particularly about the Abba act and living as Maria for a few weeks, and nobody seemed particularly shocked or embarrassed by any of it.

“Don’t worry, you’re amongst friends, we’ll keep this to ourselves, right girls?” Linda was the first to respond “ But after telling us all that, I for one would like to meet the real Gina, or Maria, if you prefer.”

“I’m not too sure, i enjoyed my time as Maria, and to be honest I do like the feel and comfort of girl’s clothes, but I was getting to feel too comfortable with it all and was hoping to spend my time here as totally masculine.”

“ Come on it could be fun just to let us see, and after telling us a tale like that you can’t leave it up in the air”

I eventually gave in and phoned Gina to ask her to get a few of my things together, to send over, but as the Abba act was performing in Torquay later in the week she wanted to drop them off, and come up to see the flat and meet the girls. Gina would be doing shows on the Friday and Saturday, so we arranged for her to come over on the Thursday evening to meet up and bring my stuff. The others in the band would drive over separately on Friday and pick her up to prepare for the show, and we would all go over on Saturday to see the performance, with me going as Maria. As they had now met the real Gina to save any confusion I now became Maria to them all

We all went out for a meal on drink Thursday evening, Gina got on really well with the girls, but to my embarrassment filled in a lot of extra details that I hadn’t mentioned, particularly my reaction to getting chatted up and touched up.

I had no classes on Friday, and the flatmates were all at theirs, so I spent the day getting myself ready for the weekend. My hair was still holding its perm, so other than a quick wash, condition, blow-dry, and a bit of re-styling, it was soon sorted. Luckily I still didn’t grow much facial hair so after a very close shave, body and leg shave, nails shaped and painted, and fixing on my boobs all followed and there was no sign left of Gino. I obviously couldn’t put back on my boy’s clothes, so I dressed in leggings and a tunic top, put on a bit of foundation, mascara and lipstick, and took Gino’s stuff down to the basement laundry to give my shirts, underclothes and pyjamas their fortnightly wash and spin, and left them to run through the cycle.

When I went back upstairs, Carol, Sue and Megan had come back, and were surprised to see me already dressed.

“We weren’t expecting you to have changed today, we thought you would just leave it until tomorrow, but must say that the look suits you”

“ I had the time today and it will save rushing tomorrow, and besides a bit of extra time will get me more into Maria-mode. It’s a while since I did this and I just wanted to make sure I was ok with it again.”

When the others returned I had to go through the whole conversation again, and as we were all at a loose end we decided to go into town for a drink, rather than one of the pubs near the campus.

“We were all planning to just go casual tonight, so you can go as you are, or if you prefer we can all wear skirts for a change to help you feel more girly”

“ No I am quite happy like this, if you all go and get changed, I’ll just freshen up my make-up, change my shoes, grab my bag and see you all in about half an hour.”

“My God, you’ve only been a girl for next to no time and you are already acting like the rest of us.” giggled Linda, starting off similar comments from the others.

We had a pleasant night out, a Chinese meal, a few drinks in a music bar, a lot of cheesy attempted chat-ups and offers of a good night out, but it was made plain that we were having a girls’ night and men were off the menu. Although I had been out with them lots of times, it was somehow a different, more relaxed, atmosphere in the gang, and as far as they or anyone else was concerned I was just one of the girls.

We got back to the flat, all went to get changed and ready for bed before getting together for a coffee and chat, when I remembered that my pyjamas were downstairs in the wash with the rest of my washing. When I got there however, all my stuff had disappeared, someone had obviously thought that my stuff was better than theirs, so back upstairs I had no choice but to put on my satin nightie and a clean white pair of panties. When I went out into our little lounge, the girls were already sitting around, mostly in short cotton nighties or pyjamas, and I felt very overdressed.

When they had all got over the shock, Megan giggled “Wow Maria, you don’t do things by half, do you, you make us all look like we’ve got our nightwear down at the charity shop, and you are better endowed up top than most of us.” We had our coffees, had a chat about our night out and our plans for tomorrow. I told them about losing my laundry and Megan and Sue suggested I go out with them tomorrow to get some replacement stuff, as even boys could not survive without a change of underwear.

Saturday morning Megan Sue and Maria hit the shops, but as well as replacing Gino’s stuff they insisted that I needed some more stuff for Maria as they were sure that ‘she’ would be spending more time with them. I replaced my Gino clothes, but also got even more stuff for Maria especially several dressy bra and pantie sets, some more basic underwear, some warmer winter tops, a short cotton nightie and a pyjama set, and a few pairs of ear rings and studs to go with my newly-pierced ears.

To be continued

Chapter 6 One of the girls

Back at the flat the girls had decided that we would forget the casual looks for this evening and dress ‘to the nines’. So after a quick shower and moisturise I brushed out my hair, really glammed up with heavy evening-out make-up, put on one of my new undie sets, sheer tights, my ‘little black dress’ and some 3” heels, a quick spritz of hairspray and ‘Allure’, grabbed a clutch bag for my essentials, and went out to meet the others.

“Wow Maria you are gorgeous, you are a natural at this, grab your coat, we’ve ordered a taxi, lets go and have a good night out”

Gina had reserved a table for us right next to the stage, and had arranged with the bar staff to have some cocktails and wine ready to welcome us, so we were already in party mode when they came on to do their performance. They put on a great show, I think they were even better and more professional than when I was with them. Near the end of the show, Gina made an announcement.

“The first time we did a show here, Anni-Frid here was unwell and my cousin Maria stood in, I would like her to come up and join us for our final number, which as usual will be ‘Dancing Queen’, all of you please feel free to get up and dance or wave your arms around and join in.”

The girls pushed me up to the stage, I was given a spare mic, and we launched into the number. The girls were the first to join in on the floor which led lots of other guests to follow. They all seemed to be getting into the swing of things so we continued to go through the song a second time. and we all left the stage to lots of applause. I rejoined the girls. After they had got changed and freshened up Gina, Maggie, Bob and John joined us for the rest of the evening. the girls all complimented them on their wonderful show and with promises that we would do this again next time they were in town, we set off for home.

Back at the flat, we all got changed and cleaned up and sat around in our pyjamas and nighties to have a last drink to finish off the night. This time I was more in tune with them wearing one of my new pyjama sets with a cami top and shorts rather than the satin nightie.

Sunday morning I realised that when Gina had brought my stuff over that she had forgotten to include the glue solvent for my “breasts’, so I was, literally, stuck with them until I could find a local shop that stocked some. I called Gina who told me that she would post it over when she got home but that it would be a couple of days before it got to me. I could have cut through the breasts, but I didn’t want to ruin them as they were not cheap so the only choice was to remain as Maria until I could get them unstuck.

Still feeling a little light-headed after last nights drinking, I drifted into the kitchen, still in my pyjamas, to get a coffee, Megan was the only one up.

“Morning Maria, that was a good night out, we’ll have to do it again next time they are in Plymouth. They were really good they could probably make a living doing the clubs and local theatres as a tribute band, and when you got up with them you really fitted in, you knew all the words and dance movements you were very good too.”

We generally chatted for a while about the night out, the show, comparing what we had all been wearing and how we looked, when she suddenly realised that I was still Maria.

“ How come you are still dressed as Maria, you are just so natural that I didn’t even notice until just now. It was the same last night you just blended in as one of the girls.”

I explained my problem with the breasts and that for at least a couple of days Maria would still be around, and Megan said that she didn’t see that as a problem, as the others were now used to Maria anyway.

When the others turned up I got pretty much the same reaction, it seemed to take them all a few minutes to notice how I was dressed and they didn’t seem to care, I was just another flatmate. Sunday was always a lazy day, and when all our heads had cleared, we threw on some comfortable casual clothes to go for a walk down by the seafront, I just put on leggings and a tunic top and my flats, grabbed my bag, and off we went.

The sea air soon cleared the cobwebs from our heads and we had a pleasant afternoon just strolling around, browsing the shops before going back to the flat for an evening in preparing for classes tomorrow.

This was going to be a problem for me, obviously I could clean off all the make-up and nail polish, re-style my hair, and change my clothes, but the boobs would be hard to hide. I bound them as tight as I could, covered up with a couple of thick sloppy Gino’s sweaters, and looking as masculine as I could, but quite androgynous, I went off to classes. Luckily all my classes today were in large lecture groups rather than small study or tutorial sets, so I was able to get into corners and keep out of the way of anyone who knew me well and hope that I went undiscovered.

