Christmas Edition

It's usual on this blog to write something around Christmas here because it for one thing it's a major childhood memory, it's almost as big on my age regressed side having that Christmas Eve anxiety at night thinking what I may be having and finally its two whole different days. A heady mixture, what?
I'm home with Mom and Grumpy and I can smell the Turkey cooking ready for Lunch with the turkey from Waitrose, Pigs in blankets made from independent butchers own bacon and sausages, fresh veg from de market in town as we visit our neighbours and having just opened my presents.

Fun that was a direct re-run from my actual childhood came from this annual with adventures from Dennis the Menace, Minnie the Mix and the Bash Street Kids plus a special annual of the Dandy featuring such favourites as Korky the kat, Desperate Dan and Beryl the Peril.

I had some money from Mom, one brother that were put toward some compact discs and a HMV voucher.

One you'll be hearing more about next year without a shadow of a doubt is this six super audio cd set of Beethoven's Symphonies, a sacd set of Sibelius Symphonies and Chopin Preludes sacd.
As well I had a scarf and blu rays of Back To The Future  together with the Karate Kid which were two of my favourite movies from the 80's as I slowly replace a few by the better looking blu ray versions.
I hope you had a super day with your gifts and toys but also with company too.
*Written on the Chromebook on Christmas Day!

Christmas paws edition

*** HAPPY CHRISTMAS FOLKS *** 

At this time of year it's usual for me to take a break from blogging, commenting on various websites not least Tumblr simply because there's that much at the face to face so-called real life level to be getting on with so that has really  to take priority in the build up to Christmas Day and  shortly afterward.
This year will be no different so I thought I'd let you know I'll be off for a period.
(((Hugs)))

The Brrr Edition

This weekend we had something like proper Winter weather sadly not Tundra but better than we've had for a bit which has helped taking my mind of discourse and drama elsewhere with temperatures blow - 2 degrees C (other measurements are available).
You could say those track pants I mentioned last week sure will come in handy trying to stay warm indoors and out.

Yes typical late 1960's site and road layouts abound here apart from having that sinking feeling while walking along the sidewalks not repaired since then(!) showing some of our snow fall.
Our woods are to the rear being between us and one of the two principal roads.

We shovelled some of the snow off but there's still some in the planters and pots

 "Brrr...It's brass monkey weather" our resident ape reckons who escaped from nearby Trentham, Staffs which like most of the county was well covered in it from the outskirts of Sedgley to the top of the Staffordshire Moorlands so he couldn't escape it even if he'd tried!
Another and most little appealing picture appeared during this period shown on the BBC and the Express & Star  newspaper on Friday of the Reindeer at Dudley Zoo out in the snow.

*Picture credits Express & Star
It's too late for a 2018 calendar for them  but I'd pick it for next years in a flash for December's picture.
Just keep warm folks!

Keeping warm

For a long time a staple of my more Tomboy look were lined tracksuit bottoms of the sort that was less overtly masculine with a very sporty feel to them but plainer fleece lined ones that for a period I wore a lot with baseball jackets.

 Just to annoy the brand loyalists I'm not simply because they tend to made from similar materials in the usual factory locations despite attempts to use 'sports science' to build up a strong sense of individual identity and unless you truly are using them in a professional sports context, you generally don't need that stuff anyway.
These area navy blue pair I recently  bought as I usually prefer to avoid baby pinks or white as they tend to show up marks and draw rather more attention to them than I'm comfortable with.
While non-brands can be cheap, I find the finish doesn't last as much.

Hurrah for the circus

There are things you may have and do feel like revisiting such as books you had for an awful long time and today I'm writing about one.

 I think the first thing to said is this was written in 1939 when people did really look forward to seeing a circus with animals and the understanding of how captivity impacts their lives was less understood than today where it is rare to see such an old-fashioned circus because we are that more enlightened. 

This is the second of the three stories centred around Galliano's Circus looking circus life for children where it is Easter and they are all at Westsea although they are due to move on to Liverpool which I'd presume is some way off as it is probably Westsea is either around Somerset or Devon, areas popular for holidays in the UK.

The story is told through the eyes of Jimmy and Lotta circus children where much excitement is caused by the arrival of tigers to join the circus who are kept in a double locked cage.

Jimmy is very much in awe of the tigers and is determined to snuck into them and befriend them from what he sees as their ill treatment while being trained by Fric and his father which he does learning to control them by body language and words.

In some ways this is a high point of the book because in modern english he's being like a 'horse whisperer' gaining their trust and co-operation without the use of whips and shouting at them.

