Xmas 2007

It wouldn't be a Christmas for me without my annuals so here's this years set for endless fun for me reading and doing the competitions in while the groan ups talk about stuff that really doesn't interest me.

And here's the other, The Dandy's that my Gran used to buy me copies of the regular comic of as a kid.

Desperate Dan is sat by his fire on the range singing folk songs with his horse.

 Because of my learning disabilities I find it hard to keep track of what I meant to do on days, when peoples birthdays are and so on so Mommy bought me this diary.

Sibling Xmas

Just thinking a bit about past Christmas during the build up as I attempt to get my presents organized  as I suddenly remembered one present my brother had during my childhood.
I think most of us had dress up sets such as Cowboy and Indian sets, Nurses and so on but as ever he just had to go that bit better so had something a bit like this.

Well back then things were quite so realistic so we didn't have the backpack but it was white apart from the silver trim around the neck and the chin area of the helmet with a thick acrylic visor.
I think he wore for a good couple of years if my a patchy memory is anything to go by when he played in the house as think he fancied himself as an Astronaut, following the reports on space missions and space Sci-Fi series such as Space 1999, Blacks 7 and so on.

Chores for Middles and littles

Today I thought I would give some thought to things a little or middle either in relationship or living with someone even on occasional basis can be encouraged to do for themselves

Own area
Making own bed
Getting clothes out for the next day
Hanging up own clothes neatly after wearing/washing
Making sure worn clothes are available for washing
Keeping own spaces tidy

Helping in the home 
Fixing own breakfast
Setting tables with cutlery, mats, glasses and cold refreshing drink
Clearing away and washing up afterward
Tidying away in other spaces after you
Helping with vacuuming
Feeding pets

Sometimes it can be easy to drift into a pattern where other people may not expect you to do (or be able to do)  these things which doesn't help you either with trying be more responsible and independent and may in a low key nagging way begin to undermine a relationship.

It also is the case that within reason, people shouldn't try to do that too, even if you  as a little or middle have a disability or two regardless of like a  number of folk  you may not of had to do much if any of these things in past yourself.

Reminiscing of Christmas past

Although this picture is from the late ninteen-fifties, it does capture perfectly the very ideal of what a young girls Christmas was all about from the stack of presents by the tree I grew up with, the dress up costume which I always wanted and a a dolly you'd hug and carry around all day.

Freedom is being feminine you

The journey from what you see in the mirror and how you see yourself to being able to actually resemble in real time and space them has not been easy.

Like many if you I had more than my fair share of put downs from gatekeepers, close at hand to strangers who see themselves on a mission to prevent their world crumbling and of both sexs too I might add.

 

Having spent more than enough of my life imprisoned in drab male tops and trousers  this is so so true so what real business have I in persisting any anything other that which is feminine and girlie?

Now there are some things I love that really trailing soft fabrics wouldn't work too well like hiking so a good pair of well fitting shorts with a bit of air around the legs would make sense but really I feel so much better in a pretty skirt or dress.

In the beginning, you probably felt like that with all the social conditioning you went through but you soon began to realize you enjoyed it and actually you really were that girl, the one that kept popping into you head
 

You really wanted a Sis to do that to you didn't you?

 You'd of sooner have had Girl Time Tm with girl friends playing, making things, having fun and spending more time with mommy learning about home making, cooking and taking care of how you look.

But you CAN fix that.

After all you never really stop being a girl do you?

Baseball

Ball games are something I'm very interested in and I'd of loved to have played baseball as a kid like Ryo Hayakawa seen in this image in an all girls team

This was from the 1998 anime series Princess Nine which is hard to find new of which my copy has a rather awkward segmented box to get the discs out.

Spirited Away

One thing I enjoy is animation and this anime from 2001 is one that I recently watched.

The story is centred on Chihiro, a headstrong 10 year old girl who is very unhappy that her family are relocating and so she'd have new friends.
Making their way toward the new home, her father takes a detour to explore a mysterious tunnel in the woods while on what is the other side there appears to be a deserted theme park but is actually a ghostly town.
Without realizing it they have strayed into the Land of the Spirits, a world of dreamy scenery that is inhabited by ancient gods and magical beings ruled over by the sorceress, Yubaba.
Chihiro's parents are held hostage and with Yubaba set on enslaving them forever, she must use all her energy to survive in her new strange environment.
Aided by Haku, a young brave spirit, she is forced to overcome her fears joining an epic battle for her family's freedom.

