Phew! Where did all that time go this year as it seems that so much happened, some of it unexpected so as we see the olde year out here's a few reflections on it.
First things first, I established my own Tumblr for odd random stuff , which surprisingly got quite a following for something that doesn't hide it's alg side, has lead to some interesting conversations and in its own way is breaking a few stereotypes down.
I also started the Pre-blog series of past memories from notes connected with being trans and alg typed up very much 'as is' that are about things that lead to my later life and the Blog proper.
Thanks to every at GT, Ik, FA and Tumblr for your support throughout the year.
Before I forget, I have updated the odd "Favourite site" link, like Karla's too.
I enjoyed quite a bit of music this year aided by cheap re-issues of box sets, a number of good new specialty re-issues and thanks to the lower prices older specialty discs go for thanks to bad state of the economy, got a good number of otherwise too expensive titles by artists I liked issued many years ago.
Thanks to iTunes, I was able to get otherwise not available digitally UK Rolling Stones titles including on a number of them booklets in extremely good sound.
I visited a number of places this year, having a whale of a time, not least Llandudno where I drifted very much into my little side as well as giving me much needed rest from the stresses of home life.
Perhaps the biggest thing for me personally came at the end of the year where I presented for the first time to group of people not known in 'RL' whatever that is including those raised as female from birth, as my little girl self and they just accepted it without question. I was rather nervous about it - groan up trans sites often make a big meal out of 'passing' - but I just felt I belonged with them, carrying myself being able to engage freely as me.
That for me was progress.
This leads me back to meeting with Jennifer and Susan locally, spending time with them plus Andi that lead up to the GHS Christmas party where I met so many others and their partners, none of which I'd of expected to have happened this time last year.
So in many ways it's been a momentous year that I feel sets the tone for this upcoming one, spending more time face to face with you, going on adventures and -gasp- having a life!
Here's to 2014.
For me Christmas started with waking up rather early in anticipation following the previous nights chat and actually being sat with Mommy for a brief period in the front room still in uniform watching a church service!
Having woken up I got dressed and fixed some breakfast before the start of present exchanging that I'll return to shortly and the inevitable nya's from my cat who really, really doesn't like having his routines turned upside down by human festivities.
By around 11:30 my younger brother and partner had arrived shortly followed by my older brother and male he lives with so I get my outstanding card giving sorted having decided after lunch would be better to deal with presents.
We went to the local Gastropub, the one The head girl of Lower 6th and First Former met me within spitting distance of for a meal cos Mom didn't feel like catering for everyone, something I quite agree with as she deserves a break from that having pre-booked both table and meal options. I declined a starter, finished off a Turkey platter with vegetables plus cranberry sauce and a delightful Lemon Bell sweet with cream. Service was excellent with the only real negative being the boring boy toy talk at the table.
Getting back to presents, I presented mine upon our return which for the males of species was kinda easy to arrange as much as prefer carefully selecting something for an individual as they're kind of boring and with my brothers had gotten together to buy Mommy a new tv for her bedroom as her old one was, well old, and needed an external digital tv box to enable it receive anything.
I'm delighted to say a couple of ikky boy things of the wrong size and gender aside, most of my gifts were little and even distinctly LG for once.
Mommy excelled herself this year with this Hello Kitty face cloth and hand towel set which will be ideal for Camp.
Also she bought me a new and very girlie pair of pull on fur lined slippers and some cute socks. By the way that bell's kinda old and loud!
She also bought me one of three specialty cds I had -a Gold cd of Crosby Stills and Nash (1977 aka "Boat Album") - the others are by Hall and Oates and the Doobie Bros
Inside the pile of parcels were the 2014 Beano, Dandy and Jacqueline Wilson annuals plus a special 75th anniversary Christmas Beano special with reprints from the past in it including some stories I recall first time around!
Hurrah for Minnie The Minx and the Bash Street Kids!
Did you know there is a place in the Wolverhampton area where you can get a Desperate Dan Pie that is massive?
My copy has a poster included.
Also included was Diamond, a new hardback novel by Jacqueline Wilson continuing the Hetty Feather story. I like her books loads.
There were copious quantities of chocolates too.
I had a new torch that doesn't use old type bulbs (It has nine L.E.D. things) from my Younger brother that is a good deal brighter from my old one useful for Camp and other occasions.
A pair of the wrong socks can easily be turned around into a pair of socks suitable for a school girl soon enough - done this morning actually - so while I'd rather that kinda stuff didn't happen, there's no point obsessing over it as you can deal with and anyway not everyone is fortunate to receive presents at all. Talking of which I also did get some more 'regulation' lingerie.
I went to have my nap just before evening meal as I was starting to feel flatlined - an unfortunate side effect of being pawley and then had a Beef salad and a home made Trifle.
