The return continues

 Well it IS Wednesday , school is back for many although thjis morning I saw a man walking his youngest child with the older one behind while yapping into his smartphone  which really was depressing when you consider all the conversations you could be having developing bonds between you and your children.

Makes you wonder how they'd of coped in the age of the wired in home phone that required you to be in one area to take and make calls.

One thing about this time year always was you spent seven weeks or so at home som you tended to became accustomed to doing things either your folks way or often just yours which can clash as in the first week or so you forget teacher expects you to follow their rules and timetable.

Sometimes we have similar moments on the Forum when some one forgets all about "The Rules" even though it's a sticky post and when reposting from elsewhere the angle that person had  and how that fits in  with what we do.

On the forum we don't do whack-o stuff and try to avoid things with a humilation theme cos surprise surprise some people do carry traumatic memories that are triggering because of how things were very much back in the day and how they were applied to them.

Help!

Things that annoy me?

Beyond those who run schools more for own benefit than than that of pupils and their parents and inept politicians of all political colours the big one for me is getting about as a disabled person as it seems all to often the "disabling world" actually gets in the way of me doing things.

It can be something like the weight of door being such I can't easily open it if you don't put step steps I struggle to walk up or stairs in the building or just not thinking and leaving things in shops cluttering the approach to each set of shelves that at heights even I on foot can't reach.

Schools for all there talk of being inclusive aren't such as our combined infant juniors that isn't easy to get about in in a wheelchair and doesn't make arrnangements for disabilty sports you can do before we get to the many secondary schools that despite being on more than one level have no lifts.

A constant in each is getting your meal which can be workable if you have a wheelchair with a tray fitted at the front or if fully walking when many use cafeteria system but as I was I wan't able to carry a tray and no one provided for assistance when just out of class, your mates are like released lions charging for food utterly ignoring you.

Usually I have to ask for assistance if I'm out in anywhere self serving and pre-booked assistance on trains is very hit and miss not always helped by cancellations and platform changes at the last minute.

The call of that time of year

You can't escape it, no not the straw like stuff in the fields and in your garden which still needs much rain to recover from that really hot period a few weeks back  but the "Back to school" promotions in the popular press, in store where T G Jones were pushing geometry sets, folders, note pads while you encounter them online.

For some us it was either Martins or Hayden's with branches across most towns here in North Staffordshire who also stock school specific items while market stores stocked more generic items by Banner David Luke and Trutext.

Unlike him this is exactly what I wanted back then having had the misfortune to be in the era where Longs were taking over which I found less than comfortable.

Truthly this time of year makes me sad for just the lack of that whole feel of going back to school, the comradeship and sense of purpose of it all.

Oh Miss Manners

Hello and welcome back after last weeks egg frying weather which I'm only just recovering from glad as I am it's a good eight to ten degrees cooler than it was and life continues at the forum even if understandably people were flagging during the daytime.

Communication styles vary if you've ever been in chat rooms with some using the clipped comments heavily laden with abbreviations that don't have full stops (AmE: periods) between each abbreviation per word so it's no always apparent just what they're saying.

Others just seem to type in what they themselves want without consideration of what you be looking for which really doesn't achieve anything that resembles a good face to face chat or just feel it's okay to keep you up because...they're bored.

Sometimes we get I certainly get message from people who appear to be very desperate to reach out to others or even attempt a two way conversation over my blogs.

Let's start with the basics.

They exist to help explore and discuss what this life all about and that can certainly include a comment about a post and if I get a few, chances are they may influence another post.

What isn't good is when you just type out your contact details with no reference to what was posted coming over as a bit rude and expect me to authorize that for publishing.

It won't be when it makes no reference at all to the post.

You wish to talk about ALB/ASB life, then come on over to uniformedregressors join in and if you wish talk to people via direct messaging or share your email address using it.

All you need to know is on site.

"You like what, Chris?"

Not the best start to the week with sudden and very powerful miagrain so this weeks post will be short as overing catchup only brings things back on again.

During this period of enforced rest thoughts went back to that time when your mate would indicate "You did what?" intimating it was beneath boys like you and maybe your friendship might be tested if he felt he'd get grief from others about it.

Strong infants memories with me was Music and Movement where Mrs Bell attempted to play the piano or the BBC School program was put on and we'd have to dance to it which wasn't so bad when it was pretending to  be a dragon but something like an icicle with lots of delicate movements didn't do your street cred much good as much I liked things like that.

Back then to had said you'd love to take dance or ballet classes would of been reputation suicide back them for most boys.

Thankfully we've moved on a bit.

Changes at the forum Summer 2026

Back and with a shortish post as we've been busy catching up on things since the start of the weekend, looking at changes at our Forum.

When we or more accurately I set it up it was really around the time of forum softwear issues with asb.net, Misterpoll running out of steam plus Robbies narrow focus on just boys school uniform and Tumblr starting on became the great purge of 2018.

Thus in a lot of ways the rules and many of the threads we created refected we were a set adults but still in spirit lads talking about the things that interested us as if we're still in our beloved grey short trousers playing very much on boys only terms not that we barred girls, we just didn't consider they'd really want to join.

Forums are on a downward trend with social media with its very much short term bits of stuff way of looking at things with no threads and that just stuff you say and by weeks on it's just lost and that has meant forums that allow for more role playing or regression for both adult boys and girls too have mainly gone.

We also have to recognize some boys do like role playing girls and so any site has to cover all of us who love doing this.

We already have members who fit that and bearing that in mind and Jo joining us I feel we need to say we're for anyone who is prepared to follow our rules.

Some people may of put a rigid gender split in the forum - a boys club and a girls club - but I think it's better for people to be able to join in talking about anything however gender untypical  letting people add whatever threads they need and Jo has set a few more girlcentric ones and she can if she has something to say talk in those we set up.

That is very much the way UR is going to be, adapting incrementally to changes, adding as we've done with our fiction and Ai inspired art recently to our offering to everyone.

If a thread isn't for you - not everything is for me - then just move along to something that does or if it's missing, create it.

Over and out

Awayday

This weekend I've been away so really not much time to prepare posts apart from me not being keen taking a chromebook with me to start posting, looking at sites like our own as really going away is supposed to be more about taking a break.

With health challenges and other things that break is the thing I need more than all this online stuff.

This is something near where I am, Arnside which a quiet village in the far south of Westmorland which has a old style charm to it unspoilt by mass tourism that you find around the main Lakes although it can be a bit busy.

That's one reason I like to go there.