Roy of the Rovers: The Best of the 70's - The Tiger Years pt.1

This week has been in many respects a turbulent one although I generally don't do politics on this blog those who know me understand my thoughts around certain matters but as that goes I'm going back to the present.

Seasoned followers of this blog will know soccer (aka Association Football) is a big thing with me being what we played on the streets, during break times and for boys games at school.

Face it, if back then you didn't do soccer then your options for socializing with other boys were going to be diminished so we all did including disabled me who learned his lessons on getting along with picking himself up from and standing up for himself on the pitch.

We followed teams following the results on Saturday's and talked about them Monday's at school that means for me soccer reopening next weekend is a biggie so I'll be watching in my footie strip, jumping up and down.

The other thing was footie was in our comics of which a big one was Tiger cos it had Roy of the Rovers who has been rebooted for today's boys (and girls) in fiction and comic strip form.

Rebellion who have the rights to the Tiger era Roy of the Rovers have had a series of annual like compilations starting with the 1950's and getting into the 60's  that took whole stories that run across issues compiled.

This week we reach the 1970's kicking off with stories I remember as a boy back then in Junior School reading first time from June 16th through October 6th 1973, August 3rd through December 28 1974 and January 4th through June 21st 1975.

These are straight reproductions of the cartoon strips as published with little digital beaching so you will see some signs of a light brown cast from the paper and the colour where used  such as the front cover of that weeks issue as all colour comics were not a thing when I was reading them is muted.

It comes with an introduction from Barrie Tomlinson who joined the team behind Roy of the Rovers at that time as a sub editor talking about how they developed the stories such as it was during this era Roy became a Player-Manager which was a move mirrored in the real life game then.

The compilation is very well put together being well bound and so makes a lovely modern replacement for those comics we had back then.

Recommended for any schoolboy of that era.

Christmas Day Edition

Sleighbells are ringing, the lights are on the artificial tree so I'm up and out of jim jams and into my uniform for a touch of breakfast ready to open these presents that are just in the corner of the room in a pile. 

I think most boys have what you might call a  "big present", the main and usually more expensive one and for me it is one that builds on last years, namely the Lego 11004 "Classic" Windows and doors set that adds those items and more lego bricks to last years classic set.
Playing with my Lego was what little boy me needed and still needs, enjoying making and using my imagination in play.

I do like to read but good new stuff for boys is hard to find however this Adventure story for 9-13 year olds is just the thing for little me being written more for boys.

No Christmas could be complete for me without a link to Christmas pasts so I had the Dandy 2020 Annual with all my favourite Dandy characters in it not least Winker Watson, Korky the Cat and Desperate Dan.

The Beano today is different than what it was even in 2005 never mind how it was in the 70's and 80's as I recall well so rather than buying the new annual in the modern rather PC world, I had this 1976 edition, a year from the one I had last year which more as I remember it.
It takes me back to that time and they boyhood I had.

Like most boys soccer aka Association Football is a passion of mine and one leading publication about it has been Shoot! which I recall from Junior School so it's fitting to have an annual that also marks fifty years of the publication

Most of things about Scouting and its relationship to me exist on another blog but like last year I had an annual from the past, the era I remember well for Cub Scouts because being a scout of that age in spirit is really what I am and am about.

When it comes to more of the "Stocking Fillers" one advantage of this current year being very much "The Year of The Boy" is a lot of the ambiguity of recent years just went and so people went more with what they saw and what in the past it always was.  

Thus Mum taking a hint of boyhood regression, bought me "proper"  boy-like Y Fronts like she used to when I was younger apart from never failing to call me anything other than by male pronouns all year.

I had another Green jersey top.

Socks also featured in it as they did when I was younger very much for a boy in actual boy sizes too having small feet rather than just rebranded girls ones as the Adult 'retro' market starts at Size 6 up which doesn't help.

