Members of the Beaumont Society pose in Oriental costume.

Fifty-five members and partners from the Beaumont Society, the UK’s oldest support group for the cross-dressing community, recently spent a weekend at the Gresham Court Hotel in East Cliff, Bournemouth, for those who have an interest in historic costume.

Danielle Daniels, Vice President and Regional Organiser, Central South, organised the four-day stay and explains,”The weekend included a Chinese-style dinner with guests decked out in Oriental designs, a fashion parade of clothes from medieval times through to the 1970s and a rock and roll evening featuring a Gala Dinner, where members followed a 1950s costume theme and I organised entertainment including a DJ, pseudo Elvis and disco.” During the break, the group also had the choice of taking part in either a training school for French maids complete with full outfits or a discussion on all things cross-dressing at the hotel.

Forty-five of the group also enjoyed an excursion to the Cavalcade of Costume Museum in Blandford Forum. “We have been several times before with no problems,” Danielle comments. “In general, hoteliers find that we are an excellent group to have as we spend a lot of money in the bar, fill hotels when they might not have many weekend customers and are very self organised so they love to have us back – the worst thing is that we tend to muck up bath towels with our make-up!”