Howl's Moving Castle

Today I'm going to talk about an anime I've always liked from 2004 and recently bought

Howl's Moving Castle is based upon the book by britisher Diana Wynne and is set in a magical world of wizardry and spells we follow the adventures of Sophie and her incredibly Odyssey to lift  a witch's curse all while being swept off her feet Howl a handsome and mysterious wizard who kindly offers her refuge in his most magical moving castle.
Howl as a character while being quite enchanting can at times by very childish, self-centred and tormented even while Sophie, is a beautiful but very reserved young woman who is rather mousey and soft-spoken.
She has a sister called Lettie but in the story she only has a small part to play as worker in the bakery and so only shows up in just one scene.
What I love about this is goes beyond the story but to director Hayao Miyzazki brilliant animation and inspirational story telling in  this art form.

Pix edit August 2017 for blu ray edition

Study period

At high school and also at college, I like many of my peers, sat outside studying as we found the fresh air, natural light and space more helpful. Sometimes it might be that we went over our lesson notes perhaps correcting or adding detail to them while on other occasions we might read a text. I was kinda studious like that.
I love this girls dress too.

The School At The Turrets

As the nights start to draw in, it's a enjoyable idea to read a book about an hour before bed time several chapters per night and this is one I read recently.

 I've had this actual childhood being published in nineteen seventy-one by Armada in Great Britain and my copy is a little worn around the spine although the pages haven't started to fall out.
It's a ghost story with a twist being set at a girls boarding school where Ida sees something that almost causes her heart to stop beating for her eyes are transfixed upon a tall figure in white with an outstretched hnad and a stoney stare in her eyes.
This, Ida thinks must be the the 'White Lady' who legend has it haunts the old part of the school turrets.
It's a gripping story.

Walk with me

I was looking at some pictures I took recently and thought I'd share it with you.
Where we live there's this a inland waterway and while there's not much traffic on it now, there often is in the spring and summer.
Be that as it may, one thing I've always enjoyed doing is walking ever since being a child and I find walking in this area quite stimulating as you see a lot of wildlife both mammals and birds plus at this time of your you sure can appreciate the fall as you see it in the trees and vegetation near the locks such as this one.

It makes walking so much enjoyable.

Pinafore dresses

There are some aspects to being a 'Little Girl' you cannot leave behind in my experience.I can't get enough of pinafore style dresses and this one is favourite of mine. I used to wear a lot of them when I was younger and found them to really practical being able to easily mix and match to various tops I had - long or short sleeves - dependent on the time of year.
Also and crucially I find it helps in bringing my mind image of that pinafored little girl in all her boundless optimism   into a physical breathing reality even if the design as with this one is obviously more 'adult' lacking say the charcoal grey and box pleats of the standard little girl pinafore.

This is a bit more like it, mid teen look with deep pleats but with suitable black  tights on very much me but I'd have brogues or loafers rather than those shoes.
Strangely enough I was 'put into tight's' around that age by Mommy (she had so many contridictions!) so if I was being a mid teen in role play I might well opt for tights.

Jennings Follows a Clue

The second story in this series came out in 1951 where Jennings feels inspired to take up the career as a detective with Darbishire as his assistant, trouble needless to say is just around the corner.

The twosome first of all detect the lights being on in the sanitarium when nobody is supposed to be in there which is the catalyst for them investigating it and the laundry room before noticing the school sports cups, to which competitions are due have disappeared!
They see a main of that they believe to be a piano tuner leave the building with them and follow him, breaking school rules into the village going into a silvermith and jewellers oblivious to this being his occupation and that he was to engrave them for the school by permission!
Meanwhile all this detective stuff is becoming something of a distraction  not just to Jennings and Darbishire but within their form leading to a number of mishaps not least being caught having defaced a textbook and not paying proper attention in class which results as did for many of our generation in a lecture and a caning from the Head.
While exploring the sanitarium they get caught by a mysterious person who locks them in a room and after escaping, investigate laundry as they lose a clue to only end up being driven  away as the school sports is taking place. In the end they found out who really stole the cups in time for presenting them.
It's a hilarious account of schoolboy life that could only exist pre internet and cellphone.
The edition I own is the 1967 Collins hardback which keeps this dust jacket.

Tag and Kiss Chase

This was a game I sure remember playing as a kid and no doubt if were socially possible to today I would gladly. The game involves one or more of you chasing other players with the aim of touching them generally with your hands.
Two or more players decide who is going to be 'it' using a counting out game such as Enny Meany, miny, moe and the one designated 'it' then chases the others attempting to get close enough to tag them - a touch of their hand - that makes that person 'it' and so it continues usually to the end of recess at schools.
In some forms it's deemed if you are on or touching a safe are then you can't be tagged cos it's off limits.

There was a form of it I well remember well from primary school 'cos we played it all the time called Kiss Chase.
The main difference is the tag is done by kissing rather than a touch of the hand and typically all of us of one gender are 'it' at the same time and chase the others of the opposite gender until everyone is caught at which point the team that was caught becomes it.
I really loved playing kiss chase between 8 and 11 years of age.