The 2012 End of year review

I'm not terrible big on writing end of year posts probably because  I never know quite where to start and getting started when your dyslexic is hard going.

Although it was anything but good the period I was very ill with a gnat bit that had caused severe blood poisoning that could of easily ended my life was the most important thing that had happened to me for a long time and it took time to recover even when the infection had died down.

Another thing has been found virtually unable to return to work again which in a curious way has meant that I am free now to pursue my LB life without the concerns of having to tone it down in the workplace and the consequences of trying not to be me as much as it can be seen as a damning statement of the extent of my disabilities.

I continued to talk away at one music forum about my likes and dislikes when it comes to music and that sometimes comes on to this blog and also around some technical topics that I do understand.

I also read books, sharing in readathons on book related site that tie into my enjoyment of re-read the books of my boyhood.

Though this blog I have been more able to share and explore little life specifically life as an adult little boy who tend to be ignored in littledom sadly.

All I can say is expect more of the same next year.

Bye for now, Chris.

LB Christmas 2012

If you have just come to this blog you probably did not expect me to publish a Christmas edition as I had said elsewhere I wasn't doing one before Christmas as I was going to be very busy organizing stuff for other peoples Christmas's, visiting and the like.

A Christmas for me is unapologetically a little affair, simple, very childlike wrapped around some groan up parts such as being with relatives so while they may do sophisticated things and talk about groan up stuff, I don't cos I'm the child.

I woke up, got dressed and spend most of the morning  in full schoolboy uniform and I see I wasn't the only one in our community that spent at least some of our time like that today.

We went out for Christmas lunch where apart from having some lovely well cooked food, I played a small springy man with a sucker that holds it down for a minute before it goes pop and jumps up in the air landing all over the place. I had loads of fun doing that and Mommy was okay with it too. Having a Mommy that'll let you do this in public is so awesome.

 As well I had this the 75th Anniversary annual of the British Comic the Beano with special stories, jokes and other things in them that make me happy.

I also had the Dandy annual too which in way is a bit sad as it finished a few weeks ago for good.

In a Christmas for me, new children's books feature as I love reading about people and their adventures so there's Emerald Star, a follow up to Hetty Feather by Jacqueline Wilson in their hardback editions.

Mummy bought me some long socks and Scottish shortbread. I had a tin of chocolates to share cos well sharing is a 'very good thing tm' although Ill have to change some gloves as my hands are small, the fingers are smaller than Mummy's even and these are way too big
.
I have record coming just after Christmas too as it was in the Christmas Eve sale too.
Now the funny thing is people this is so similar to the Christmas's of of the past and you know what? It just feels so right.

Christmas greetings 2012

This time of year brings back memories for me, some painful bordering on the harrowing (I have been know to go AWL from sites around this time of year) and others a lot more enjoyable. I suspect for a number of you it may be similar in which instance you have my understanding.

But as ever I'd not of posted an image here without their being some deep meaning to it and it's that one of the loveliest warm fuzzy feelings I remember is writing to him about how the year had been and what I'd really love for Christmas.

That's a very special feeling every child should experience as part of the magic of childhood and as we have increasing less days toward that Big Day we shouldn't lose sight of and why we 'do' the social Christmas with our families.

It's not about the money we spend, it's about sharing our love with one another, making each other feel special, loved and above all wanted.

Find-outers

Hallo there.

I've a bit of blocked up nose today so I'm doing some schoolwork complete in my full uniform today apart from some reading too.

That takes me to today's subject.

There are many types of stories written such as those centred on fantasy, romances, animals, adventures and so on but one genre I struggle with is the Detective Story usually because it requires  you use more short term memory while reading to piece together from the clues you're told, who really did it.

Unfortunately for someone like me reading something like that is like trying to run complex games on old computer with a slow processor and very little RAM (it might load up but attempting play is sluggish and may even stall!).

Fortunately I found a detective  mystery  series by Enid Blyton that were written for children from around nine years upward that I can follow reasonably well.