Traditionally made and fitting into the tradition of what Aunts brought me, it was fitting to be given something stereotypical boyish to wear, a sign of the distance travelled in the last couple of years.
My neighbour knitted me a grey hat with black trim apart from giving me some chocolates also seeing very much "That Boy" on the streets talking to him. 

Outside of the literal stocking fillers a specifically boys own colouring book that ties into that passionate interest of mine to help with my hand-eye co-ordination

Rupert The Bear was a love of early boyhood so in with the stocking fillers is his 2020 annual which really is a reprint of stories from the past complete with original illustrations which is as well as many years ago things like Rupert annuals were just removed.

I don't need Rupert annuals from the past as a grown up collecting thing in the way some do so much as I need that connection from him to the Eternal Boy.

If the year began as "The Year of The Boy" it ends with a suitable adult free Christmas that from love contains within it a very boyish feel that I'm most comfortable nay happy for.

Out with Kickabout and In with Kick!

It was a little late for inclusion in last Friday's blog entry and wasn't something I would of chosen to but I received an email from WSC (When Saturday Comes) who produced  Kickaround to say it was closing and that there would be no more issues.
By rights I'd of received October's which would of been issue 14 on Friday or Saturday and normally they'd of worked on for around two to three weeks.  

It launched in March of last year but took a hiatus in January  for a couple of months returning as Subscription only which meant I needed to make one with WSC as previously I'd bought from the Newsagents.

I did get my copy of Scouted, the Roy of the Rovers fictional reboot and had been enjoying reading Kickaround every month taking it away with me too because it covered not just the men's Premiership action but the other leagues such as the English Conference, Women's football and had found a way to write about the game that could hold boys attention while interesting girls who love the game too.
The bias was on the writing which was genuinely inclusive open to any reader without getting bogged down with gender politics and related activism plus it covered disability football very well which isn't something that normal is and indeed was missing from my actual childhood sadly.

They chose to keep way from cheap plastic tat freebies and those sticker albums that I recall from boyhood that in theory you were supposed to swap with mates but you ended up buying lots (and still had gaps!) but had things like charts to fill out and a world map, which was good for leaning Geography in a fun way.

This was issue 13, September's, sadly the last, looking forward to the start of season proper with young English Premiership players and the Women's Super League plus Faintly Athletic. the comic strip antics of a football team.

I'm looking at what alternatives there are as I don't wish for a full on 'adult' football magazine either by content (cuss words and the like) nor writing style as with my disabilities my reading ability is restricted although Kick!  magazine aimed at 6-12 year olds is a good substitute. 

This is more traditional boys own although it has a few girl readers and  I sampled the last copy - September's - that came out about three weeks ago from my newsagent having walked down in my grey school shorts and socks this week.
The writing isn't on a par with Kickabout which was exemplary being more like a mini essay with words that do stretch your vocabulary but is more text blocks set around images more akin to a comic strip, has a comic strip in which is  boys only and a number of free gifts that includes a football card game you can play plus a Premiership chart with push out figures you move across the week charting the various teams progress.
The fact it makes no concessions to gender equality in coverage of either the Women's Soccer League nor talks about girls playing puts it at odds with much of more PC inclusive children's media but I feel has its place.
It is a better fit for me personally and for boys who love their own space within the manosphere whereas perhaps there is a place for a magazine or section with a magazine aimed at girls that covers girls and women's soccer than the junior equivalents of celebrity obsessed 'OK Magazine' all froth and sickly sugary.  

Kubo and a read

It hasn't been a week much given for being out so I read Shoot to Win in the Jamie Johnson footballing novel series during the wet spells.

One thing I do like is anime although like with music I don't blog about all the time but I recently got this on Blu Ray.

The main character in this animated story is Kubo, a boy who starts the film washed up on a shore with his mother having come to live on the edge of a village where he grows up entertaining the locals with his storytelling, music, and amazing origami skills.

