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.

That state of Christmas you don't need

 Actually while I was so looking forward to Christmas I was feeling very much out of it due to a severe case of forum drama that erupted late into Monday before Christmas eve which may pass or require strict action to prevent it happening again as it felt like a gaggle of schoolboys in the playground were around a disturbance joining in.

Indeed it took me right back to incidents I recall in juniors where some woild get involved to fight their corner with threats while others on the sidelines would be shouting "fight, fight, fight"but with no head teacher to dish out the slipper to those responsible.

Sometimes, the best thing is to walk away for a bit and reflect more on what you can do to resolve your disagreements like say you're sorry, try to learn from the experience and just stop trying to have the final word on the matter which only makes things worse for everyone because it acts like oxygen to a fire, keeping it smoldering.

All I know is it isn't going to happen again and those involved should be ashamed of themselves.

Christmas edition

 The pause begins here, as type this I've had my first Christmas period visit of the season with all that involves like, quick tidying up spells, plushing up the cushions and getting the tea set up ready to go.

Outside of this I won't be around much at the weekend as I'll be seeing friends before we move into Christmas week.

With that I'll wish you all a Very Happy Christmas and all the best for the New Year.

Resets and cussing

Slowly making our way to the big day with Mr. Claus doing his rounds locally on Sunday and the first wave of Christmas Cards and we are getting used to this new laptop although there's still a bit setting up and restoring programs to be done.

The dorm was very much where I did most of learning about handling situations, dealing with other boys learning "the rules" and by a term or two we'd pretty much got things sorted, who was getting a  wash first, that the last one to bed turned the lights out and not waking others up if you needed the toilet overnight.

We also sorted when someone needed a "Talking to" and when we'd involve the adults although we never left any boy harmed or took pleasure from violence, indeed that did and still does worry me about the darkness of the emotions of ANY boy who holds with that.

It just isn't remotely healthy.

The topic of photographs is a recurring one on the forum where the whole environment around photo usage has changed so much from those days where by birth age we were younger as indeed has the medium from film to digitized images that are posted and exchanged as files.

Changing attitudes to certain topics such as the portrayal of other cultures, the more entrenched notion of consent to images being taken and posted and corporal punishment  being hinted at cause issues as much as my liberal attitude is one of respecting the law as it applies to minors and being mindful of how things appear on public sites.

Thus while as far as I'm concerned c.p. between consenting legal adults is fine and is no source of shame, nonetheless you cannot put imagery on a general interest site that allows lots of groups that may include groups for children to belong even it might be just a hint of an impliment in the hands of either the one administering or the one being punished.

So if you do, then we need to remove it but a more suitable picture for your topic would be fine so long as all involved consent to its use.

Advent

 

A bit of a way from the usual look with a more casual grey short trousers look although they're typically longer than some of us are used to with trainers which I do wear fair bit out of doors when exploring, reserving dress shoes for more formal occassions.

I'm a more t shirt and sports shorts sort when it comes to purely casual playing sort of boy which is probably tied into my childhood and the battle for shorts back then. 

It's Advent and the calendar is up suitably child-like as Crimbo is just that experience for me free from anything really grown up and that's so much better than trying to fake adulthood.

Might as well watch some classic cartoons while I'm at it.

Tales from the cold

Phew Aren't you glad last week is all over with from the snow to the minus four temperatures overnight that saw me in bed socks ?

We're slowly updating the electric oil filled radiators on temperature and time controls as the gas boiler is not working and it's scarcely worth doing much with all the talk of shunting you on Heat Pumps and old systems being written off.

I did have a few cds to entertain myself with and actually I found a bundle stashed by the cd player upstairs as I tend to be downstairs more since Mum's death and that's where the main hifi set up is so I give them a quick clean with IPA as markes and airborn stuff soon settle on them and stored them down here.

The Beatles discs came, two are with Mr. S. Claus late of the North Pole as they're for Crimbo and the other three are in the main collection that has The Beatles in Mono set of 10 mono lp's from 2014, I put the cats on cheaper food to pay for and a mixture of 1970's, 80's UK stereo editions and a couple of the 2012 stereo remasters where I thought they had something to offer.

There is a small portion of American discs of that handfull of titles I do like for their different selections often adding singles which the UK albums as a rule did not but having sorted the collection out in the 2000's, I can't see it changing much.

These new mono version do sound great and there is something for hearing the early recordings with the sound coming in just one direction rather than being at the extreme left and right.

Back when officially I was a boy, rather than someone who has not left being one, I did have things aranged that with the tube (Brit Eng: Valved) monoblock pair of power amplifiers and pre-amp I coud actually switch off one side and direct anything in mono to just one loudspeaker at the far end of the room for a more authentic single point sound.

These day's you're lucky if a preamp or intergrated amplifer even has a mono button to reduce the impact of any slight wear or crackles on older mono records.

Winter is here

Winter is almost upon us, the Annuals are out in the shops for those of us that recieving them at Christmas is boyhood ritual we've kept with for all our lives, the Christmas Trees will be arriving in our town and village squares with illuminations and guess what happened?

Photo credit W-T-O at UR Forum/A.I. 

It snowed late Monday night here - believe earlier in the East Midlands - and kept up Tuesday morning as I was out attending the bins given our collection day this year is Wednesday as I decided it was sensible to move them earlier ready for kerbside collection.

I couldn't resist gathering the snow from the top of the bin a good one and half to to two inches up and throwning snowballs as the children were getting ready to walk to school in their thick coats and wellies.

Yes, this weather brings out the eternal boy in short trousers doing boyish things!

I also trimmed the size of the cds a bit as some new compilations came and I ordered up some special wallets that hold all the cd book and rears plus the disc taking up much less space from Slim Disc in Telford, Shropshire.

vv