Summer days away

This last week was the second het together with friends  I attended and was likely to be a landmark one too for a number of reasons that were apparent from the very outset travelling by train and getting a lift.

Given the weekly weather forecast was for temperatures over 25 degrees c and next to no rain, this dictated what I took with me so it wasn't long before I changed into lightweight black school pinafore dress before colouring a little before we settled for a Pork Chop, mashed potatoes, runner beans with onion sauce and gravy and cakes.

We later watched the Tour de France - they cycle, I'm interested in cycling but lack balance never mind  muscles for it personally - following the competitors and admiring the countryside

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As ever I was up early, making sure I had everything ready and available for loading into the car because apart from our personal effects, we also had games equipment and food for everyone on board too that had to be carefully slotted into it.

We left around of Ten in the morning of Saturday having a warmed up pie with mash and cakes we prepared and cooked ourselves for evening meal at the venue.

We also went out toward the lake for a stroll where we remarked the water levels, a concern in period of high temperatures and lack of rainfall, were surprisingly high there.

The reminder of the evening was very much a free to socialize and relax so I started reading a book and the London Underground jigsaw with 1,000 pieces came out as various folk gathered around desperately trying to find the pieces that went together in sea of white.

The Sunday was the first day proper and it was obvious with the heat the schedule I had prepared was going to have to be adjusted to take account of the impact of the heat.

One sign of this was I wore my blue check gingham dress most of the as it was lighter and more cooler than just about anything else short of only having say a swimsuit on.

Because I wasn't a good sissy gurl I saw this across my knickers a few times which really stung.

The first event event after the breakfasts all of which I set out doing battle with summer flies was the "Make it yourself" event where we used cardboard boxes, paint and make-a-do connectors to make a long dragon with a tail and working teeth which was ably lead by our team leader.

After lunch another lead the Alice in Wonderland treasure hunt with clues all outside for people to find and objects related to the story around trees and bushes  to spot including a spot of croquet and charades. This lead to discovering who really stole the Queen of Hearts, tarts.

This beautifully lead into a Alice in Wonderland tea party with themed cups and 'Alice Cakes' - home made tarts that were enjoyed by all in the blazing sun.

We had an enjoyable steak pie based tea with Apple and Sultana pie, the stake pies being carefully matched to peoples tastes having got preferences in.

Monday saw a switch on the schedule (it's with a K sound if your like me) as the team event leader  miraculously was able to both organize the event and take part in one of the two coloured teams, naturally Green and Yellow all at once that included Archery, Target, Egg and Spoon (no hens were injured in that!) and the sack race where a friend and I  decided to stand out that one as both of us for differing reasons wouldn't be able to do so for our differing teams. A sensible way through that situation.

I was in my lightweight airy t shirt and  green pleated games skirt as that was pretty cool to wear dashing about.

There was some ahem confusion with the Sponge The Staff event where when the yellow team were ask to start everyone regardless of team  just fired on the target as one! I'm sure that wasn't supposed to happen.

The Greens won by 36 to 33 against Yellow.

The afternoon was taken up by a Class that this time was about the Solar System where we learned some interesting facts about our near neighbours and everyone cut and drew some image connected with it. The result was more like a collage.

I made a image of a boy shaped rocket landing on mars with a sign pointing to Sirius  next to the Mars Life Centre with a trash can with a Rat shaped satellite nearby.

An aside to the event, space junk does concern me actually.

We had a mainly Fish and Chips tea, I say mainly cos I spotted a few fried sausage and a chicken in the order that had been phoned in and collected while it was being served.
In the evening, 

We had a  Quiz based upon Disney and UK Facts and figures which was win by the Three Musketeers that included me.

Tuesday morning saw a water pistol challenge was held naturally out doors to avoid damaging anything like the ceiling where four friends and I chased around firing at each other and sometimes as one against the other as we got soaked having fun which yes is kind of like kids but that's the point: we were just letting that side out as is.

