Becoming a Brownie

We have spoken a bit over the years on this blog around scouting, what scouting meant to me and some of the gender issues of the day as they impacted getting involved and indeed some of confusion over time on my part.

Imagine a conversation initially uncomfortable but ultimately helpful between you and your sister one day...

"Don't be silly!"

"There's absolutely nothing wrong with a boy like you who likes to wear pretty dresses." "What difference does it make anyway?"

"If that's what you like - then it's fine."

"So don't worry about Mum finding out. In fact I am going to make you stay dressed like this until she gets home so that she can see how cute you look you look as a girl. Oops, I mean as a petticoated boy."

"And you know what?" "I've heard Mum say a couple of times that she sometimes wishes you really were a girl, so maybe we can all start to have a lot of regular girl times together with you wearing my old clothes."

Well the thing is in with it all might be her old brownie uniform as she's flown off to be a girl guide.

Well wouldn't you of wanted to of been initiated as a Brownie for real, make your brownie promise and wear that uniform?

I certain would.

This is a bit about what happens when you do.

When you first join you will be put into a six. Your Sixer and the older Brownies will look after you.

For part of the meeting Mercedes will help you work through a special booklet that teaches you lots of "Brownie secrets".

You will find out about things like...

The Brownie Promise

The Brownie law

The Brownie story

The salute The Pack salute

The Brownie Smile

Brownie Bells

The Brownie Song

When you are ready you will make your Brownie promise.

When you are ready to make your promise we will hold a Promise Ceremony. You can do things differently, but this is how our traditional ceremony works.

All the Brownies form a circle. The toadstool is taken out from the centre and replaced by a 'pond'.

Your sixer will take you into the centre of the circle and spin you round whilst the Brownies say, "twist me and turn me and show me the elf, I looked in the water and there saw..." You look down into the 'pond' and say "myself". To find out why we do this you will need to read the Brownie story.

You then go to Brown Owl who will ask you to say the Brownie law: "A Brownie Guide thinks of others before herself and does a good turn everyday."

Brown Owl will then ask you to salute and make your Promise: "I promise that I will do my best, to love my God, to serve the Queen and my country, to help other people and to keep the Brownie Guide law." Brown Owl will then pin your promise badge to your sash.

You then shake hands with each Guider and member of your six. (Brownies shake hands with their left hand whilst saluting.)

You are then given your six emblem, Pack name tab and a certificate.

After the ceremony you can choose which game to play.

You can choose to make your promise in a special place or have a party afterwards.

*Tammy is an eternal Brownie.

The Rolling Stones Vinyl Collection

One of the things I want to do this year is finally complete a few of my music collections and in particular chunks of my record collection that got cut down with no real plan during the late 1980's and 90's when I was replacing stuff by cd.

Specifically my Rolling Stones lp collection remains all over the place with the odd legacy disc remaining and odd titles picked up off and on in the mean time even though I started the collection in the late 1970's.

One reason for attempt a restocking is the UK albums aren't all available on cd form today because Abkco, who have the rights for the 1960's recordings, prefers to keep the first two UK albums off the market and equally the two UK compilations High Tide  and Green Grass and Thru The Past Darkly that contain many tracks not issued on studio album but scattered without any real reason across several US discs was not issued (They issued the inferior US versions instead!).

It may come as shock to some but unlike the Beatles where I infamously love my Canadian/American discs, the Stones are the one act I really prefer to hear via their UK albums because as sequences of songs they make more sense rather than adding odd singles and heaven forbid faded in and out live tracks mid flow just because London Records wanted new product that season! 

Currently many of their albums can bought new on lp sourced from the transfers done in 2002 for the SACD/CD issued released back then (I use the word 'transfers' because what happens after the track is transferred at a a very high digital resolution is the mastering and there is evidence that some alterations (noise "hiss" reduction and narrowing the stereo image) were made from the when the promotional cd was issued and the SACD's were issued and these difference won't necessarily be on the vinyl as that was mastered separately.)

In December 2010 Universal/Decca issued a lp box set of the UK albums complete with digitally sourced versions of these two compilations, two studio EP's and the 1975 outtakes album Metamorphosis.

Postscript: In 2013 Clear vinyl editions were issued of Beggars Banquet, Let It Bleed and the US compilation Hit Rocks.

My collection so far: 

The Rolling Stones (England's Newest Hit Makers) 2003 issue in mono which begins with Not Fade Away as the lead off track and sounding much more fuller than any original U.K. edition.

12 X 5. London 2022 reissue.

This US release is basically the Five By Five UK EP with singles, B sides and new recordings which is good summary of where musically they were in mid 1965.