I hugely enjoyed watching this which won the 2003 Oscar for the best animated film which in the opinion of many has set a new benchmark in animation.

Tag altered in 2017 for blu ray version.

Satchels

One thing I remember very much from Junior school was having a traditional leather satchel with a pocket at the front to put your name and class on. We used to it carry anything such as books we needed for class in as we had a separate bag for our PE and Swimming stuff.
Rather like with the wooden pencil case I had I felt really proud of it, taking care to keep it in good condition.

Journalling, me and this blog

It's the end of the month, that period between All Souls Day and Guy Fawkes Night that always was a big thing as a child and even as far as law itself might go as much I'm hardly grown up, since formal adulthood  I still look very much to.

It tends to lead to reflective thoughts  but they way you work though those things has changed from the days people encouraged us to keep diaries which always ended up more like to-do lists with me rather than aids to processing my emotions.

Journalling is really where it's all at and is very much encouraged in North America.

Basically you just pour out what's happened and how you feel into a book so unlike a diary you're not at the tyranny of preset dates so you can date and finish any on thing as it happens.

Some girls put a to do list entry in but I'd soon keep that to either a diary or a side page just as a reminder in case it clutters your mind and distracts you from pouring out.

In a lot of ways this Blog is really a journal but in the digital age where I offload, talk though and cry about things on my mind which really the opposite of how being brought up as a boy you're taught - it's all all bury,shut down and carry in - and apart from all the presenting stuff I written about that's something else I can't do cos I'm a girl really.

.

I am emotional, I feel, and physically show it.

I need hugs, I need to cry, I offer others a shoulder to cry on.

That's where I and this blog am headed.

Choo choo's Pt.2

Another place we visited a few times in the 1970's was the Vale of the Rheidol which is a steam train line running from the Welsh university town of Aberystwyth to the Devils Bridge some 12 miles downline.
I'm sure the engine we went on was called Owen Glendwr who I think was something of a hero to the Welsh fighting English occupation of their Country.

 The countryside in that part of Wales is very mountainous and really beautiful.

B is for berries

One nice thing about where we live is we live in the countryside with woodland so you sure notice the seasons and as we're well in the fall the berries are out on my trees so here'sa a little picture of them.

Hits!

Into October and the start of a new entry I'll add to over time.

The Hits Album otherwise know as The Hits was a series of albums in a similar vain to the Now series started in 1984 by CBS and WEA records in the UK that run to ten numbered editions, then had a few restarts and eventually fizzled out by the naughties.

Both CBS and Warner (WEA) had contributed tracks to the Now series but generally they didn't not include US acts possibly for contractual reasons and sought to capitalize on the UK markets fascination with compilations of chart hits by establishing their own series.

My brother bought a few of the earlier ones that I taped and to which the recordings have long gone and I bought Hits 8 and 9 myself at the time as there was very little overlap between them and the NOW series.The cassettes of the first three versions had the main artwork on a double case to the left and a list of artists feature toward the right as the lps used pictures that would not of worked scaled down.

What I am doing is slowly restoring some of those HITS albums I had on tape aiming to complete the series to HITS 9 making entries about each volume on this page as I go along.

HITS1. In part a Greatest Hits of 1984 but with other songs added like Alphaville's Big In Japan.

HITS2 . This two disc set is in some respects a Now4B as a number of tracks that came out on the Now Dance album at the same time in 12" versions appear here in their standard mixes with all the main chart hits added such as Close (To The Edit), I Want To Know What Love is, 1999, A New England and Since Yesterday amongst others.