The friendship between Jimmy and Lotta is under threat of being torn about by Fric, the tiger keepers son and helping hand who is spiteful and not averse to telling lies  which given it is 1939 would be said to benefit from a smack.

Just as they are able to patch up their friendship, Jimmy's beloved dog, Lucky suddenly goes missing that leads to Lotta going out on a daring mission to rescue him who had been dyed after being sold for five pounds by Fric to a crooked, shady circus man called Mr. Cyrano to use. 

She does this by getting her curly hair cut, buying a shirt and pair of boy shorts and impersonates a  boy to confuse everyone so she's able to rescue Lucky.

As a reward Mr Galliano gets her a black pony that she calls Black Beauty after the Anna Sewell novel no doubt that she learns to ride and perform circus tricks with that are incorporated into their Liverpool show.

Just as everything seems to be going so well Lotta discovers Lal, her mother is ill in hospital in Europe where they've been performing with horses and dogs and The little girl's father, Laddo, may have to go away to another circus because he needs a partner in his act.

As is often the case in Enid Blyton's writing she leaves how this pans out until the next book but we are left pondering just what will happen to Lotta and if she might have to leave this circus and everybody including Jimmy for another.

It's very much a rip-roaring tale that I enjoyed re-reading from my original 1973 Deans hardback edition even if today much of the background to the plot simply would no longer be permitted. 

Eight hundred trips around the sun

Here at The World of Joanne Chan we're marking an anniversary today.
You see it is our 800th post on the blog that was began before Tumblr was born and Instagram was thought of so this was my main platform to express myself as a person on rather than just sharing opinions around odd topics on forums.
It's a slice of life blog of a middle/little as lived and experienced so all life from adventures and interests about that life are to be found which I feel is it's strength as when you're like me you're always regressed to a point, usually requiring some oversight and so that life is in its context rather than something you might just role play at.
One thing I have been doing for this anniversary has been tidying up some entries where say images were small being made on a ancient desktop computer and a very slow unreliable internet connection where it was type, assemble and publish before the connection went.
It was much the same story on That Boarding School Girl where I have too being working on tidying entries up as some had images under 180 x 270 pixels even in places around the same era some just being above what today we regard as thumbnails.
Some had strange things going on involving the text breaking out in colour too.
One thing I have being more of is exercise and today's picture was taken recently while out doing just that in its vivid colours which the recent changes in blog layout now allow me to take full advantage of
Happy 800th Anniversary!

Classical sacd round up part three

This months entry on the collection of new Super Audio cd's abbreviated to sacd is a bit different to the first two in that they all have one thing in common.
One of the first composers I encountered was Tchaikovsky when I was a child so it wasn't so long that on record I did buy a few recordings which in time made their way to compact discs with the last major addition being the adding of the Andre Previn set of the complete ballet scores on EMI that I used to borrow on record.
One thing I had decided early on was in so far as new recordings went the priority was going to those in Super Audio cd and a good modern set of his symphonies  was the first .

 The first three symphonies are it has to be said something of a challenge to play in way that makes much sense of the score as in all honesty Tchaikovsky was very much feeling his way composition-wise but Valery Gergiev's interpretation does bring more out of these than many as much as I like my original disc on DG of Claudio Abbado's recording of the second coupled with the fourth. I also managed to get this two sacd set for £7.99 which was a absolute bargain!

 I was raised very much on Herbert von Karajan's recordings of the Fifth symphony firstly in mono with the Philharmonia Orchestra and then his 1960's stereo for DG but wanted something more modern and this just fits the bill being in similar style and highly acclaimed. 

I have a recording of Tchaikovsky's Violin Concerto coupled with Mendelssohn's by Nathaniel Milstein but this one by the much talked about Julia Fisher is one recent recording many feel brings more from it from a slightly different edition of the score.

 This recent recording combines one work I lacked but did like, the Souvenir de Florence with an arresting very well recorded account of the Serenade for Strings, one of the most well known string compositions.

 In 1996 I bought a most remarkable recording of Tchaikovsky's Piano Concerto by a young Manchester pianist called Ronan O'Hora which part of the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra's very on collection of complete works from the NOW shop in Stoke on Trent.
Like most of that series it was recorded at a higher than regular cd standard and altered to fit regular cd but in 2005 it was issued on Super Audio cd and the above sacd is that version which I bought for this upgrading of my music collection to this format.

In addition to a previous regular cd addition of such familiar tunes as the March Slav, the 1812 Overture etc on Tchaikovsky Festival on Naxos effectively replaced technically so-so recordings I had previously, this has now given me a pretty decent sounding set of recordings of his music.

