The 2018 review

One thing I tend to do is to take stock of the past year and talk about how I might see the future.

I think we should start really with me as a person.
Although I have always been like this for a long time tm, the year 2018 has seen me grow more and in one respect this image kind of summarizes it perfectly because you have the interest in the outside world as in current affairs, pop culture, arts and sport that I have reading a newspaper, reading say the BBC website that shows some maturity and equally there is the more child-like side that clearly is a boy still and enjoys doing those clearly non adult centred things.
Thus I am "adult" by age and some comprehensions of the world and yet in others very much the child.
The Chris of 2018 wore shorts nearly all the time and schoolboy longs when not in what was clearly a schoolboy uniform right down to the jersey and long socks in public, in front of my parents, siblings and at home at Christmas even to the point of playing with his lego on boxing day.
Indeed I spent nearly all this winter outside in them with temperatures down to five degrees C with just a decent coat on being more resilient than ever being free from any seasonal ailments.
That boy is just how I see and am presenting from now on - very much a boy with no compromises - and being open about it.

The other thing is my sense of innate masculinity is much stronger than it has been for a number of years part of which has come by looking anew at just how I was as that boy looking at what did and enjoyed as it talking both on tumblr and here about that.
I saw a very clear indication to where I gravitate to when it comes to gender based roles and positions and how the trickle of doubts and slights had been pushed by others with their own often anti-men (and boy) agendas.
It is very clear I am very much masculine at the core the odd gender minority interest interest aside and acting from that inner sense has helped me so much this year to the point I am standing up for my gender and nay even showing pride in my boyishness.
Part of the exploration of self has taken the form of adopting the values and principals in scouting which was a denied part of boyhood, learning new skills and challenging myself to help me grown more as that adult-but child boy making the most of my abilities which outside of my actual disabilities I have and would benefit from engaging more with.
I am becoming a cub scout in spirit, learning from it and moving on as I  learn life skills and engaging more with nature, taking long walks paying attention to my environment.
The year saw my involvement on Tumblr where I interacted with a number of you, saw ASB.org temporarily surface before closing and finds Tumblr itself in a state of some confusion presently.

While I have a blog like this one, because of what is going on at Tumblr I have decided to back up The Traditional Schoolboy and TSB2 to Wordpress lest any posts with personal insights get deleted or whole tumblrs go.
Losing a straight reblog of an image isn't a disaster as I tend to save images I use but it's anything with my text in that's more of a problem potentially.
I established a tumblr looking at Scouting last month and have put that manually onto a Blogger account lest anything happen as that'll be less busy but more personal in feel look at that and what its values mean to me. I have put a link to it on the Page tabs that will take you straight to it.

I also established the Uniform Regressors site Uniformed Regression Forum which is a sfw spot to discuss age regression and uniform topics free from any sex or spanking content because it is rare for any discussion to happen on Tumblr and a number of us like to talk about topics.

To me going forward is in certain respects going backwards in time to those interests that remain and those in real life limitations that mean I require the support and supervision more of that child, getting those needs met.
It involves too learning new skills and exploring more of the world around me so I make the most of those innate abilities I have, being as independent as I can to make the most of my life.

A boyish christmas

This year on That Uniformed Schoolboy the Christmas entry is a little different.
Anyone familiar with this blog and the Tumblrs The Traditional Schoolboy and The Traditional Schoolboy 2 plus Chris_Minor, will know of the sore that runs from not being given the chance to join up to scouting  not least the Cub Scouts and how I'm trying to do some positive to put some similar character building challenges into my life to provide at least a bit of what I missed.

Thus it is entirely fitting that this Christmas I should have a copy of The Sixer in a year I'd of been a Cub Scout to help inspire those changes as I align to living by the spirit of scouting with stories and accounts of cub scout life.

One problem I have is in recent years there has been a pull toward altering characters in the storytelling and way they are drawn in a good many comics and even cartoons and this comes into the Beano which is something I always loved reading to meet modern ideas on how children should be treated, how they treat others in a very political correct way to the point Dennis doesn't menace anymore, the teachers aren't the authority figures at Bash Street School, Rodger's dodges are toned down and so on.

Instead I have decided to go back to an annual I almost certainly had first time round with those main characters being the boys and girls we loved, getting into scrapes, feeling the full power of the authority figures just as we did back then.
It featured cartoon strips from Tom, Dick and Sally, Babyface Finlayson, Lord Snooty and Biffo the Bear who were dropped later on but a part of my memory of reading the comic that came flooding back
It's smaller touches like Teacher carrying a cane in the Bash Street Kids, Roger the Dodger drawn having a spanking and a clear threat to in Dennis the Menace from his dad that reflected the life I and countless others had in 1974 and our cartoon and comic world reflected it.
It's not that I have an issue with new series reflecting today's society whatever one may think of that but it's remaking timeless series trying to tell us Dennis got married having a son called Dennis to justify these actions at the bequest of  social activists plus had Dennis Mk2 redrawn and behaving totally differently. It's like the story title may be the same but doesn't and isn't the same story any more.
I did have the Dandy current annual though that remains truer to its original form even if sadly the weekly paper comic is long gone as that is more a continuation of the past characters like Korky the cat and Desperate Dan with just the odd update.
Going back to go forward I had something else I had but in a slightly different form from those days.