Here endeth my Christmas report, typed fully uniformed and advise the next scheduled edition will be within the last day or two of December.
I don't know about you, but I think I almost ready for Christmas now having written the last card ever for this year and dealt with the present buying which is as well as it's been cold and windy for most of the week.
Yesterday Mommy made my tea and she come up with something really nice in lots of ways.
You somehow not feel like much before the big Christmas day dinner so she makes me Fish Fingers, peas and fries which is very yummy as these some of nicest ones you can buy and I liked them when I was younger too and my tastes aren't much more sophisticated today.
I mean I'd be happier eating from the children's menu as it has stuff I do like rather than stuff in sauces, on beds of this and that and so on and that's before we get to the too big for me portions even! We have Apple pie and ice cream after too so it doesn't just taste nice, it feels right too.
Before I forgets, the next post will be after Christmas so bye for now and Happy Christmas!
Getting set for Christmas now so here's a small piece of value coming to you shortly, to paraphrase an old Jefferson Airplane song!
Like a good many people, my interest in Elton John came about in the early 1970's where I owned the UK lp versions of both his Greatest Hits albums, borrowing other titles periodically from the library.
In the intervening years I slowly built up a collection of what I consider to be albums from his classic period plus a few from the early 1980's on compact disc being a mixture of early 80's American MCA discs and a few European DJM issues of the same era as the "Classic Sound" titles issued in 1996 that to me sounded too loud and bright plus the MCA issue of Greatest Hits II with the song, Levon, a fine track included.
Recently I acquired a few specialty releases that sound amazing that I wish to talk about.
This disc issued in 1994 by the now defunct DCC label followed the US MCA edition track order but added Candle In The Wind which featured on the UK version at the end, has a great selection of Elton's earliest songs in possible their best sounding versions. Bennie And The Jets sounds just like you're in a concert.
Volume II was to been issued by DCC but an eleventh hour licensing issue between Dick James Music and MCA put an end to that after the test discs were made, which was a great shame.
Issued at the beginning of this year by Audio Fidelity, this edition of Rock Of The Westies originally released November 1975 and the Home of Island Girl, Grow Some Funk Of Your Own and Dan Dare, is the best version on cd of this title with a wide dynamic range.
Strangely enough this disc originally in late 1989 by Mobile Sound Labs Inc of Illinois was the first edition with the whole double album on a single cd. In the opinion of many it remains the best sounding version on cd and being the home of Candle In The Wind, Saturday Night's Alright For Fighting, and Bennie and The Jets plus many other memorable songs. My copy is a slightly later US pressed UDII one.
In 1983 this compilation one of three with the title Love Songs was issued with a cd issued very shortly afterward in those halycon cd days by Rocket Records in the UK.
As the title suggests this is a collection of love songs drawn from the Rocket era catalogue so it takes in the albums from 1976's Blue Moves up to 1982's Jump Up and is a very good summary of this era although it misses of Part Time Love originally on the 1978 A Single Man album for we get most of the 45's and choice album cuts.
Although this is an early regular cd, it seems some effort was taken to find good sounding analogue tapes leaving it with a lush presence in the midband, great for making the most of Elton's vocals.
I've transferred these discs to my iTunes library for portable listening.
It was on an overcast Saturday morning that I awoke around 6AM to get dressed, fixing breakfast before commencement of this weekends activities, having prepacked my bags over the preceding week to take with me.
This would of been easier other than Mommy had to get up as she was going out too and blew a light that caused the lighting circuit in the house to fail, putting me in the gloom half way through this!
I was of the general understanding that people bring some food to share and so having eaten, I walked down to my local village store to pick my contribution, fresh North Staffordshire Oatcakes, that had arrived in in the early hours of that morning.
A short while afterward I walked to the bus stop to catch a bus from our estate to a another bus ready to catch the 09:22 London Midland train to GHS from Crewe where I encountered Arcee so we shared a part of the compartment together.
Yes that's really the ticket!
Attending this party were Debbie, Lillian, Sammy and, Lausie and partners, Arcee, Susan, The 6th former, Suzy and Auntie Andi although sadly Rachel and Daisy were not able to attend as they were poorly.
Upon arrival I changed to my usual uniform but with the white socks with the bows and the white Hello Kitty Slipper socks and tidily put away my Hello Kitty bags containing a change of clothes, HK PJ's and toiletries.
I have to say that the new socks with their bows and slipper sox with the remainder of the uniform looked perfect, shrinking me down do very much a school girl in my head plus it went down well. A good by product was I did feel more inclined to take heed of the 'groan ups' warnings should I of been doing something risky as while having fun is great, sometimes you can make serious mistakes in the pursuit of it and someone has to say NO.