In the afternoon, the resplendent in black with ears nekimimi was purring her way through the All Purrpuss Nekomimi Music Quiz that she'd prepared earlier between things like talking to her BFF.

The quiz was divided into two sections, a short classical one and a section of 60's to 90's popular music with three teams competing with the Cycle Paths and another scoring 16 points each and thus winning two magnificent colouring books (they were really good actually) and the last team scoring 12 from a maximum of 25.

I believe it was much enjoyed for the broad selection of questions to appeal to all present.

Given the extreme heat we decided to have an early meal later but in form of a very tasty b-bq by one of our group with kebabs and chicken part cooked in the oven first to make sure it was properly cooked which really is a must with just the burgers and sausages done exclusively on the griddle.

 This was served with salad with fried onions, bread rolls and so on as needed  turning out quite a memorable meal for all the right reasons.

Somehow a camp fire or a bb-q type event evokes the right kind of 'feel' to being together especially on the penultimate day, something I remember from school organized holidays we went on.

Wednesday was leaving apart from finishing apart from two pieces that seemed to be missing another jigsaw time was taken up more with taking down and apart things we'd made, tidying up and getting our things ready to leave.

A few of us went for a half hour walk to look at the nearby lake and countryside.

I'd pre-packed some of my case across the days to make things a bit easier for my friend reloading the car with a good portion of what we took with us in order.

Setting out a bit earlier than originally planned at eleven because I was (and had been for a few days) rather unwell with the start of a migraine coming on rapidly that morning  we arrived back for around half three or near enough I was struggling to focus so recollection for much of that is a bit hazy.

I think the general consensus was that people had gotten the sense of being 'little' for several days interacting together, being in "little space" able to come out from the child within, expressing it through what we did even if we did need to 'big up' to take care of some aspects or run an activity.

The only negative which certainly is no reflection on anyone was the problem of tics and horseflies  as a number of us were bitten which did include me making coping with being unwell less comfortable, running up a temperature as my body was fighting the bites.

What had been a great venue for several years will be warmly remembered as we look forward to new one here in The Midlands having had a lovely time this Summer.

The Dandy Summer Special 2018

It's summer and like it did when I was originally ten, age dysphoric me goes away for a boys holiday free from anything grown up and like those days, I also will be taking something with me which back then I bought in the local newsagents with some sweets.

Unfortunately this is 2018, not 2008 or even 1978 so rather than calling in my local newsagent who'd also stock cherryaid to go with the dandelion and burdock, I had to order my dandy comic Summer Special online to be delivered to the door.

One difference between the Beano Summer Activity Special and the Dandy's is the Dandy as a comic no longer in weekly production, is more a retro summer special with reprints from previous ones from the 60's, 70's and 80's rather having a few new token cartoon strips drawn so it acts more as a compilation of past issues and in some ways pulls me more into that ten year old boy I was then reading Korky the Kat and Beryl the Peril and life in that era.

It's like stepping into the past and reading the same cartoon strips as is.
In general the printing quality was better than those I recall during the 1970's being not just more colourful but sharper

Getting set to go

 

I'm going to be away for a few days with friends in South East England very much as my feminine boy self just relaxing being out of doors having fun.

Sometimes having the health and disabilities I have takes a lot out of you so this time is really helpful so I'm sorting my skirts and dresses out as it has been very hot lately ready for packing my suitcase complete with things like suncream cos I burn easy.

English classics

After a break from this mini series of entries within the blog I return with a couple of discs that fall under the heading of British classical music although they have their differences.

Gustav Holst is a composer whose work reflected his interest in the spiritual and mystical to whom one work alone his Planet Suite was started in 1913 and premiered in September 1918 in the last days of World War One. 

This work was played in this years First Night of The Proms on Friday, July 13th together with Ralph Vaughan Williams's The Lark Ascending on a WW1 themed concert. 

It is a matter of some regret however the popularity of this suite has caused many to overlook his may other works such as Beni Mora and on this arresting performance by Sir Andrew Davis  and the BBC Philharmonic orchestra it is coupled by the Japanese Suite.

