School Uniformed Life

This kind of uniform with blazer over blouse tie and skirt was very much a part of my own experience as a child because this was what girls generally wore to school. You cannot help but notice it just doesn't compliment their appearances but it looks very smart as well as defining you a school girl.
If you were in the 5th form (14 1/2  thru 15) or above you could wear tights usually a plain colour such as tan, blue, black or grey instead of knee socks

Of course any part of being a school child included shared interests of which a big one is comics and for me it was the British Comic, the Beano with it's adventures that we shared especially in my boarding school.
Recently it has been celebrating its 70th anniversary with a special soft back magazine edition that I bought back in July and this exhibition.

You, me and the rest of the world.

How we handle our 'Little Girl' side is in some respects down to us but we do need to think sometimes about how being the way we are can impact on others.

For instance some us may just be more at the point of maintaining many of the interests we had from our childhood such as playing with dolls, doing sticker albums and so on and whatever the rest of world may think about this, it just between us and causes no harm.

Some may be more into the look which can vary from what is just 'adult' clothes based on childhood likes, though larger versions of children's clothes to those who may wear oversized school children's clothing as a means of building on how they feel. 

The latter may seem a little odd although in the UK at least middle aged do put on school uniforms - usually high school ones mind - to wear to school reunion discos and social meet ups!

 In that context it is accepted and in your own home what you do is very much your own affair.
Every so often though we read stories of people, generally men, who dress as school girls hanging around recreation grounds or actual schools which attracts the attentions of the local media and host of other people.

Now their intent may not necessarily be to harm any child and for one thing most kids would soon realize this person wasn't their (chronological)  age, however it does cause children especially the 12's and younger to feel ill at ease and in some circumstances distressed even.

Many parents will feel at least a sense of unease at your presence in oversized school pinafore dress, white socks  and pigtails and most would conclude you wanted their child's attention to harm them. In that context it isn't that surprising that your local police department will be called and will expect you to explain yourself.

Causing children to feel this uncomfortable is just plain wrong, may well result in verbal even physical abuse to you from parents and is a extremely stupid AND serious thing to do even if from your point of view you're just placing yourself back at school feeling still that age.

I used to work in child protection not least as a 'Little Girl' I had a great empathy toward the role of protecting children from harm and it makes my blood boil!

Remember being a 'Little Girl' doesn't excuse us from respecting the emotional needs of children and avoiding needless distress.  In fact it ought to inform them!

Nancy at Saint Brides

This month I am going to write a bit about a book which taps into part of me but was even when I was growing up was seen as part of a series that were more in the past more what we'd be handed down or bought second hand.

This copy is the 2002 Girls Gone By paperback reprint.

 Nancy at St. Brides was written eight years on and after the second in this series (That boarding school girl) but in a lot of ways the first proper book in that this is where the main character Nancy makes here appearance as a relatively unschooled 14 year old dispatched to St.Brides  with instructions to be kept an eye on being very ahem spirited which soon shows in the dares she was only too willing to perform and caught out by the Sixth form prefects.
You could say she was impressionable which I was too at this age and this is the the story of her first unhappy term as she gets to grips with school structures, rules and consequences.
Nancy's problems were less the stuff of theft, insubordination, refusal to apply ones self or bullying  but more about what can be seen as maturity or rather the  lack of age appropriate maturity at least in part because she was never really 'schooled' so failed to see how her impulsive reckless side so resulted in one child almost drowning and another catching a serious cold.
For Nancy this lead to the matter of her being 'asked' not because  to return not formally expelled by Head Mistress Miss Cawdwell because she feels Nancy lacks the maturity a girl at boarding school needs. It also leaves the door open for her to return with a clean slate made easier for Nancy making a attempt in her last three weeks to do some good such as doing well in the swimming competition.
It's an enjoyable read not just for her spirit but also how working at channelling her interests starts to pay off.

Jennings Goes To School

It's getting toward the end of August and almost by magic my mind starts slipping back to what this time in the past meant for me.

Part of it meant getting ones equipment and uniform ready to return to school with a  mad dash to the stores and this leads really on to this which I do so miss all of that and one of things I did was read books.
Anthony Buckerridge's creation Jennings and his side kick, Darbishire was the only boys series I read as to a very large extent I read stories about and for girls but what I liked about the series was they did feature memorable characters in situations I could relate to.
This was the first published story although Jennings was inflicted on the Britishers in nineteen forty-eight  on the BBC Children's Hour program, garnering a following.

In the first story we are introduced to the two new boys of Linbury Court School for boys, Jennings and Darbishire, their initial meeting with Mr. Carter just seeing a very average boy in his suit and short pants but it is not long before her realizes his well meant but impetuous nature coupled with an overdeveloped sense of initiative soon leads trouble dispite his more erudite mild mannered companion  attempts at moderating him as they both start to learn the ropes  in their first term.
My copy is a nineteen sixty-two Collins hardback where I'm sure the one I had at school would of been  from the mid seventies edition.

Boys!

My education was at co-educational schools which when translated out of the amazing lexication of the world of Education into plain english means schools that accepted boys and girls as pupils.
We were not perish the thought 'students' at the ripe age of six because we we children and students went to college back then!
That's why strangely enough I'm devoting a page on my blog to a strange species that we shared our time with: The Boy.

 Boys had a certain something different about them.
At that time they tended to be rather more forward, leading things having different sorts of adventures and rather prone to dares.
They had a different uniform too as shown on this picture of a 'prep' school although the colours here have more in common.

 I thought when they were good and made sure they were not covered in mud from playing war games and falling off trees they looked really smart although the boy on left would of been told to pull his socks up literally, not just as a metaphor for getting engaged in his life.
Older boys wore long pants (UK trousers) but boys up to their teens didn't although that was starting to change.

 Personally I loved to see them in their shorts being more practical too for when they played usually with each other in groups.

 Proper shorts for boys were actually lined for comfort and were fairly warm worn with just beneath the knee socks usually gray rather than the white ones we had which probably was a good idea as they didn't show puddle stains.

While I'd of rather of gone to an all girls school, I enjoyed sharing space with them hearing of their adventures and feel we ought to be valueing boys as equals for just being themselves.

Powerpuff Girls

Like most 'Little Girls' I just love sitting in front of the tv watching cartoons with my milk and cookies and of those cartoons that came in the multi-channel age go this one is a favourite of mine originally showing on the Cartoon Network and is so girlie!
A poster is available dimensions 406 x510mm (16x20 inch) for a cool GBP £3.00 from oneposter.com.
The Powerpuff Girls save the day again!

Powerpuff Girls - Fly Mini Poster Poster - buy this "Powerpuff Girls - Fly Mini Poster by Powerpuff Girls" Poster at Oneposter.com. Uk Posters store

Alice Rose

Here's Alice Rose in red and yellow livery. Notice the floral decor.

Caught just after the passengers had disembarked to stock up on food and other provisions.