Naturally as people had travelled from different parts of England, some took longer to arrive and so by the time most of us had arrived, food was served. I had a homemade Hamburger with onions as by that time I felt famished. It tasted delicious.
We went outside for private group photos as the sun shined and I completely forgot to put my shoes on so by the time we'd gotten on the grass my HK slipper Socks were a bit muddy, the source of good humoured comments by the 'sticky one'!!! Mebbe she has competition? (lol)
We had a self assembled buffet for our evening meal from what people brought.Also I should thank Andi for the most amazing trifles that were positively yummy.
By evening it was time to play games, traditional party games, so we started off with playing pin the nose on the Donkey where blindfold you attempt to pin the spot where the nose is. I didn't win this but it was fun, reminding me of childhood parties.
The was a treasure hunt with clues scattered around GHS where we all tried to find them, which was heaps of fun dashing around hoping to win a prize.
We also played pass the parcel where a parcel is wrapped several times with a prize in each layer for the person who has it in their hand when the music being played , stopped. We sure played this at my school's Christmas Parties and for me at least I felt back in that time, happy.
Our Pyro expert team organized a most wonderful firework display that lasted for good time as rockets exploded colouring the sky in a very pretty way while many of us held sparklers waving them in the air. It was magical.
Finally The First Former held a most enjoyable quiz after which people started to make they way to bed which for me was sleeping on the couch by the GHS coal fire.
It was so magical most of us woke up later on exhausted from it all with some going back to sleep for an hour or so after waking up!
I probably was one of the earliest risers getting dressed, opting to put on the first time my new Green pleated school skirt before tidying myself up before the Bacon and Oatcake breakfast following which those needing to start back early left after goodbyes and hugs.
Those of us remaining went out to a meal having prebooked a table for midday, and so it perhaps being not that surprising I chose Fish and Chips followed by Hot sticky treacle pudding with cream to order. It's the cat in me I guess! Ordering with an accent like mine is usually fun but they understood me all right and the staff were really helpful.
It seemed the perfect way to end an enjoyable weekend together.
Afterward following many hugs, we all started on way back with myself catching the train and walking after a bus ride in the gloom as there's no Sunday bus service to the estate and fixing some tea to drink.
Although it was all new for me, the weekend had been really really enjoyable for being able to *play* with like minded individuals who just accepted me as I am since encountering me at forums and in Tuesdays chat. I'd like to thank everyone who was there for making me so welcome 'in the flesh' and for The Sixth Former for hosting this most enjoyable party as well as Lillian and partner for the Christmas card.
It means an awful lot, peoples.
Another wet end to the week, probably going to have some chores to do this weekend as it's that time of the month so I'm writing this up in advance, ready to publish although this piece isn't the one I had I mind.
Followers -and there's 36 of them - of my Tumblr that's usually about stuff that doesn't really quite fit this blog like photo sets, will know I've been posting a bit around uniforms specifically Sailor Suits from South Korea and Japan and that one day I might just get one as I can see myself in my head wearing one.
One big difference with Tumblr is captions and photo's are often reblogged, following site trends with comments added directly in the post and recently within those I follow there's been a number around uniforms.
Now, I can't mention the 'U' word without touching on that one of kind school, GHS and it's upcoming activities as I most definitely will be in attendance although I might have to be really careful not to be put in 'Corner Time'! Us First Formers can be a wild bunch!!!
Not surprisingly then, for most of this week, I'll be sorting out what to take when it comes to clothes although I prefer to travel light, making sure I have things like my tickets and cellphone safe, packing away and mentally preparing myself.
It was reassuring to hear this week 'Matron' was going to look out for me as it will the first time I've been 'out' with such a lot of girls under one roof including overnight although they're all people I know online and I've been with three before there.
Although this all kind of new to me and anything new easily leads to you feeling nervous, I am so looking forward to it.
Also on Sunday I will be putting up my HK Advent calendar.
As I'll be away that weekend I should point out the next post won't be until at least late Monday next onward as I'll need to rest and then write it.
As we're slowly getting toward Christmas and slowly being the operative word having been without the internet for over 48 hours (rant) my mind drifts back to how we always used to count it down.
That's right the Advent Calender, and that's mine for this year, ready to be put up on living room wall and being with milk chocolate, also consumed!
Guessed you'd of thought it just had to feature that cat!!!
It's shocking isn't it? I've had the same cellphone a Nokia 3410 for over ten years, two employers and a good many vacations after getting tired of relying on callboxes to phone friends from and the lines that would form from each in a Summer's evening when away.
Well, the battery started to lose its ability to store the power that would not of been bad other than Nokia seemingly no longer make the battery having discontinued the phone itself and the third party makers in China replacement models are of so-so quality at best.
