Bernard Cribbins: An appreciation 1928-2022

 On Thursday it was announced Bernard Cribbins died who was major part of our childhood.

Born in Oldham, Lancashire he got into acting at the age of fourteen, then like many was called up during WW2 in the parachute regiment before resuming.

I'm going to ignore the grown up acting he did and leap to one of several comedy records he recorded for EMI produced by the legend that was Sir George Martin whose UK Label Parlophone had dance band music and comedy such as The Goons before an infectious Liverpool foursome called Beatles kickstarted the British Invasion.

In Britain, this was one of the staples of the children's requests show Junior Choice for many years together with Right Said Fred that I loved listening to at weekends as a boy.

Doctor Who is a BBC TV series that is a global sensation with a long history that was popular with children and he took part twice in it.

With the Daleks in 1964

With David Tennant.

The Wombles were environmentally friendly superstars in the 1970's and returned in more recent years and he provided the all the voices for the 1973/5 series by Elisabeth Berrisford.

They were filmed by Filmfair in stop motion by Ivor Wood and Barry Leith who gave us many more favourite cartoons such as Ivor The Engine.

In Britain, he was a staple of that much missed BBC show Jackanory where across several days leading actors and actresses read stories with vocalization to children.

Here he is as one of the actors tackling J.R.R. Tolkien's The Hobbit in 1976.

He tackled the whole of Jane Aiken's Mortimer's tales and actually he appeared more than a hundred times, the most appearances on that show ever.

There is something quite magical to just being sat listening to a story being read with no big visual effects as you create that world in your head and for many of us he was part of that.

None of us can forget that classic children's film The Railway Children from 1970 where he played Albert Perks, a modest station porter in the North of England filmed on the Keighley and Worth Valley preserved steam railway in Yorkshire.

It is out on Blu Ray and well worth seeing.

Bernard was everywhere and someone whose performances played a big part in our lives so we'll miss him as he reminds us of our lives not least our childhoods.

The same but different - being you

One reason I have to have a blog rather than a Tumblr is Tumblr doesn't just rightly clamp down on threats but also on anything that contradicts its right on "woke" culture even though it's supposed to be a social blogger tool for all regardless of views.

Being on there talking and sharing my childhood experiences helped me understand me and get to grips with who and what I was really about, having conversations with boys apart from the stuff at one site but because in part their opposition to anything that's not pro gender questioning and skewed towards modern feminism, they axed all my original accounts.

Well I'm post gender questioning  having moved on from gender questioning and now being seen as non binary with sissy gurl elements because we got to really what I was about.

My sex is male and socially I am a mixture of masculine and feminine gendered hetrosexual so you might think it was okay to be gender affirming as a boy but on there it wasn't at all.

That's the thing: While I respect the rights of others to be as they are because I share space with them doesn't mean I should not  act feminine or have to have anything to do with things that are 'girly' that I'm not hard wired to because I do have a feminine side as a sissy gurl

My own part boyish nature in all its forms should be accepted as part within my own sissy gurl gender identity rather than being denounced is best channelled in areas that benefit everyone and people should be appointed because of their ability not trying to mirror society demographics as good as having a mix can be.

Respecting those space also should include respecting my right as a Sissy Gurl to present in skirts and dresses as a matter of course, being accepted for what I truly am.

My wearing a skirt doesn't make me a girl either.

Spaces that have existed for male and females alone because they provide safe spots for free frank conversation should be respected  even if most things are co-ed.

There is merit in single sex youth movement units even if two of the opposite sex do share facilities and take part in exercises together because it helps develop each to their full potential learning from older members and leaders of their own gender not just skills but also how to be the best grown man and women they can.

We aren't all the same but are complementary and all sides deserve respect as the gender  that they are from the one they are not.

Tammy and the steam train

While I've been away with friends this last week thoughts came back.

Trains while not the mainstay of my interests were a childhood fascination, not least steam ones going on many preserved steam railways, having a model steam train of my very own and loving the Ivor the Engine animated cartoon heaps.

I like to go on trips as often as I can to experience live steam traction.