This series goes under the name the 'Find-outers' after the title the children who form a detective club called themselves dedicating themselves to solving mysteries and outwitting the local Police Constable, Mr. Goon who they christen 'Clear-orf' after what he shouts at them accusing them of meddling and otherwise interfering in the LAW.

The leader of the club is Frederick Algernon Trotteville  who is a boastful as well as cheeky outsider to the others in the village of Peterswood but is actually quite bright being good at languages and art at his boarding school. Because of his build he's called Fatty although he is quite physically fit playing school sports.

His deputy is Larry who is really called Laurence and they are joined by Daisy (his sister), Pip alias Peter, and Bets (Elizabeth) who is just 9 and the youngest of the group.
Fatty has a dog called Buster who obeys Fatty's commands well.

Upon being formed they call themselves "Five find-outers and Dog".

Mr Goon is probably the most incompetent policeman ever to taken on investigating mysteries in their area and the children in the first story, "the Mystery of the Burnt Cottage", strike up a very good relationship with the Inspector of Goon's force much to the displeasure of Pc Goon, especially when the inspector realizes just how good the Find-outers really are solving the mystery Goon failed to do!

There are in total 15 stories in the series which were all  issued by Dean's in the Rewards series in 1990 with reprints from that edition keeping the typeset narrative intact through most of the 90's whereas current editions like most of Enid's output have been revised and rendered 'politically correct'.

Thankfully it's easy to find these editions but Deans also did something else, as with the Schools series Enid wrote, they did two omibus editions each having three stories from the first six published and the top one issued in 1992  is mine (it's a 1994 reprint).

This one (the second in the set) has 'Spiteful letters', 'Missing Necklace' and 'Hidden House' in it and was published in 1994 although my copy is the 1998 reprint and both keep original illustrations and text in them, making a great starter set you can get cheaply used.

I'm really enjoying reading this series, more than I thought I'd of been able to howling at how Fatty and the gang put Clear-orf off the scent as Fatty's boisterous wit as well as his genius with disguises.

They also are a period reminder of how life was in sleepy English villages back then before policing moved mainly to the town and your only contact with the police was in their distinctive 'Panda car' they came out to visit your patch in where at the time this was written your Policeman lived in a Policehouse in your village and he patrolled it.

So far I've picked Mystery of the Pantomime Cat, Mystery of the Invisible Thief and Mystery of the Banshee Towers to go with the omnibus editions.

Ta-dah!

Well, the first week of new improved life went pretty well from the ability just to do a bit a work and keep up with the lives of my work colleagues now the crazy world of paid work is over.

I had a blast talking with and helping our clients out as I've so much more control over how much I take on.

I was able to spend some more time dealing with sorting out presents for people although as some of you will recall from last year with the current financial situation affecting us all, I have again pared down how much I'm spending as have those who'd usually treat me although I do sometimes wonder if we'd be better of giving more of ourselves all year round instead.

Arrangements have been made to get me to and help me throughout this years works Christmas lunch which usually involve a quiz and various presentations outside of the formal meal.

I also did some more reading last week and will be taking part in this years Winter readathon where we read a set book and discuss together which should be fun as we're tackling the first Secret Seven novel!

I've wrapped up all ready my stuff cos as I think we all know sometimes it can be hard to get folk to get you what it is you really would like for Christmas with people feeling a bit awkward and that, so to avoid that foot stamping angry protest from the Little Boy within, he's been the money to get what he would prefer with the help of his bigger side.

That makes a lot of sense really as Christmas is really important for children.

The Faraway Tree with Wishing Chair

Having spoken about some recent changes in my life one thing I will probably be doing more of is reading which for all my difficulties with it, is something I'm really enjoying right now and one site has an upcoming readathon I'll be able to take part in, sharing observations around the story as we all read together.

