The Secret Seven and the missing words

One of things I have made a bit of a start on is getting replacement hard back copies of my Secret Seven books that I originally wrote a bit about on here a few years ago with the bulk of them being modern edition but with good original illustrations and the other five being 1970's paperback ones.

 This series is for me a link of that nine through thirteen period where  having moved from the first 'proper' reading books I had from around  six with Mr Twiddle, I was looking for something a bit more 'grown up', a bit challenging both by the style of writing and also use of a wider vocabulary and that of older children.

It's an adventure series of a group of children who meet up having adventures while trying to solve mysteries and in it we see their personalities such as a somewhat bossy Peter, club leader.

In many ways it touches on that sense of longing to be long to a group, a circle which as a child of that age  you sure felt and in the series we see Susie, one of more quick thinking children kept out, perhaps more that she might undermine Peter than anything else.
They have a scottie dog called Scamper who rather like George's dog Timmy in the Famous Five plays a big role, big enough to be counted as a member even!

Actually it is the similarities that invite comparison between both of Enid Blyton's adventure series usually to the the detriment of the Secret Seven in which two later stories do clearly reference Famous Five books almost as if she was saying "If you read this, please consider reading the Famous Five!" but that's negate the point which is this is a self contained series aimed at younger children or children with a lower reading age which was probably why I got them given my reading issues when I did.

The series was started in nineteen forty-nine  and concluded in nineteen sixty-three and like the Famous Five editions later copies were subject not just to things such as changes in currency but also in dress where the girls generally wear pinafores rather as I do now but these were again changed for jeans or shorts and the boys wore jeans unlike boys even in the early to mid nineteen-seventies in school who wore tailored hard wearing lined shorts.

The text also was altered in recent copies to 'reflect' modern social ideas so where in the second novel, Secret Seven Adventure, Peter says to Jack as he is being scolded for allowing his sister Suzie to have his  Secret Seven badge she should be smacked for it and a grown up says to the children  the girl at the circus should be spanked for her constant fibbing, that is removed.

Given it was written in nineteen-fifty that would of happened and I can well recall when I did something like that in the nineteen seventies I and my peers sure  were smacked or spanked firmly.

It's small details like that, the references to things in 'shillings' that set the backdrop of this adventure as are things like the circus acts a child of that era saw, regardless of our own views on that today and why apart from the feel of having the hard back I'm slowly building up a collection of them hopefully all with dust jackets, to read and enjoy as I did back then.

Chores for Little Gurls

Today I thought I would give some thought to things a little or middle either in relationship or living with someone even on occasional basis can be encouraged to do for themselves

Own area

Making own bed

Getting clothes out for the next day

Hanging up own clothes neatly after wearing/washing

Making sure worn clothes are available for washing

Keeping own spaces tidy

Helping in the home 

Fixing own breakfast

Setting tables with cutlery, mats, glasses and cold refreshing drink

Clearing away and washing up afterward

Tidying away in other spaces after you

Helping with vacuuming

Feeding pets

Sometimes it can be easy to drift into a pattern where other people may not expect you to do (or be able to do)  these things which doesn't help you either with trying be more responsible and independent and may in a low key nagging way begin to undermine a relationship.

It also is the case that within reason, people shouldn't try to do that too, even if you  as a little or middle have a disability or two regardless of like a  number of folk  you may not of had to do much if any of these things in past yourself.

The Rolling Stones in Mono

Many years ago I wrote a substantial entry around the longstanding British rock band, the Rolling Stones and my recordings by them and on September 30th, a 15 cd box set of their recordings was issued.

Basically the box set covers what I'd call the Decca or the London Years where from 1963 through 1970, they recorded for Decca records of Great Britain but with a twist as this set only comprises of individual albums of studio recordings that were issued in monophonic sound.

Unlike the Beatles to whom only about five recordings were only available in mono and to whom there are mono and stereo sets of everything except the last two studio albums, it's fair to say most of the pre 1966 Rolling Stones songs are only in mono and they appeared as recent as 2002 in generally good remastered cds and a few records from the same sources.

It's also important to note a good number of those 1964/5 tracks that were only mixed in stereo such as 2120 South Michigan Avenue were simply 'folded in' for the mono editions so you're not hearing different outside of the sound all now coming from the centre of your speakers on these discs.

This means there is quite a bit of duplication between those cd  issues and these new cds.

The discs are fitted so you remove from from the top with what I'd regard as a silly magnetic catch and at the front there is a booklet with a short write up of the the groups history and pictures.

It tells you nothing about the recording history of the groups albums such as the dates, studios used when originally issued and catalogue numbers or even which albums are featured that I feel is quite an oversight.

 The albums appear in mini lp form which I favour but lack some of the individual touches such as 'fold backs' on the UK titles, period mock inner sleeves and in the instance of Let It Bleed, the poster that was included in all copies of the album. At cost the Japanese issue features all of that and more!

The European edition has see through plastic inner sleeves and plastic resealable outside sleeve jackets to protect them. This inexplicably was been missed of the North American edition which has the discs spine face down in the box so they can easily get scratched where at least the European has them slotted with the spines to the left hand side of the box.

Like most sixties groups their UK and US discographies difference greatly but unlike that of the beatles they were compiled by the bands own producer for US consumption leading of itself to duplication.

To simplify, it includes the following US titles also released back in Canada on London records:
12x5, The Rolling Stones, Now, Out Of Our Heads, December's Children (and everybody's), Aftermath and Flowers plus all of the UK titles.

This means that for the first time since 1995 their first UK album is actually available here in the UK in it's original form and for the first time outside Japan, the second album is finally issued on cd, something as a person who chose back home to collect the UK versions I'm delighted about.