I was glad to get back to the safety of the flat, take off my clothes, unbind my breasts and put on a bra, which was strangely comforting, get into leggings and a top, and relax for the first time that day. By the time the other girls got back I had been practising my catering skills with a lasagne and some focaccia and we all settled down for a nice meal during which the main topic of discussion seemed to be how my day had gone and whether anyone had noticed.

Tuesday and Wednesday went very much the same way, but the glue solvent arrived on the Wednesday, and I was able to feel comfortable again as Gino.

The rest of the year came and went, My studies were fine and I sailed through my exams as I had already picked up a lot of the basics at the local college and when working in the hotels. Gino was around all week, but Maria was normally about at weekends and if we were going out anywhere special. I kept my hair trimmed so that it could be styled for to suit Gino or Maria without looking out of place as either.

Although I was dressing as Gino, the girls tended to treat me as one of them, and the rules about walking around in underwear, and leaving clothes around relaxed a lot. As Linda and I had the two en-suite rooms and the others had to share, my bathroom soon became common territory and was quickly filled with all sorts of shampoos, conditioners, body washes, and a variety of creams and lotions, even some hygiene products and drying underwear, it was almost as bad as sharing at home with Gina. The girls seemed to make no allowances for the fact that I was really a boy.

We left for the summer break, having arranged for an off-campus flat for the six of us for next year and it was back home to work in the hotel again. This time I was mainly working ‘back-of-house’ in the office assisting Mum with the book-keeping and marketing and learning more about the business plans and finances, dealing with the bank and accountants, and was expected to keep up a smart professional appearance.

The only time the rules changed was when I appeared with the group as Maria, covering for when Maggie was away on holiday or visiting her folks. The act had diversified and when they had a booking for two sessions they performed the second as ‘Bucks Fizz’, so there were a lot of new songs and routines to learn.

It was good fun to be doing the shows and touring around again, but I was glad it was only for a few weeks, as I felt that I was getting sucked into femininity, spending too much time as Maria, and was trying to settle down as Gino again. I spent a lot of spare time surfing down at the beach, and as it was a warm summer it was mostly in just speedos rather than a wet suit so I quickly built up a tan, helped by my Italian genes.

Soon it was time to go back to university, and I packed up everything I thought I would need. I debated whether to take Maria’s stuff with me, but in the end decided that both I and the girls were more comfortable when she was around ,so with twice as much luggage as normally needed and a big supply of glue and solvent for the breasts, I headed back to Plymouth

To be continued.

Chapter 7 Uni life

The new flat was more or less the same size as before, but only had two shared bathrooms rather than the en-suites we had before . Luckily our timetables for classes were all staggered so we were able to sort out a rota that normally worked for us all. The main problem was the clutter of all the toiletries, and associated stuff, for 5 girls - I kept most of my stuff in my room. We all had busy times at classes this year, our group social life scaled back as we all now had other friends, but we still managed to have our nights out every couple of weeks, and I usually fitted in better as Maria. Other than that my dressing up was beginning to take a back seat.

“There’s a halloween fancy-dress party at the club just down the road later this month, do you all fancy going.”, Megan came out with one night at the pub. We all thought this should be good fun and started to talk about potential costumes. Megan suggested that we all think of a common theme for us rather than just picking something individually, she had obviously been thinking ahead and planning this as she was well ahead of the rest of us.

“ I went to see Grease the other night and thought it would be brilliant to go with a 50s theme, like ‘The Pink Ladies’, has anyone got any other ideas.” We couldn’t come up with any other suggestions for a group of girls so it was agreed that was what would be worked on. I suggested that I went as Danny with the greased hair, tight jeans and leather jacket, but the girls were having none of that, if I wanted to go with them it would have to be as a match to them. We also decided that we would do one of the songs from the show ‘Summer Nights’ but with a few changes to the lyrics to suit an all-girl group.

We got a copy of a backing tape for the song, fiddled with the lyrics, practised a song-and-dance routine, and got it to an acceptable level.

Several trips to charity shops resulted in a selection of 50s costumes, and we read up on suitable make-up and hair styles, we wanted to do a good job.

The party was actually on Halloween night, which luckily was on a Saturday, so we had all day to get ready. The bathrooms were busy as we all wanted to shampoo and condition our hair before sorting it into a 50s style. As my hair was al lot shorter than the others I was to have it styled like Betty Rizzo with lots of bouncy curls, so Linda set it in lots of small rollers and left it while I did my makeup and got dressed. The others were easier to deal with, just a bit of work with curling tongs, some backcombing to pad out the hair, and they were easily dealt with.

Make-up was a lot simpler in the fifties, mainly face-powder, mascara, and bright red lipstick, but I glammed it up a little with smokey eye-shadow and a bit of sparkle

We had all picked from the clothes selection we had gathered, and after fitting my breasts and putting on my bra and panties, several flouncy petticoats as was the style, I completed it with a plain black dress with a wide flared skirt, dressed it all up with a wide crimson belt, a chain necklace and drop earrings, white bobby-socks and black pumps. I took out my rollers, brushed out my hair, grabbed my bag and went out to see how the others had turned out.

They were all amazing, it was like a 50s school reunion. Megan had found some cheap second-hand short white blouson jackets and dyed them a vivid pink, we would have no problem with fitting in as the Pink Ladies. There were lots of group and individual photos before we set off for the club.

There was a big queue to get in, but one of the doormen, amazed at our costumes, came and took us in a side door, and said that specially selected people and groups who had made a special effort were being allowed in free to help the atmosphere get going. We asked if it was possible to go on stage and do our song later, He consulted with the manager and said that it would be fine but to leave if for a couple of hours until everyone had had a few drinks and the party was in full swing.

We had a good time dancing together, with me just copying their moves and dance styles, and having fun until we got the nod to go up on stage.

“These girls, and I am sure you can all guess who they are supposed to be, have volunteered to do a song for you, I’m not sure what they are like but let them have a go, after all it is a party.”

We started the backing tape, plugged into the club sound system, waited through the intro, and then burst into our version of ‘Summer Nights’ mimicking a lot of the actions and moves copied from the film. We went down a bomb and were asked to do a bit more of it as a reprise, before going back to our table to recover. That led to a few others having a go, but as we had practised our routine none came anywhere up to our standard, so the club went back to its planned music and dancing for the rest of the night. The club manager was so pleased at how we had really got the party started that he came over with a couple of bottles of wine and told us that it would be a free bar for us for the rest of the night.

After our show, we were a very popular group and there were a constant stream of dance partners coming over for us all, me included. At the end of the night they finished off with a couple of slow smoochy numbers and I stayed on the floor with the boy I had been dancing with. He was a good dancer and had obviously learned the basics rather than just shuffling around the floor as most of the others were doing. As it all finished and the lights came on he held me close and gave me a passionate kiss on the lips,I was shocked and almost fainted in his embrace and felt a bit dizzy. He asked if he could walk me home, but I told him that I was out with the group and that I would go back home with them. When he asked if he could see me again, I told him that I was going steady, thanked him for the dances and his kindness and went back to the girls.

We all linked arms and skipped and danced back to the flat and sat around with a glass of wine
talking into the night.

“Maria, you seemed to be having a good time at the end of the night there, that was a bit of a dreamboat you were with, didn’t you fancy going out with him sometime.”

“I don’t know Linda, I really enjoyed dancing with him, but when he kissed me I felt all funny and not right. You know that I enjoy dressing with you all, and I really love this outfit I’ve got on tonight, the 50s style is so feminine, but I am a boy and not a girl, and I don’t think I want to go any further and have relationships with other men, eventually I think I will settle down, get married, and have a normal life. I’m sorry if I disappoint you all.”

I went off to my room and left them to finish their chats. Despite what I had just said I didn’t want Maria’s night-out to finish, so after undressing and cleaning off the make-up, I put on my best satin nightie and went to bed. I tossed and turned a bit and thought about the last dance and the kiss, then about where I wanted my life to lead and decided that Gino needed to take control of his life again.

Sunday morning, dressed in a t-shirt and jeans I went out to talk to the girls over breakfast.