The Rolling Stones No.2 UK Decca mid 70's mono reissue which has the long version (five  minutes) of Everybody Needs Somebody To Love and the guitar intro Time Is On My side which isn't on the US album. (Not available new separately on lp and only issued on cd in Japan that issue of which is out of print).

The Rolling Stones, Now 2024 reissue.

While not a replacement for No.2, it does have quite a number of otherwise missing tracks.

Out Of Out Heads. 2023 Abkco reissue of U.S. version in mono.

Much much better than the UK album of the same name when you add December's Children this version starting off with Mercy, Mercy and that second album starts with She Said Yeah.

The two american albums gain from having the singles and b sides from the same sessions plus in being more chronological order reflection just where they were at back then.

I bought this re-issue because from the 1970's onwards the original Decca lp of this title I had was in a ghastly form of fake stereo and with some you can hear the tape riding unevenly between the channels that prevents you from putting it back into mono! 

This lp does sound extremely good.

Aftermath Decca UK 1982 copy -7/-10 matrix

A landmark Stones album from April 1966 featuring Mother's Little Helper, Lady Jane, Under My Thumb and Out of Time, everybody needs to hear it.

This copy was pressed by PolyGram and used a more recent set of stampers whose groove did go further to the label area than previous copies that allowed for a marginally higher cutting level and a bit more bass on what is a very long playing album running for some fifty two minutes.

It has wider stereo seperation and notably more opened sound than later "digitally re-mastered" editions so why they had the advantage of DMM cutting which helps fit more music in with better sound actually this is the best vinyl edition.

High Tide and Green Grass Decca UK 1981 copy. My lp is in EX= condition but the lp jacket has worn corners and a missing 1/2 inch black bit from the front cover so I bought a new copy I can re-home the original lp in.

Issued in late 1966 this is a must on vinyl because singles were not issued on lps in the UK and the Stones albums over here are no different not that tracks like Satisfaction didn't change the world either

On later pressings Paint It, Black, It's All Over Now, Heart Of Stone (From Out Of Our Heads) and Time Is On My Side (Guitar intro) appear for the first time in stereo.

Got LIVE if you want It TelDec 1980's

A partial faux live album issued in 1966 outside the UK that says it is from London's Royal Albert Hall but isn't and heavily overdubbed it's main stay is it gives an idea of what a mid sixties stones gig was like.

Between The Buttons. 1981 Decca reissue 6w

Musically a continuation in many ways of Aftermath with a touching cartoon on the rear cover by Charlie Watts.

This like a few others goes back to the early  nineteen eighties before the original London cds were issued and like most discs of that era is a bit thin compared to todays pressings but the sound hasn't been messed with unlike the 2003 remastered lp.

This is very quiet and unlike the sacd/cd version has a wide stereo image and no noise reduction artefacts that plagued that issue so does offer a better experience than the sacd.

Flowers. July 1967. 2022 London/Abkco reissue.

A compilation that gathers most of the songs missed off the US version of Aftermath and Between The Buttons coupled with two singles and outtakes, this is an interesting hodgepodge of tracks that does work and has the shorter version of Out Of Time rather than the british five minutes fifteen seconds.

Their Satanic Majesties Request 2003 Abkco re-issue.

Cruelly described by many as a second rate answer to the Beatles Sgt Pepper album, while you have to ignore all albums before or since being very much of it's time, it does have some great moments such as the Bill Wyman composition In Another Land and the dance number Sing This All Together (see what happens) utilizing West African rhythms and 2000 Man covered to great effect by Kiss on their Dynasty album

The main single was She's A Rainbow c/w 2000 Miles From Home which remain my favourites from this album.When originally issued on December 6th 1967 it came out in a 3D cover and green label in the UK and that was the one I had until the mid 80's when I let it go naively believing at the time they were all like that. So sad you could cry into your wineglass when you see just how much they go for now!

The reissue is very good - dead quiet with a very full sound and She's A Rainbow just leap out from beyond the loudspeakers at you - and although I miss the cover this version sonically more than makes up for it.

Beggars Banquet. 2003 Abkco re-issue

I originally bought this on lp in August of 1978 but have only just (1/10/11) got a replacement.It's the home to Stray Cat Blues, Street Fighting Man and Sympathy For The Devil seeing the Stones going back to their roots and even venturing into folk and country not unlike Bob Dylan in the same era.

I bought the digitally sourced 2003 version because oddly enough it was found all previous lp and cd's issued of this album run slow due to a tape speed error back then which this new version corrects and generally improves on the thin sounding original.

Thru' The Past, Darkly. Late 70's UK Decca.

Rounds up all the UK singles up to and including Honky Tonk Woman and adds dedication to Brian Jones who had died near the time of release adding You Better Move On from the Rolling Stones EP

Let It Bleed 2003 Abkco re-issue
I first bought my copy in December 1979 from Edinburgh, Scotland but was without a copy on lp since the late 80's. 