I'm currently with Vodafone whose network has a very good reliable coverage, something in this area can't be relied upon by others such as Orange, and didn't feel like having to change my cellphone number but needed a replacement, not least for when I'm out on daytrips and the like quickly.
Because of my paws I do need something fairly robust and with my co-ordination I'm prone to falling over so models with thin glass screens aren't so good.
As I don't need the Internet, I bought this, the Samsung E1200 which could be had for little more than the cost of a replacement battery which is simple to use with a very tactile keypad and very long battery life not just when making calls but also when in standby.
It was sold as unlocked to any one network and comes without your providers SIM card so you have to physically remove it from your old phone to the new one, where after a moment it works like a treat.
The phone holds it charge well which will be useful for things like alg gatherings as not having to pack a charger does save space.
Needless to say it has had a Hello Kitty sticker applied to the back and a protective HK phone sock is coming to keep it in!
(Click on to expand)
This great drawing by Guinevieve is a great attempt to defining by example the various styles of Gothic & Lolita fashion many follow that deserved sharing.
Also I cut and made some classic 'Bunty' paper dolls from the 60's with their dresses having been shown a website that had scans of them so I could print them off which was rather fun as my Nan used to buy me it.
Hi folks.
Seeing it's the start of that cold season, Winter, and I need to distract myself from some of the bad stuff I referenced last week in passing, I've been going through my draws (there's a British pun somewhere in there!) sorting through the condition of my stuff.
One discovery was some of my socks had holes starting to form at the heel and as they went back a few years where my prevalent mode of presenting was slightly different bordering more on Goth I thought it was time for a change.
I bought several pairs of these white school girl socks with bows on because they go more my with my uniform which is what I wear most of the time and the bows are really rather cute which I'm sure will look great when I'm in alg company which is where I'm increasingly headed.
Not quite 'regulation' but very pretty, I bought another pair of these thicker socks that'll work for less 'school' settings or with things like my skater skirts or possibly tailored shorts (I'm the kind of girl who feels 'girly' even when not in skirts being more tomboyish in actual childhood).
One other discover was my spare grey pair of slipper socks were showing some signs of wear at the heel and as my other oldish Hello Kitty pair had gone down well at GHS as well as helping me dropping straight down to age appropriate behaviour to the point I could drop my 'groan up' guard, I bought a couple of pairs of these. Anything that aids that has to be good for me in the longer term.
They are also easier to pack than slippers for things such as alg meet ups and camp.
Finally I found a grey ragged sweat shirt that was definitely ragged in the elbows, one I'd bought around 2004/5 when much of this ten and half year adventure as documented here was starting and was in two minds as to do a like minded replacement or not as I have another grey one in much better shape.
Following a conversation at GHS around my green skirt and my explanation on why I didn't bring that, the suggestion was that actually red would go with it, I decided to get another red one from my usual school sweatshirt supplier like the one I'm pictured in a few entries back.
No doubt quite a bit of this will feature at the upcoming GHS meet up where I'll be in attendance.
Like me we're going on back this week in time to 1981, when I was still in high school a little older but feeling still 12 to when I first heard this album.I was just starting to come out a fog following the death from a sudden illness of a very close school friend who also really interested in music so among the many memorable release of that year, this one comes to mind.
Coming after the new wave inspired Glass Houses album, this was a live album of songs some of which were on his first two albums and a few others not previously recorded. Lesser artists might of called this "Greatest Hits Live" but Billy being Billy gave it a proper and meaningful title "Songs in the attic" because it comprised of songs he thought the original recordings didn't do justice to such as Captain Jack or had literally been in his attic untouched and unrecorded.
Unlike the majority of live albums too, this yielded two top 40 hits "Say Goodbye To Hollywood" and "She's Got A Way" aided by the fact Billy had a great great live band backing him and his piano playing being caught well by the recording equipment, something this disc re-issue (on vinyl and regular cd with super audio cd layer for suitable players) really does justice too.
The specialty record company Mobile Fidelity have recent reissued it as part of their program of very high quality reissues licensed from Sony Music of his back catalogue.
As at the time I only had the European cassette to have an excellent cd version packaged like a lp couldn't be nicer and a pleasant reminder of those days gone by.
Bit of a musical rounded up for the first of two posts this week
We're back to 1981 a year I still can recall pretty well and the members of the band Fleetwood Mac were on a break after touring in support of the Tusk album and Stevie Nicks issued a well regarded album that had a lot of input from Tom Petty and to which he dueted on the hit "I Will Run To You"
Move forward to 1983, another pivotal year in my life, and in August I heard the first single that came from the just released follow up album, The Wild Heart on the radio. Entitled Stand Back, it announced to the world that in that year where the English synthesizer new wave bands dominated, she could compete with a sound that borrowed elements of it and yet keep the feel that makes her solo work so compelling, the space for her singing to transmit her emotions clearly. This was followed in October with the second 45 If Anyone Falls one the songs that continues to remind of the Fall of '83 even now.