“ Ok, I had a great night yesterday, and have really enjoyed my times with you all, but last night really worried me and got me thinking, it wasn’t just the drink that made me say what I said last night, Maria is beginning to take me over, and I don’t think that is what I want, I need to put Maria aside for a while while I sort myself out. I hope you all understand and are happy to have a full-time Gino living with you all again, but if any of you are uncomfortable with that I will find somewhere else.”

“Don’t be daft,” Megan, as usual, was the first to come back at me , “we enjoy your company no matter whether you are wearing trousers or a skirt. you kept your side of our agreements and behaved perfectly, whereas we all bent the rules a little, taking over your bathroom and wandering around in skimpy clothes. I for one hope that I never embarrassed you, and am more than happy with whatever you want to do, in fact I’ll be really disappointed if you left.”

That was more or less repeated by them all and life continued in virtually the same routines except that I spent a lot more time with my male classmates to try to get back to being ‘one of the lads’. Maria’s clothes were kept in a locked suitcase and when we all went for our weekly night out, it was Gino with the girls, not Maria. Christmas and Easter came and went and we were into our final term of the year, and making plans for next year.
It ended up that this was to be our final term together. Carol and Sue had decided to flat-share next term with their boyfriends, who they had been going out with most of the year, Julie was taking a gap year touring around the Far East, and Linda was doing a one-year optional placement in Italy as part of her architecture course. Megan and I decided that as we got on well together, in fact her, Linda, and me were probably the closest of the group, that the two of us would continue to share next year and would find a small flat near the campus.

Once our exams were over, before we broke up for the summer we decided to have a farewell dinner together, as we had been close for almost two years, living and socialising together almost as a family, and it would be the end of an era for us all. When we were sitting together one night planning exactly what to do next year, Megan gave me a serious look.

“ I hope you don’t mind me saying, and I know you may not like it, but you should consider going to the farewell dinner as Maria, she has been a significant part of our lives for the last two years and some of the best things we have experienced together, including the Abba concert and the Halloween party, she has been with us. Don’t reply now, as I know you will be in two minds, but please have a think about it, I’m sure the other girls will appreciate it.”

I was reluctant as I thought had almost got Maria out of my head, but having slept on it for a few nights, I realised I was being a bit silly. If I had really pulled back from my life in skirts one night would not make a difference, and I really did enjoy the nights out as one of the girls and had felt really comfortable in the clothes. I agreed with Megan that I would do it, but I would need her help to get ready, and I didn’t want the others to know in advance.

We dug out my Maria clothes, and after having been in a suitcase for many months most of them needed a wash to freshen them up, and my LBD went off to the dry cleaners. Megan and I went shopping, outwardly for her but really for me. Although I was to wear my LBD, she felt that it needed to be accessorised to make it look a bit different, so I ended with a vivid red chiffon bolero, with a matching belt, 4” heel open-toed shoes and matching evening bag, and a fresh supply of make-up products.

Megan had arranged for me to have a full session with her hairdresser and beautician on the day of the dinner. I changed into one of the salon smocks, suffered a full body wax and facial masks, and had my hair soft-permed again with wash-out red streaks and tips to match my outfit, finger and toe nails shaped and painted a vivid red, and left for home dressed in leggings and a tunic top.

I phoned Megan to check whether the coast was clear and she confirmed that the others were all out going through similar treatments to what I had just been through, so I quickly sneaked back into my room, and locked the door, and prepared Maria to face the world again.

“Gino are you ready yet, it’s supposed to be us girls that keep you waiting not the other way round?”

Taking a deep breath I opened the door and went out to meet the others. To say they were surprised is an understatement, it was more astonishment, speechlessness, and shock, at the way I was dressed and how attractive I looked, but delighted and welcoming.

“It’s great to see Maria back, we were hoping that it might happen but didn’t want to force you into it, come on girls let’s go.” Linda was the first to recover from the surprise.

We had a wonderful night out, the food was delicious, the company was amazing, and we all thought it a shame that our two years together was ending., and agreed that no matter where our lives went from here that we would have regular reunions.

Back at the flat we all said our goodnights , and I went back to my room to clean off all the makeup, put on my satin nightie and lay in bed thinking about all the good times I had had as Maria, and went to sleep totally confused again’

To be continued

Chapter 8 The End of an Era

Back in Perranporth for the summer I soon settled into the routine, but was now based in our admin office rather than the Piran Hotel, working alongside Mum on the running of the business rather than the operational side in the hotels. Although the Abba act had been very successful and a bit of fun, they were not going to continue this year. One of the barmen had left for a new job, and Maria wanted to concentrate on expanding her hair and beauty business, so there were to be no distractions as Maria.

As I was now expected to show a more professional image, my hair was cut a lot shorter, although still a youthful surfer-boy look, I worked in a suit and shirt and tie, and presented myself as totally masculine. When any feminine traits re-appeared I was quickly corrected by Mum or Gina.

Mum gave me more responsibility for decision making as she said that when I joined full-time next year that she wanted to take a long holiday and not have to be constantly on the phone to agree things.

Back at Uni for my final year, I soon settled into the new flat with Megan. Predictably as it was just the two of us, we became quite close, changing from flatmates to best friends, to boyfriend and girlfriend, and finally to lovers. Megan was delighted that my time as Maria hadn’t affected my libido and demands, and that I was still very much a man, even if I did have a few peculiarities.

I had brought Maria’s things with me, but they remained in the suitcase most of the time, but they did come in useful for the occasional bit of sexual game-playing foreplay.

Reading the ‘What’s-on’ page of the local newspaper Maria noticed that The Rocky Horror Show was coming up at the local theatre, not with the West-End cast but by a local drama group. We agreed that it was supposed to be good fun and that we would give it a go, and next time she was in town she went to get some tickets.

“I was talking to the girl at the booking office and she said that they were hoping to get some of the audience to come dressed as characters from the show to build up the atmosphere, like they had at the original London show, and that they were reserving the front rows of the stalls for those making the effort, do you fancy it?”

“I don’t know , the only character I can really picture is Frank N. Furter.”

“Precisely ! It won’t take much, a basque, stockings and suspenders, high heels and lots of Goth make-up, come on it should be a laugh, and it’s not as if you haven’t been out in public before dressed up”

Megan really enjoyed the next couple of weeks finding the costumes, and then getting us ready, she seemed to take a particular delight in lacing me tightly into the basque over a sheer skin-tone body stocking for a bit of warmth. So we turned up at the theatre as a pair of ‘Franks’, and I must admit she had made a good job of it, we looked amazing. I didn’t bother this time with close shaving as I was supposed to be a transvestite not a woman, wore a short curly black wig and had enough eye make-up on to make me look like a Panda. I had borrowed a coat from Megan as I didn’t fancy walking the streets in just a black lace-up basque, body-stocking, suspenders, stockings and heels, it was far too cold, apart from anything else.

On arrival at the theatre we handed in out coats and were told to go down to the reserved front seats. We were soon surrounded by others dressed the same or as some of the other characters, even one as the compere in a formal shirt, bow tie, dinner jacket, and stockings suspenders and heels. The show was amazing, a mixture of mock horror, musical, comedy and audience participation. In fact those of us in the front rows in costume were invited onto the stage for the “Time Warp” finale song and dance. Having been on stage with the cast and amongst the others in costume, we were less embarrassed going home than we were on the way to the theatre, but still got a lot of funny looks from passers-by.

Back at the flat I was going to get changed into something a bit more comfortable when Megan suggested that it would be a shame to waste the costumes and that we should retire to the bedroom for some fun. Whether it was still the buzz of excitement from the show, or the costumes we were in, it was one of the most energetic but long-lasting and enjoyable sessions we had had together, eventually falling asleep in each others arms.

“That was so much fun last night,” said Megan when we awoke “we must do it again sometime. I know that you don’t want to get used to Maria again, but an occasional dress-up will help to keep thing spiced up, please say yes.”

University life continued, and as it was our final year it was quite intense, and there was not much time for dressing up and going out, although around the flat was a different matter. Wearing a skirt or dress helped to de-stress me from the pressures of my academic life and I’m sure kept me more relaxed and improved my grades.

The finals went very well we both seemed to go through our exams without any problems and didn’t have any real doubts about achieving our degrees.

