End of month thoughts

 

Well it may be the start of a new month but in some respects it does rather feel more like finishing off various projects and playing catch up here not least for being away across the weekend.

For one thing I did find my abilities to think very much on my feet rather helpful as two trains were cancelled that I planned to travel on and take decisive action proved themselves most useful.

A delayed item, see last weeks post, finally arrived as that didn't get diverted away from Heathrow Airport and was stuck in the backlog, arriving yesterday morning and a recorded ordered a couple of weeks ago should be here today.

We did gain a new member at the forum who did pose the question of this business of dressing like we did is a kink and really unless you bring things from that world into it really no as you are just being that person you feel, you may be re-enacting things from then you enjoyed presenting as he did back then or possibly going back to that point in time mentally.

People of course can and do hold all manner of opinions but the thing about points is everybody's got one and it certainly would never be first time someone tried to say something isn't what you know you do.

I like the feel of just being back in that world, having some responsibility certainly but without the weight of adult concerns and obligations weigning down on me and when with those ewho are doing that "adult" stuff it feels very comfortable, even perhaps natural to me personally.

Who knows what this month might bring?

Delays

Sometimes you don't have to use something yourself to be impacted by the things causing issues  to those who do.

Plenty of things make their way here beyond say bank statements much from within the UK whither or not it's from Amazon, Evri or Royal Mail and in the main that's clockwork: You order it and within a few days it is just there.

There are times things do come from overseas, actually a lot of stuff comes into the U.K. and that is when things can get ahem...interesting.

Somethings come come on container ships which tend to be slower but as most of that is destined for UK distributors it doesn't matter so much although I can recall waiting over a month for a new Lens to come from Japan to the local camera shop for me to pick up.

Today much is flown in, sometimes on dedicated freight flights othertimes in space capacity on regular ones to major airports which is where the fire at the electricity sub-station that feeds London's Heathrow Airport on Thursday came into effect.

I had two items due from the U.S. that current political issues aside needed to be sourced from that had moved from their last U.S.step before being sent over and that was where the incident struck.

Seemingly some arrangements were made to divert fright flights with a  good number going to East Midlands Airport near Castle Donington so one item came via Royal Mail Monday, just a day later than anticipated.

In the end things got sorted but it just reminds you of how much we depend on things just being right.

Suits that would of suited

On a day where more grown up attention was on my disability benefits - and I can see some challenges to elements of those announced changes today - thoughts are more around other things.

Suits did feature a bit in eatly childhood  but rarely were they short trouser suits usually for occassions such weddings, formal party invitations and the like where what I'd wear in church was more "smart casual" and usually casual for Sunday School.

In a lot of ways I really missed that as not only was there something really disagreeable with them having "longs" but being unlined too the materials were either sweaty or very itchy just where you don't want itches and that itchiness sometimes carried over the the waistcoats rubbing against your polyester shirt.

Back then negotation over clothing was unheard off so the last suit I had was long even by 1979/80 I was getting somewhere in the shorts rebellion at least at home.

Lined short trousers would of been far more comfortable.

Governance in Staffordshire -changing times?

 Yes another more current affairs post but a bit more localized and in places bitter.

Current the area that is served by Staffordshire is serviced in two very different ways depending in which of the areas below you fall into and part of the complications come from the post 1974 changes that detached much of the south of the county from the area to the left of that which remained.

2: Newcastle Under Lyme

3: Staffordshire Moorlands

4:Stafford Borough

5: East Staffordshire (Uttoxeter,Rocester and Burton)

6: South Staffordshire (Detached Black Country)

7: Cannock Chase D.C.

8: Lichfield D.C.

9: Tamworth B.C

All 8 of these councils do provide services themselves but are overarched by another authority Staffordshire County Council who provide schools, social services, education, waste disposal and so on.

1: is Stoke On Trent - the city boundary which does everything with one council.

