The Girls of St. Brides

Reading is a passion of mine and it is not uncommon for authors  to write a whole series of stories that are self contained and over time start again which does make it hard pick a series to work ones way through.

In the instance of Dorita Fairlie Bruce, she actually wrote five whole series so I've cherry picked this the start of the St. Brides/Maudsley series to work my way through.

 Originally written in nineteen twenty-three and long out of print, this introduces to Island School of St. Brides on Inchmore far away from industrial west coast of Scotland and introduces us to its main characters although it obviously was not conceived as part of the "Nancy at St.Brides" series at the outset as Nancy doesn't make an appearance!

One strong point of this book is the inclusion of a disabled girl, Winifred who was disabled in early childhood and uses a wheelchair which is very rare for the period and how it touches on the idea of integration, talking about the sense of isolation and lack of acceptance showing how in this school and through the friendship with Morag, she emerges becoming very much a part of the school community.

Integrated education is as I know from direct personal experience as a disabled boy is still controversial and indeed for a period many did not have what would be recognized as a (appropriate) academic education.

Because it was written in nineteen twenty-three, Dorita does use the term "Cripple" to describe Winifred which would jar with many today but we need to remember that it is from the German term "Krupil" and one of the meanings of that word is "lame" which medically speaking is true as her limbs are indeed just that as are mine. 

It also is the case cripple did not acquire the common abusive undertones it did in the nineteen fifties and sixties as did "spastic" both of which went on unofficial blacklists of terms not to be used from the late seventies onward but Dorita in fairness uses cripple with sensitivity.

Thus it does not personally offend because her use of and development of that character is not in any way offensive.

Guiding and Baden-Powell

 The statue at Poole, Dorset opposite Brownsea Island of Robert Baden-Powell

Baden-Powell at the 1935 Jamboree, lionized by the Scouts.

He is MY hero, the founder of Scouting for Boys and Guiding for Girls, teaching personal, social and practical skills, increasing the confidence and competence of millions of boys and girls around the World of all races, religion, class and language, moulding them into good productive and useful Men and Women. 

Brownies here take their salute at the weekly meeting just like others across the region and beyond.

Tammy is glad to be a brownie in spirit.

Frilly panties for the feminine gurl

They caused great controversy when mentioned on some sites  which aren't really what being a feminine boy is about but at least talk about the odd thing of interest.

While having an aversion to a forest of lace and details, feminine boys like me like soft comfortable knickers that have a little lace detail and elasticated legs.

These were made by a U.S. concern Manties advertised as "panties for men" and that does translate into having a bit more room around the crotch to allow for our boy parts compared to cuts for girls who are very different in that respect.

To me they just the ticket, frilly panties for feminine boys that fit properly that make me pretty.

Those in some "sissy" communities disagree because they want to wear women's panties by design even though they seldom fit right for biological derived anatomical  reasons and the fact they are designed for men automatically invalidates them.

It's a difference between us and them  I suspect.

Inland waterways

This scene is a typical one near my home.

It is the summer and in this part of England, people travel sections of inland waterways called Canals in a set pattern. The section of canal is called the Trent and Mersey linking the Midlands to Lancashire

This particular vessel is registered at Whixall, Shropshire in the Midlands and often is seen where she is hired from travelling from Audlem in the South to Runcorn in the North of Cheshire, a district with close links to Liverpool and the Wirral.

The people will typically stop overnight having used local shops, the Post Office and Public Houses before travelling toward Middlewich for the next leg.

Sloe Motion. What a name, eh? This one is registered nearby at Northwich.
It has traditional flower and brass fittings.

Laputa: Castle in the Sky

Anime is a passion of mine and recently I bought this acclaimed anime to add to my collector upon recommendation by friends from the Studio Ghibi catalogue.

The high-flying journey begins when Pazu, an engineer's apprentice, finds a young girl, Sheeta, floating down from the sky, wearing a glowing pendant. Together, they discover both of them  are searching for the legendary floating castle, Laputa, vowing to unravel the mystery of the luminous crystal around her neck. 

Their quest it has to be said will not be easy, however for there are sky pirates, secret agents and monumental obstacles stopping them from discovering the truth - and each other. 

 However, Laputa is more than it appears, and some seek to use it for evil.
Director Hayao Miyazaki's love of air travel shows through this anime that I greatly enjoyed.

Edited 2017 from dvd to blu ray edition by Tammy