We were soon due to be leaving university and the flat, and leaving behind a challenging and exciting part of our lives and beginning to pack our things, when we were surprised one night by a knock on the door, and there was Linda.

“I’ve had a super time working in Florence, learned an amazing amount about historical architecture, and had quite a hectic social life. I have had to come back to submit a report on my placement, was in the area, and thought it would be a great idea to meet up with my best friends again.”

“That’s brilliant,” said Megan, “where are you staying, stop with us for a few days and we can really have a good catch up. There’s a spare bed, as Gino and I have got a lot closer and are now sharing.”

“ That would be great, I was planning to go back home to my folks but a few more days won’t make any difference. I’m so happy that you two are now together, I was worried that we had all deserted you, but it has worked out for you, you always were very well suited.”

We stayed up until the early hours drinking wine and talking about the events since we were last together, before eventually going off to our beds.

A few days turned into a week, and Megan suggested that we all went out for a final meal together before we all left, when Linda suggested that Maria make a re-appearance ‘for old times sake’. One part of me was reluctant as Maria had not really been out in public for a year, but the other part of me was welcoming the opportunity. After a cat-and-mouse game of me refusing, and then pretending to reluctantly agree, the next day was spent with me getting ready. My hair was now a lot shorter, but still long enough to be styled in a feminine manner, so after my body was covered in hair removal cream, I showered and shampooed and soon had a head full of rollers waiting for Megan to finish me off. I was so out of practice that she suggested it would be better if she did my make-up up so I happily sat there whilst she recreated Maria.

I was beginning to beef out a little bit and not quite as svelte as I used to be so I even had the discomfort of wearing a tight control pantie. Luckily I still had my false breasts, but as it was going to be a one-off calm graceful night, they were just placed in my bra rather than being stuck on. My LBD had been taken out the day before and freshened up and was fit to wear, again matched with my bolero and matching belt shoes and bag. The girls had really gone to town too, Megan had loaned Linda one of her dresses and a pair of shoes, as she had only come with casual stuff. The pair of them looked so gorgeous that I thought that Gino would be proud to escort them out for the night and get lots of jealous looks, but then Gino was not around, Maria was.

We arrived at a local Italian restaurant and ‘the three beautiful Ladies’ got a lot of attention from the typical smiling slim-hipped Italian waiters. What they didn’t know was that I had been brought up speaking Italian as well as English, and although I was a bit rusty with the language, I still knew enough to let the girls know all the compliments and suggestive comments that were being made about us.

We had a wonderful meal and a really enjoyable night, and when we left I waved at the waiters and smiled. “ Buona notte, ragazzi, grazie mille per l'ottimo pasto. Tutti abbiamo adorato le cose gentili e sfacciate che hai detto di noi. Divertiti.” ( Good night, guys, thank you so much for the great meal. We all loved the kind and cheeky things you said about us. Have fun ). We left them surprised tongue-tied, and embarrassed, but smiling, and we all had a good giggle about it as we walked back to the flat.

Linda left the next day with us all promising to keep in touch and meet up regularly. Linda had kept in touch with Julie, Carol and Sue and promised that when we next got together it would be all six of us again.

I was soon headed back to Perranporth, Megan had a few things to sort out at home and getting a job and would join me as soon as she could. As she now had qualifications as an accountant, although subject to getting field experience prior to becoming fully professionally qualified, she was able to get a job anywhere and ended up in a medium sized partnership in Truro, and moved in with us at home.

Whilst I was away, the business had continued to grow and be very profitable and Mum had been able to buy back the family home that we had left many years ago. The people she had sold it to, and had lived there since, had died, their family was not interested in keeping it as they worked in other parts of the country and it was too big to keep as a holiday home, so she had got it at a very good price, even allowing for spending a bit of money on essential maintenance and refurbishment and freshening it up. Like many farmhouses it had been extended many times over the years as traditionally farmers had big families, with all generations living together. We all effectively had our own apartments as well as all the family areas, so Gina and her fiancé Bob, Mum, and Megan and I all had our own space but still had most of our meals together as a family.

Things were changing in the business, Mum’s partner, who had worked with her to build it up, was retiring and it was agreed that his shares would gradually be bought back and transferred to me, so at the age of 22 I was registered as a director of ‘The Piran Hotel Group’, which now comprised another two hotels in Ilfracombe and Barnstaple in North Devon in addition to the Piran Country House Hotel, and I was gradually taking on more roles and responsibility. Mum had been very shrewd buying into hotels was beginning to take a back seat, whilst retaining control of policy and general direction, she left the day-to-day executive running of the business to me, although she wasn’t shy to tell me when she thought I had not done the best thing.

Over the next couple of years, both Megan and I became very busy and absorbed in our jobs, but we still found a lot of time to develop our personal relationship and to Mum’s delight we decided to formalise things and got engaged. Although we were both developing our careers, and didn’t want to “upset the apple cart” by any public appearances of me as Maria, both of us continued to enjoy our dress-up sessions in the privacy of our own apartment and, when Bob was away visiting his folks, at occasional family dinners and get-togethers with Gina and Mum. I still found it very relaxing and enjoyable to feel the softness and comfort of women’s clothes and Megan seemed to enjoy Maria’s occasional outings too.

To be continued

Chapter 9

The Wedding Seasons

In the 1980’s people tended to get married in their 20s, rather than as now in the 21st century waiting into their 30s, that is if they decide to get married at all, so over the next few years we attended the weddings of most of our university group.

Julie had met a boy from New Zealand whilst on her travels, and planned to live out there, but she came home to Bristol for her wedding. Carol and Sue were to be bridesmaids along with some of her family. As only her husbands immediate family were making the trip , it was a reasonably low-key affair, but we went up to Bristol for the weekend to be with them. The other girls were all there too, and they all went to her ‘Hen” night to which Maria was invited, but I declined. However Maria did join them for a quiet meal together the night before the ceremony.

It then became a tradition that Maria would join them for a meal before the event. At Carol’s big traditional wedding, at Sue’s Registry office marriage, and at Emma’s country house ceremony we had wonderful evenings reminiscing about our times together at Uni, but again I skipped the hen nights and Gino was the guest at the wedding ceremonies and receptions.

Linda however had different ideas, she wanted Megan and Maria to be her chief bridesmaids as she had no close female relatives. Whilst I would have been delighted to be dressed up in all the finery and being pampered and preened getting prepared by the salon staff, I felt that this was just too much and that I would be too exposed, being in the spotlight for the whole day and evening. I did agree to be a groomsman for Jack, her husband-to-be, which would allow me to escort Megan back down the aisle after the ceremony. I had got to know Jack quite well as the four of us had frequent get-togethers, usually at Bodmin or Liskeard, which are both roughly half-way between her home in Plymouth and ours. This time however I had the pleasure and privilege of attending both the groom’s ‘stag’ and the bride’s ‘hen’ night.

Rather than just drunken Pub crawls both had decided on similar theme nights, luckily on consecutive nights so they did not clash. Both were big fans of the crime shows on TV featuring Miss Marple or Hercule Poirot, and so opted for Agatha Christie Murder Mystery Nights at one of the big local hotels just outside Plymouth, where we had all booked in for a few days

As we were particularly close to Linda, I had agreed to go to Linda’s hen night on the promise that nobody would know who I really was, and that I was just Maria, a friend from university. We were all to go in character so agreed a theme of 1920s ‘flappers’.

Back in the hotel room, i went through the normal routine of close shaves of all visible parts, face, arms, legs, chest, armpits, followed by moisturisers and all sorts of lotions and potions to freshen up my skin. There was no need to do anything major with my hair as we all had short bob wigs with headbands to keep them in place, very 1920s flappers !

Megan had got us matching outfits of two thigh-length sleeveless scoop-neck shift dresses, decorated with bands of long tassels, finished off with simple pearl ear studs and a string of imitation peals as a necklace, and strappy chunky-heeled sandals. As was the style we had on very pale powder make-up, bright cherry red lips and dark-shadowed eyelids. Women and girls definitely have more fun in costume than is available for men. We found out when we went down to the dining room that there were not many others in period costume.