Central Goverment has called for whole of Administrative Staffordshire to be re-organized believing it would be more efficient and less confusing to have one or perhaps two single councils covering the area providing all of the services.

To complicate things it wants a overarching Combined Authority  over all of that but the patchwork of existing ones is messy from the original idea of more vast regional ones such as Greater Manchester and West Midlands to talk of almost a former county council area being one like Cheshire and Warrington or Cumbria which is quite small.

Really goverment should of had a blueprint for English Devolution from day one that set the broad boundaries - would a more focussed Black County, South Staffs D.C and Telford combined authority of  made more sense  and left Birmingham, Solihull, Coventry and Warwickshire  to form another?

Staffordshire County Council favours a Unitary Donut just the the 8 Staffordshire District leaving Stoke totally detached as it feels it cause least disruption to existing arrangements but those arranges create difficulties for Education and especially Social Services where clients and and facilities don't align with council boundaries.

That was and remains a major issue from when Stoke became a unitary authority and buildings were in what was now the "wrong" council area.

To me that makes little sense.

It really comes down to a unitary all nine councils of the ceremonial county, removing that issue or splitting into North Staffordshire (area1,2,3 and possibly part of the old Stone Rural area) covering the whole of the conurbation I'm in and a Southern Staffs comprising of 4,5,6,7,8 and 9 looking more as that area and its needs.

The entireity being a Combined Authority for more wide ranging structural planning although to be honest Codsall, Wombourne and Perton in the South Staffordshire D.C. area especially are very much in the Wolverhampton and Dudley travel to work area and things connected around economic needs really align there than one that would have the "Greater Stoke/Newcastle" area as it's #1 priority and much work is planned with Wolverhampton council anyway.

Current Affairs

I dislike having to say anything regarding regarding current ffairs but given where we are right now, unable to rely on the United States tolook after Europe's interests,and  concerns I'm just going to have to as much as I keep stuff like that Off Forum.

Some might say to raise the question of security guarantees at a press conference about a Mineral Rights might be inpolitic but the suggestion that merely having a number unspecified of Americans working there patently does not guarantee a breach of ceasefire as even if a mine was not bombed, transportation from it might well be which would be driven by Ukrainians. What then?

So it's not unreasonably to ask about and for a short response "We'll talk that through later" reply to be given and move on but it is exceedingly likely a metaphorical grenade was planned to be tossed in show the Ukrainian president in a poor light starting from the frankly bizarre assertion that to wear what is his usual attire in the Oval Office is disrespectful.

Anyone who follows the news knows what he is likely to be wearing at meetings at which point blatant often pro Russian lies are being tossed into a massive rant by the President and Vice President the latter at one point seemed to me running the show than President Trump, just watching on enjoying the spectacle unfold.

And for challenging that, the Ukraine President is ordered out, no deal being signed.

Trump and co may feel they made him look humiliated but frankly you made your country look like it is run by school bullies where diplomacy and due process are no longer a given for incoming Prime Ministers and Presidents and has exposed the petulant infantile nature of your leader

Yesterday morning he announced he'd cut off all aid to Ukraine doubling down on his assertions that Friday. How the hell does that get you peace???? And leaving Ukraine unprotected for President Putin to blow to smitherines and take over.

Some "Peace" that is!

Your country is in state of disgrace and I do question if you even should remain a NATO member given your behaviour to allies (and I might add I'm no lefty).

Play and rec things

One element from last week was play and presents which differs than the sort of thing many of us had back in the day.

Colouring books did exist but in isolation rather than being part of an activity centre with a storage bag for different things and the things you might use such as your pencils or paints in small trays.

Crafts have come on to more colourful things more reminscent of older mole roles and activities such as ceremonial swords that would of belonged to warriors.

Given some reluctanence on the part of boys to get into arts and crafts, a wider range of options is to be welcomed.

We always loved dinosaurs so combining them into a foil art kit so you can make lots of colourful ones to rawr with is just great appealing in a way say flowery designs might not.

I just love them.