Yes a new lego set rather than the old cardboard and plastic set I originally had with big boards plus french windows and doors although you can add to it as the box is pretty generous in size
I have had the odd kit since but the thing is those themed kits only make two or three things at the most  where as the classic lego I had  as a boy enabled you to make lots of different things from only being limited by your own imagination and running out of bits.

I did get this the bigger baseboard separately which isn't as chunky as the original but will do the job which will allow bigger things to be made and you can easily get another if needed. 
Mom got me some new grey knee length socks for my shorts too which is super awesome AND I wore my uniform with a grey jumper and tie with my folks while staying with them just like that boy always did.
As  you can imagine it was a just the kind of Christmas a ten year old me would of wanted and had the second time around.

Season's greetings

We're almost there here at That Uniformed Schoolboy and as it is the first full year on Tumblr I will be taking a break during the Christmas period to spend time not just with family but also to reflect on Christmas itself.

Wishing everybody a Happy Christmas and all the best for 2019

See you soon, Chris.

Wrapping and tidying up

Image credits: Grey Shorts
It may sound incredulous but it's the second week of December and I'm still going outside in my shorts and long socks with just a decent coat over me which is quite something because for a long period I used to get very ill over the winter not being able spend time out of doors, having to be wrapped up.
I think a lot of this is down to making more of a point of eating better less starchy food, taking more regular exercise everyday except in the most inclement of conditions and cultivating a hardier tougher body more befitting of boy like me.
In my youth Christmas cards were a big thing and still are so while much of what I touch wood should be having is taken care in the hands of Mr. Claus, I do have my cards to do before the cut off date for posting them.
I have done a bit of tidying up on my Tumblr one involves changing its URL which is fine for followers as you'll be automatically changed over but for anyone that isn't, a updated link is on my about page and my Uniformed Regression tapatape site.
As well, I have trimmed the odd entry because of Tumblrs messy A.I based flagging system for (potentially) nsfw content and also as they seem trigger happy over sensitive content setting a low bar over things that were just part of our childhoods as regular accepted things. They tend to suffer from a "The past you wish to depict must fit our idea of present accepted behaviour" complex unable to accept the past is what it is.
It seems some things may have to kept for here so I'll put the odd post in over Christmas I think for you to look for.

New-old boyhood

Tumblr is a funny place where the future of TSB2 post tumblr changes remains to be seen but this innocuous image got flagged that was part of a post so with that I'll post a chunk of what I intended here instead.

A lot of good has happened to me this year even if one place isn't with us and another has an issue with our name to the point I have made some plans one of which is I having a purely age regression with uniform tumblr that IS pointed toward a specific age regression community and because of, I won't be having followers from any sort of kink on it just age regressors and those who like to wear uniform in a non-sexual way.
So If you don't meet that then you'll be removed because that increases the likely of inappropriate interaction when I'm just being a boy all over again AND is incompatible with my belonging to that group. Sammy's always welcome :)


On November 9th I posted a bit about my Cub Scout Badges and what they mean to me.

Here are a couple more, the Sixer Badge for the older boy helping and keeping an eye on his six so everyone's okay and a Challenge badge as well as a Community one all of which would of been awardable back then.
I had the traits and temperament being in what in modern parlance you'd call a Playground Buddy at junior school back then and have in years shown what would be required to have got the challenge and community badges as someone who has played a important part in the community by direct involvement and leadership.

Something else is actually after meeting an adult who was involved my life then and since, I remembered seventeen of year 3/4 juniors who all left for high school the same year by full name being able to visualize how they looked back then including the pack of boys I belong to.
One thought transpired afterward: I had had achieved despite considerable obstacles a stake in the role in the community comparable to my peers, the one my headmaster saw I had the potential for.

Socks and some...

In what has been in many ways a messy week emotional for for reason's I'll go into later slowly we are moving toward Christmas  and that brings in things you do with family, the small matter of anything you may be having and in this age, your online availability.

Seeing we are definitely into Winter seasonally although temperatures have been above the seasonal norm for a number of days as I've been out in my shorts most times and indeed it has to be said finally a pair of cargo shorts developed an irreparable hole that would show a tiny part of ones underwear so had to replaced by a blue pair, keeping warm matters.
Enter these long socks, not quite traditional that by accident turned out to be navy but hey they do match those shorts if not my regular grey ones.
They are relatively thick with a hint of lycra to hold them up no matter how vigorous you may walk without the use of traditional green edged garters most of us can recall from junior school or cubs and do appear to do what they should.
While I suspect tradition may play out when it comes to what I get for Christmas when it comes to 'stocking fillers', these will do very nicely in the meantime for use with those navy blue shorts. 