This week I've been reading the Faraway Tree series by Enid Blyton which is about a group of children - Jo, Bessie and Fanny - who having moved to the Country, encounter a  most odd wood at the end of their garden - The Enchanted Wood where pixies, fairies and others live. Growing in this wood is the Fareway Tree which initially the children climb that leads to the top where you can enter lands, lands that change regularly where many an adventure is had often featuring Moon-Face who has a face just like the moon and Silkie who has hair just like silk.

Some of the lands are really magical like Nursery Rhyme Land or the Land of Presents, cautionary such as the Land of Do-as-you-please or a bit nasty like the Land of Tempers. Well, would you liked to be surrounded by people always in a bad temper?

My copies of The Faraway Tree and the Folk of  the Faraway tree are copies I had from my chronological childhood being printed around 1971 and 1972 but the first book of the series the Enchanted Wood is a newer copy from 1987, all just being decimalized but otherwise keeping the same text as earlier editions which isn't the case with the current ones with name changes for the three children, golliwogs being removed and any mentioning in passing of slaps or spanking as punishment removed.

Related to that and again from my original copies from the early 1970's I read Wishing Tree series (in the original series there but two books) which are fun to read. 

The plot is essentially that of two children, Peter and Molly who go to an antique shop to by their mother a present and come back with a chair that, when wishes are made has the magical ability to fly. 

They discover and make friends with a pixie called Chinky and have adventures flying in the Wishing Chair meeting also sorts of amazing and sometimes slightly scary characters.

As with Faraway Tree, these two books (Adventures of the Wishing Chair and the Wishing Chair Again) have been extensively 'revised' in their current editions to remove all the stuff so-called 'Politically Correct' people have issues with even mentioning.

Thankfully for those without copies, the Deans hardback Rewards series are easy to find used in at least acceptable condition being in print until at least 1990 where the heavy revisions came in.
Malory Towers revisited:
I got used the unbutchered text editions in the form of a W H Smith hardback Omnibus edition of the first four novels and the separate Deans hardback Rewards series ones from 1990 of the last two.

There are entire paragraphs missing from the current ones and the 'PC' alterations do effect the characters responses to some important storylines in the books. Rereading them, it all makes more sense.

Bored?

Another week, another topic.

I'm bored is the usual cry you hear from children but what is boredom?

One way of looking at is spare time to which you haven't found something that holds your interest to do.

That can be for a variety of reasons such as limited imagination - you fail to visualize something you could do - that may involve others or where say the adventures maybe in a book or tv show are such that they'd take a hold in your so that for you at that point they taken on real emotions.

That was one reason I liked to hear stories read at school with all that vocalization.

Another reason for some is sadly they fail to see others in that they can't relate to them in social settings so working on some joint activity just doesn't happen. They either do everything by themselves or failing that just sit doing nothing waiting for something to happen where just maybe someone might invite them.

Certain times of the year sometimes have a saddening affect and for sure the onset of the Winter is one when it's cold to play, natural daylight is limited and ice sometimes cause the groan ups to call off going round to your friends.

I've always liked doing things with others and boarding school was really good cos well we all were still at school after lessons to do stuff before evening meals and lights out.

If one could cast your mind back to how it was that style of play running around the playground was so me!

New Beatles vinyl (Teenbeat Special)

This week saw the release on vinyl record of the stereo Beatles Remastered series that came out on cd in 2009 which as I have most in their original analogue lp forms collecting from boyhood in 1977, I only picked up one to fill in the gaps.

Magical Mystery Tour.

Capitol /EMI C1-48062.

First off, one benefit of this pressing is everything is in true stereo being  rather than the awful duophonic fake stereo of the analogue US and UK versions on the songs Penny Lane, Baby, You're A Rich Man and All You Need Is Love that my very first copy had. 

Because this lp was in truth a American creation added later in the day to the World-wide catalogue for this vinyl issue cut in 1988 by Wally Traugott and this edition reissued in December 1995 they used the Capitol logo.

During the 1980's the Capitol label alternated from a variant of the the classic  Rainbow Rim to a purple design the last version being with the small Capitol Dome as on this copy.