Denim

I've always had a love hate relationship with denim not least from attempts to put me in jeans which I found a bit clammy in the late Spring and Summer where I usually prefer something that rather breathes more.

Thus I always battled for shorts, originally sports shorts from 1979/80 in the summer or for play although these days you'll seldom see me in anything other than traditional lined short trousers.

But that's forgetting there was a point between the ages of of around eight and eleven where Mum did buy me the odd demin pair which are better in that way so would something like this with even pockets be good as 'playwear' for me?

An imaginary world

 

The first thing to say this week is with my being away, there won't be a blog next week, too much to do I'm afraid so the next scheduled one will be 26th although if I can produce something later on for the 19th it'll be inserted.

Winnie the Pooh was a bit of a thing with me when I was younger owning pencil end tops, pencil cases and stickers galore and I recall a guy in college who was very much into it although he kept it away from all but our group in case anyone took umbridge which was a shame really.

The World of Pooh and Christopher Robin always seemed more philosphical than just a world of cute characters, having much to say about living life, caring for one another and the nature of relationships which I feel is valuable.

It isn't as "soft" as say The Care Bears, not that there is anything wrong with caring at all, more grounded in things boys understand more.

He's back!

 

There are a few things going on this week, such as preparing to be away for a few days so I'm sorting clothes, wash bag and that all ready to go in the case and making sure my mobile phone is fully charged as I have to met with someone for part of the journey and well all know how that can end up.

After a sluggish start to the new year, forum is back to its usual level of activity which in view of what I said last week was no bad thing.

The greatest news ever however was the arrival of Harry or perhaps more the reaquientance with from the haylcon days of 2017/8 who run atumblr I just adored as really it was the kind of tumblr that had social media had been a thing in 1978-83 I might of had myself.

Harry was an actual schoolboy who was so much like I was back then, very much a traditional boy who loved traditional uniform, scouting and preferred short trousers and in so many ways was my real life muse and inspiration to just come out there and BE the me I felt and always remained.

He sometimes got the wrong sort of attention so I ensured he knew if he needed me to deal with it such as reporting and that I would do that for him cos that kind of attention by adults is totally wrong and for reasons best known to them (and maybe the odd person on Tumblr) he often had his Tumblr account blocked.

That needless to say is what happened to many of us during the great end of 2018 purge and happened this decade when one group of people seemed to think I was another acting as some kind of link to dubious sorts.

The liklihood of that was remote given some of the stuff that happened to me and the nature of the work I did, indeed I reported a few hands worth of those sorts to Tumblr.

But he is back, with an update to his life and is at University which is excellent news.

Misterpoll is no more

 

This is a bit late coming out today not least cos I've been somewhat busy with other things today but what I rather expected would happen at one site, has.

Misterpoll was where most of us got together around the same time Tumblr was a good place for those of us who were ALB/ASB to get to know each other talking about our lives from schoolboys of old, to feeling more a kind of a schoolboy today showing pictures about the places we remembered.

We wrote about our school lives, the things we did, the lessons we took and a lot about how we were dressed back then in our school uniforms and how those compared with those of today.

We wrote about how we liked to dress more like, whither or not it was for going hiking, attending various vintage events "in role", any kind of school like setting we had anything with.

Unlike at the forum, we didn't talk much about our interests such as railways, train spotting and going on steam driven trips and the like cos Robbie had his vision for his poll - it was about vintage uniforms.

Some of our  posts tended to go a bit "off topic" which he didn't it's fair to say appreciate and he wasn't onboard with some of our more regression/reenactment talk but it was his forum attached to his poll so we respected that.

That poll and the forum posts going back to around 2010 have just gone, the owners of Misterpoll having decided not to spend effort keeping legacy forums and polls unlike Tumblr that axed many of our Tumblr blogs.

It is sad many interesting and indeed heartfelt posts over the years have gone but many of us moved and made our new home, not wishing to blow my own trumpet I made it for us, and tell many of those stories in rather more detail with more interaction and even pictures!