HITS3 Hits from the tail end of 1985 including several number ones this always was one of the strongest ones in the series

HITS4 A selection of hits from early 1986 from the likes of the Bangles, Madonna, Pet Shop Boys (single mix of West End Girls) and The Damned

HITS5: Taking in the later half of '86 we're treated to such gems as You Can Call Me Al, Walk Like An Egyptian, Thorn In My Side, Anotherloverholeinyohead, Rage Hard and Julian Cope's classic World Shut Your Mouth

I have the single cd version too.

HITS6 Hits from spring of 1987 which I own the cd version of notable for the only cd with the single remix of Madonna's Isla Bonita and added the double lp.

HITS7 Less hit laden but with a good number of memorable songs like You Win Again, the counter part to NOW 10 and both were double cd issues.

This one covered chart hits in the second half of 1987 by Prince and Fleetwood Mac as well as being the first to come out on double compact disc which is what my brother bought and I later picked up a used copy.

HITS8 A selection of hits from the Summer of '88 when Acid House was all the rave which I own the cd version of

HITS9 Hits from the second half of 1988 and a counterfoil to NOW 13 with more big hits and also runs like Bros's Cat Among the Pigeons and A-ha's You Are The One which originally I bought on lp but now have the cd version.

Little Moreton Hall

There's this really important big house near where I live in Cheshire that I like to stroll along to and admire the construction as well as reading all about it's history.

It's one of the finest Tudor black and white houses in the whole of England. The first photographs I have of it were done on a Kodak Disc camera but they weren't too good having heaps of graininess.

Making that all important change

 

So Summer is very much out as we move toward the fall with all it's brilliant colours but my thoughts are elsewhere with all the changes I've been through and my past experiences and having been raised as a boy originally, one thing comes to mind:

Dresses and skirts are more comfortable than trousers

There, I said it. I honestly don’t believe that trousers are designed well for girls. In fact, they weren’t designed for us in the first place! Yes, you can of course purchase styles that claim to flatter, and they fit my more beanpole frame but are they comfortable and especially at certain times of the month was akin to wearing a corset some days. I thought we had left those behind in Victorian times, but alas - the restriction only slipped a few inches!

Short trousers are better from an airiness point of view if they are loose in the leg and I didn't mind them so much for things like play where you might not be quite modest but it doesn't alter this:

In dresses and skirts I have more freedom of movement, and the fabric doesn’t sit tightly against my skin, or cling where it shouldn’t. I’m finding my day to day tasks haven’t been affected wearing a dress or skirt, and I’m actually more comfortable around the house than I was before. No longer having to pull at waistbands, and bending is a breeze - not to mention (ahem) going to the bathroom.

I find myself paying more attention to other touches like wearing a pair of pretty panties that match them.

I am better off wearing skirts and dresses and I want you to encourage it in me.

Late vacation

For this week I've been away on vacation so here's a few images of Llandudno where I stayed.

Playing at making sandcastles using your bucket is so me.
While I was away, Mommy took me on the train to the top of the Great Orme.

This is Victoria Station where we joined the line waiting to get our tickets and get on board.

Here the train goes travelling for a part of the way  along track that has been embedded into the road surface. The tramcars are old with wooden panels and seats.

I visited a record store and bought myself some new lps and a few used cds for my collection.

I also got the classic Anime, Akira! cheaply on DVD having fond memories of seeing that on TV in the early 90's.It's a tour-de-force of action never letting up.

Gender stereotyping

 

It's September, a fresh month on this rapidly improving blog even though sometimes it seems a race against the internet connection going down given how unreliable it is.

Anyway toys and play were always a bit of an issue for some of us because people when I was younger and some still do today run  with gender based stereotypes so I didn't get some even though I had played with female cousins with them cos they felt I couldn't have them or somehow this puts their status as good parents in question for just going with what I prefer.

Equally others could never get more science or boisterous as they felt at one stroke their girls would cease to be ... girls which is stupid really.

Why shouldn't girls and boys have toys that they love playing rather than just what someone somewhere things is appropriate for their gender?  

Summer is almost over

It's that time of the year although normally I'd of been away on my holidays first but this year Mommy decided we'd go later cos officially I'm not in school although I like to do schoolwork cos as this always a schoolgirl me I am it's what I'm more cut out for.

I associate this period with all the preparation for returning to school and it heightens the strong emotions around the mismatch of being the age I am on the inside and how people treat you by birth age.