Tumblr

As we all know new Terms of service to come into effect December 17 being announced on Monday December 3rd which heralds the end of hosting *any* nsfw/adult material which of itself shouldn't concern most of us as asbs.
What is of concern is starting from December 3rd though they have brought in heavy-handed automated flagging by computer algorithm any images and tags associated with such material.
I would suggest as a minimum do NOT tag with anything with the word/ phrase "adult" in it as in adult schoolboy as no doubt they'll see that as nsfw/sexual and if you *need* to use other words/tags that may be an issue such as 'boy' replace one character by a figure or symbol.
If you have a flagged post, you have two options - delete or have it reviewed.
If the post is of little consequence it may be easier to just delete it and be done as it is already flagging stuff up regularly that's so wrong-headed you couldn't make it up like my Pink Panther image and yes The Moomins.

Concerning my tumblrs here is the lowdown in their status in the Tumblrsphere.

Traditional Schoolboy - one post in review being flagged and totally sfw. Not marked as explicit by Tumblr OR me.

Traditional Schoolboy2 - as you know I remade that the original having been removed by Tumblr.
Two posts flagged - the infamous Post 100 which I deleted and republished and a Pink Panther still from the opening which I'm having reviewed.It appears to have been unflagged but still no email.
Tumblr has for some reason marked that Tumblr as sensitive content which makes no sense so am appealing it. 
If that tumblr got axed around December 17, I would not be surprised in the slightest and won't be remaking it.

Chris_minor01 - Few of you know about it it's a very much a boy age regression themed one that I hope to take into a mainstream age regression community on tumblr.
I will not be accepting anything or anyone Kink on it and for avoidance of doubt this includes "sissies, "forced feminization"" or anyone with "sissy posts" or other material with a sexual agenda.
The same pink panther still image got flagged and was reviewed and approved.
This isn't marked up by me or Tumblr as explicit.
Should TSB2 get deactivated, I will transfer over some of themed sets of posts from that

Radio and Chris

Sometimes I do write about the past on here, yes my childhood and white I am writing about this week is to do with it because I did have some differing interests  of which one was radio which for me wasn't just entertainment and spoken word programming for people in this country but of different sorts of transmissions.
These included things such as morse code, ship to shore, ham radio and international shortwave broadcasts from all around the world which was a bit out the ordinary for say a twelve year old boy.

There were a number of ways you could receive such transmission but all required a fairly specialized piece of kit to cover the frequencies and transmission modes used and the the one I had had  very important part in our countries "Battle of Britain" because it was actually the the receiver unit as fitted originally to the Avro Lancaster bomber during World War Two where it was used in tandem with a separate transmitter.
It's called the R1155.

As an aside I just loved that airplane.
Mine had a specially made power unit to rain of 240 volt AC mains and speaker unit because as originally designed it it had a power feed from the aircraft and the operator would of used a head set made from leather to listen to it from.

I did have a similar head set to this which was RAF issue at the time for operators.
As this was nineteen-forties technology it used big thermionic tubes which meant compared to more modern equipment it was a little bit noisy but fed with a good long antenna it pulled in lots of stations especially on the 49, 25 and 16 metre shortwave bands and related Ham bands where the ability to receive single-sideband and cw transmissions commonly used  helped even if the selectivity was a bit broad .
Traipsing around the side of the unit to the power supply and speaker were massive and banned for normal usage bulgin connectors. 
Indeed with a metal chassis, it would give PAT testers a nightmare and so be barred from any kind of institutional setting.
The radio came out at the time I was taking my GCE O Levels to our school classroom where I had a subminiture shortwave receiver in my dorm and long wire that annoyed the groundstaff as part of a demonstration or radio equipment and operating on conjunction with dad who is a ham radio operator.
My fellow pupils were in awe of that radio during and after the day it made it's appearance!
m

Outdoor scouting attire

Last week we talked about Cub Scout inspired challenges. This week it's not that although there is a kind of a  connection.

Part of that thing in challenging myself more brings needs because you need to be prepared for it so something more that a light weight coat or a fleecy jacket to throw on when your outdoors is needed.
For one thing they involve being out not in a car so it needs to be both weatherproof and warm especially at this time of year so I am comfortable and this Parka meets that need quite well.
Something that also really matters in such a coat is having a lot of good pockets to keep things you need at hand that can be sealed so nothing falls out or gets wet and it has two buttoned pockets at the bottom, two zipped ones vertically at the top plus one zipped inner and one velcro inner.
This means things like your cellphone, maps and wallet can be put away as can say a small camera and pen knife.
It doesn't have a hood but I tend to wear a woollen knitted hat when I'm out as it keeps my head warm while breathing so my head doesn't get too sweaty.
The fawn colour is a good match for scouting in spirit blending in well with the natural environment.
It also came on special offer with a watch which is something I really need as I have to learn to tell the time however hard it might be to improve my functioning.