The booklet is tucked in the left jacket pouch rather than stapled in the gate-fold ready to fall off and is printed in thicker paper.

Secondly Wally Traugott cut this and he did an extremely good job of getting good bass on it, the treble is very smooth, and the presence on the vocals almost fooled me into thinking this was analogue sourced, lacking the harshness you sometimes detect on cd. He left a good amount of space from the end of the final track to the edge by the label to minimize any end of side playback problems. 

I went from just having the 1976 UK version with the last three tracks in fake stereo crazily using a copy of the copy Capitol had to this which is so much better.

Please Please Me is there first British album and a near relative of the Canadian Twist And Shout album of which I have had an early 80's edition but that had Love Me Do and P.S. I Love You in fake stereo ever since its March 1963 release.

The 2017 De Agnostini edition apart from having noticably better bass correctly puts those two tracks back to mono which does sound so much better and is more than the regular 2012

With The Beatles never sounded great on any late UK stereo edition and my Canadian Beatlemania With The Beatles while better suffers from a scratch and some groove wear so I did get this remastered edition as the bass is better and that does suit the music well.

The De Agnestini edition sound much more open while keeping the retro "Yellow and Black" period label design.

While my early 80's Beatles For Sale is in near mint condition and does sound fairly well, it does sound a bit bass light to my ears so I picked up a 2017 MPO france copy cut by Sean McGee at Abbey Road.

Apart from restoring the bass this does have a lot of detail and a opening on the side of the rear gatefold for the lp rather than a slot on the inside which makes inserting difficult.

Help! Parlophone PCS 3071.

I had a 1973 two box copy using the -2/-1 stampers but side one did show some signs of inner groove distortion that could be minimized with using more advanced stylus profiles on my Ortofon Concorde cartridge.

I recently picked up this 1987 -4/-4 repress which lost the laminated glossy front cover to a egg shell matt finished edition which is near mint as is the vinyl itself that has been professionally cleaned which is better for regular playing.

Rubber Soul is an essential album but no one mix is perfect, the mono has distortion on Michelle, the original UK stereo sounds thin in parts and has extreme left right seperation while the 1986 remix left the faders up allowing the breathing between the refrain in Girl obvious.

That said for general listening I do prefer the remix - the stereo is more stable and it sounds better overall .

I recently got the 2017 De Agostini vinyl edition which sounds really good and my go to now.

Revolver always had its issues in stereo as the group and their producer tried to fit their ever expanding needs into just four tracks and so errors crept in so for a long time mono was the better option not least on headphones.

On October 28 2022 a series of releases featuring new stereo mixes came out on download, lp record and compact disc using new computer artificial intelligence but steered by humans technology that enabled separating out some of the parts of the four track mixes into effectively separate tracks that could be mixed and placed within the stereo image in the manner many popular albums from the 1970's were by design using multitrack recording systems. 

Take Taxman for instance, there are many periods of near silence on the right hand channel as the vocals are just there or the errors in the double tracking at the start of Eleanor Rigby, the missed scat ending on Got To Get You Into My Life that was in the mono but not the stereo.

This remix centres the vocals more providing the immediacy and drive of the mono but with a more spacious feel spreading the instrumentation around the left and right channels.

Today I'll take this remixed lp for everyday listening.

Past Masters
Parlophone European

This was the only one I actually bought out of that bunch simply because there were issues with the masters used for a many of the cds and those same masters were used to cut the new lps with.

Given great to excellent alternatives exist I saw no reason to buy the new inferior sounding editions.

It was replaced by the DeAgnostini edition from 2017 which was plated better and recut sounding more open.

A product of the 'core catalogue' is all you need idea, this was compiled and originally issued in 1988 to round up material that didn't make its way into the individual UK albums that for the most part I never owned then but to which were all re-issued on cd world-wide the previous year.