Altogether there were twelve of us in our party, on two adjacent tables of six,. They had kept us in two groups, so that we could have more fun solving the clues. Murder Mystery nights usually take the form of several actors mixing on the tables with the guests, pretending to be just another guest, and their their group somehow working into the activities a murder by persons unknown, but having left several clues when discussing who they were with the other guests. There was to be a prize for the team to solve the mystery of ‘who-done-it’ and give the best explanation of the clues.

We had our meal and wine, and then mingled and chatted with other guests, when the lights suddenly went out, there was a loud bang and when the lights came back on there was a body on the floor with a bright red stain on his chest. Although we all knew it was an act, we were still shocked. We had the rest of the evening to chat with others that we suspected, to try to identify the murderer, in fact because the group of us were dressed in costume we collectively became the prime suspects.

To allow all the guests to mingle and look for clues, the rest of the evening was a normal social night, drinking, dancing, and having a good time. we were all up on the floor dancing, and I soon found I was dancing just like the others, hips swinging, arms up in the air, with all the tassels on my dress swaying and swinging. Girls are much more expressive in their dancing than boys and it is easy to understand why they are more keen on it than their partners.

Between us we got an awful lot of nominations as the murderer, because we were so outgoing that other guests didn’t think us genuine, but that let us through to win as the only group that had identified all the clues, it ended up as being a jealous jilted ex-fiancée of the victim. The prize was a discount voucher for the hotel which we gave to Linda, and some bottles of wine which we all shared. It wasn’t as riotous a night as some hen nights, but we all really enjoyed ourselves and went off to our bedrooms happy.

At Megan’s request, we just cleaned off our makeup, left on the wigs and clothes and started slowly and sexily taking off each others clothes items one by one in sexy dance routines, building up our passion, eventually falling into bed together for a night of energetic and repeated love-making. Maria definitely added a bit of spice to our sex life.

The following night I went out with the boys for Jack’s stag night which was completely different from Linda’s. It was a much more boozy and boisterous affair, lots of drink, near-the-knuckle jokes and pranks. We didn’t take the mystery solving too seriously and did not repeat the prize-winning effort of the girls. We ended up going on a pub crawl after the event night had finished, eventually somehow finding our way back to the hotel, going off to our bedrooms and me crashing out on the bed. It was not as enjoyable as the previous night out with Linda and the girls, and I knew which I would prefer in the future. in the morning I got in touch with the acting group who had performed the murder mystery and promised to arrange a booking at one of our hotels.

The wedding ceremony went off beautifully and I was really proud walking back down the aisle arm-in -arm with Megan, who looked absolutely gorgeous, and started thinking about needing to plan our own wedding. The wedding reception went off smoothly, the only hitch being that Linda and Megan kept getting asked what had happened to Maria that had been at the hen night, and what a shame it was that she couldn’t be at the wedding - if only they knew! Linda had bought gifts for her bridesmaids, a small diamond pendant and matching ear studs, and I was shocked but delighted when she privately gave me a set too, to thank me for my support and friendship.

Mainly because we were both so busy with our work commitments and developing our careers, but partly because we were already living together, and partly because Gina and Bob had already announced their wedding plans which we didn’t want to hijack, we were in no rush to ‘tie the knot’ and it was another two years before we became the last of our “gang” to formalise things. As Megan only had her immediate family, parents, one brother, two Aunties and Uncles, and most of her friends were now local to Truro or Perranporth, she decided to get married in our local church rather than her home town. As we had plenty of time to organise things we ensured that that The Piran was available for all our wedding guests to stay and that our function room was free for the reception.

Obviously this time it was not appropriate for Maria to make an appearance. My stag night was a surfing/barbecue/drinking session down at Perranporth beach followed by a drinking session in The Green Parrot with a lot of my old school and college friends, Gina’s fiancé Bob, and Bob and John from the Abba band.

Gina, Linda, the girls from Uni, and some of Gina’s friends that I had spent a lot of time with at school made up the numbers for Megan’s hen night out, which was a meal and drinks at The Piran, a much more sedate and civilised affair than my night out.

The wedding ceremony and reception went off without any hitches, Megan was absolutely stunning, and there was no prouder man in the world when we walked back down the aisle, and spent the next hour getting photographed with our guests and family groups . The hotel staff had really excelled in getting our function room dressed up for the reception and the meals prepared, i thought a special bonus would be appropriates for them. It was a day that I will always remember.

To be continued

Chapter 10

Changes

We fell very much into a routine for the next few years, the business continued to thrive, although we had stopped expanding as it was now becoming more difficult to keep tabs on everything. The “surfer” hotels and B&Bs that we had started with were still paying their way, but the market was getting very competitive and a large part of their income was paid out to the people that were running them for us, so we sold them off to their managers for not much more than the property value, leaving us with the three hotels, and a healthy bank balance.

Megan and I had been blessed with a set of twins, Christopher and Christine, known as Kit and Kirsty in the family, obviously twins must be in the family genes. Megan worked part-time, mainly working on the accounts for our family business, and she and Gina took turns day-on day-off managing their careers and raising their children. As we were all still living together in the family home it was a very convenient and workable relationship, allowing the girls to continue with their careers but giving the convenience of on-hand baby-sitters and help when needed. When the twins were still babies, as Maria, I shared a lot of the nursemaiding duties with Megan, and I delighted in taking a mother’s role as well as a father’s, but once they were toddlers and more aware we felt things had to change and Maria went back into the closet.

Mum was now going off on frequent holidays with friends, in particular with Jack, a chap she had known in the “Young Farmers Club” when she was a teenager, and was away in Spain touring around and staying a few days at Paradors. Paradors are mainly government owned
kinds of luxury hotel, usually located in a converted historic building such as a monastery or castle.

She came back full of enthusiasm and suggested that the market in Spain was still very lively, particularly at the luxury end of the market, and that we should consider looking at similar properties to see if there was anything suitable, I agreed that it was worth looking into and that we should find out more about the opportunities. Most of the suitable properties in Spain were already government owned and managed, so opportunities were limited, However next-door in Portugal the market was still relatively quiet and Pousadas (the Portuguese equivalent of Paradors) were much cheaper and more readily available than in Spain. Mum and Jack went off again to Portugal and a month later we had a very excited phone call from her.

”We’ve spent the last week staying at a pousada in Castelo de Paiva about 30 miles East of Porto. It’s an absolutely delightful place, full of character with amazing views. The owners have plans to retire and are looking to sell, but they want it to continue to be run as a family-owned hotel rather than selling out to one of the big hotel groups. I’ve had a look at the accounts and the booking register and it seems to make a reasonable profit every year. If you are still interested, why don’t you and Megan come over for the weekend and have a look to see if you agree with making an offer for it.”

Megan and I flew over, leaving the twins at home with Gina and Bob, met Mum and Jack, and had a good look around the property and the area.. The local tourist office told us that the area was becoming much more popular, particularly at the high end of the market, as the coastal resorts and big cities were becoming very touristy and commercial. Megan cast her accountant’s eyes over the books did a full audit going back several years and confirmed that it should be a viable commercial venture. Two months later we were the new owners of ‘O Pousada Senhorial’ (The Manor Lodge), which was a relative bargain as it had taken only about half of the money we had raised selling our small hotels and guest houses.

Before signing the purchase contract, we had flown Linda over to Portugal to cast her architect’s eyes over the Pousada, and she confirmed that it was in good condition and would need very little modification to bring it a bit more up-to-date. It already had a lot of historic character which would not be altered, but improvements would be made to improve en-suite facilities and to create a couple of large family suites by combining two adjacent rooms.

We agreed that Mum and Jack would stay in ‘O Pousada Senhorial’ for the immediate future to work with the previous owners on a smooth transfer, and to oversee the modifications and other minor changes.

Over the last few years Megan and I had been very busy raising the twins and running our businesses and hadn’t really had a holiday and thought that it was about time we had a break with just the two of us going somewhere relaxing. As we were so involved with the hotels, we wanted to do something totally different and booked a self-catering cottage on the edge of Snowdonia in Wales, not too far from Conwy and Caernarfon. Gina agreed that it would be more relaxing if we went on our own and had a second honeymoon whilst she looked after the twins, and Megan and I made our travel plans.

“You know, we haven’t seen Maria for a while because of your wanting her to remain a secret, why not use this holiday to bring her back into our lives, you know you enjoy it, and so do I, as long as Gino is around at bed-time.”

“ If you’re sure, I would really like that, you know it always helps to relax me and get rid of my stresses.”

