1986 and the gurl

 

Having made a donation to a site I belong to I thought we might rewind to the past a bit this week as much as it has a bit of a hold on me.

1986 was in some ways rather like 1980 in some ways with me in that for that year I had a diary and annuals just like I did before and I read comics and mainly watched children's tv because Tammy remained very much a child.

A child who loved things like Brownies and Guides.

I was keen on nature, enjoying taking walks together with hikes, learning about how things grew and conservation such as the plight of otters and water voles.

It also was the year of the 1986 National Garden Festival which was about bring former industrial sites back into use in Etruria, Stoke on Trent, which I visited.

1986 was important for it was the year I really started to get to grips with past memories as some of those experiences had left me traumatized, not least those around trying to be your true sissy self in an era of casual queer bashing.

Listening to a radio show that played music from one week per year effectively turned and brought out a page at a time those memories as I reframed them and learned to heal.

I did like folk music although you might say I was born with two left feet when it came to dancing but I loved the pretty clothes and I started to dress more gurly that year as part of that healing process, learning to be more comfortable in my own skin.

I always like puzzles, they were a popular part of annuals which on rainy damp days such as today really helped as at least when you couldn't get out to play there were things you could do to keep busy and happy.

The Dandy always was a favourite and this is a copy from April 19th  that year with Desperate Dan on the front cover,

To return to the beginning, here's  Dandy annual for that year which I had together with the Brownies annual.