Toss in the gender based stuff from the past and it's a heady rollercoaster of a feeling.

I enjoy now being able to dress more in school girl attire although it can be a little awkward at the door if say the Electricity  meter man or parcel person calls and you're fully dressed as you but I guess I have to learn to handle such situations if I'm to just be me.

Schoolwear as in blouses, skirts or gorgeous pinafore dresses are failry simple but smart looking things that do flatter my looks quite well and at least I look more like I really wanted to back then sat behind the desk in class, trying to keep some sort of girl's play going.

Charlie Brown

I was tidying my small pile of books today when I spotted this old favourite of mine.

I've had this from the mid 1970's, actually it's a new 1974 edition, well thumbed through and with that tan coloration you get on older books especially on less expensive paper probably because reading this as a child made me so happy.
I have a few more books of Charles M Schultz's Peanuts cartoon strip series as I loved the tv animated series and it's characters.

Photography and this blog: The connection

 

There would never be a blog if it were not for my my interest in photography as much as the original blog host had very limited image support which was why it was I explored other hosts and moved to blogger.

After using childhood 127 film cameras, a 120 Twin Lens Reflex and brief period with a Zenith E, I settled on using a Olympus film gear that included a OM 4 advanced single lens reflex camera with marque lens, dedicated auto through the lens/manual  exposure flash and Winder 2 for remote or highly rapid picture taking that bolts on the underside improving grip and taking over from the manual film advance.

Its greatest feature was a combination of multi spot metering to set exposure better in difficult circumstances and the ability to store and adjust aperture and shutter speed settings to balance that exposure to match the way you wish to present the subject.

Currently I'm reliant on having slide or negative films processed and scanned to disc when developed which I then import to my ageing desktop computer to upload here while I look at how the digital camera market develops and what may work best for blogging which is where a digital camera would help cutting out the delays between going somewhere, finishing off the film roll and getting the processed film back.

That in its own way is why press photography moved rapidly to digital as speed makes big difference between getting copy out when it's of interest or not.

You're Always A Girl

Being a Little Girl later on in your life  is not the easiest of concepts to explain to people principally because people associate the frame of mind of the person to their age as recorded by their chronological date of birth  deeming some interests to be either child like or heaven forbid childish.
This scares the living daylights out of a significant number of people who hold on to notions of age appropriate behaviour not least because some forms may impact on your ability to function in the world of employment.

To me this could only be true if you were functioning at an infant level - think oversized baby - needing total attention and supervision but this isn't what I'm talking about.
I think most are familiar with the idea of the 'inner child' who many psychologists say lives on in everyone. 

The difference I would say is many of our likes remain at that level, we aren't necessarily comfortable with some aspects of 'adult' living and there's little collation between that and our IQ or general functioning.

To put things into context I've held political office representing an authority, contributed to and accepted responsibility for setting budgets  and programs whilst being a 'little girl'  because I can choose when to present the little girl physically and when I can use that to the advantage of society having an immediate empathy with children to help them grow up to be well rounded individuals though my work with various bodies.

Three terms at Uplands

The theme in a way of this post might as well be "You're always a girl" no least for the things that remain from that period not least the story books I still have of which this 1970 copy is an original.
I don't know about you but there always was one child in the form who it always seemed  to be the one who in trouble, not that I was angelic, and this book is about a girl, Claire Johnstone, who is although as in my experience too there is real trouble-maker behind  it all, in this case Ethel, who just leaves poor old Claire to take the blame.
Claire is fortunate to get a scholarship to Uplands, a large boarding school who sees this a chance to start anew with a clean slate until she finds there is a another new girl -Ethel!
It isn't long before Claire is back in trouble again all because Ethel thinks the Juniors are getting a raw deal from the Prefects.
We had Head Girls and Boys but basically you had certain amount power over your fellow pupils as Prefect and extra duties which didn't always go down so well with folk.
Anyway, Ethel wants Pupil Power and the Juniors soon find themselves members of Ethel's Students Union, an action anywhere in a school I went of putting you on the wrong side of Adult Authority, rebelling.