These weren't just obscure tracks but actually a good many of their British singles and the whole Long Tally Sally ep that for North Americans were spliced into those unique albums.

I needless to say bought the cds as soon as they were issued but the lp issued several months later never sounded good. It was thin, lacking in deep bass and oddly enough worse sounding than the cds which weren't all they could of been either.

This new copy sounds that much fuller with the added benefits this time around of stereo versions of two German language singles plus From Me To You and Thank You Girl minus the echo on the Capitol lp ‘Second Album’.

From my point of view the main value lies the the tracks that sadly we never got on our lps in real stereo such as This Boy, I Feel Fine, She's A Woman and Yes It Is plus the regular UK mixes of Day Tripper as well as the original single version of their first UK hit, Love Me Do. An aside: It was a shock to here I Feel Fine in stereo compared to the very echo filled fake stereo when I got the UK RED album.

For many years you were oblidged to keep a copy of the US created Hey Jude compilation around for some of these tracks but today there's no real reason even if Past Masters artwork could of been better.

I am extremely impressed with how this album has turned out this around on lp sounding so much better than the 1988 original edition and would go as far as to say it bests the current cd when it comes to detail and sound-staging.

Abbey Road Apple/Capitol USA C1 46442

Reports regarding the European 2012 pressings were not impressive citing dull sound and a lack of high end so I have stuck with my 1995 limited edition copy cut from the digital transfers by Wally Traugott and pressed at Speciality.

Like Magical Mystery Tour this despite its 1980's digital source sounds quite analogue and avoids the blatant bass bloat and tampering with parts of the original mixes that married the 2009 cd the masters of which were used to cut the 2012 record.

Let It Be Capitol SW 11922.

Originally issued via United Artists in the US, surprisingly this record went out of stock in the mid 1970's before being re-issued by Capitol in 1979 cut from British tapes by Wally Traugott.

While the sleeve was reduced to a standard sleeve with insert, actually this is a very good copy  that was issued on the purple Capitol big dome label.

I've had this for a bit but see no real reason to change it.

White Album: I have a UK 1970's repressing with the full set of four pictures and poster for the stereo and bought the Mono in 2014.

*Updated Sept 2014, January 2018 and Feb 2023*

Children of Cherry Tree Farm

I grew up in the countryside in a small hamlet with just one store and public house that we spent summers outside drinking lemonade in when we weren't playing out  so it isn't that surprising I love stories about the kinds of communities I lived in.

Enid Blyton wrote three super books that deal with this topic that I adore.
We start with four children Rory (13), Sheila, Benjy and Penny - that's the youngest at 7 - who lived in London are sent to their Aunt Bess and Uncle Tim's farm, Cherry Tree Farm,as they were poorly to recuperate while their folks were on business in America.

It's an old country farm with thatched roofs and little mechanization

They learn about country life and lore encountering Tammylan a person who understands about looking after animals and explains the them all about different species and their role in the countryside. 

For the period this novel is set in Tammylan has enlightened views about the importance of the environment. The fresh air soon helps the children recover and also ignites their imaginations.

They learn about how farming families pull together and have a pleasant surprise as their folks upon returning decided to forgo their city life to return to farming.

The Children of Willow Farm and More adventures on Willow Farm are the stories of bringing a farm back to life, establishing new crops together with livestock as it is a mixed farm and the trials and tribulations of running the farm that the children increasingly learn to do for themselves.

The children learn about being responsible, working as a team and dealing with disappointments.

What I love about these books isn't just the story about the children it's how carefully information about wildlife and farming practise is slipped into the book so you learn about the basics of agriculture and making things like milk, cheese and cream!

LB Wolf Cub

Scouting to me always had an appeal providing for my need to 'belong', to 'have a place', to learn new skills and to learn to be a useful and effective team player so it should not be surprising that as an LB scouting as activities within the program and uniform doesn't feature within it.

Amelia Jane

Guilty secret time:

Okay, the eagle eyed will spot a modern no-no on the front cover of this, one of the original three story collections in the Amelia Jane stories.