We brought Gina into our plans and the day before our trip she spent a lot of time with me, a full body wax, trimming and shaping my hair into a short but very feminine volumised bob cut with sun-bleach streaks, shaped my eyebrows into a more graceful arch which would still be acceptable when I came back as Gino, used all sorts of astringents and moisturisers to tone my skin, shaped and polished my nails with false extensions, and totally restyled my make-up to be more in keeping with my age and status as a mature professional woman.

With my boobs firmly attached and with padded panties to give some extra shape to my hips and bottom, (as I couldn’t get away with a sylph-like teenage figure at my age) wearing a pair of slacks, a thigh length cotton top and comfy flats for driving, we set off on the trek up north to Snowdonia, changing over about every two hours to save long rest stops.

In case of any mishaps or problems, I had borrowed Gina’s driving licence, we were still similar enough for me to to pass as her, except for the length of her hair, and women’s hair styles are always changing, so the photo ID would not be out of place. The cottage we had booked was in a delightful valley near Rowen about 5 miles out of Conwy, with magnificent views and the nearest neighbours were about half-a mile away further up the valley, where we had to collect the keys.

It had been a long drive and we just wanted to relax and recover, so after unpacking and settling in, we changed out of our smart travelling clothes into leggings, chunky woollen sweaters and walking boots and went out to explore the area. We were coming back feeling refreshed but tired after a 2 hour walk, passing the neighbours house, when someone called out to us.

“Prynhawn Da, did you enjoy your walk?”

I had looked up a few of the more basic Welsh phrases, as I knew that the country areas around here were mainly populated with Welsh speakers and was able to reply.

“Prynhawn Da, good afternoon, I’m afraid that is about as far as I can go in Welsh. We did enjoy our walk, this is a beautiful area, you are lucky to live here all the time.”

“Thank you for trying to be polite by learning a few Welsh phrases, it makes a change, most of our visitors don’t even bother to learn how to say please and thank you. We do live here all the time, although it can be a bit bleak in the depths of Winter so we tend to go over to Spain for a few weeks in January and February to get away from the worst of the weather. Do you want to come in for a tea or coffee, it can be a bit lonely out here and I always welcome the opportunity for a chat.”

We introduced ourselves as Gina and Megan, sisters-in-law, and told her that we were having a bit of a break whilst our husbands looked after the families and the house. Elinor, our neighbour said that was a big coincidence as her sister was also called Megan and that it was a Welsh variant of the name Margaret. Her husband Ifor worked nearer Conwy, managing a privately-owned country house bed-and-breakfast hotel, but liked to escape to the peace and calm of the hills when he left work.

We stayed and chatted for about half-an-hour, telling her a bit more about us also being in the hotel business and about Perranporth and Cornwall, before setting of back to the cottage. Although we had enjoyed her company, I was glad to leave as I was sure that if we stayed much longer that my guard would slip and I would give away my real self.

“You were brilliant in there, I’m sure Elinor had no idea that you weren’t really Gina. I think you need not worry about being discovered, so just relax and enjoy your holiday.”

We hadn’t brought any food with us and hadn’t stopped to shop on the way so later we went down to the local hotel in Rowen for a meal and a drink. The food on the menu was standard home-cooked fare, but very tasty and wholesome at a reasonable price, and we thought that this could be a regular stop for us during our holiday. The clientele was mainly tourists and visitors staying in the local guest houses and camping sites, but it seemed to be well used by locals too, easily recognised by their Welsh conversations, and the inn had a a pleasant friendly atmosphere.

We spent the next few days seeing the local sights, Conwy with its medieval castle town walls and quayside, Caernarfon with its castle and shops and stunning views over to Anglesey, several magnificent gardens and tourist spots, and generally touring the area. We decided to have a more relaxing day for a change and just walk the hills near the cottage. On the way back we met Elinor again who invited us in for a drink and some home-made cake, and a chat about how we were enjoying our holiday and where we had been.

“There is a Twmpath in the village hall tonight, it’s a bit like a Ceilidh or barn dance, with a bit of music, singing, and dancing, Ifor and I will be going, do you fancy joining us? It will mainly be locals and a lot of the chatter will be in Welsh, but we normally get some of the visitors coming so there should be enough in English for you to know what’s going on, it will give you a chance to experience a bit of the local culture.”

Before I had a chance to think about it, Megan, as normal, was the first to reply, “We’d be delighted it sounds like good fun, don’t you agree Gina?” I didn’t even have a chance to have a choice in the matter.

Elinor said it would be a pretty casual affair and there was no need to go particularly dressy, but we thought we’d at least be presentable. After a quick shower and tidying up our hair, and slapping on a bit of make-up, I dressed in a turquoise tiered peasant skirt with a white cotton blouse decorated with broderie anglais on the collar sleeves and hem, smart but casual, with a cardigan over my shoulders for the short drive to the hall. Elinor and Ifor picked us up, showed us into the hall, found a table and Ifor went over to get a bottle of wine for us to share and a beer for himself. As it was the first time we had met Ifor we all told a bit more about ourselves, although in my case it was a bit of a mixture of Gina and Gino ,and they introduced us to some other friends and neighbours who all seemed very pleasant and welcoming, particularly when they were told that I had at least tried to learn some basic Welsh phrases.

It was a really enjoyable night with lively music and singing, a mixture of traditional Welsh tunes and folk dances, country music barn dances, and general party dance tunes. Megan and I, as two of the few unattached -and if I may modestly say, most attractive- females, were in much demand for the dances, and if we had been in the market for it, I’m sure would have had no problems finding partners for the rest of the evening.

We invited Elinor and Ifor in for a drink when they dropped us off, but he had to be up early the next morning for work. With a quick “Diolch yn fawr iawn am noson ddifyr iawn” (Thank you very much for a very enjoyable evening), we all said goodnight with hugs and kisses and they went off home.

We enjoyed the rest of our stay, and went out for a couple of meals with Elinor and Ifor but unfortunately not at his hotel as they only did breakfasts, snack lunches and drinks, not evening dinners, and we became really good friends. They suggested places for us to visit, particularly the train up to the top of Mount Snowdon, and we were particularly lucky that it was a nice clear day and the view from the top was amazing.

With promises to keep in touch and for Elinor and Ifor to visit us down in Cornwall, we said our goodbyes and made the journey back down to Cornwall, although we were not sure how we would deal with a visit from them and my transformation from Gina to Gino.

To be continued

Chapter 11

My Times as Mum

About 6 months later Megan had a call from Elinor saying that they probably wouldn’t be able to visit as Ifor could soon be out of a job. The owners of the hotel he managed were in financial difficulties, not from the hotel but from other interests, and were looking to sell, probably to one of the chains who no doubt would put in their own team. Megan and I decided that she would go up by train to look over their accounts with Ifor with a possibility of us buying it, leaving Ifor to run it with a share in the business, much as we had done with our hotels in Cornwall.

She talked with Ifor about his suggestions to improve and expand the hotel and how it could be developed. Although the hotel was large enough to sustain a restaurant doing evening meals, Ifor felt that the local area was already quite well catered for at both the ‘cheap and cheerful’ and at the gourmet ends of the market, so they decided to leave that for the moment. She had told him about the murder mystery themed night at Linda’s pre-wedding parties and he confirmed that he didn’t know of anything like that in North Wales and it would be worth looking into, maybe with different themes, hauntings, dances, motor club conventions and many more.

Megan went over to see Elinor for a chat, but over a few glasses of wine her tongue became loose and the truth came out about me and my times as Maria and Gina. Elinor and Ifor were shocked by this, but not in a critical manner, more that they would never have guessed. Surprisingly for people born and raised in a very traditional area with strong chapel influence, they had very liberal views and said that they had really enjoyed my company and that I would be more than welcome to come back as either Gino or as Maria/Gina, whichever I preferred.

Megan reported back that the place seemed to have good prospects, and although I was a bit angry at her letting out my secrets, I was very pleased with the discussions she had had with Ifor. Having discussed it over the phone with Mum and having had full surveyors reports on the property, I made contact with the owners and put in a formal offer for the hotel, which was accepted, but before signing contracts, the owners wanted to meet with the group chairman, Jean Morgagni, Mum, to discuss long-term proposals. They were adamant that although I was now effectively running the business, I was not the major shareholder, and that they wanted to meet ‘the person with the casting-vote’. They were concerned that the hotel which had been in their family for 3 generations, and which they looked on as their family home, would be ripped apart and their memories destroyed.