A morning totally outdoors challenge

Following on a bit from last weeks posts I planned a morning to be totally out of doors after having my breakfast and gathering what I was likely to need with me together with my new coat (itself subject of an upcoming post).

One advantage of being where I am is it it is quite easy to get out on foot to open countryside and unmanaged  countryside at that so with that I started off walking from my house crossing a road to walk along a canal towpath  where I observed one horse in a field encountered a number of dog walkers and passed some moored narrowboats before descending into a deep valley that is the home to a kennels and upscale cattery.

I made a detour and stopped for a period alongside a small stream where the pipe of a former salt works used to be found but is now below ground is the actual works itself since sinking. 

Looking ahead there was a colourful spectacular vision of of a small plantation with crisp copper leaves upon a blue skyline which was most enchanting to observe. 

The route to and along is covered with trees and hedgerows so one often sees a variety of birds flying overhead before I got to the bottom of mainly unmade lane crossed into a road that leads to a vast mere and imposing property around of it with a large courtyard and clear views toward smallholdings just opposite where I decided to pause.

It was around here while watching the hedgerows I encountered a woman in car who inquired if I'd been looking for an injured pigeon as apparently she'd found it and taken it to be be rescued. Only here would you'd be approached by strangers like that AND feel comfortable with it.  

The land around here is very much sand based, there's no need to drill nor dig to see this as just looking at the  edges of the exposed soil reveals its tell tale orangery brown colour and so it was I stood enraptured watching finches and black birds flying before continuing on and turning into another road.

It was shortly after turning into to it that I observed the sight of one horse and two ponies flocking in the fall sun with the horse actually rolling on the ground and pulling himself up in almost upright position clearly enjoying it and the ponied chasing each other around  before starting to chase the horse.
It was so funny and at the same time interesting to observe first hand.

Just a little further down the road on the same side were a group of older horses although proceeding from here  I did have to be careful because the pavement stopped so you had to walk in the road with just narrow grassland strips either side to jump into to avoid any oncoming traffic.

Having successfully completed going down that road I was at the crossroads where I encountered a horse rider two dog walkers  and a some walkers with a matter of minutes by this well known public house.
I remember it very well as I lived a matter of a few hundred yards the opposite way in my earlier years where we could see it from the tree lined pavement we played on and crossing the road, I could see the farm where occasionally we'd catch a lift with the farmer  and his children a boy and a girl, Deborah, the latter being in my class in a Landrover vehicle  that smelt of farm!!!

Walking along the road was in many ways a walk in the past because that was a part of the walk to school we had before moving so I passed the cottage where a school friend of my younger brother lived and where we'd have what today are called 'play dates' plus the Nursery we'd get what nowadays are called organic vegetables were grown and bought from. 
The whole area has not change much in years  to be honest beyond a patch near the urban sprawl of the neighbouring town linked to the nine by seventeen miles of the subregion which is a near miracle in today's environment.

Having stopped and reflected upon how what I saw was so much of my own past I turned toward a path before a smallholding often used for horse grazing is and sat on a gate enjoying the fall sun talking with people.

Slowly making my way back I paused first to observe a group of horses in a field playing  and the on the opposite side coming into view were two swans swimming in a pool with other birds flying around.

I then noticed the equestrian centre  with it's horses some of which were being taken through their paces  and in a another field another horse  which I also noticed oddly enough a orangy and white coloured cat  in the undergrowth which I was not expecting at all. 

The thing I would say about the whole experience was being alert to and being engaged with the lore and the way of nature allowing oneself to be absorbed in what is going on, taking an active interest it.
It invoked something of the explorer feel learning about nature, being able to identify different species and take care of myself while out.
In many ways it has and had many of the things within scouting that I had missed on so while it was physically tiring for me I just felt so alive for having been out and achieving it leaving me feeling great about myself. 
Being challenged is really what I need.

Cub Scout Badges

I have written a bit across this blog about scouting, specifically cub scouts and you cannot help for sure noticing the increasing sense of nostalgia around this with such things as handbooks, annuals and patch badges being sold in various places on and offline.
Some people do actually have a thing for collecting often 'vintage' ones so it's not uncommon for collections to come on to the market.
My interest in such things isn't centred around collecting in that at an ethical level I tend to see such things as having been 'earned' - beyond material value in someways like war medals - so I'd be interested only if there was direct connection and certainly not for material gain.

