Sweet Wednesday is a long-running London afternoon party for transgender women, cross-dressers, and their friends and admirers. It has no premises of its own: it takes over the basement club beneath Central Station, the trans-friendly pub on Wharfdale Road in King's Cross, and the organisers describe it as a safe, welcoming and supportive place where trans-girls and their admirers, both male and female, can meet in a discreet environment.

It runs twice a month in the afternoon rather than late at night, and it is built for people who are still finding their feet as much as for regulars. The organisers say plainly that every t-girl has a first time out and that first-timers are looked after — many come first as an admirer and dress on their second visit. There is a changing room with its own loo, and a makeup artist works from it through the early afternoon for anyone who wants help getting ready, booked on the day or in advance through her own site. Clothes and wigs are not supplied, so bring your own. A secure cloakroom takes coats, bags and valuables for a small charge and is never left unattended.

Privacy is taken seriously and the rules are specific about where. Photography and filming are not allowed downstairs in the club at all. Guests may take photographs in the ground-floor bar and on the roof terrace, but are asked not to catch other people in the background without their consent. Those two upstairs areas are shared with the general public, so the organisers ask that everyone — t-girls and guys alike — wears clothing appropriate to a public place when using them. Guests may come and go as many times in the day as they like.

The house rules are short: no drugs, with poppers the single exception, and no attitude. Admission is charged on the door in cash at two rates depending on whether you arrive in trousers or a frock, and the current figures are on the organiser's own site. Check there for the next date and the published programme, and browse our London guide for the city's other venues and party brands.