Mum had now effectively settled in ‘O Pousada Senhorial’ and I was reluctant to drag her all the way back from Portugal for a meeting that would only last for a couple of hours, particularly as this was my project and I would have to see it through for many years to come. Talking it through with Megan and Gina, it was suggested that, as I had had all the discussion by phone and had never met face to face and already knew all the details, I go to meet them as Mum. After all, I had already proven myself to be quite passable as a woman. The idea did not come from any of us in particular, but just developed as we mulled over what to do, it always surprised me how life’s circumstances kept drawing me back to femininity.

It was all arranged, and dressed in a formal skirted business suit which Megan had found in an upmarket ‘pre-owned’ shop , wearing a natural mid-length auburn wig which Gina had enhanced with grey/silver streaks to help to age me, and with toned-down make up more appropriate for an older woman, I took the train from Truro up to Conwy. It was a full day’s journey, but it was almost as quick as driving but a lot more relaxing and it gave me time to plan our discussions.

Elinor was waiting for me at Conwy station, but did not recognise me as I approached her, which pleased me, and she was totally shocked when I went to give her a welcome hug. There was a sharp intake of breath and a look of amazement when she finally recognised me.

“ My God, that is amazing, you look totally different from when you were here as Gina, I would have been standing waiting for ages looking for you if you hadn’t come over to me.”

“Gina is a wonder with make-up and hair, you should see the ‘before and after’ changes that she has done for brides and for people wanting to make a good impression at job interviews. Let’s get my case into the car and we can get off, am I staying with you or in the hotel?”

“Ifor insisted that it would be more professional if he booked you into the hotel and it would help to distance yourself from him during your discussions, if you were staying with us it could look like
a bit of insider trading, if you know what I mean.”

We went out for a meal in Rowen for the evening and the chat was a mixture of business, social catch-up, and lots of enquiries about my ‘dressing’. Without getting too personal I assured them that Megan and I were happy with me wearing women’s clothes occasionally and that otherwise our married life was normal. I told them that despite saucy headlines in the popular newspapers, like many cross-dressers I was not gay, but just felt more relaxed and content when dressed.

I really enjoyed the atmosphere when we went back to the hotel for a nightcap drink, and was pleased with the overall atmosphere and re-assured that I had made the right decision to purchase it. The next morning I got up early to prepare myself for the day. Showered, powdered and made-up, I dressed in the same business suit I had travelled in , but having left it in the steamy bathroom after my shower the creases had dropped out and it was freshened up. Hair brushed and sprayed and with a spritz of Allure, I put on my dress 4” heeled court shoes, picked up my shoulder bag and briefcase and went down for breakfast before my meeting.

“Good morning Mrs. Morgagni, I’m Charles Davies, I’m pleased to meet you at last after all my discussions with your son. Let me tell you that he is a shrewd businessman and drove a hard bargain.”

“Please call me Jean, although this is a business meeting it is nice to have the personal touches. I will keep your comments about Gino up my sleeve for a while, I don’t want him getting big-headed and ‘too big for his boots’ I replied with a smile and a bit of a blush.

We talked through the details of our deal and the proposals for the business. Charles was particularly pleased that we would be keeping on Ifor and all the staff to manage and run the place, and that Ifor would be a partner, so keeping a local link to the ownership. Eventually we shook hands and signed the sale contract documents and the business was concluded. Luckily I had been signing cheques and documents for years in my mum’s name and it would take an expert to even think that the signature was not genuine

“ Well you are now the proud owner of ‘Y Faenor Gwyn’ (The White Manor), I’ve really enjoyed meeting you Jean , and as we will still be living in the area I hope to see you again. To celebrate our deal can I invite you out for a meal tonight with my wife Mary and, if you like, let’s include Ifor and Elinor.”

I had only brought my business suit and some casual slacks and tops, and so, having called Elinor about tonights meal, we had to rush into Conwy to get a suitable dress. Luckily Elinor knew the best places to look and we both ended up with quite glamorous cocktail dresses, mine was a delightful sleeveless shawl-collar affair with a nipped waist in a gorgeous shade of crimson and Elinor’s was a beautiful satiny figure-hugger in a delightful cornflower blue. She was even more delighted that as this was effectively a business meeting with her acting on behalf of the company, that The Piran Group would pick up the bill.

Suitably freshened up, make up and hair restored, and wearing my new dress, Ifor and Elinor picked me up and we met Charles and Mary at the characterful Castle Hotel in Conwy. Charles was the life and soul of the party and the perfect gentleman and host. He kept saying he was delighted to be out with three of the loveliest ladies in the Conwy Valley area. As well as being a perfect gentleman, Charles was also a bit of a smooth charmer, and I am sure he was “a bit of a lad” back in the day.

Having said our goodbyes to Charles and Mary, we went back to what was now our hotel for a final celebratory drink.

“You know Maria (as they had now agreed to call me), you come across perfectly natural, and nobody, even in close company like tonight, would ever consider you to be anything other than a beautiful woman.” Elinor said, with an agreeing nod from Ifor, “ We will have no problem if you and Megan want to come back for another girls’ holiday, you can stay with us, or in the cottage, or a suite in the hotel whenever you want, and we’ll take you to another Twmpath or a choir concert to get a bit more Welsh culture. You were both very popular at the last Twmpath and the villagers keep asking when you are coming back.

Megan and I spent many happy holidays at the cottage, and in later years when they could appreciate that my dressing, although unusual, was not doing anyone any harm and did not mean that there were any problems between their mother and I, Kit and Kirsty came along too and got to enjoy the fresh mountain air. Soon there was an increase in the use of the Cornish language and regional pride and the children were learning the basics at school. Whilst totally different in many ways, Cornish and Welsh had common Celtic roots and the kids soon took to learning phrases and words when they went out with the locals.

We all became accepted into the local community and joined several of the local clubs and groups. There was no official Women’s Institute in the Conwy Valley, but there was a loose group that did much the same things, meetings, discussions, cookery sessions and such like, but much more informal, and Megan and I got involved whenever we were in the area. At one meeting it was suggested that it would be good if someone from the hotel group gave a talk and could we arrange it.

I didn’t want to introduce them to Gino as someone was bound to see too many similarities with Maria, so it was agreed that I would attend as Mum, as people in the area already knew about her from when we had purchased the hotel, and with the right make-up to give a bit of ageing, there was enough difference to not make a connection. Obviously I couldn’t be two people at once, so Maria went back to Cornwall ‘to deal with some business’ whilst ‘Mum’ arrived at the Cottage

The group met in a function room at ‘Y Faenor Gwyn’, and appearing as Mum in a summer frock and sandals, I told them all about how ‘I’ had started out with very little after my husband had died, raised the family as a single-mum, but by working hard, and with a bit of luck had build up a business covering four hotels and the pousada in the Douro valley. I told them how delighted I was when the opportunity came up to own Y Faenor Gwyn, and how well Ifor was now running the place. There was a lot of discussion about barriers for woman in business, but I replied that many of these were imaginary and if a woman had a positive approach and self-confidence there was no reason why she could not succeed. Standing so comfortably in front of a room full of women, who can price your clothes and accessories within five minutes, and pass judgement on hair, make -up and accessories instantly, gave me a lot of confidence that I was still able to successfully pass myself off as a woman.

The closing remarks in my talk really got me thinking about my Mum and how well she had done to bring us up and grow the business, and that there was no reason why being a woman should restrict what you can do with your life.

To be continued

Chapter 12

New Adventures

Mum was enjoying staying in Portugal, particularly in the winter, and rarely came back to Cornwall, so twice a year the whole family, Megan and I, Kit and Kirsty, Gina and Bob, and their two girls Emma and Jane, flew over to Porto where we were met by Jack for the trip out to Castelo de Paiva. With the minor changes that Linda had suggested, the pousada was much improved, and with the area becoming a more popular destination, it was becoming a very successful addition to the business.

