Halloween time

It's that time of the year boys, we have but a week of it but it is super fun.

It's halloween weekend and with a whole load of other unwanted stuff this year it's a good excuse as any to put on a bit of show and enjoy something that will take our minds off of things and let us relive our childhood likes.

These three will be on my door at least in part for my entertainment as much as that of the neighbourhood's boys and girls this year as well as a broom stick and candy will be left in bags for picking up while we look out and wave through the windows as they play trick and treat in costumes.

Even Snoopy gets in on the act!

Autumn delights while about

This week, it has been a bit all over the place with the weather so sometimes it's been more a case of grabbing hat and shoes when the opportunity arose to venture out  exploring or taking pictures.

This could be me, that schoolboy in his grey shorts and socks holding a few hundred or so's worth of camera gear while out taking pictures and I'll add at least on his Nikon DSLR the input wheel for setting modes and semi automatic auto exposure settings on the front in the right hand grip ala Canon style unlike my D3500 which for some reason puts it at the rear where when hand held it's obscured by your face!

When it all comes together, a great camera, brilliant lighting and autumnal colour it's just magical

A somethings extra autumn post

 I was thinking back to all those Hanna-Barbera shows many of us loved the other day and I thought I'd post these reference drawings showing each character.

Sometimes you see a trade mark illustrators style - take Fumbles for instance.

We all know a dog in a certain show like that, don't we?

That's so early 70's!

A trio of less well remembered shows

Move over Yogi, there's a different bear family in town complete with Afro.

I'm not sure I caught this show but someone must have.

I just loved all the different teams in Wacky Races didn't you?

I remember the Space Kiddettes

Secret Squirrel and Atom Ant were favourites of mine.

We're restricted here when it comes to who can personally visit following Monday's announcement so I can't see myself going anywhere to send time indoors with anyone this side of 2020.

I'm just gonna stay little boy me throughout this thing.

Talking of which it's the same as it ever was feeling very much all of ten seeing that reflection in the windows coming home in his coat shortened grey shorts and turn over socks confident in himself.

It may be 6 degrees c at the moment but I'm out there!

Staying above it all

This hasn't been the best of weeks not least with a combination of bad weather and being very unwell for a few days so in a lot of respects I'm catching up which hasn't been helped by having to use the trackball on this computer as my mouse has died.

Unfortunately I just don't have the co-ordination and dexterity to use the trackball, struggling to make the curser go where I want it too, frequently getting the 'wrong' action or find it's stuck.

One thing I do swear by is the importance of getting out for at least an hour a day for exercise and adventure not just for physical well being but also for maintaining alertness and actually having an adventure.

Some elements of modern especially grown up life seem to forget the very things we understood as boys, the reason we'd rush off when our mates came for us because we felt so much better in mind and spirit for that time we spent together outdoors.

We felt very much alive in our bodies that no amount of virtual reality can truly replace.

I have also found it helps with being healthy tending to have much less infections  and a more clearer positive mental state meaning I am better able to deal with those things I need to.

I suspect by around Monday I'll be listen to my radio as further announcements are made regarding restrictions due to Covid-19.

I'm not a strong television or social media news feeds sort of person being happier to listen to shows like The News at One on BBC Radio Four for what I need to know.

Learning to do your best and move on

 This week as it's been a bit cooler my mind is rather set on achievements and rewards.

As Winnie the Pooh correctly identified, in order to achieve we need to get past where we are at this moment which is something that some people do struggle with because while there is nothing wrong with being where you are, you can't grow unless you move.

We can develop a strongly rooted attachment to that position that we feel discomfort in the very idea of leaving it and that can hold us back.

It's like the arm bands we all started out with when we learned to swim: They gave us buoyancy, keeping us floating in the water as we learned to stay afloat and move around but when it was suggested we took them off , you may recall that "Will I be okay? "What if I can't float" feeling. 

Sometimes achievement comes within the everyday activities such as passing a test in a subject and gaining a awarded result such as in an examination which might be academic or like with me gaining my ASA Swimming awards at a swimming club.

You may be issued with a certificate and a trophy with a particular title that at the end of a year you hand back for the next years winners to have  a shield put on it baring their name.

Some awards are not just for personal excellence, reaching certain levels of proficiency but my come from entering competitions of which at my Junior School there were many both for a set topic within your year or collectively for your House.

One we competed for was the Victor Ludorum in sporting achievement and it was issued with the other awards at the annual Prize Giving which we all attended and our parents were invited to attend.

You're not too young to win the Victor Ludorum as this Thorpe House prep school boy shows proudly his.

One thing I do feel strongly over is that the entry especially the competing for awards, badges and trophies do help motivate people not least boys to get past that "armband" stage and work toward moving on, becoming more self confident prepared and able to take on challenges, mastering them.

There has been a tendency to see competition as a bad thing, even to the point every child has to win a prize regardless of effort - which if exceptional for personal circumstances can be rewarded in its own right  - and achievement and this doesn't just fail to prepare people for the real world where we do have to compete for jobs, getting our projects accepted and taken forward but also demotivates.

Lots of research shows boys do better in competitive situations, striving to be their best selves, putting in effort and being self disciplined.

Let's hear it for that's that motivate us, taking us out our comfort zones and move us on.

* Inspired by an original TSB blog post of 2019 that was sadly lost in the great account removal on Wordpress and Tumblr.