Amelia is a home made ragdoll who lives in the toybox with the other twos of the children who own them with a teddy bear, sailor boy, wooden mouse and a clown as well as a 'golly' a black faced doll if you grew up in the 70's or before you may well have had in your toybox.

I have fond memories of my toy box I can assure you with dolls teddy bears and even a golly that I played with and have no need to justify to anyone.

Amelia being home made hasn't been what we'd call socialized and so is gets very bored doing incredibly naughty damaging things, playing with matches, being very rude and spiteful, just like many young children, something that no doubt makes it very easy to identify with.

In some respects it's almost a moral tract showing action and consequence through the adult narration.

The other toys do with the help of the brownies (another no-no in modern editions) restore order. Amelia has to stand in the corner  and is smacked, just rather like I was at that age for doing pretty much the same things cos like any boy I was capable of 'naughty'.

'Golly' is a no-no too but anyone who has read these stories know he's a really sweet but strong character who will stand up for himself and isn't afraid to take the lead on bring Amelia back under control.

I guess the 'Golly' problem lies with parts of his depiction having prominent eyes and red lips being too close for some to 'blacked up' white actors who some see as promoting a negative stereotype of black people although Enid Blyton sure doesn't in her stories and in the UK at least 'Golly' or 'Gollywogg' was never frequently used as a racial insult.

Given I at least have been called a 'muppet several times before now and no one has insisted on removing that word from public tv and literature, shouldn't we judge a book by it's content and only take offence when a character is being portrayed in an offensive way?

A trip to Blackpool for a boy

Today I'm writing about an adventure.

Okay guess where in the UK this might be seen? You see I went off on another little adventure to a place you might have childhood memories of  and is surrounded by fun things you might want to do.This place has trams a plenty running up and down some like these are modern ones but at weekends and high season the old types are run.

Okay that place is Blackpool, Lancashire, Northwestern England, a place that is  unapologetically loud and I travelled on as coach using the Motorway network although we as a bit naughty and used the slip road but a few miles from my main road to join it! Being very near the entry point to one of the principal motorways has its advantages.

Like a number of UK resorts it's has a pier that jets out into the sea with various attractions including amusement arcades on them. This one had a Victorian Photography booth where you can wear and be photographed in period attire.

You can see just how far out it goes! It's as well there were things undercover as it rained hard for a period in the afternoon. 

I went to Harry Ramsden's for lunch where the service was exemplary and the Plaice lovely and moist.

One prominent landmark is the Big Wheel although going on that is out of bounds for me as I'd lose my head if I went on on it.

That's the big Tower which is being restored near the SeaLife Centre, Dungeons  and the waxworks museum. I spent quite a bit of time in Toymaster looking at the toy cars and train sets which I still love.

In the foreground is one of the illuminations that was one of the main reason for going as these lights have partially renewed allowing for more fantastic effects. There were fairies, teddybears, diamonds and at a Quarter past six, we assembled to go through them all illuminated at Seven PM. It was beautiful.

By Eight-thirty, I was back home for a light snack before putting my jim jams on  as this little boy was super tired and needed his sleep.

Billy Joel, the Piano Man Pt.2 (Teenbeat Special)

This is the part two of our Teen Beat specials on Billy Joel whose music I loved growing up.

Following a bit of a gap the program resumed with 1978's fantastic 52nd Street jazz influence album with it's hit singles My Life and FM album favourites like Zanzibar which like all of  Mobile Fidelity's  issues in this series isn't just a finely mastered cd besting regular Columbia/Sony issues but also a even better sounding super audio cd that can be played on a dedicated sacd player or many Blu-Ray players that have playback built into them.

These releases use a mini lp style of presentation complete with lyric inserts which I much prefer over plastic jewel cases.

 On July 31st 2012, the specialty reissue company Mobile Fidelity Sound Labs as part of it's program of Billy Joel reissues put out a new version of Billy Joel's 'new wave' Glass Houses album from 1980, the one with 'It's Still Rock and Roll To Me' on it.