At 14

Hi and welcome to a new exciting entry in my blog, which has going for a fair while now.
It took me me a bit of time to learn about  how to lay out an entry using the tools blogger  provides,captioning my entries as well as the discipline of making the entries on something like regular basis.

This is an slightly older 'Joanne' looking just about 14 very much as I recall it, older bit still very much a girl with with pink colour scheme  and cute effects on the shelf.
At 14 We started studying for our 16+ exams  having decided with our teachers and parents what options for study subjects we were going to be taking although within reason they could be changed afterward.
I majored on the Humanities, studying Religious Education, Geography, History as well of English language, English Literature, Math, Government and Politics and combined Science.I also took as a study only subject Geometric and Engineering Drawing, learning to draw in three dimensions as well as Craftwork, where I learned about enamelling, basic woodwork and made craft items from fabrics, card and glue.
Naturally being my school we still continued to play team games  such as Rounders as well as taking swimming lessons. In my head I still felt 12 however even though perhaps compared to today's youngsters we were less overtly grown up for not having the same push on branded fashion and sexuality.
As far as dress went the uniform was as shown, still very much sweater, blouse and neatly pleated skirts but some girls wore tights rather than white knee socks.

Life (and why this blog is as it is)

After Monday's post, I felt like writing a bit more around what being this girl means and why it is this blog is the way it is.

 I am somewhat more visual but in may respects this illustration sums a whole chunk of it up really well.

The first thing is we all dressed differently, showing that how we feel expressing our inner sense of being is different, I veer more toward the girl on the far left, others in this context might choose a party dress. It's all good!

We are all having fun, sharing chit-chat, sucking our Pop through straws. That sharing is what we do when at meets playing with each other and letting each other play individually with our dolls, stuffies and other toys. I am grateful my little/middle friends let me share things as it means a lot allowing us to build our friendships.

There is music playing that we are sharing. It may be my home stereo component system is more technically 'better' than their phonograph, which I had a similar model when I was in my tweens but it is being used to share music, to enjoy it's playing so we have our records out.

That's the function of music in my life and there are 'places' I share it; it's not about the 'hifi', it's about the joy of listening to it which is why on this blog I do write about it, tossed in with the dolls, stuffies and other cute stuff.

There is also grown up supervision about keeping everything safe and ensuring we behave because it's easy for things to get out of hand and you mightn't see it.

The biggest thing in all of this is just innocuous fun!

A Princess at the School & Manor House School

As you may of gathered I do rather like reading and these are two books I've had since childhood.

These are editions from1970 although they were reprinted by Armada across that decade as I read them at boarding school during that era.
The Manor House School is about a Eleven and Twelve year old girls Cicely and Lindsay who arrive in the Summer Term who find a secret room, hear some voices which leads to a mystery involving a missing fortune which leads them to discover the mystery of Winterburn Manor.
The Princess at the School (originally of the school), written in 1920, is a story of Ingleton children who having been orphaned and their home, Cheverley Chase, has been left to a young cousin who nobody seems to have been met.
Upon meeting cousin Carmel, the children make it plain she isn't welcome but her friendly nature eventually wins them over so while  they lost their original home it seems they've found a new friend.
Stories like that always were a part of my life I enjoyed and while having kept them, I do enjoy revisiting them from time to time.

Conway

Conway is one of my favourite places to spend time relaxing. It is situated on the North Wales coast, United Kingdom and has a Castle which was built on the orders of King Edward I of England during one of his periodic attempts to take control of the entire British Isles.

The picture is taken from Conway harbour from which short coastal excursions are operated during the summer months and also you can observe locals repairing their own boats before sailing.

Nearby is the smallest house in Wales which a lady in traditional Welsh dress will explain the history of and maybe let you take a picture of her and the house to show your friends and family.

Also to be found in Conway town centre is Aberconway House which is owned by The National Trust.

I find the calm helps me to remember what I love about going to visit places and the seaside activities I loved as a child.