I have gotten a number bought under a personal and painful criteria alone, namely having not been given the opportunity to gain them first time, they have to be things such as proficiency badges that I have evidence from either that I did do first time around in childhood or later in life that indicate that I would of earned them on the basis  of actual abilities demonstrated as any originals would of to meet the then requirements to had been awarded.
In other words for me to have them, I feel they also need to be earned  because they then represent what I would of been awarded for that effort on my own merit, a kind of compensatory awarding. 
Going from the top the Green Cap Badge and Silver Arrow, the Photography, Hobbies and Swimming stage two proficiency badges and Naturalist stage one proficiency and cub scout award.
It is also the case some have been bought from scout leaders raising funds to help children develop new skills and interests through boy scouting UK which I feel really matters in raising a generation  of caring, disciplined and capable  young adults.

Kickaround

This blog has always had a mixture of the new and the old and this week it's more the new with a difference.

I have written a bit about comics and magazines from my original childhood that I read either as the person who bought or had them bought to me in addition to those as boys we shared with each other.
Football is and remains a common link between boys although it is 2018 and some girls play the game as do women in their own leagues but one good development this year has been the launch of a new monthly football magazine aimed at 7 to 12 year olds aka Juniors from the people who publish the adult soccer magazine When Saturday Comes (W.S.C).
The sampler came out in February's W.S.C (issue 372) and unlike many publications as the name suggests its not just about a few big Big Clubs but about participation in footballing from the park or street corner kickabout between friends to schoolboy/girl team play and the benefits physically and mentally of playing out of doors.

Thus you get obviously pictures and writing around club matches but also youth teams, news from wider world of soccer and features such as this months (Issue 6 November 2018) on football for people who like me have cerebral palsy, like we even have own teams today with slightly different rules to help us play.
It also encourages writing, art and geography by acting as means of encouraging interest  through interest in the game and has a few cartoons too.
While this isn't a classic 'boys own' publication it's good to see something that has much of the ethos of older publications such as Roy of the Rovers is being produced, marketed and sold in print for today's juniors that for people like me who do struggle with grown up texts also are a good read.
It makes a good substitute in my adult-child life.

Blue Peter Part II - 60 years!

On Tuesday October 16th at five o' clock in the afternoon I sat to watch the 60th Anniversary of the British children's tv show, Blue Peter on its current CBBC channel home where it has been since 2012.
60 years is quite an achievement in terms of broadcasting  for a single program and does in fact now hold a Guinness book of records certified award for the worlds longest running children's program.
My own involvement with the program stems from childhood where it was always on with having a sibling which was born just at the right time for its launch in 1958 watching and becoming a half hour show later on for my parents to just put it on.
Saying that then it is clear I saw it from as soon as I was able to take in tv and my first hand recollections tend to be from around the age of six getting stronger from about a year and half on where I recall whole adventures and appeals for various good causes that in various ways I was involved in of which a later example was the 1979 bring and buy for Cambodia which was done at boarding school and also on release I took part in my own community.

In that respect the show was very much a integral part of my own childhood and an influence for the good.
Not unsurprisingly for a boy who adored the show, every year in my Christmas stocking there was a Annual which had features on the highlights of the previous 12 months  shows, cartoons, features around history and the 'makes' where using everyday items craftwork was encouraged.
It isn't so odd then that I still have those annuals when some other effects from the same era I had end no doubt enjoyed have gone although things like some of Top Trumps from the late 70's are still here.
Looking at it this way, the adult-boy in 2018 who sat watching todays special edition  intently as presenters who he knew well and others just more aware of talked about their roles, presented various awards to today's children and showed footage of current challenges felt like that boy in 1974.
Moreover he sat watching just as he did from junior school in his grey shorts, ribbed socks and blue sweater enjoying it just as much even if the stage set was different to that that he'd grown up with and the style of presentation from Radzi and Lindsey the current presenter is different.
I saw the same show I loved and am glad today's children are getting from it what I did at the time.

Happy Sixtieth birthday, Blue Peter!

Schooldays

There was much howling of wind around here from Friday onward as I remarked to Sammy so I got a few things done that I might of delayed as I wasn't able to be until later on on Sunday.