GHS Halloween Party 2017

As mentioned last week, I was going to away for a few days with friends at our Littles Halloween and Bonfire party at GHS which as ever required a little preparation.
I set out from home at half past Seven  on the Friday morning as in what is supposed to be an hourly bus service from our estate  to the nearest town had a gap in it and this was only slot that would work  before catching a bus to our rail station that offers some of the best  rail connections across the UK to catch my London Midland Train.
Having contacted the person to let them know I was enroute, I then met up with at their local rail station before we caught the local bus to GHS and had a hot drink.
At GHS something very spooky had been going on the building was festooned with ghostly streamers, spiders and skulls and some ghosts were in residence!

 Two other people were coming early as I was although events proper were not to start until noon on the Saturday so apart from chatting I had my dollies to play with when the person who runs GHS had her  nails painted most well.
When they returned there were a number of things to do such  making Spooky Halloween sponge cake which I did with some assistance, making the two sponges although I had to remake one as mixture made from margarine, sugar, eggs and self raising flour  didn't quite work right for one of the pair before applying home made Plum Jam and cream following by green and black icing that was allowed purposely to run off the very edges. 

 As well we were having a beef roast to which as is increasingly the case rightly I'm expected to help out with so I cleaned and cut the home grown potatoes, prepared the cabbage and carrotts ready for the carrot and potato mash with the cabbage being boiled and the potatoes being roasted.
I also helped in making a jam flan with blue berries on top which was served with cream all of which was appreciated when two other guests arrived in time to consume it and I was thanked by Miss Green for my contribution making things easier for her.
After conversation I went to sleep cat style near the fire being a bit tired and slept like a log all night.
I woke up on the Saturday had some shredded wheat for breakfast and around Eleven o clock  got changed into my thicker grey zip up at  the front dress which is easy for me put on by myself before as from Twelve noon the remainder of our group arrived bit by bit  in time for home made Burgers with Onion (cheese slices available for  those that eat it) which that tasty I had two!
After this it was time for our Halloween treasure hunt that took place outside although overnight it had rained and indeed was somewhat overcast for much of the day where hunted for clues that lead to others with prizes.
We also did  Pumpkin carving out of doors with child-proof tools which is as well with me although we interrupted for a period by a shower that required us to huddle in the shed while it passed over.

 Cutting and especially scooping out a pumpkin can be a really sticky job so I the Sticky One was joined by another-me with those sticky paws.
Actually I was fairly quick at getting the actual carving done

 Here's part of the completed group with mine on the right hand side.
We had a kind of bring bits with you tea with quiche, sausage rolls, pork pie and  a variety of desserts such as the Pink Blancmange trifle of Andi's I had and yes my sponge which I was informed by my second best friend was very nice.
The final event of the day after the spooky music quiz was our bonfire which as on previous years we had some competition locally. 

 Here's a picture taken with a slowish exposure of one of fireworks 'going off' while the bonfire was blazing.
We we up rather late so typically I and a n other whose name I won't say to avoid embarrassment were falling asleep around everyone else but other than to say it was probably apt both of us did.
We got up lateish Sunday morning I know I was up around a quarter to Eight  which is late by my standards and having gotten changed had either cereals or a smoked bacon sandwich fried.
After changing clothes (for some of us), we set off for a morning walk though local woodland, passing a canal with ducks, a Kingfisher and narrow boat before we arrived at a Public House for lunch as Miss Green had booked a table.
I had a delicious Turkey roast with trimmings  while others opted for other things such as beef steaks before we waked back to GHS as in small groups we all said our goodbyes.
Suzy and I were kindly driven by Andi to the rail station to catch our way trains home that were running a bit for one of us and somewhat late for another due to an incident in the North.
I got a cab off the taxi rank  straight home which was rather quick and not too expensive as local estate service does not run on Sundays plus it's over a mile to walk over rough and in places step terrain.
I'd like to thank Miss Green for organizing this super event, the hospitality  and her contributions to catering, Andi for lighting the fireworks safely which is so super important, helping with the Burgers and kindly providing Suzy and I a lift.
I'd also like to everyone else who did bring something else to this event, fun and contributions to the food  that all help make  this a most enjoyable weekend get together.

Getting set to go

I don't know if we'll see this outside of the entrance to GHS on Friday but there is always something approaching the feel of camaraderie whenever we are together having fun together and yes if you hadn't worked it out I do look rather more like the girl of far left even if I'd happily lose a couple of inches in height.
You see unless you have actually spent time as a little or middle then as much as I'm of fan of online groups and clubs you are missing that face to face interaction with other age regressors being in effect children together playing with the spontaneity that brings, recreating that time and space when that was all that mattered.
Everybody's 'day' is bound to be different, we played with differing things, watch different things on tv and with the exception of "Smartphone culture", the thing is they have more in common with each other than you might think. That means however 'old' in terms of birth certificate age  you might be you're all around the same level which makes sense as childhood and from that childhood revisited is a space a person from a level of social, emotional, physical and intellectual development resides and that is how it is with me.
Being in with others is what I love the most and where I'll be this weekend.