This re-issue of the original 1969 album is very good with you feeling Charlie's drums coming in on Love In Vain, the bass is that low and is very quiet.

The album sees the Stones exploring country, folk and produce their take on writing a blues murder ballad, Midnight Rambler which I feel runs for a little to long but, hey that's just me.

Get Yer Ya-Ya's Out 2003 Abkco.
The December 1969 Madison Square Gardens concerts and the last album that had to be issued contractually between the Stones and Decca in 1970, it remains a classic live album even if there are a number of tracks where stuff was re-recorded and mixed to the original concert reel.

This edition was loads of phat bass!

Stone Age UK Decca 1971.
"Cash in" shouted the Stones publicly but much of this album had not been issued on lp form previously comprising of ep tracks, tracks only issued on US albums and the odd 45 only track which makes it worth owning in the context of a lp based collection although it's all out there on cd currently.

Gimme Shelter 1971 UK Decca.
I bought this new in December 1979.

A compilation of sorts the first side plunders Beggars Banquet and Let It Bleed for songs featured in the Gimme Shelter movie documentary but the second side is a gem continuing six of the 12 'live' tracks issued in 1966 on the US London lp Got Live If You Want It! (See above).

In reality many of these tracks are studio cuts with overdubbed screams and the venue for those recorded live but extensively re-dubbed was City Hall, Newcastle, England not the Royal Albert Hall, London as claimed. Fun to listen to!!!

Rock n' Rolling Stones 1972 UK Decca

The album front with Jagger surrounded by motorbikes brings up ghosts of Altamont on this cheap and cheerful cover and it would be an easy title to dismiss as yet another cash in other than this release does contain three titles of one remains an exclusive.

First off this has the track Bye Bye Johnny from the EP present although in fake stereo form but secondly it does contain the true stereo mixes of Down The Road A Piece and critically Everybody Needs Somebody To Love which some how evaded Teri Landi and the others at Abkco when researching the who Decca era tape vaults in the UK and US and so isn't available in the cd age.

With this I have three of the four stereo mixes issued on the tape version of No.2 as Time Is On My Side was issued on later (post 1969) copies of the UK High Tide and available on Rolled Gold + .

No Stone Unturned 1973 UK Decca
I bought this in 1980 having borrowed it several times from the municipal library.

An inspired collection of b sides in addition to odd US album tracks never previously issued in the UK with a classic David Bailey photo cover

Metamorphosis 2003 Abkco 
A collection of demo versions from the early to mid '60s for the most part not used by the group with Mick Jagger singing with session musicians on one side of the album and actual Stones tracks not issued at the time, it's an interesting release first issued in June 1975.

I did buy the Decca UK issue back in the day but my original had a warp problem causing skipping and the jacket was a bit mangy so I bought the 2003 re-issue lp recently which I feel does sound better although the tapes still have the messing about with the stereo image (a few tracks are almost mono) and other processing applied by Andrew Oldham in '75 so isn't as much as an improvement as other releases in the series.

.

Rolled Gold + 2007 Decca/Abkco
I wrote a review in November 2007 of the cd but this was issued in vinyl, not just any vinyl but 180 grams in a four lp format that provides plenty of space to cut the bass and minimizes any tracing distortion at the end of the lp side by making sure there's a good amount of space between the last track and the run out grooves.

I was able to get a brand new copy on Sunday cheap and it arrived on 1/12/2011 well wrapped from Laura.

This I'd have to say is the best sounding vinyl compilation I've ever heard and is pressed on really quiet vinyl

Well worth the money.

One album of theirs from the early 70's I do like a lot is Goats Head Soup from 1973 which is the home of Angie, a top ten single and Can You Hear The Music with its mystical arrangements.

My copy is the 1979 reissue.

Made In The Shade (1975)
A very good 40 minute resumé of the cream of the early 70's Stones tracks from singles like Angie, Brown Sugar and It's Only Rock and Roll, issued to coincide with the 1975 Tour of the Americas. UK COC 59104 A2/B3 original pressed by Atlantic/WEA near mint copy.

Love You Live (1977)
The live album featuring three side from the 1976 Paris concerts where performances apart Mick Jagger's diction is poor and third side from a small 350 seater performance in Toronto where the Stones get back to their roots and is in my opinion the best thing about this double live album.

My copy is the UK one pressed by Atlantic/WEA with the original Andy Warhol inner sleeves to match his album jacket design 

Some Girls (1978)I had this originally on vinyl with it's banned inner sleeve but lost it in the years then went through two cd versions.

I managed to get an original UK pressed version using the Sterling mastering that sounds great.