If you like Billy Joel as I do then you're no doubt familiar with numbers like 'All for Leyna' but what makes this so enjoyable is it hasn't had any extra narrowing of the quiet and loud passages applied to it so when those drums kick in you can tell! Plus it sounds really clear in the presence area great for Billy's voice and the percussion.

This 1982 album saw Billy emulating the feel of the 60's with many a nod to Paul McCartney and featured hits such as Allentown that caught the despondency of the early 80's Reagan era America as the smokestack industries faced decline.

This new version on regular cd is the best I've ever heard this album which although recorded digitally was actually mixed to analogue tape.

It is to be hoped the 50's pastiche that is An Innocent Man gets this treatment soon.

Reading for pleasure

Reading  for people like me who have difficulty recognizing words and following English grammar is hard going but we are getting somewhere as I actually enjoyed for once reading while unable to work.

The Famous Five is series of twenty one novels that when you ask many people about what they loved reading as boys and girls, is one that often crops up.

The stories feature the adventures over their school holidays of Julian ,Dick, Anne and George aka Georgina and her dog, Timmy. 

George lives with her father Quentin, a Scientist, next to Kirrin Island that George 'owns'. In total there are 21 stories the earliest being 1942's Five on a Treasure Island to 1963's Five are together again

That bundle of books is the "classic" edition which retains Eileen A. Soper's original illustrations not to be confused the 2011 significantly altered set and only set me back just under £25 shipped from Amazon that's really quite a bargain.

One bone of contention regarding all of Enid Blyton's books is, over the years some subtle and not so subtle alterations have been made.

While this set isn't too bad from that point of view with no loss of  or major changes in characters, some of those made make no sense such George - the girl who wants to present as a boy - we are told in this edition wears a jersey and jeans however the illustrations clearly show her in shorts (something boys such as myself under 14 in the UK did wear during the period these books were written) and further research I did showed this to a fairly recent alteration. 

Equally a reference to Quentin in Five on a Treasure Island  threatening a spanking to George for being very awkward as well as cheeky is removed (even though it would of been very likely to had been made back then and was with me) and yet in Five go off in a  caravan, Nobby the circus boy is still threatened with a whipping and gets it from Tiger Dan his circus step father.

For all cack handed so-called Political Correctness though I'm enjoying reading these stories and it's interesting she made 'George' the way she did without any implied criticism. 

Not unsurprisingly I love school stories especially boarding school ones and one series I've been slowly collecting inspired in part by the tastes of a few friends is by Anne Digby and is called Trebizon that runs to 14 stories.

If that sounds terribly Cornish it's meant to be cos it's based on this super school for bright girls next to the beach and being written and published between 1978 and 1994 covering a  period when I was in boarding school (yay!) we are treated to such cultural references such as British Rail, Wimbledon, duplicating machines with their stencils, cassette tape recorders and finally Television!

That is the 1993 first three stories in one hardback book edition as published by Deans.

The stories are centred around Rebecca who joins the school having been at a London Comprehensive following her parents stationing in Saudi Arabia with a common theme being her emerging talent at Tennis although (hurrah!) she does play Hockey too! 

Of the other major characters we learn about her best friends Tish Anderson and Susan Murdoch and her boyfriend Robbie. 

We learn about the trails of fitting in when you join a school in the second term after everyone's paired off with friends, about hard choices deciding what to major in and what you may need to drop to keep your schoolwork schedule manageable.

Little Boy Blogging

People blog more many different reasons such as to effectively write a journal about their current experiences and adventures perhaps gaining through that a clearer view of how they've come along in that time.

Well there's certainly an element of that in this blog and me from when it was first established over six years ago when with everything that went down, I just engaged with my LB side realizing for once how I just wasn't able to cope with a wholly adult life.

