We started at Cockfosters and traveled by tube together to London Bridge where we had breakfast together in a Starbucks.
I then wandered through the Hays Galleria https://www.hays-galleria.com
From there you find yourself on the south bank of the River Thames, where you will find the HMS Belfast, a WW2 Cruiser, moored as part of the Imperial War Museum https://www.iwm.org.uk/visits/hms-belfast
I then walked along the river bank, down stream to Tower Bridge, where I crossed the river to the north bank, past the queue of people waiting to go up the towers of the bridge. https://www.towerbridge.org.uk At the north end of the bridge there are steps down to the north bank of the river. If you turn right you will pass the Tower Hotel and work your way into a small set of docks.
St Katherine docks is a set of docks packed with interesting boats, It is quite often in the news when interesting ships are visiting London. It is a wet dock so all visiting craft have to be able to fit into the lock between the dock and the river. https://www.skdocks.co.uk
After wandering around the docks for a bit I made my way back to the river side and went under the road from the bridge to The Tower, where we keep the Crown Jewels. https://www.hrp.org.uk/tower-of-london/#gs.ix8rxv
From here I fancied a change of scene, so I used the tower river pier to board a Thames Clipper service, west bound to go up river to Battersea power station. The service uses the same touch pads as the Underground and busses, so my phone got me aboard. I sat at the back where it was interesting to see how the boat was piloted from one side of the river to the other, to get to the various piers. The trip up the river passes many London land marks such as the Houses of Parliament, The London Eye, SIS building where James Bond worked...and many others sights.
Battersea Power Station no longer produces power, but has been transformed into a shopping centre with attractions.
Inside, I wandered from shop to shop. The place is impressive to see how shops have been fitted around the industrial architecture. https://batterseapowerstation.co.uk
One of the shops I found was selling ice cream, so.....
After browsing for a while, I decided another change of scene was required. Following my way up Electric Boulevard brings you away from the power station and to the Battersea tube station. I then took the tube to Leicester Square.
It is amazing how Leicester Square gets transformed for each film premier and today the whole square was covered with a Christmas Market. I love the energy of Leicester Square. I got all of my piercings here, I have been to film events here, Mrs Mouse and I celebrated our engagement here, I fitted a sound system to a couple of restaurants here. Do be careful, though, pick pockets work here too, but I got a couple of shots of me without losing my phone!
A number of you met at the next location which is a short walk away.
Piccadilly was packed with people, so you have to make do with a selfie shot.
Piccadilly is where I first met Skirtcafe members at a September 2023 BarleyMower meet-up I gate crashed. I meandered up Regent Street and the small streets of each side such as Carnaby Street where one shop had this mirror where you could take pictures of yourself. So...
Up to now, nobody had mentioned my skirt. I had had many interactions during the day and all had been pleasant and totally normal. A young child being carried on the shoulders of their father, shouted out "That man is in a dress" The mother immediately replied to the child, "He is allowed to wear whatever he likes" It made my day, I could not of said it better. It was the only comment I heard, but there could have been many conversations in my wake. I was after all a man in a bright orange skirt with ruffles, walking around the capital having a great day out.
I eventually made it to the top of Regent Street where you find both the Apple store and the Microsoft store, actually in Oxford Circus. I took this picture in the Microsoft store.
By this time in the day, my daughter had finished work and we met in Oxford Street, where the orange skirt made it easy for her to find me in the crowds! We then got something to eat in a Japanise restaurant and went to the Liberty Store to look at material in their sale. https://www.libertylondon.com/uk/department/fabric/ As you have seen, last year I made my daughter a red skirt from material I had bought in the 2024 Liberty sale. http://www.skirtcafe.org/forums/viewtop ... 66#p260766 We didn't find anything we needed to buy, but we did learn that the real bargains are later in the sale when they open the 4th floor sale area, as I had found last year.
From the Liberty store we made our way to the Oxford Circus Tube and from there we travelled back to Cockfosters where I took this final picture of me.
I had a marvellous day running around London being me. I loved everything about my outfit, the way the skirt moved in the wind, the feeling of being embraced by my new dark blue leotard, my feet loverly and warm in their Ugg boots and just the joy of being free me, in the great melting pot of London. I am obviously in London for work quite a bit, but I always have a heavy computer bag and may be another bag of bits. My usual work day outfit is also toned down, so it is great to visit, free from bags and free to wear brighter things.
So this is the end of 2024 which for me has been a year of pushing the boat further out than years before. A large part of my growth has been the support and ideas coming from you all in the cafe. The year started with a blue handbag and progressed through a few months of documenting what I was wearing everyday. The summer brought on shorter skirts and more skin showing around my neck. We had fun trying out the Mary Jane look and then the long skirt look, with the long white skirt I managed to wear to BarleyMowers meet-up in Whitechapel. http://www.skirtcafe.org/forums/viewtop ... 10#p264110
On the more spicy front, I made more latex clothing in 2024 and went to 5 events dressed in latex skirts. I have embraced handbags as extremely useful things to keep all you stuff together in. I now only use pockets in my work skirts, where I have larger bags I have to carry.
I hope we all have a great 2025 and we can all skirt as much as we want to. I fully intend to carry on my skirted life in 2025. I look forward to many more skirted trips into the capital. Many thanks to all of you. Mouse