It remains a favourite album of mine from when I bought the West German Chrome cassette version back in the day that sounded better than many pre-recorded cassettes just a year or two before.
One problem in the cd era for Stevie Nicks fans was the cd versions sounded thin, lacking bass and very bright, so much so for both albums that many Americans believe there is no good cd version of either album. However they are wrong as in 1990, EMI UK took over the UK rights and mastered this themselves to a much higher standard. It's simply that they've never encountered the discs that I obtained recently that I'm pleased to finally hear in digital form these albums. They sound really good.
Going back a decade further this time to when I was most definitely in single digits (too bad about not having ringlets at de time!) one thing I can recall is rushing on over to a family friend to see this TV show where they song nice songs and David Cassidy was super awesome looking.
I had been looking for a cd of the hits from the show such as "I Think I Love You"a big hit from 1971 for a while now and recently Sony/Bmg issued this 14 track Playlist set which can be gotten quite cheaply (like £5.09 shipped).
It features Breaking Up Is Hard To Do remixed to a more modern stereo spread for the first time where on previous cds it was mono only.
Fall at least in my area is almost coming to an end with the leaves having changed colour dropping on to the wood like a vast carpet of vivid colour so I thought I'd share with you this week this picture of Wild Berries taken in my local woodland.
As well, the acorns are falling which is great news for Squirrels, but not so good if you get several underneath of your feet which happened to me on Tuesday when I was out walking!
Before I forget, I'd like to say thanks for all five comments on last weeks blog entry the second largest as that went out to the little community exclusively and for the nice comments elsewhere for the photograph of me as that was a last minute touch!
Phew! It's taken me a bit of time to really take in the last couple of days as you'll of been aware from last week I was going to away for a few days.
All adventures start somewhere and for me it was a continuation of and part return visit from a few months back when the Head Girl and First Former met me in my environs on what was a rather warm sunny day.
Well first of all to get to GHS, you need transportation and as I don't drive due to my disabilities, it meant getting tickets to travel on a train having selected a suitable rail station I could get to by bus. Fortunately I'm not far from a BIG rail hub with plenty of journey options and one really good operator who have an excellent online ticketing site, so I ordered my tickets and got them next day in the mail.
So after packaging a change of clothes for an overnight stay in two Hello Kitty tote bags, I caught a bus to the rail station which got me a bit early as I had heard of some traffic delays from construction work nearby but typically on the day there wasn't!
That meant I had time to read the iPaper before wobbling down the stairs to Platform 5 to get on the 09:22 London Midland that calls near GHS before meeting the dedicated GHS taxi service to whisk me off. It was a most excellent taxi service I can assure anyone!!!
For the train people the engine number started with 350 but I forget the rest but it was modern with plush seats, overhead destination and automatic doors.
Having arrived in the spacious grounds of GHS and equally spacious building just set back from the road, it was time to reintroduce myself to the First Former, a lovely articulate girl in her uniform.
This can only lead to one thing, folks, I too as visitor to the school needed to get changed into full uniform for the duration of my stay so up the stairs I went one foot after another to have a quick wash and change.
It was at this point actually being at GHS, being in and presenting myself to the others for the first time fully uniformed completely hit me and I would be lying if I didn't say for brief second I paused before going down the stairs to met everyone as Joanne, the school girl.
Fortunately over the years with my disabilities I've learnt to "kick my own butt" to make things happen as difficult as they can be for me and so got over that.
We spend time freely chatting after light refreshments until Auntie Andi was able to come and so after the midday meal, she lead a presentation about out of school activities otherwise know as Camp looking at activities, expectations, general etiquette and so on. 'Big smile' was the response to wishing to attend next year as I think I can hack it being a fairly responsible member of 1EB.
Talking of which, something else happened as it had brightened up a bit:
The nearest you're gonna get to an official uncropped out photograph taken with Permission by the L6 Head Girl no less. As is usual form, things such as photos should only be taken and shared with the subjects permission including that of anyone also in on them within the group.
Cast your mind back to the 'likeness' of Jo and the illustration from the fall of last year when the little girl declared herself free after effectively retiring from the world of employment. Can you see the how they all fit together?
A pivotal moment for me I'd say.
Before I forget, the Head Girl it has to be said is an excellent cook and hostess, the food being delightful and the First Former has an excellent body of knowledge about cuts of meat amongst other things, for we had Beef and homemade Plum pie in the evening. Yummy!
We played Scrabble (tm) with the assistance of the First Former something it transpired she was rather a Wiz at, which from my point of view was a jolly fun game to play even if it reminded me of the difficulties my learning disabilities leave me with.