Jo's October catch up post

It's been a busy week here at Jo's where after some work on my Tumblr I do appear to getting rather more the followers I did want so am ditching those I didn't and have been organizing myself for the upcoming littles bonfire and Halloween party cos as I've said before, I lives the life.
It's what keeps this blog real!

I rather suspect Jodie Foster was better at keeping that ball in the air than the metaphorical one  I do although I love that uniform of hers.
Another thing happening here is I actually got seeing it's the start of the cold season a new pair of super warm girls slippers.

They are lined inside with a fleecy material while the outside is wool with bow details to match my school socks cos you can never have enough bows as a girl, indeed I do need is some in my hair!!!

Following on from last weeks post here's a picture of schoolgirl wearing shorts as part of her uniform just to show you can and still you're a...girl for all that.

Tomboy Jo

There's an age-old adage, "There's more than one way to skin a cat" and that is very true when it comes into many aspects connected with age regression and the life that goes with it so I usually counsel an acceptance that there's no one magically right way to go about it.
This is especially true on the little/middle girl side where sometimes it might seem we're all frilly dresses with lashings of lace but there was a girl, very famous one who was a heroine of mine who went a whole 180 degrees the other way

 "George" from the Famous Five series actually was Georgina a girl who was very much a Tomboy, taking the lead and liking to wear less feminine girls attire to the point she did wear schoolboys shorts (although most modern versions remove this essential aspect of the storylines).
You could say she was rebelling about gender roles  and what was seen as suitable attire for girls and actually there is a fair bit of her in me that does wear shorts that aren't super pink and with curvy piping outside of my love of dresses.

I do wear the above navy tailored 'boys' shorts with my girls attire as that girl which is at times more practical and yet also does tie in with liking to present as a middle/little

l also have this black pair bought from a famous school wear supplier in the UK who does stock them in wide range of sizes. They do look very smart on me with nothing looking  too tight and the side pockets are helpful.
They aren't the sort of traditional grey lined shorts of yore having more in common with longer cargo type shorts but being more formal and made from stain resistant teflon like most school skirts and trousers are.
This while not necessary pleasing traditionalists who want them al a Angus Young this does mean it is possible to wear them amongst the 'muggles' with socks that don't scream out 'adult schoolchild' on the prowl as indeed I do in my neighbourhood with no one batting an eyelid.
This Saturday for instance I wore them with my Hello Kitty long sleeve t shirt and white frilly ankle socks outdoors walking as it was fairly warm for time of year which is pretty Tomboy.

Fall 2017

It won't be that long before the clocks go back, the last weekend in this month if I remember it right and no matter where you are in the UK, something is happening all around you that's pretty magical.

Playtime for me involves time out of doors, no not sitting in the garden with the Chromebook, actually going a bit further and without the all pervasive internet, walking, throwing sticks in the woods and fields here.

It's the fall and the more your outside the more you'll see although for many years I loved observing it on the inter-urban commute to work through the bus windows, wherever I work if possible I'd go into parks and gardens not just for peace and quiet but to watch it all change.

Depending on the species, the rate of which the leaves change colour and even fall off varies which used to intrigue me as a child making my way to Church around harvest time where the pavements glistened in the low sun carpeted by leaves.

Sometimes things get a bit nutty and it isn't Zee Zee's fault although his relations have something to with it as around now, you'll see the squirrels about gathering nuts to bury them and below it appears they've arranged everything that naturally fell making a  beautiful natural collage 

It's great to be out, eyes peeled to everything happening in nature.

R.I.P Tom Petty

It was announced late Monday night UK time, that Tom Petty, one of America's greatest songwriters and singers had died on what had been a pretty dark day for the Las Vegas shooting with its 59+ dead and the violence in Catalonia by Spanish Police in response to an illegal poll.
This was the formal announcement as issued on the day:

