Dogs and I

Dogs were very much on the edge of my life growing up as we only had one briefly when I was very young and he went off the rails unfortunately so the only dogs I interacted with were those of my relatives one of which had a definite thing for Dashounds  and Labradors or the Alsatian one of my teachers in the third and fourth form had and to which I took for long walks.
I mainly encounter dogs today when I go for short walks or are otherwise engaged in more scout like activity when they're being taken out by their owners, a number of which I have got friendly with in recent years.
In the last few days however I haven't been able to get about as much as I'd like due to the very severe rainfall we've been having something in the region of over two months worth in as many days and indeed as I managed to nip out for a half hour earlier on as I'm typing this, it's pouring down.
One hopes this will clear away so we can have more of a real summer this year as much as last year it was very hot and dry.

Reading while kicking it

We enter a new Month in this increasingly maturing blog that somehow manages to marry the past and the present into it and this shows as we've just had the FA Cup,  Europa and Championship League soccer matches which I enjoyed jumping up and down in my footie strip watching the tv.

Well back in my boyhood I was quite passionate about soccer, watching matches with my much missed nan on Sunday afternoon scoffing Cadbury's Fruit and Walnut chocolate bars while she'd bring me the Dandy and Sparky comics she kindly bought for me.
That Manchester United souvenir goes back to that era a gift from a schoolboy friend who saw the boyish side of me.

One thing I have been enjoying of late on CBBC is the soccer based drama Jamie Johnson which sprung up from Dan Freedman's stories of an Eleven year old boy with talent but feeling pushed out by bullies who don't want to face real competition.
The Tv series makes the team mixed but it does explore some powerful themes such as sexist behaviour, the power of social media, personal responsibility to yourself and team members, things that may be on young players minds such as parental splits, caring responsibilities,safeguarding, the corrosive effects of parents living their dreams through their children as shown so well with Dillion on yesterdays episode and bullying.

The books are ideal for boys packing in lots of detail in a easy to follow way as we follow the lives of Jamie and his team mates being in many way just the kind of book I'd love to had in upper juniors and lower seniors as a boy making their way match by match navigating drama.
It's hardly surprising I have the full set because it taps into my past feelings, the sense of still being that boy loving playing the game as one of the boys.

Dandy Summer Special 2019

It's very much that time of the year where boyhood rituals come flying back in full colour as if you were like me summer meant school breaking up in July, summer hols with your folks or if you were super lucky some activity centre with other boys (and maybe the odd girl) and getting the Summer Special editions of your favourite comics.

A summer special was just that in an era where comics were published on regular newsprint with muted colours and that's if you were lucky cos some comic strips were either black and white or say red and black on white, the summer special was the 'deluxe' edition.

Deluxe because it used better quality magazine paper which was also a bit thicker, the comic strips were full colour through out with cut outs and games included too.

They were then mini Annuals in lots of ways but the stories had a connection to summer which made them the thing to pack when you went on your hols

The Dandy run unto 2012 where it was axed much to the dismay of this blog writer but it has both a Annual published will in time for the Christmas market and a Summer Special like this years.

D C Thomson understand the legacy and nostalgia The Dandy has decided  to produce these specials to the now adult boys and girls who grew up on them and unlike say this years beano which is mainly for today's children with new cartoon strips being drawn decided instead to reproduce in full a selection of stories from past summer specials that draw us in.

To read the adventures Winker Watson, Desperate Dan and Korky the cat is to be back in that space as the boys (or girls) we were back then reading and laughing at their adventures.

There are some illustrations of the original summer special covers such as the one above for good measure too.

For me then having a summer special like this is just perfect as an adult little boy because it takes me back to that boyhood past. Recommended and available from bigger W H Smiths or D C Thomson's website (no need to create an account, just provide delivery info and pay by Card or PayPal).

Fiction for boys

Boys and reading do have a bad press some of which may be down to the lack of encouragement in reading for pleasure especially in an age of instant electronic gratification but part of this I feel is actually the the lack of appreciation of what is boys love to read about.
The modern age has many pluses but one negative is the tendency to write notionally gender neutral stories that read more as stories for girls with lots of details around friendships, drama and relationships which is not something that instinctively does anything for you.
You like mysteries and adventures that hold you in suspense and even when they are, the political correct requirement to make the key characters female for gender empowerment   means there's nothing you can relate to.
One author whose work I loved as a boy and still love to read is Enid Blyton and at least in her world boys are really boys who do have gumption and who doesn't feel the need to write to an agenda.
Today I'm looking at a few I think are good for boys.

While being a mixed gender series, The Six Cousins series has  quite a bit for a boy looking at the lives of six boys and girls, three of whom has lost their home in a fire and three whose lives are affected by having them stay with them.
It's less a 'kitchen sink drama' thankfully as more an adventure looking at the different characters in the area such as shady poacher, a wondering philosopher the older boy lionizes who tunes out to be a thief  and the importance of working hard.
It looks too at a topic that is relevant today, how it is some boys seem to lack that spirit, more concerned with looks within the older boy being more namby-pandy and yet the one who initially was and clearly most effected by the fire finds meaning in life on the farm letting his inner maleness out.The role of a too soft Mum in the upbringing of three of the children and her own lack of adult maturity are explored too

Although aimed more at the eight year old reader, this is the story of Donald who can't really concentrate on academic things in school as he's always dreaming about a life with animals sometimes seeing himself as a naturalist, sometimes wanting to be a vet although his school reports are a concern for his father.
When is Grandma offers to get him a puppy for his birthday his excitement is shattered as at one his parent reject it and the story is of his attempt to secure the object of his fascination -that puppy.
Reading it again, his boyish nature and the longing for a pet really connected to me.