In my world at least I'm happy to take part in things that are fun even though they're hard for me, with you helping me as needed rather than have you feel you have to change everything for me and this was a good practical example of it as any. And thanks for everyone for helping with it for I got a reasonable score!
Before bed I read a bit from Five Go To Demon's Back (Famous Five series) and we played some music, guessing who sung it, the 'proper' title and the year which was fun as for a number of them I only recall the North American year and month(s). I did pretty well at this as I think anyone asking Auntie Andi would soon find out! (Shh).
Sometime after 11PM I think - as as most of you know I can't 'tell the time' from a clock - I went to bed downstairs with a great view of the embers from GHS coal fire glowing red in my white top with Hello Kitty pj bottoms on. I also bought with a HK plushy and a small Rabbit one in a pretty dress. Although I'm not a great sleeper I did manage to get to sleep.
Come the morning following a wash, I again got fully changed into uniform to be greeted with a smile from the First Former as she came to see I was up and went to have some Tea and chat about all manner of things obviously including how I was feeling being joined by Auntie Andi where we talked 'techno talk' for a bit (Andi and I know a bit about recording, radio and stuff).
Breakfast was rustled up from GHS's kitchen which is what I understand to be cooked British breakfast with smoked bacon which was delicious with Tea before packing my bags ready for leaving.
I am not one for putting words into peoples mouths but as I remarked to Andi, the online Joanne_ Chan people read and interact with is the one you get in 'real life', being less of a role play so much as a online expression of what I'm naturally like in real time with you. I think she saw that as I although I'd thought I'd only be with her for a short period rather than most of the time, interacting directly, so she could see it straight off. She was happy to affix a Merit badge to my sweatshirt before leaving later that morning anyway!
But that wasn't all because Auntie Andi had kindly offered to take me to the rail station and after a big hug I was making my way across the concourse to travel home on the London Midland service.
There, wasn't that quite an emotional adventure,eh?
Thank you's:
Everyone at GT for your inspiration over the years as without it this could never of happened.
London Midland for efficient trains and easily to understand ticketing.
The Head Girl for graciously having me and preparing scrumptious food, something nobody has to do but they do because they're generous, caring about others,
The First Former for being herself, witty, knowledgeable, caring and super fun to be around and finally, Andi for being Auntie Andi a great combination of the funny, serious where needed and pretty unflappable sort you'd want to be with.
This upcoming week, I'll be off on an adventure and so need to get myself prepared for it in the next few days so I'll have a little less spare time for blogging and that although I'm looking forward to it.
Looking around the internet as you do, I saw this captioned image - as you'll know I don't generally do captions - but in a way it gets to the heart of the matter.
We'd all agree she's physically a grown up by appearance but what of the things she does, the things that make her happy? Sat here, I'm thinking she could easily of been like me in my late teens and twenties, looking sophisticated but wanting to play games, running around clutching her teddy.
And that's really the thing, this idea that everything you do once your chronological age gets past 14 if you're lucky something funny happens to how you're expected to behave, like everything is meant to purposeful, serious and unless you're a parent or grandparent and get the chance to relive your childhood with children you can't be seen do anything that's not.
You're a groan up!
Really it's so silly and actually detrimental to our own well-being emotionally (something that is increasingly being recognized by experts in the field) that we need to say no to it.
Be responsible where it matters but don't jettison what makes you happy in the process.
As several of you know I do love Motown and a few years back Audio Fidelity issued this speciality Gold cd of the classic Talking Book album by Stevie Wonder plus a few others.
To recap a number of his albums were first issues in the halycon days of cd by Motown under BMG in Europe, then reissued in 1992 by Polygram and finally remastered in 2000 thru Universal.
Unfortunately most of these year 2000 titles are shrill, bright and very loud sounding you could tell even with the stores stereo system playing them but the 'classic' 1972-1976 albums in the 1992 series really could be better so I'm replacing them with these specialty gold remasters done by Kevin Gray using more modern devices to convert the sounds from the analogue tapes to digital.
Talking Book is the the home to "You Are The Sunshine Of My Life" hit 45.
1972's Music Of My Mind was the disc that bought Stevie's use of the Arp synthesizer to our attention way back then featuring the hit single Superwoman.
My 1992 version sounds poor.
1973's Innervisions is in my opinion one soul album you just got to own featuring "Living For The City", "Higher Ground" and "He's Misstra Know-It-All" covering such topics as false religion, racial discrimination and mans relationship with his spiritual side.
Let it not be said Stevie took the white mans dollar and failed to address issues affecting African-Americans cos on this as with several albums he does bemoaning the failure of the political system on "You Haven't Done Nothin'" and "It Ain't No Use". All Stevie did was avoid the excesses of political sloganizing that ultimately dates his contemporaries lyrics
I feel this is the most improved disc of the set.