The origins of the this post go back to 2005 and Friends Reunited because one core aspect of that site was links to schools and other places you'd been that just didn't allow you to contact people you knew but also included sharing otherwise scattered artifacts of that time.
I am feeling very brave today and am sharing something with you.
That school picture is my Infant/Reception class would of been sometime probably early 1970 as in reception we didn't have to wear a uniform although you can tell those who already were going down that route.
Staring from the back row at the far right was Mrs Bell, our Reception teacher who did give me some extra tuition as I wasn't good at speaking then, and the boy in  a grey sweater and tie actually next to her is me. Third from me is Mark one of several children of the 'big cheeses' of the Methodist Chapel.
Back then much of what as children we took part in was organized by them and a prominent landowner so we were very much connected to that form of Christianity and its moral teachings. It wasn't sufficient  to learn academically for us it involved moral education too.
Second row from the back on the far right was a boy who was only with us a couple of years who was blind in one eye and to whom we absolutely did take care of and next to him was 'Tich' from another prominent family.
You'll note the back and second row are nearly all boys and that was not just pretty normal for the era but also because the boys of our class were a pack, a unit and a tight one at that would look out for each other.
Dead centre on the front row was Karen another of the families of prominent Methodists who were involved in running the chapel and a farmstead.
The building wasn't untypical of country districts being late Victorian with Boys and Girls entrances originally  but in practice we had Infants and Juniors with matching playgrounds.
The building ceased to be a school at end of Summer Term 1974 because it was too small for our needs with us needing to use a community hall for things such as French, P.E (not Games) and school canteen for lunch sharing the building with a parent run Preschool, mobile child welfare clinics and so on.
We moved into a new purpose built school for Autumn Term 1974 which had more space although it was of the trendy open plan sort with each year having its own 'homebay' to which we moved across the building for art, and science.
It had a hall for all school assemblies held on Monday, Wednesday and Friday which were Christian centred, games with climbing frames and store areas for static equipment and music.
At the time we didn't use it for eating  as instead we finished in time to clear are desks which had changed from wooden ones with matching chairs to Gopak tm triangular ones and grey plastic backed chairs to eat off and as we were 'top class' juniors, we were expected to head tables for our younger children, looking after them.
Games was always played in the new building outside with much more space and grassed areas for Soccer and other ball games.
Today as a former governor there I know they eat in the hall and much of the open plan design has been converted into defined classrooms with doors which while I understand does keep noise distractions down that can be an issue I did feel personally was claustrophobic taking out much of the spaciousness of the original design.

Math studies

Following on from Wednesday post, much of what I have been writing about so far in has been about childhood pasts, the nature of age regression as it applies to me, school uniform, personal development and being an adult school boy.

With me the notion of being an adult school boy or an adult little boy while covering all of that isn't a question of donning a uniform or play outfit and playing as if I was chronologically that age although that is part of it as for me in age regression that 'inner boy' comes out but also contextual.

With the exception of holidays (Vacations to North American readers), the life we lived was set with two days complete free time subject to whatever our families customs were and any restriction that may of been put on because of our behaviour.
The remaining five were taken up mainly by school where we worked on various subjects which in my country meant at the ages of five through eleven mainly a single teacher who taught Math, English, Humanities, Science, French (we had a dedicated French teacher) and Games with P.E. (physical exercise).

It happens I do have difficulties with Math being dyslexic some of which today would of been picked up within school but at the time were not such as difficulties with multiplication and division but were not.

It probably wasn't helped too much by the tendency to teach at the average class level and then change topic rather than dealing with my specific problems.

One thing I am doing now is working through the equivalent today of the Math we were taught in that era but using a modern study book with explanations and questions to answer to go over the concepts again so hopefully I'll get a better grounding on number work, angles and so on.

The Traditional Schoolboy 2

In April of this year I talked of my arrival at the social media site, Tumblr and at the same time introduced myself to a group of people usually in the adult little boy or Adult Schoolboy communities that I had spotted prior to joining it
So far in I have around one thousand two hundred fifty posts on it, a good proportion being originals with commentary  too and have over two hundred fifty followers which you may say is actually pretty good going for a completely fresh account and tumblr blog.
Being on Tumblr has given me a number of opportunities to get to know more people, lead to me joining one site even though that's on a hiatus as of now and starting one of my own up.
Recently however, I had the opportunity of taking over another's underused blog on Tumblr and after some negotiation last week I have taken that over and it's that I wish to talk a little about.
There were a number of things that lead to it of one was in becoming a group blog even if group participation is low and usually amounts to the odd submission and having it minded when I'm away, being a group blog leads to problems on tumblr.
For reasons best known to itself they remove the ability for the  blog to send 'Asks' to other blogs and to send and receive streamed messaging which on the face of it would actually be jolly useful between people on a group tumblr nevermind anything else.
Getting it gives me the means now of interacting more with people onsite because I can send an ask and message a blog whereas before I could only receive asks.
The other thing is I can use it to post the odd more cuter post on there as well as some discussion around topics without getting the main tumbler being too discourse heavy.
That blog has needless to say been retitled by me to The Traditional Schoolboy 2 after my main one and while I have kept their  header which I quite like I have added my blog description on and change the avatar over to mine which unless forced into it I have no intentions of changing. 
One thing you will find in that description is clear cut statement about it being being the blog of masculine gendered adult schoolboy with no ifs and maybes in there which was not in that blogs original and was added a short while back to my original one.
Some of that ties in with the changes in my life over the time of both this blog and being on tumblr and some is also connected to own views around how men and boys  are seen and treated in society.
In general I have a lot of time for the Men's Movement in their work helping men and boys find the joy of being themselves in a male body, in looking a better ways to work together that include respect the rights of men and boys to be themselves and for the things that make us different to be recognized and respected. 
To be different is not to be inferior or 'a problem' but a strength not least in the business of raising boys and helping men to be the best they can when having that first hand knowledge of what makes a lad or a bloke 'tick' is a lot more useful having just done a course on 'gender studies' particularly if the person is a female cos ultimately she can't know 'us' anymore than we know what it means to be a girl or a woman. It's an experienced thing she can't have.