Classical music has a great variety of genres within it such as Orchestral, Choral, Baroque but one  that has become established in the twentieth century is the orchestral movie soundtrack.

One favourite of mine is the soundtrack of Watership Down the 1978 animated movie based upon the Douglas Adams novel that I recall seeing on vacation that year which was originally issued on record and tape by CBS/Columbia.

It has a spoken word prologue and the whole of Angela Morley's score for it with the jazz syncopation in parts well performed  

This recording was remastered for Super Audio cd (playable on regular cd too) by Vocalion records here in Great Britain to a demonstration worthy style.

Peter Fermin: A tribute

(Picture credits: Kent Press)
It was announced on Monday, Peter Fermin, artist, puppet maker and the creator of Bagpuss and Basil Brush who worked with the late Oliver Postgate of Small Films had died aged  89.

Peter believed passionately in the appeal, the soul of traditional animated films and their puppets  feeling they had soul that appeal more greatly than computer generated icons (CGI) to viewers being more relatable.

There are many series he had a hand in of one one I feel on balance is the one most of us hold the greater affection for and that is Bagpuss, "a saggy, old cloth cat, baggy, and a bit loose at the seams" for whom Emily the owner of a shop that repaired and sold old things so loved.

Her affection for him remains a most poignant moving thing for me and many others who have seen the original series from 1974 with it's sepia toned introduction.

It would be a mistake to ignore his involvement in other series Small Films made  and that are fondly remembered such as the railway series set in Wales, Ivor The Engine, which was popular with us boys or the Viking adventures of the Saga of Noggin the Nog.

 One which I loved to pieces was The Clangers from the early nineteen-seventies but with new series too  set on a small planet inhabited by family of small creatures called Clangers who share their life with people like the Soup Dragon whose Blue String Pudding and Green Soup underground.

The Clangers communicate in Clanger, a language using whistling something to which much to the annoyance of ones parents and teachers many of us used too and the series had a narrator who would explain what was going on while allowing the characters to communicate directly to us in Clanger. 

It was a peaceful co-operative space world so many of us loved in the era where man's space exploration was at its peak, eagerly followed by schoolboys and girls and also featured a musical tree that played music and an Iron Chicken.

These cartoons, in part Peter's life work were and are core parts of our childhoods I cannot say to hear of his demise doesn't make me sad, it does but thanks to digital media they live on able to offer something that more glossy more, commercially savvy series lack.

R.I.P Peter.

Reflections on Alan Longmuir and the Bay City Rollers

There's a bit of an unwritten rule on this blog which is to say it's not themed by things such as sport, anime or for that matter music even if they were a part of my boyhood or feature in someway in my more adult little boy/adult schoolboy present.

Part of this is to avoid week after week on entries around just one topic so the blog reflects more the whole but allows them to shine within that.

There is no getting around the fact the Bay City Rollers were a part of my boyhood even if having the level of interest in them was very much atypical of any boy of that era being something that I shared more with girls from late juniors into the first few years at high school where I did introduce this when I was asked to give a short introduction to my First Form class upon joining.

That introduction smoothed my integration into their number gaining me a good number of female friends  and critically of my best buddy Andy to whom you know I miss so much who also liked them AND was a boy.

We'd talk about them, sharing the weekly glossy fan magazines, annuals and gather around our tape recorders singing along to Remember, Give a Little Love and Love Me Like I Love You. 

We also watched Shang-a-Lang, the tv show featured them, other upcoming artist and had features on hobbies and interests, one being cars that interested me.

We all had our favourites within the group, Woody being mine, and like most of group we had tartan everything.

On Monday July 2nd It was announced at 6 AM Alan Longmuir, the bass player who left in early 1976, who is pictured in the middle died after three weeks of being ill following a visit to Mexico.

He joined to form a four original member reunion concert at Edinburgh Castle for Hogmanay 1999 and was due to perform with Les McKweon later this year.

Alan and the band were a important part of my boyhood, the backdrop to much that happened so this entry is a tribute to him and what he meant to me and my friends back then.