In 1976 he issued a double lp plus 4 track 7" EP entitled Songs In The Key of Life" where talks about everything he feels is important in the lyrics. This album included the smash hit tribute to jazz performer Duke Ellington, Sir Duke, I Wish and As although isn't She Lovely was a "radio hit" and a hit when recorded by England's David Parton in the UK and Europe
The original cd split the bonus tracks across the two cds but in 2000 the reissue that otherwise was very poor not helped by playing a Dolby A tape without it sounding very bright and compressed at least put the EP tracks at the end of disc 2.
For this 2011 Audio Fidelity release they kept to that disc running order with much improved sound.
Here's my brief series comments:
Having done a comparison with my older cd I'd say the major improvements are in the timbre of percussion smoother with more snap revealing greater fine detail and vocals.
Innervision is probably the next best thing to the rare and very expensive Mobile Fidelity cd issue from the early 90's that accidentally did use the master tape.
To summarize it builds on the original adding more subtitles within the limits of having to use a copy tape because Stevie does not give any record company any master tapes including Motown and for that reason is to be preferred although I am sure with the actual masters the results would be more noticeable.
I also picked up the 1985 mastered Love Songs 20 Classic Hits cd on Motown which offers a selection of his 60's output in much better sound than the 1998 Greatest Hits and Greatest Hits Vol:2 re-issues although it misses out Fingertips Pt2, Work Out Stevie Work Out and Travellin' Man
Today I talk about a dvd that was issued on September 23rd in the UK.
Called From Up On Poppy Hill, this anime stage play by Hayao Miyazaki and lovingly directed by his son, Goro, is a coming of age romance set in Yokohama, Japan in 1963, just 18 years after the end of World War Two and the establishment of modern day Japan.
Set in the ramshackle club house of their high school , it charts the romance of Umi and Shun as they join forces to save it from demolition for a new sports facility for the (then) upcoming 1964 Tokyo Olympics. The musical score is jazz based and features Sukiyaki the World conquering 1963 Japanese song that had a cover version by Kenny Ball's trad jazz band in the UK.
The animation as is usually the case from this studio, Studio Ghilbi, is unapologetically old school cell drawn and all the better for it allowing you to concentrate on the story.
Strongly recommended.
As we're entering the Fall, one thing I sure can remember doing is exploring woodlands, trying to climb and certainly hugging and feeling trees as with the smell of the woodland the whole thing was one great sensual experience. it as well however to have a thin raincoat at hand on days like today when it goes from hazy sun to showers quite suddenly that can soon catch you out otherwise. Some even come in a tiny bag so carrying one isn't a great hardship
Do you know officially this blog has now had over 36,060 page views since its conception and a average of over 1,500 views per month? Well that's what the statistics that Google provide to anyone using their platform inform me and that is pretty good given there's no 'cheap thrills' on this site.
As anyone who ventures out is aware it's very much the back to school season with stationery stores stocking such essentials as Compass sets, pencil cases, note books, as well as obviously pens and pencils.
I've gotten a new Green pleated school skirt and a matching netball skirt with the pleats at the side and rear as well as some rather cute Hello Kitty socks.
Pretty traditional rather like me and it is very similar to a blue one I have had for a few years now the story of which is told on one my 'Pre-blog' entries here which are just unabridged notes I made some being almost ten years ago with no added commentary that just talk of things that lead me into the community of littles. They are just the things that I'd of talked with you about before we all met each other and it's a shame we weren't in a position too.
Moving on a little topic wise, the subject of ones age as a little came up at Tumblr where it appeared the notion people having just single fixed age as a little appears to be doing the rounds.
Let me say from the outset, there is nothing at all wrong with having just a single little age say 10 years if this is the age you feel when you are in a little (or Middle) Headspace but this is by no means the only situation. For a good number of us, we do vary a little having a 'Upper age limit' which is as old as we can feel and a lower point we may regress further back to in certain situations, getting a little 'silly' at times. This is when you think about it, is little different to that of actual children who can go back a few years especially at periods of great stress.
I would like anyone who does find their 'age' is fluid to understand this is quite normal and certainly doesn't make you less of a little.
Although I hover around the 10 to 12 bit most of the time I go go back to around 8 or 9 or even younger sometimes and my littlest little would really like to be dressed rather like this:
See I can admit to it, having an even younger side to the girl within and does she surprise any of you?
As explained on last weeks entry that was published here's this weeks entry.
