RANSVESTIA

on my fur coat, retrieved my case and handbag, closed the door and set off cautiously down the road, my heart, now that I was so acutely aware of the tapping of my heels, the swing and rustle of my skirt, the stirring of my hair in the light breeze and the aura of unmistakeably feminine perfume in which I moved, thudding in my chest like a trip hammer.

I reached the end of the road and peeped anxiously round the comer at the station about a hundred yards away. An illuminated sign caught my eye. "9:55 P.M. LONDON." I glanced at my watch. Mygoodness it was already 9:45. All nervousness forgotten I stepped out quickly towards the station.

It was all so easy. Karen has always been elegantly (which I might add nearly always means expensively) dressed and no one seemed to question my appearance for an instant. The clerk responding to my soft voiced request for a ticket to London took my money and handed me my change without a second glance, a burly porter seized my case, the train drew in, he installed me comfortably in an otherwise empty compartment and in a few minutes the train pulled out. And there I was sitting in comfort hugging myself in happiness that nothing had gone wrong, that everyone believed I was a woman and that the first scheduled stop of the train would be London itself. Little did I know of the shocks fate had in store for me.

I dozed off and on on the six-hour journey. My keyed up mind kept me from falling asleep which was just as well for unaware movements might easily have caused my wig to end up over one ear or my skirt reveal much more than it should. But at least I got a little rest.

As we came to a halt in the echoing vastness of King's Cross station I braced myself for the next and, I hoped, final step. My handbag mirror confirmed my wig and make-up while my dim reflection in the compartment window showed that my jumper was smooth and tucked neatly into my skirt. I dusted off my jacket shoulders, twisted myself to check that my tights were still straight, put on my fur coat and gloves, made sure I had a piece of money handy as a tip, struggled woman-like with my case to the compartment door and looked up and down for a porter.