Princess Mononoke

Anime is a thing I'm interested in especially when it tells stories vividly and recently I got this one.
Made in 1997, it depicts the clash between the natural world and its old gods and the rise of humans with the beginning of of modern civilization, showing three elements of the Japanese  psyche warring for supremacy in the form of an ecological fable

Young warrior Ashitaka sustains a wound that refuses to heel from battling with a cursed beast.

Anxious to secure a remedy for this supernatural injury, he leaves the remote village he lives for the forbidding forests of the west where he discovers an enclave of humans under siege from divine powers. They are the deities of the past, the wolf gods and a wild girl of the forest called San.

Updated 2017 for blu ray image and tag

Alternative endings

I've often wondered what would of happened had I of lived in South East Asia, particularly in Japan as some Westerners whose folks go on employment  assignments do.
I'd almost certainly would have to learn some Japanese to get by as Japan is a country that very much expects you to integrate into its way of life and isn't bi-lingual although many do speak some English and other principal languages.
I might well had spent time in a school so I suspect I'd of worn a sailor suit uniform a bit like that one not that I'd of minded as actually I quite like it so being put into one wouldn't be an issue, wearing it with pride and the very structured school system would of probably suited me right to the ground. 
We'd of played Baseball that's a certainty and maybe soccer.
It sure would of been an adventure for me!

Disability and getting on

How different people handle changed especially life changing conditions or disabilities has always interested me not least for possessing several and having known a good number of people in a variety of situations who have too.

It's often interesting to see how people who on the face of may have similar conditions have made of their lives, how they may differ and how others are quite different although I'd like to stress from the get go I don't feel a 'my disability is worse or better than yours' take is really helpful not least for only you alone know how that affects your life or 'mine is more or less “real” than yours either for the same reason.

This being said it is my personal conviction how much you are able to make of your life even though you have disabilities depends very much on not only what opportunities may be available to you (and certainly there can be a lack of them that does our society no great favours) and what our own attitudes toward making the most of our lives can be when they are.

This can be more difficult when it comes to dealing with things such as social anxiety which as someone does find things like meeting people or using the telephone difficult I readily understand but unless we are prepared to explore how we may get more confident or better able to communicate, then our opportunities are limited.

I think it's that which sometimes is the harder thing because on top everything there is insecurity and a blanket feeling that you are not being understood.

There is though I feel a difference between an understanding that says “I am prepared to try to improve on the things I struggle with however hard that might be” and one that simply isn't prepared to even explore what options may be available even if they may not be a “total cure” because you may be limiting yourself from the experiences and opportunities that would enrich your life. You can't advance by staying still.

It's hardly fair on the face of it but those of us who have disabilities who in some way or other wish to make the most of our lives in mainstream society need to do as much as can for ourselves to find ways of maximizing it, perhaps in some respects even more than those who don't face the same challenges.

Things just don't come easy to us although I'd also add trying to compensate by excusing other things like 'fitting in' and following the accepted social conventions and rules as everyone else can of itself set you back simply because we have to 'hold our own' and isn't fair to everyone else even though I do recognize that's something I have been guilty of in the past.

Photo details: Illinois wheelchair basketball player Shelby Gruss a student of University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (UIUC photo). This was a sport I played growing up.

The Cat Returns

Directed by Hiroyuki Morita, This anime recently bought, is a fantasy adventure ideal for feline fans and younger audiences.
The story revolves around Haru, who is a free spirited young girl, who along the way home from school spots a cat trying to cross and busy street, rushes out to save it using her racquet just as it was about to be crushed by a large truck.
She discovers the cat she rescued is the Cat Kings son, Prince Lune and soon she receives an invitation to visit the Kingdom of Cats from the King himself as thanks.
It is not before long that she realizes there is a catch in accepting the offer, namely the King wishes her to marry Lune and so she has to decide if it is she wishes to stay within the Kingdom of Cats, being a Nekimimi (catgirl) or return to her own world.
She is helped by the Baron, first seen in Whisper of the heart, and his friends in making the decisions she wishes.
The animation is first class holding your attention as you are dragged into the story while delivering an important message about being true to yourself.

Pix and tag edit 2017 for blu ray edition

Seaside arts and crafts

One of my favourite activities as a child was collecting Seashells, you could either find them yourself  or buy ready made collections of whcih I had a number at the time.
They also when you hold them to your ear have the most calming sound.