The other side of it is to show others more about this LB life, that it's not either utterly self indulgent, somehow a danger to actual children and that actually we exist mixing in and around your life.

We do responsible things within the mainstream and yet are littles, specifically LB with me and with someone like me many of these things are rooted in actual real life support needs because they stem from disabilities that some find hard to accept.

I study to KS2 level English and maths for remedial work because I struggle with it to help me in everyday life although I am in uniform and am treated in a more child-like way through it to put me in a setting I can cope with.

That's the thing. It's not opting out of life so much as being restored to the point we can cope best with the appropriate structures for my actual development  not just saying because my age from birth may be x so you will be treated like that.

The Naughtiest Girl

This post has be coming to me this morning where I'm poorly laying across the new Duvet in my school uniform, so do bear with me.

Off and on, I've made reference to the books I read during my chronological childhood some of which I owned, some borrowed off friends or via the library of the boarding school I attended.

A few were more girls schools stories but most were for boys and girls or boys own.

Indeed you may of spotted a few entries here about books by Enid Blyton that come in that category and how I've got new copies not least the second but last entry around St Clare's that with this rotten cold I'm reading, something that is a direct echo of my childhood in times when I read books in my dorm or the sick bay.

I recently got though a most interesting addition again an older edition with original illustrations that has taken me back with some startling observations.
With the final three in one volume of St Clare's (Back to St Clare's) was another three in one book.

This was a 1992 edition of first three The Naughtiest Girl stories (Naughtiest girl again, Naughtiest girl is a Monitor and Naughtiest girl in the school).

The stories are set in Whyteleafe, a progressive co-ed boarding school that some feel has a striking resemblance to Summerhill school in Suffolk, England.

The main character is Elizabeth who you could say is a very spoilt child used to getting her own way often running with unchallenged ideas so much so she resolves to behave so badly she can't avoid being expelled from the school she never wanted to go to. 

The secondary character is her best friend, Joan Townsend, who tries to get her to behave which by the time Elizabeth realizes how lonesome she was as a only girl, she gets more onside with the other children and  is less of a problem to the staff.

Here's an earlier cover from one of the separate books:

Now the first think upon quickly skimming the book was I saw my age reflection in how she dressed in the original illustrations although obviously I'm a boy..

She's around nine or ten years of age as are the boys who dress as I do in shirts, shorts and long socks so the first thing I am thinking is, *Something* around this age is lodged in me as I'm not a senior. 

The second  is that smile as she's doing things like flirting ink about - it comes to me that around this age I did some similar things with ink and it's her awkwardness is causing this lashing out as oddly enough it did for me.

The boy stood by E.A stood on her right of this original illustration is the image of that era of my life, meeting together with satchel and naturally full uniform.

One interesting aspect of the Whyteleafe school is that the children have meetings where they dole out pocket money (everyone has a certain minimum  because it is pooled and the case for more has to be accepted by the others first) and also they deal with infractions dishing out punishments which the Monitors have the power to as Elizabeth is reminded of when she acted silly.

In practise, in my school head boys and girls also did although it wasn't formally set up - effectively they stepped in and if didn't accept whatever the outcome was, it was reported to the staff.

On one  particular day I did do something really silly like get going calling one girl rotten names and it got a bit out of hand, as does some of Elizabeth's silly things but unlike it being raised at a Meeting I was called to see the Head Boy in private who wanted answers, insisted on an apology to the girl in question and used his plimsoll to spank me (which was as far as I was concerned better than some poxy letter from the Head to my folks who'd just send me to child welfare person dragging the whole thing out. 
At least it's all over with in one go.).

Like Elizabeth I got better after that as I learned to fit in better with people, having my rough edges smoothed and even became a year rep, greeting very important people which does help when as now I have to do groan up things.

Having this book has reminded me of the distance I've travelled emotionally, the difficulties I've overcome in the past through learning to be more mature in how I deal with situations. As well, it affirms what Christopher remains deep down - a little boy only just in double digits - and no one least of me should ever forget it.