I was going out for the day with over 100 people from our part of deepest Cheshire on two touring bus coaches. Fortunately for me Mommy came too which was nice as we both rather like this particular seaside resort which we got to using the M6 motorway very near us, changing at Lymm for the M56 Cheshire/Merseyside section passing Runcorn where we finally joined the double lane each direction A55 through North Wales.
Having arrived in Llandudno coach park, we walked into town for a drink before meeting with friends for midday meal. I had plaice, garden peas and chips which is my want being a catgirl and they were really tasty, I can assure you. Neigh purrfect. Llandudno is very flat, something that those of us with physical disabilities do appreciate as it's much less tiring as was being easier if you use walking aids or a wheelchair.
Mommy and I went around clothes shops, in drug stores looking at cosmetics and a gift shop where I got a Bunny in a lovely pink frilly dress.Eat ya heart out, Fudge!
It's an unfortunate fact of life that people get lost, injured or even die of our coastlines so we have a non for profit organization - the Royal National Lifeboat Institution - who operate craft such as this to help rescue people.
Being on the coast many trips are run during the Holiday Season one of which takes you all around the Coast at Llandudno which having been on it, gives you a very different feel than you would on land.
Many of the towns buildings date to the Victorian era where this seaside resort came very much into it's own aided by good rail links from the Midlands where we are as well as North west England. This picture shows you the beach which is sandy with children playing on it and yes I played on it too!
This boat jetty is frequently used by people who wish to walk on out into the sea. In the background toward the right you'll see the "Little Orme" and the small town of Craig-y-Don well illuminated on this bright late August afternoon.
"Judy!' screamed all the children and me as Mr Punch pictured on the left of the puppet show goes to attack her baby as she lives it to get Mr Punch's dinner that comprised of Sausages. Mr Punch gets his just deserts later on in the performance for assaulting Judy and PC Plod. It's enough to say he won't repeat the offence again.
We all loved the performance of this traditional and decisively non politically correct seaside children's entertainment.
Did you know you can go down a Rabbit Hole here? This town is very proud of it's links to Lewis Carroll of Alice in Wonderland fame.
Here's an overview of the famed pier with childrens rides and amusements featuring a Hello Kitty car but unfortunately I couldn't fit into it as it was too small.
We returned in the early evening climbing up the Halkyn Mountains, passing Preston Brook before coming off the motorway to our lovely town of Sandbach.
Today I'm off for the day so I'm preparing this entry so it can published while I'm out so I'm going to have to be super careful to proof-read it beforehand.
Earlier in the week something happened that had been talked about before with attempts to arrange it made only to be dashed at the last minute.
In the long long history of my being a little once I even founded out what that was, I had never encountered others face to face and indeed it had taken a lot of time to find others online joining sites to even have any kind of virtual encounter. I'd met with a number of 'mainstream' Ts people face to face in cafés making arrangements via PM's on site but that had been it.
Well, following talk at a couple of sites plus emails, it happened our First former was going to be at the Head Girls at GHS and asked in chat about meeting up, something that I had been thinking off but following a severe four day migraine that had left my mental functioning seriously impaired, I wasn't able to think much (it also caught me by surprise) but said I'd give it some thought later on when I might be better.
Following some emailing, we decided this would be a workable meeting up point being easy to find and leads on toward the local canal and recreational amenity area as it wasn't far for me to go plus was the kind of place I'd feel more at ease talking in. It also was a place in area the First former hadn't been before.
Having gone for a short stroll we found a relatively secluded place where we could talk about our histories of being littles,what we got out of it, general life experiences which for me includes work background, experience of being disabled as well as being Ts. It didn't take long for either of them to spot my obvious North American accent and quirky pronunciation aided by Canadian rising although most of you are kinda used to my Can-E written English.
The Head Girl talked about the four letters in the name lg meet ups within the UK, explaining what people do, the structure, locations as as other social events that happen with illustrations inquiring if it would interest me. We also touched on the differences between the UK events and those held in the States.
Although much of this year is planned out with me, being away for a period where I can be little in the company of others does appeal because I like being around others in addition to playing especially as it was explained you could do whatever you felt was right for you being based around your 'age' or interests even if it may be that I'd be looking at stopping over with someone part way there because of the time it would take to travel and how tired that can leave me (being really tired travelling across London isn't a good idea) so it's on next years to-do list as for that matter would be paying a social call or two to the Head Girls as I could get a train to the nearest rail station to GHS which is just at the far end of the County due south of me and there are times when overnight stay, something not a million miles from a sleepover is more what I'm needing not least with the issues with and between my family. I just need to be away from that stuff.
It seems to me more possibilities for just being myself are opening up since encountering everyone at GT and IK some two and half years ago.
So as in real time as you read this I'll be playing somewhere - see the next blog edition for more - I'll conclude by thanking the First former and Head Girl for coming on over to see me as it was a great pleasure to actually see and be with them.
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