Stockists

Rest day edition

Hi there.

I'm a bit late getting this blog entry started not least with being poorly for quite a bit of the week and then busy with other things like planning a trip out which isn't a strong point but I do really need to work on it if I'm to be more independent.

It's a time a time of year associated with last minute return to school purchases such as pens and geometry sets through to school uniform which visiting BHS stores in the UK reminds me of as that was the first store where the whole pull toward buying actual items of uniform for me came from and it has to be said the quality of their stuff was very good.

I can remember buying lots of stuff around  this time not least long  socks and it would survive pretty much the heavy washing routines at home well

Reading was always a thing with me as much as I struggle with it and this classic novel is a favourite of mine.

I am doing some tidying up tm stuff at various sites altering layouts, changing the odd avatar to spruce it up and help make using it for me a fun thing as with lots of sites you really have pick just a few you can be active on and given the changes that have occurred over the last year that's one thing I'd like to resume in a measured way.

I like to stay in touch with people who care about me more rather than feeling everything's been dropped for those that are really keeping me just for themselves cos surprisingly enough I'm a social creature.

Rounders

One of my abiding memories of school and very much a passion of mine is the game of Rounders which I played with the girls who wore t shirts and pleated games skirts as we tread to make it to the forth base.
It sure was fun although today sports like this a facing a hard time between those who dislike competition and others who think Games really should be just keep fit.

Twelve

Sometimes I feel writing about a part of my life as if it were in the 'modern era' because in so many ways the lightning speed that technological and associated changes has a dramatic effect on life that while some stuff at the edges changed  there was little real difference  between the postwar period, the era I allegedly grew up in up to the end of the nineteen-eighties just before the home computer brought in a limited amount of desk bound communication.
Twelve is a pinnacle age with me an age where I had just transferred to secondary school but in lots of ways your still quite young.
For me if I were the 2000's 'twelve' one big change with me would of been the ability not so much to make telephone calls which I could but they were restrict to areas where people would see and hear them.
As that  twelve year old girl, I know have the means of making phone calls on the go and sending messages so even if I have it out you would not hear me which would be something we'd never had before.

I might be lucky and have the newer generation of cellphone called "Smartphones that have a built in camera so I'd be able to send pictures in real time to my school friends and so in some ways I'd be less deskbound to the sort of computer that was creeping into schools or indeed where as an adult I worked in this period.
One thing that would not of changed is I would be wearing blazer and skirt, rather like the girl above because to be honest I liked the way in which they make me look very much a junior unlikely to be considered an grown woman which was the case in my actual childhood at this age.
I often wore them by choice and certainly on school vacations where some of my peers would of held out for even jeans and a t shirt.
Where I had a old fashioned wooden wardrobe, in this era I'd of had a walk-in one with a lot draws to keep socks underwear etc in which didn't really have being given just what I needed for that day.
Twelve too was when I started to realize I was still very much that child compared to my peers who always appeared to be the 'older' girls to me even though we were the same age because they had matured in  away as that girl I hadn't even though this was just before the major developmental changes.
I don't think you can have a successful new future unless you feel comfortable with your own past.

Oh boy!

There were many things we read at high school, some by ourselves and some we shared and discussed at length.

These magazines were shared every week between us, having features on pop stars, usually hunky boys and well as stars of tv and the movie theatre.

The members of Duran Duran were something we sure discussed back then, I can assure you!

We also liked Sting

They also had features on fashion, making out and boys! In the pre-internet age apart from siblings it was the best place to find out stuff from.

Photo romance stories also featured and we talked about the issues they raised between each other.

the new-old transformation

 

It always seemed to me that the World of the Boy was very much grey with dark colours that just got lost among everything else and whatever they were doing that would not show up any the dirt and mud that followed them.

That was never me as much as I think what you're doing plays a part in whatever it is you might be wearing.

Today this is different cos I'm allowed to be me and I like bright colours that people notice and complement me for.

I like to look pretty in well chosen outfits and I'd love you to dress me more like these girls very feminine.