You may also of seen this around sign around as well and that also is a for a reason namely that there is a lot be said for having spaces for and spending time in slots that are just for boys to talk and bond as boys together.
It's certainly not to suggest there is anything wrong with mixing with females but to recognizes as some women and female organizations themselves do that single gender spots have a place within a mixed gendered environment for discussions and bonding.
Being honest about this and by having such spaces males and females can have more co-operative relationships that recognize and respect differences.
While I haven't a problem with female followers, my tumblrs are targeted at and are for boys.
I also feel the drive to push boys toward more overly feminine ways not only fails to address the way in which for most of us we  are hard wired to be males but also leads to a load of lost boys, boys that don't seem to know what it is it they are, how we act and how to make that work for them,  leaving them out of  the male social circle that would aid them mature as adults and unable to relate as a mature male to mature females later on in life with a role and purpose in it.

Blue Peter

Sometimes this blog touches more to do with my present life and its issues while at other times it goes back into the throws of boyhood memories.

The television did play an increasing part in our childhood as much I was and remain very much a radio person and by the part of my childhood I start to have strong memories of, there was a good number of programs produced specifically for children be they cartoons, story telling on Jackanory, factual shows such as Animal Magic and Tomorrow's World, the science centred show.

The big daddy of them all as far as many of us was concerned was the long running magazine show Blue Peter that began in 1958 and is still with us regardless off changes in broadcasting and society over that period.

I began seeing the show at least as far as I have a memory of actively watching the show from 1971 and going through to around 1999 although by that point it was not as central  to my life as what I'd later describe myself as being adult but child-like as it was.

It tended to cover things of interest to us as children but as it was on the BBC driven more by the idea of cultivating interest and a sense of adventure  matched with a sense of wholesome morals to the point of having appeals for various causes you got engaged in.

There was a quite a bit of arts and crafts work featured in the program to encourage children of all ages (and I'm bound to add all abilities) to explore from drawing to making things using things like washing up bottles and the infamous sticky back plastic.

In 1992 during the run up for Christmas because of the surge in popularity of Thunderbirds lead to a severe shortage of the Tracy Island base, the show should children with some adult supervision how they could make their very own.

The show had pets on it in part because some children cannot have pets if where they live doesn't allow them and one many of us took to heart was Shep, a sheep dog that was linked to then presenter, the late John Noakes.

A large part of that came from the then programs  producer Biddy Baxter who set the tone for the 25 years she was in control from seeing to it the presenters were 'decent' with nothing in their lives that would let down a young audience.

Her successor had to act in 1998 when then presenter Richard Bacon was uncovered as a a drugs user by a national newspaper.

Another element of her personality that became a hallmark of the the show was the introduction in 1963 of the Blue Peter Badge that viewers could only gain by writing in with ideas, stories and pictures for the program and with it a card index to each child received a personal response and where the badge would be awarded to the best of them. 

This was born of her own experience of having two identical responses from the author Enid Blyton.
I feel one reason many of us including myself look back upon the show with much affection  was it offered a window on the world  with decent reliable people in who cared about us as the audience and where that interaction was governed by mutual respect.

Rather than commercially driven it, imparted actual skills and knowledge  promoting human decency, the things as children we really needed from friendly adults.

Anyone who wrote in always got a reply and that as a child with difficulties in your life is appreciated for having something beyond four walls that offered stability compared to just sending a postal order for piece of merchandise.

It is also why I have a poster of that line up of presenters from the mid 1970's now on my wall. It means so much.

A standard for This Boy and a shock

Looking around at the movement with my life presently I think it would a sensible idea to examine the kind of ethics going forward I should adopt to take with me on this journey.
To me the most appropriate kind of ethics for me to commit to are essentially the same as those to be within scouting and so I've adopted them

A Boys Code
A Boy is: 
Trustworthy,
Loyal,
Helpful,
Friendly,
Courteous,
Kind, 
Obedient,
Cheerful,
Thrifty,
Brave,
Clean,
and Reverent

A Boys Law
I will do my best to be
Honest and fair,
Friendly and helpful,
Considerate and caring,
Courageous and strong,
Mentally alert,
and take responsibility for what I say and do
And to
Help people at all times,
Keep myself physically strong,
Respect myself and others,
Respect authority,
Respect my Flag and Country
and Be a brother to all other boys.


I, Christopher, hereby commit myself to upholding the Boys Code and Law this day September 28 2018 from hereon in.