The Boy Next Door is an unusual novel in the extensive Enid Blyton catalogue in that while it is an adventure, the focus of it is a mystery around a boy, a ten year old American boy called Kit who on the outset we are told lost his father and was moved to England for his own protection as his father had left a huge amount of money to him when he's of age and is a target for kidnapping not least by his uncle.
Kit is meant to be hidden away in property miles from anywhere, free from being overlooked where he has a housemaid and a tutor but can be seen by Betty, Lucy and Robin who live next door here he's playing Cowboys and Indians with red indian* dress up attire on.
They didn't know of a boy next door nor did their Mummy.
The book looks at how even though he's not meant to be seen by a soul, he plays with them having adventures although though he's threatened with a spanking if does, how two people suddenly arrive nearby looking for him and ultimately how he foils a kidnapping with the boys and girls help. He also is reunited with his father!
We also learn the source of where he was to be found for the two looking to kidnap him was very much closer to home.
* Intuit or "First Nation" is the preferred term today in Canada.
As unfortunately with most of Enid's works since the 1990's the editors have been changing names of characters, removing unpolitically correct references and the like so to really enjoy these you need to find copies BEFORE 1990.
Dean's editions before this point are easy to find even if they lack all the original illustrations without breaking the bank and Armada paperbacks exist too which the Cousins series in my collection are part of.

For boys of a certain age, Roy Race meant a lot, following his adventures initially in Tiger and then in his own comic every week but as part of last years rebooting (rotten pun that I'll be given lines for later) two closely related but not identical series were reestablished one being the graphic novel which is more the comic strip approach on steroids and the other being actual fiction written by Tom Palmer.
Sensibly Roy has been put in twenty-first century Britain as a sixteen year old on the cusp of adulthood, left school for college while chasing a career that started from  schoolboy soccer thus topics such as the use (and misuse) of social media, living with a family with challenges are in as the backdrop to Roy's football on and off the pitch.
There is realistic dialogue between Roy, his team and family as Melchester Rovers, his side are in a make or break promotion race that if they failure to make league one might even see the teams owner selling up which isn't as far fetched as you might think seeing that almost happened in this region with Port Vale FC only weeks ago.
So it is crunch time for all.
The series oozes with teen boy spirit and is as a close to a boys own series we have in a world where pitches, statistics and balls are at the centre of your existence as it was for boys of my generation and I'm reliably informed the present too.

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.

Welcome to May

Monday saw May Day bank holiday over here which may be a bit cooler than the seasonal norm.
While running errands this week on a patch of land I noticed these two horses out on a day with hazy sunshine.

They were being playful so I took this picture with the camera set to Iso 200, F5.8 @1/500 of them in a small holding nearby.

One thing that is marked in much of the Midlands around May Day is Maypole Dancing which is shown in this photograph from the Birmingham Mail archives and even in 2019 is still happening in many of our schools.
Dancing the maypole is something I well recall doing from when I was eight  to ten years of age in junior school when Mrs Sant, our year teacher had us outside, bringing with her a portable tape recorder with the music on as we were shown how to dance, holding the ribbons weaving them ready to perform for the school spring fair.

All change on Blue Peter

An era ends on Blue Peter with presenter number 37 Radzi Chinyanganya who was born in Wolverhampton and educated at Newport, Shropshire following his last live show on April 18 2019 which featured his final Blue Peter challenge and Thursday's (April 25th) show that was a compilation introduced by him of his adventures in his time from joining in October 2013 where for a period he co-presented also with Barney Harwood as well as Lindsey Russell.

On Thursday it was announced Richie Driss would be the new and 38th presenter who had been a presenter on Joe Media and is aged 30 years.
He originates from St Albans, Hertfordshire and will be making his debut on May 16th's edition.
He made it clear in an interview that this is more than just a dream come true for him to take that position was much more than he'd even expected.
He went on to say "I cannot wait to get started and follow in the footsteps of the 60 years of iconic presenters who have worn the famous Blue Peter badge before me. I am going to give it my all, no matter what the job throws at me."
To me a long time viewer and fan of the show, that really encapsulates the spirit  of what being a presenter is as apart from the usual thing of showing a resumé, a person being considered is set a number of challenges when it comes to performing and making things as a part of the assessment to be considered.
It is much more than just fronting a program because you are engaging directly with and helping to inspire through television supplemented today by the shows on Website and Fan Club, children to develop new skills and be inspired to make the most of their lives.
In that spirit Alex Scott, the former Women's footballer and sports presenter co-present yesterday show that featured a new competition and had Lindsey making a 60th Anniversary B.P. plate at Wedgwood's here in Staffordshire.