On our next visit after my adventures in Wales, away from the others, I told Mum about me impersonating her at the Conwy Valley women’s club and how successful it had been. The only problem was that a couple of the women had suggested making a booking for a holiday at ‘O Pousada Senhorial’, and that obviously they would know that the Mrs Jean Morgagni they had met was not the same as the one at the Pousada.

The thought of me standing up in front of the women’s club talking about how to be a successful businesswoman really amused her, and it took her a while for her to reply. “That’s no problem, other than the general manager, who I can trust to be discreet, all the staff only know me as Senhora Morgagni, a relative of the owners, and do not know my christian name, so if I do have any visitors from Wales i will just introduce myself as your Auntie Joan. By the way, have you any photos of your talk at the club, i would like to see what Gina and you think I should look like.”

It was not long before our next university re-union, which was now only every two years, rather than annually, but still gave us all a chance to catch up on changes. After our meal when we were leaving, Emma took me to one side and asked to meet me the next day for lunch, away from the others, but Megan could come too, as she wanted to discuss something with me. Intrigued, the three of us met up at a local restaurant and found a private corner table, but as we were going home immediately afterwards I was there as Gino, not Maria.

“Come on Emma, you are looking very unsure, you obviously have something to ask us, just spit it out, we aren’t going to bite you.”

“This is hard for me to ask but I would like a big favour from you. My brother is a bit like you Gino, only he is now living full-time as a woman and is considering a full transition. I don’t really understand but I am sure that you do even if you only dress occasionally. He is now living near Barnstaple and has been going to a local support group for TGs. They normally meet in each others houses, but are now thinking that instead of hiding away they would like to go out and meet in a more social atmosphere at a pub or hotel. There are lots of hotels in Barnstaple but they feel that it would be more discreet and less chance of any of them being recognised if they were a little bit out of the area. Do you think any of your places might be able to fit them in?”

“I would love to help, but we don’t have any of the local hotels up the West Coast anymore except for The Piran and other than the main function room which will probably be far too large, we do not have any private rooms for hire there, and, besides, it is almost a 2hour drive from Barnstaple, let me check with some other hotels. As you know, I am fairly well known around here and am therefore very discreet with my dressing. Except on special occasions, I prefer to keep my dressing behind closed doors or away from the local area, so I am not familiar with what goes on with the support groups. Leave it with me and I will let you know.”

I actually knew that our hotel, The Lundy, just outside Ilfracombe, would probably be suitable, but I wanted to check with Charles, the General Manager there, that there would not be a problem with him or his staff dealing with the TG group. It turned out that the hotel already had an occasional booking from a TG group in Bristol who had weekend breaks there, and that his staff did not seem to mind, in fact he thought that a few of the male staff were gay themselves anyway and couldn’t really object. The Lundy had a private function room with its own bar and direct access from the car park and was only about 20 minutes away from Barnstaple.

I went back to Emma and gave her the details, but asked that I would prefer it if they discussed it directly with the hotel rather than through me, as I didn’t want to be seen by the staff as doing them any special favours. This worked out well and apparently they had an excellent night out, meal and drinks, and were well received without any embarrassment at the Lundy and made a regular monthly booking, for which the hotel manager was very grateful. Gina went up to their meetings a couple of times to give demonstrations on make-up and hair styles which were more appropriate to their special needs, particularly for those who did not dress full-time, drawing on her experiences and experiments with me over the years. These became a regular feature of their meetings, with local beauticians and hairdressers taking over Gina’s duties.

I made a point of visiting The Lundy on one of their meeting nights and looked in over the CCTV to see that they were all enjoying themselves. It appeared to be a mixture of genuine women, probably wives of some of the group or girls who had transitioned, some fairly passable crossdressers, and some who still had a long way to go, who made me grateful that I was not particularly tall or musclebound and that when I became Maria I was totally convincing as female. Chatting with Charles afterwards I asked about the weekend breaks of the Bristol TG group and how they worked that around the other hotel guests, and was surprised that the numbers were enough to block book the hotel and the function room, leaving just the bar and public restaurant in the other wing for use by others.

I thought this might work at Y Faenor Gwyn, and later I suggested this to Ifor , told him that it was totally up to him whether to follow up on it and whether he felt it appropriate for the area. the hotel was in its own private grounds with quite extensive gardens, and so a weekend break there would offer more social options than mostly being confined in one wing at the Lundy. After talking to the staff he thought it might be a useful addition to the other self-contained theme breaks that he already catered for, but wasn’t sure about how to advertise this or make contact with TG groups. Together we came up with the idea of a trial run by offering the group using The Lundy a heavily discounted weekend break there with some pre-arranged activities and visits, on the condition that if it all worked out for them and the hotel that they would make contact with other similar groups to suggest more visits.

I went up with Gina who was going to give them more in-depth demonstrations and tips on hair and make-up techniques, and Elinor had arranged that one of the boutiques in Conwy would provide some sample outfits for a fashion show, to give all the ‘girls’ a full female weekend experience. I kept away from the sessions, but with Ifor kept a general eye on it all to ensure that it was going smoothly. It was amazing how Gina’s demonstration and make-overs greatly improved the appearance of many of the ‘girls’ and at their final night dinner dance many of them looked quite passable, with new make-up, hairstyles and outfits, and went back home with a lot more confidence . This led to a lot more makeover weekends with groups coming from Chester, Manchester and Liverpool, and even further afield. Elinor had found an excellent local beautician and hairdresser to carry on from what Gina had started and the boutique were delighted to have a new sales market which was usually quite profitable for them.

Life was settling into a routine, the twins were now off doing their own things at university, the business was ticking over nicely and we were living a quite comfortable life. Kit was not intending to follow me and my Mum into the hotel business, he was more interested in making a career in property development, but Kirsty was shaping up nicely at university, and when working in the Piran, developing to become the future third generation head of The Piran Group. Following on from her demonstration sessions at the TG groups meetings, Gina was building up a quite big sideline to her business with discreet internet sales and on-line videos for the TG community. My family was definitely living proof that with the right attitude there was no reason why women could not make a success in business.

Kirsty fitted into the business very smoothly and I gradually drifted into Mum’s role as the wise old head of the business and Kirsty took my earlier role looking after things on a day-to-day basis, This allowed Megan and I to have more time for our visits to Snowdonia to Elinor and Ifor, and Maria was becoming a regular part of my life again.
The following years were mixture of delight and sadness. Kit married his long-term girlfriend Jenny and carried on the family tradition of twins, Ronnie and Rosie, and a second set, Tricia and Tina. Kirsty was in a steady relationship but did not seem to be in a hurry to settle down with a family, and spent most of her time running the family firm. Unhappily Mum contracted cancer and, after a short illness, passed away, and was brought home to lie next to her husband Luigi in the graveyard of the local church in Perranporth.

Maria and I decided to follow Mum’s example and retire to ‘O Pousada Senhorial’. After long discussions we decided that as I now had no major business responsibilities, that I would live full-time as Maria, but neither Megan nor I wanted me to go the whole way down the path of transition as we both enjoyed our intimate moments together as husband and wife.

We continued like this for a few years before deciding that it was too inconvenient to have to change back and to between Maria and Gino for our frequent travel back to the UK and the problems with my Gino passport. I started on a course of female hormones to enable me to get a gender recognition certificate and a new passport, and officially became Maria. The doctors arranged the hormone level sufficient to help me develop breasts, a narrower waist and a more fleshy bottom and hips and generally soften my features, but still allow me to function as Gino in the bedroom. Otherwise I was living completely as Maria, with Megan and I having adjacent suites at the pousada.

We often sit on our balcony with a bottle of local Douro red wine or vino verde or, the speciality of the region, vintage port, overlooking the beautiful Douro Valley remembering all the special times with the girls at school and university, our visits up to Snowdonia, and all the good times with wonderful family and friends. All my life I had flitted in and out of femininity, but was now content just living naturally and officially as Maria. Over the years I had been a lot luckier than most in having family and friends who were tolerant and understanding of my crossdressing, many suffered rejection by those close to them.

We constantly had visits from Gina, Bob and their children and grandchildren, from Kirsty and her long-term partner Jack, and from Kit, Jenny and their children, and from friends who had helped ease the way along my life’s path.

We were always delighted when the grandchildren visited and so pleased that Ronnie got on so well and played happily with his three sisters, including joining in with their playing-house and dressing-up games.

Could history be repeating itself and starting this story all over again?

The End