Farewell Misterpoll, you brought us together.

Resting

Well we have Internet through Fibre although although the Voice over Internet Protocol landline doesn't seem to work which suggests a few wire jumpers need moving in the exchange.

Now you might think that means everythings hunky dory here but I got up on Saturday feeling fine having a wash, getting dressed about to come down the stairs as my right side from just above the hip to above the knee went weak just as I was about to come down the the stairs!

I've had this before to which the only real relief is rest so I'm limping downstairs and pulling myself upstairs to the toilet and bedroom on my bum as I used to from the days I got about in a wheelchair more.

Unfortunately folks don't make it easy for you to use one like narrow doors, aisles in shops, limited spaces (often used by others) in buses and trains and the like.

Coping with "No signal"

Another week and I might add one that one would sooner be gone with given the issues with the internet I will publish on what was intended for a blog on Monday at some point so in the wait I've I have been reading apart from the severe minus seven degrees with a goodly amount of snow.

Having both my Dandy annual in its modern format and the "Classic" Beano and Dandy themed collection proved handy as I could read stories at leisure plus obviously last weeks Beano and Pheonix.

I did get around to listening to some records that had arrived although I hadn't any indication of when they were coming as at least physical media isn't affected by internet outage.

I'm sort of back up running but only with what is best described as a router with a 4g mobile internet signal that proved a pig to set up the blue led you needed to see if it was working itself wasn't and this on EE loan stock sent out as the installation on Friday just did not work because necessary work wasn't done to switch the full fibre signal over.

It is to hoped by the weekend the actual internet and landline phone connection will be restored OR ELSE! 

Skating away

Just a note before we begin, they may be a break in the other blogs as the phone line and internet is being changed over at the weekend as I'm not super human being capable of writing tons of blogs to cover the gaps and scheduling them.

School has now resumed after the Chrismas and New Year break although it was extended by a day on Monday as we had quite a bit of snow and so school buses and that were not working although my local combined infants and juniors, yes the one I went to myself, was actually open.

Then, the caretaker for that lives just around the corner and most of the staff are fairly nearby while sometimes high school staff may live ten miles or more than the schools location.

I did get out in the snow not least with bin duties and the like so I was well wrapped up and shod to tackle the snow and ice which helps given I'm not good on my feet generally never mind with this.

Classic grey turn over socks are a thing with me not least with maroon or blue stripes  so maybe I might look at finding a few more from various suppliers.

A year in review

 It is the New Year today so we'll take a look around the year and the blog as it is in some ways the odd one of the bunch.

We started a long time ago very much from scratch so there was no history brought over from previous social media that had limited blogging options or bits of short term blogs that just went rather like the Wordpress but Tumblr connected ones did in 2020.

It became in some ways what it was I wanted and to limited degree succeeded at on Tumblr before they were removed in the great purges rather more an an exercise in sorting out what my sense of boyhood was, how that still runs through modern life and the part some measure from the past play a part in my life.

So it tends to be more experience and emotionally lead rather than around appearences, presentation and personal interests, the glue that holds the other parts together that are explored much more on other blogs.

2024 started from the events of 2023, not least the loss of Mum, the slow resumption of everyday life sorting out messy family relationships and getting away as that eternal boy.

We did work around getting presentational styles more aligned with the out of school and holiday habits blending in better where you were likely to encounter bio-boys and adults as much at other times I was and remain very much old school.

The forum continued to run bring in fresh people as Misterpoll, where many of us originated from the School Shorts poll threads came to an effective end as upgrades in their software appeared to broken the original Misterpoll threads although interest there had more or less finished with less than a handful of regular posters when they could even be bothered to post.

We outlasted it, being able to talk about things more "adult" sites could not permit that were more centred around just being that boy and past lives.

The one thing we need to concentrate more on handling disagreements and where people may see things that are not intended as that can impact the preparedness of others to contribute.