On this blog we have reviewed some of his albums not least his final one, 2016's Mudcrutch2 that surprised and enthralled us as someone who was sixty-six years still had the vitality to pull off as much as 2014's Hypnotic Eye did with its social and political observations did two years before.
Tom goes way back to '76/7 with me with the release of "Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers" a 30 odd minute much needed straightahead roots rock that garnered attention in New Wave's spiritual home, Great Britain, which presented the opportunity to develop the live act and then 'sell back' to the States that bought You're Gonna Get it and its 45's I Need To Know and Listen To Her Heart.
If I was to pick just one of his albums outside of 1994's Greatest Hits, I'd pick Damn The Torpedos, his 1979 release which in so many ways encapsulated his simple but effective way of reducing down complex ideas to the most commercial while not losing the 'message'.
The best known examples from that album  are "Refugee", "Don't Do Me Like That" and "Here Comes My Girl", all hit 45's.
Tom was a member of the Travelin' Wilbury's a 'super group' with former beatle George Harrison, Roy Orbison, Bob Dylan and Jeff Lynne of England's Electric Light Orchestra that blended the talents into a very much 'Americana' feel best exemplified by the mainly Canadian band, The Band but being contemporary too selling well beyond each members own audience.
It is hard to put across what Tom meant to us: At a human level he was very genuine, reflective, free from the ego grabbing "me,me,me" that the so many in the music business have. 
Musically he straddled that gap between so-called 'Classic Rock' and 'Indie Alternative' in a way another of my music loves, Bruce Springsteen never quite pulled off  even if he did do the long epic song well.
'Refugee' was a song whose theme spoke to me as a disabled person battling not be defined by events, unable or unwilling to move on.
Writing this has been emotionally exhausting cos Tom meant so much almost on a par with David Bowie.
Rest In Peace, Tom.

Classical sacd round up part two

It's almost the end of the month so I thought I'd post an update on my collection of classical music Super Audio cds which all can be played on regular cd players too.

 
One thing you have to recognize is because the format is so much capable of more natural sound doesn't mean you'll ditch any or all your existing recordings as there always two elements involved: the performance and the sound.

 
Ever since the days of the lp record that elusive balance of the two is what as collectors of recordings we've looking for and there exists from those early mono taped performances from the early nineteen-fifties to the turn of this decade many excellent performances that may not be on sacd and some where for technical reasons they may be little point in issuing them.

 
This said there are increasing numbers of  excellent recordings from the analogue tape era being freshly mastered and new recordings critically acclaimed so you may be able to 'upgrade' which is where we start.

For a good while I had been looking for a great fairly modern recording of Bartok's ground breaking Concerto For Orchestra which I remember well as a handed down Mercury mono lp record when I was in my early teens where I spied this.

 
It's reissue of the original Quadraphonic (surround sound) lps from the Deutsche Grammophon catalogue of the nineteen-seventies that only got issued in Japan but whose stereo mixes were issued in North America and Europe that were much admired.

 Arriving only toward the end of last week is a acclaimed recording of Schubert's String Quintet in C Major D 956 from 2011 by the much loved Tokyo String Quartet who have performed in North America and Europe.

Schubert's "The Trout" quintet has been a favourite of mine for a long while and recently I bought this excellent modern recording which will go with my regular cd sets of string quartets and symphonies by him.

This one can be filed under 'filling a hole' as in the years of building my classical music collection I hadn't gotten around to getting a complete set of Beethoven's String Quartets and this set of recordings from 2005 through 2008 is one of the best recorded.
I was able to get this 8 sacd set in stone mint condition used for half the regular price which made it quite bargain.

Mozart and I got back a long time, to the period I often borrowed pre-recorded tapes from the municipal library and most of my Mozart colection goes back to around 1991 on cd buying the many discs in the Mozart Masterpieces set.

 
Included in that was the debut recording of a then 14 year old Anne-Sophie Mutter with the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra with its then larger than life conductor, Herbert von Karajan of the 3rd and 5th Violin Concertos to which I had added two slightly later recordings on EMI by her of numbers 1, 2 and 4.

 
This set recorded in 2011 by PentaTone records is widely regarded as one of the finest coming with the very best sound available and even features a dvd where you see Julia rehearsing.

R.I.P Marmalade

On Thursday September 21 at 8.30 AM, Marmalade, president of the seventh North Staffs Tom Cat Club died as I stroked him having been brought in by neighbours found seriously ill on the sidewalk fur covered in dark soil and with black coloured berry in his mouth.
There was little indication to suggest being struck by an automobile as while conscious but with severe breathing difficulties, he didn't yelp while carried or when stroked from face to tail.
He arrived around 2013 from nowhere with his eccentric ways like wanting to be served on a floor table, wanting to bring his own food in like mice to eat in front of the gas fire and going out for all night cat parties at their Tom Cat Club.
He also hacked in to this blog and GT to broadcast his thoughts on things most noticeably on the British General Election  with his feline take on matters.
I'm too upset to say anymore crying right now but I misses him so.