Visiting ones paternal home looking in the bookcase where there are a good many books that haven't moved in at least thirty odd years I spotted a few Ladybird books and inserted opening side out obscuring the spine was this!!!
It is the 1973 edition written by David Harwood and illustrated in the then contemporary uniforms by the late John Berry.
As you have read this blog before, you will know I spoke about how it was my siblings were cub scouts and one was a Scout but strangely enough no one like my parents ever considered asking if I was interested so scouting was something I never got to experience probably because of my disabilities.
Interesting after mentioning on page four it doesn't matter if a boy is handicapped* or not,cub scouting is for every boy who makes the Cub Scout Promise and understands Cub Scout Law, it has a section on page eighteen called Extension Activities.
It is a whole page devoted to disabled boys and how you can be a cub scout indicating that not being able to play every game or undertake every pack activity doesn't stop you because instead you would be expect to help the leaders run them.
Moreover they would give you special activities comparable to that what regular boys might when it comes to what you need to put into them to develop your skills and interests by your cub scout leaders. 
It even shows a physically disabled cub scout firing a arrow using a provided aid so he could do archery! This is in 1973 where you did face more restrictions but Scouting was ahead of that curve when it came to being inclusive.
It seems somewhere down the line, nobody actually read this because on the face of it it's saying clearly I would of been accepted and any necessary adjustments made!
All I can say is I read it and just felt like crying.

* Regarded by activists as unacceptable term today, I judge people more by their intent and actions than *Politically Correct* terms or sharing sense of victimhood.

Past achievements and the present mission

In characteristic back and forth pattern this week I'm looking at the past as I look at my boyhood reconnecting to my masculinity after a period it seemed to get lost and also looking around this present the work in progress featuring being an adult schoolboy.

Something I have mentioned before on the blog is I have disabilities, physical and developmental that played a part in my childhood both when it came to schooling and also when it came things such as play and leisure.
One thing I was strongly encouraged to do back then was to go swimming as as with most juniors we did go as a class every week on a chartered bus to a local swimming pool for lessons where we we told not to eat crisps before  the lesson.
That lead to my teacher encouraging me to join a disabled swimming club nearby that met at a local all boys grammar school that had a lot of adult helpers that met weekly and had competitions although it was partial socially where we'd let off steam in a safe way.

I did gain a number of achievement awards some of which are on on these original swimming trunks and won cups in our competitions which also meant having look after said cups.
One thing about swimming is it is a great equalizer so whatever difficulties you may have there is a way you can swim and so feel more able about from building up strength through exercise.

Back to the present where I have a couple of jumpers the sort Junior schools and regular state high schools comprehensive wear.

Compared to the rounded neck ones they do look that bit smarter and for having a V neck much better suited for wearing with ties

There was a drift a few years back against tie wearing in Juniors probably a follow on from many being a part of a combined Primary with Infants where they had polo shirts (and dresses for girls) but this is starting to come back.
I'm glad of it as I honestly feel you do look better and feel that bit more grown up having been a junior boy for wearing a tie and it is preparation for both high school where you do and more formal social gatherings.

As it has been a while since I reviewed my formal shirts, I bought a number of new boys shirts that can be got in up to 17 1/2 collar sizes that should fit most of us from Schooluniform 24/7 who have their own site in addition to being on British Ebay.
These are Zeco's who do a range of good quality schoolwear such as long socks, jumpers etc and these shirts also can be had in short sleeve, both with white and blue options.
They come very well packed with plastic clips to hold down and stiffeners to keep the collar in shape in transit just like those we bought back in the day (or our folks did for us) and are the real deal when it comes to non logo'd plain school attire.

l mentioned would of been last week on Tumblr about how we had found the measure of the kind of boy I was, that there was little doubting I am masculine but how it was more overtly feminine influences and associated habits and behaviour had crept since then that I had no real need for.
One area was very much around the kinds of plushies I did collect and especially when it came to having a lot of saniotown posters of the likes of Hello Kitty  to exclusion of all else all over the place which I was just staring at feeling they didn't make me actually happy.
It just felt as though I'd wondered into another persons space and so I have decided replace the posters completely.

One difference today is that on the one hand the number of  boys comics and magazines   that tended to have pull out posters are much less then they were when I was originally a boy but a number of companies do reproduction posters using modern digital printing techniques and this was one I bought.

This as you know was a comic that did feature in that original boyhood and this iconic issue front cover was available in poster form and so I thought would help me feel that much better for being connected to that and the things I loved as that boy.
,

I was never big on Sci-Fi probably because I find it hard to remember all the characters and key things about them but I did remember following plus certainly been shown Marvel's comic books during that era.
I saw this promotional poster on offer and thought it would be improvement on what had been on my walls.

I did manage to get a A3 poster of this illustration but with "Instructions for Outfit No.1" presumably from the original negative which both iconic for the product but also just perfect for its portrayal of boyhood. 
In time I'll get a few more suitable posters and postcard sized pictures more in keeping for boys but at least I will have things things to look at that reflect my own masculine self. 
I know freeing myself of those feminine influences that have only taken me away from my true self is the only proper way to get the point of loving the real me. It is something I owe to myself to do from now on.