Soon it isn't long before he realizes his mother can only tell him so much about his past and he in particular he'd would love to know who his father was.


When the village is attacked, it's the start of a remarkable journey that will change his life forever as he discovers his own magical powers.

This was one I just loved watching this week.

Spring clothing replacements

When I last made an entry around this, it was in late June of last year not long after my arrival at ASB.org and the establishment of the That Traditional Schoolboy tumblr and we were looking more at school and more casual play clothes.
One area that not much had been done around due to the malaise and generally feeling off I was going through around the time I established that Tumblr was my sports clothing
Much of what I had was getting on in years showing wear and also it has to be said some was more unisex that I really felt comfortable with then and a long way removed from I now at
The start point for my selections were they had to be what I feel comfortable with being in accordance with what other boys of my era would of worn, clearly designed for men and boys only.

These are Adidas Mens Parma Shorts which are manufactured in CLIMALITE technology to keep the body sweat free and comfortable by allowing maximum air circulation and protecting the body against excess moisture and overheating.

According to Adidas these football shorts should improve the passing game and offer real ball control but we'll see if I can put that claim to the test!

These white ones are Umbro sport polyester jersey football shorts  and it says something about how ailing I been feeling that the last pair of Umbro footie shorts I bought was in the early 2000's from a sportswear shop here in Staffordshire in our city region centres shopping mall before footie shorts got longer.
In addition, I did pick up a more traditional bottle green polyester pair of PE shorts of the 'unbranded' variety as a 'spare pair'.

To go with them I picked up two pairs of these Samson (r) football/hockey socks which apart from being thick do help to keep my regular grey school socks clean in the event I'm moving around on grass.

When was the last time I had a 'proper' footie shirt? A long long time so I thought that could be put right with what should be in as a staple of a British boys outfit by getting this Sans Maracana 2 Short Sleeve Football T-Shirt I can wear with my new shorts and socks.

For non footballing purposes  such as general PE and running around, I bought a few plain fruit of loom t shirts in red like this one, sky blue and light pink, the latter is now more accepted than it was when I was much younger even featuring in some boys/mens football strips.

It's been a long time coming but finally having sports clothing that replicates that of my original boyhood that I'd of felt happy to have been in the company of other boys and their dads in is great thing for me.

I did get somethings that were not sports related that fit more around smart casual and schoolwear.

I had noticed my underwear was starting to bobble a bit which wasn't so surprising as it was bought around a year ago and has been through a number of wash cycles so I found these Marks and Spencers cotton briefs which are the sort of white Y fronted ones I grew up and am happy to be back in being sold as old stock with the label cut out to prevent store returns so I bought several pairs.

Something else that has been missing from my wardrobe for a long time have been polo neck T shirts so I bought two mens cotton ones in blue as the only other option was black and I don't do black tops.

Finally, I did get another pair of Grey school shorts in a sturdy fit that works right on me as believe it or not I've hardly been in longs at all this year so a good spare pair is worth having.

Boys only...

Sometimes I feel the age old understandings of just coming out with what your terms of interacting with folk such as a social group or whatever are easier as at least it's all out in the open.
The nineteen-nineties were a period where I did revert a bit more back outside of anything such as my job and outside adult interests to boyhood although t be honest it never really left me and one expression of that was I did wear around the spring and summer footie shorts.

To be honest for a good portion of this period I did spend my time in sports shops buying sports branded t shirts, track pants and shorts such as this very pair of Umbro's  which I wore a lot even though my cats who were kittens at the time tugged many a hole in them.

I preferred the simpler designed ones as they were hard wearing and easier to wash whenever I was away.
I also watched a lot of live soccer as I had Sky tv then jumping up and down supporting  my team and watching the newly formed English Premiership clubs progress both domestically and in Europe in way not to dissimilar than watching Sunday afternoon matches with my Nan who fed me on Cadbury's Fruit and Nutcake chocolate bars in my teens.
It just fired me up.