Emotional Rescue (1980)
This album was one I bought on a UK dolby cassette while on vacation would of been in August that very year having heard a interview with the band broadcast on Liverpool's Radio City fm stereo station where they played tracks from the album.

It had two hit UK 45's Emotional Rescue from July and She's So Cold from October that I also bought in picture sleeve UK 45 editions at the time.

My brother was a big Stones fan and bought the lp version and always loved how it sounded.
I managed to get the UK first pressing A1/B1 with the Sterling mastering and poster

Tattoo You (1981) 
An album made mainly from older sessions tapes with dubbed new playing and vocals it was the album the now famous '81 US tour stood behind featuring the hits Start Me Up, Waiting On A Friend and Neighbours. 

My copy is a mint UK one with the picture inner although I've put the disc itself in a better inner sleeve.

Updated by Tammy 2023.

The Best of George Harrison with a blast of Ringo Starr

This week we look at a couple of budget lps that I bought a short a while back.

This was always a favourite album of mine during the 70's and early 80's having gone through tape and record editions.

Here's a bit of time capsule:

In late 1967 the Beatles establish "Apple" a 'do anything we think is groovy' company and one of its' first divisions is records from late 1968 onward their releases are on their very own label. In time they add a variety of other artists usually people they encountered professionally and after the demise of the Beatles as a recording group, the individual beatles issue sole recordings all on Apple.

Fast forward to late 1975 and the Apple is winding down with most of the labels acts resigned to other more mainstream labels and the surviving Beatles have lost their interest in the label.

Ringo establishes his own label with its own distribution arrangements, John Lennon decided he wants to spend time outside music becoming a house-husband, George has established Dark Horse records and Paul has signed to Capitol/Parlophone directly.

In this closing down process Apple decided to issue compilations by John, George and Ringo around 1975 thru '76.

John and Ringo's were fairly straight forward collections of singles and the odd album track but George's was very different.

Maybe it was marketing getting cold feet but for this the Best of George Harrison issued in 1976 somebody decided they need a sides-worth of Beatle tracks to sell it, something ruffled George and his fans no end.

Be that is it may, what that side actually does is show the lyrical, philosophical and musical developmental of George who in the understandable fascination with Lennon and McCartney sometimes gets overlooked for his contributions.

In Something and If I Needed Someone he examines the depth of relationships, Think For Yourself is a rallying call for free thought and in While my Guitar Gently Weeps remains a classy blues number.

The second side may of been a disappointment quantity-wise, but it has some of my favourites 45's from the early 70's such as My Sweet Lord, Bangladesh-the band aid style single if its day - Give Me Love and What Is Life from the acclaimed All Things Must Pass triple album.

I used to own the Parlophone first issue lp as cut by NickW but recently picked up this later reissue with a different sleeve - the US sleeve showed a more 'Cosmic' George - cut by Harry Moss on one side (-3' HTM' side 1 -2 Side 2) that sounds much better.

This was Ringo's that also concentrates on that commercial successful 1970-74 period in the same series of Music For Pleasure re-issues that included studio albums by John Lennon.

For people like me who loved those singles as child in the early 70's this album with better new artwork but keeping the original mastering is just great for songs like It Don't Come Easy and Photograph.

Recovering Sissy Gurl

 

We're heading very much toward the spring now so there are a number of upcoming animes and cd releases schedules that I intend to buy and write reviews of here on  my blog apart from other interests.

It was my birthday a few days ago so I had a birthday spanking!

I do wear school type uniform a lot because when you're very much child-adult me with a permanently on child's mindset it just feels  more me, it also is hard wearing and less fussy being easy for me to put on and look after properly.

This is a picture of a porcelain doll I've had since my teens called Debbie.

She was bought for me from a doll fair near Macclesfield and she's been with me no matter where I've been living ever since. I like the blouse and dress she's wearing.

A sissy gurl like me wears skirts, pretty panties, cute socks and has dolls.

It's that that makes me a jane girl/sissy and by extension this blog what it is about.

Presentational shifts

Hockey was and remains a big passion of mine be it Field or Ice stemming from my youth although I'd need to play in a disabled team cos with my physical disabilities it just wouldn't work any other way and actually I did play wheelchair sports growing up with cerebal palsy. Hockey, netball and rounders were the big ones with me.

When I play sports this is how I want to present from now on in girls skorts or netball skirts.

Well it had to happen I guess. Yes I came round to the view I could look drop dead gorgeous in a imitation leather mini skirt!

Not so mini that it would look kind of cheap on me I went for a more discrete 17 inches in length with two pockets zipping up round the back, it would classy teamed with tights and a casual top.

For good measure it's lined too making for comfort where wearing for extending periods.

I don't have to just wear school and sports related feminine attire any more.