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.
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.
I went on a break to somewhere I hadn't been in ages on a local coach.
Most of the people on the coach were groan ups who looked very groan up but me being a LB said "Naw, I'm a little" so went in my red school sweatshirt, grey school shorts, grey long socks and regular brogue style childrens' shoes. In addition I had my black messenger and tote bag.
When we arrived in Weston Super Mare, although I had been snacking on Barley sugars and chocolate finger biscuits - too bad they didn't have any animal shaped ones in - I was hungry so I called in at the Dragon Inn, a Weatherspoons public house that does food.
The food was nice , I had a Steak and Kidney pie and the manager was really funny!
Having eaten I felt like going on a bit of a walk around as I've never been here before and I'd have to say everywhere was super clean with litter pickers active during the day.
The beach was cleaner than a good number in North Wales I could think of with finely grained sand.
There is one automatic response when I see a beach and it involves a bucket and spade so guesses for what happened next! Also the next response is something like getting a Pirates flag and waving it around while jumping up and down like a super excited junior school boy. Nobody I was with said anything!
Seaside towns often have amusement arcades, with exciting dodgem cars, things you can win teddy bears and plushies with and slot machines that I recall as a young boy spending a little time around.
The Pier was burnt down a few years ago but a great job was done of rebuilding it with associated facilities for that whole strolling along the pier experience. For an out of season weekday, it sure was busy.
Finally I had to be super careful not to get in the way of this the Great Western Land Train that runs to the Harbour and back along the sidewalk. I think the Great Western was train company that operated in the South West of England before nationalization (and privatization in the 1990's).
The return back was much smoother stooping at Frankley services south Birmingham to freshen up
Picking up with the themes of returning to school where I've been trying last week to get to grips with times tables, the little adventure days out locally and so on, I decided to take stock of my small book collection.
Actually it came to me last night, there were two reasons why some of the first books I bought at the end of my formal education were more like textbooks, first first being my problems in reading meant something more simplified like a study aid was easier to follow and the other was - wait for it - an early indication that really I wanted my childhood back by having some of the books I had or read at the time with me.
Anyway, I found a few books that I never read much because as good as they are (some won literary awards), they're too far above my reading age meaning I struggle to really follow them so I'm replacing them.
Why replace them rather than just give them away? Simply I realize that reading is something I need to do to improve within my own learning disabilities restrictions, my ability to read, follow and understand stories.
What I decided to do was to get the older two book collections of the original 6 story edition of St Clare's by Enid Blyton because it's a bit more wordy than some of her other stuff so it gives me a bit of a word workout (I can look up the words in my Dictionary and learn their meanings) and a school, based adventure story is the kind of thing I love to read (which helps keeping the interest up).
Unusually for most boys I wasn't opposed to reading the odd girl based story if I liked the theme and Enid was big favourite of mine anyway.
They were issued several years back with new computerized art covers however I feel they just don't look right and also Pamela Cox ghost wrote three new stories for that series that aren't really essential.
These are my 'new to me' editions:
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This edition has the first three books in a single volume namely The Twins at St Clare's, The O'Sullivan Twins and Summer term at St Clare's, written between 1941 through 1943 although many more memorable characters such as Claudine, a mischievous French girl and feather-headed Alison also feature in a world of tricks and jokes, midnight feasts, sports matches, thrilling rescues, fun and friendship as well as hard work, exams and snobbery!
The final volume has Second term at St Clare's, Claudine at St Clare's plus Fifth formers at St Clare's written between 1944 and 1945. I remember the fifth form vividly!
It's a bit queer for missing out completely the third form but perhaps everyone leapfrogged it?
The school predates Malory Towers and is seen by parents as being a "very sensible sort of school one not to pander to children who feel their above everyone else.
The school Headmistress Miss Theobald is a believer in the idea people get out of life what they put into it, telling her pupils: "Do your best for us and St. Clare's will be able to do its best for you! Oddly enough that was what my Head teacher said too!
These editions came out in 1993 but with the artwork still looking a bit more in keeping with the period they written and the stories themselves still hold up.
Indeed many 9 to 11 year readers today have written glowing reviews as have parents whose children having gone though today's supernatural based stories were given these only to find their offspring can't get enough of them.