That's the first UK album - note unlike the Beatles in 1964 it wasn't deemed necessary have the bands name on it - where next to it the London 12x5 album of July 1964 that did!

Talking of sleeves for some inexplicable reason 1968's Beggars Banquet album which only has one special mono mix on it of - Sympathy For The Devil - uses the 1984 'toilet' cover rather than the R.S.V.P. scripted one originals had.

The band may of wanted that at the time as the cover but it wasn't what was issued so in many ways it just jars with whole notion being a facsimile of the original lp issue.

The inclusion of the American edition on London of 1966's milestone Aftermath album seems odd given they removed two other US editions and that only what is seen from a  UK vantage point of the inclusion of Paint it, black, a 1966 single and opening track is only what separates it from the UK edition as just ten of the UK versions fourteen were used with no differences in versions.

I say that because they compiled a special compilation album called Stray Cats for this set that houses other mono only tracks such as 45's or tracks from UK extended play releases not on these albums where there is space for it and where it would make more sense to have included it next to it's 'b' side. 

A number of tracks were re-transferred and others had some processing done in 2002 for initial super audio cd release removed and these do actually sound better as in more 'open' and analogue sounding.

Outside of that and the reappearance of the first two UK albums, the main plus of this set is getting the dedicated mono mixes unavailable since the late 1960's of their Aftermath, Between The Buttons and Their Satanic  Majesties Request albums that suffered from that extreme left, right so-called 'stereo' popular back then and in any event was often less of a priority than the more commonplace in the home mono.

The amount of time spent varied where separate mixes were made made in four hours or less in stereo compared to days on the mono with less care about how loud any one part of mix was in stereo compared to the mono.

Personally I feel those mono mixes offer more of a sense of the performance everyone including the bands own members wanted us to hear and be judged on, sounding better balanced to my ears.

The inclusion of a completely folded  from stereo into mono Let It Bleed album, an album that is one of their very best ever is puzzling as while it was issued briefly in 1969 in this form in the UK, it was soon gone and sounds no different than playing a current version on cd with the mono button engaged.

I'd of issued the stereo version with a period cd logo in mini lp form in stereo complete with replica dedicated inner sleeve and poster as a bonus as that would be of more value, making the set a good mainly mono way into the 1960's Rolling Stones recordings.

To summarize, the box set performs a valuable function in presenting the whole of the studio recordings of the Rolling Stones in mono in single spot very well transferred although the execution on the artwork and some choices on the contents could of been better given more thought and general attention to detail.

There's a spectrum of Gurldom...

It be October, very much the Autumn where everything goes out in a blaze of colour before it gets renewed in the spring so thoughts did go to how I am and thow hat shows in me cos moat of the time I'm very much "The Little" so things are very much vanilla.

But it can't be denied, and Mistresses unwrapped with me there is "A Big" and it also can't be denied some of the time being gurlish also includes feeling sexy, having sexual thoughts even cravings so if that's the emotional frame of mind I'm in why shouldn't I get all dolled up and ride with everything that might come my way when it satisfies them.

Set yourself free!

The return of the original Famous Five

This edition is part of a restoration theme I touched on in part to getting back in touch with some people I was close to a few years who may have some different reasons for their interest than I but is a place where I can discuss that side of reading that for me is rooted as much part with my past and present child-like sense of being as much as a love of reading, my difficulties with reading aside.

Enid Blyton was as no doubt for many of us in the British Commonwealth the author we were introduced by schools and parents keen for us to reading something other than comics and preferable to the big threat of our era, the TV in the corner which was feared for turning us into passive unthinking consumers.

She wrote for all ages although there was a age-range guide for each series so we'd start with something like Noddy or Mr Twiddle which I loved and move through to a series like Malory Towers and the Famous Five to the very top end Junior Fiction and the cusp of Young Adult Fiction and adult fiction often tied to what we studied for English Literature around our mid teens.

I'm revisiting the Famous Five series after talking about them in 2012 mainly because of they way chunks of the situations around the lives of George, Dick, Julian, Anne and Timmy the dog have been altered dramatically that they no long ring true even if the basics of the plot remain.

What I'm in process of doing is replacing these somewhat altered versions with originals from the 1950 and 60's in hardback form.

Although much of the adventure and the sense of being young are universal across each era's children inevitably it is set in the past with it starting in 1942 and ending in 1963 so as amazing as it may sound one thing is they used a different currency and with it a different sense the value of things. 

This was one of the first things to be changed following the UK adopting decimalization in 1971 was references to money and strangely enough the decision by one paperback publisher to put all the children in Jeans even though that wasn't what was worn back then  plus ignores a common theme in the novels which is how 'George' rejects femininity as expressed in dresses and ribbons in preference to the shorts of boys and boyish pursuits.

At a stroke a big part of her gender role rebellion is diminished by removing the contrast to that societies norms.

My start point in revisiting the series begins where I first met them in chronological childhood  and that's with the first three novels that were put in an omnibus edition which to be honest is how most likely I'd of been given these novels and so I got a 1964 copy of "The Famous Five Big Book".

That contains the very first story Five on a Treasure Island that sets very much the scene introducing us not just to the Island and the children but also to their families and the social order within it, not least that the adults are the Authority Figures and that the children are spanked (and expect to be) which was the norm back then.

More recent editions remove that completely and attempt to suggest a more negotiated form of parenting that simply wasn't the case and what the children  who read the stories originally would not of recognized because the lives of Julian, George, Anne and Dick where very much like theirs in that way!

Some of the copies I have do have their original dust jackets, some of which are like this - a little the worse for wear although I used transparent tape to repair a few tears on this one - that are enjoyable to look at although because so many got lost or badly damaged copies with them tend to at a premium regardless of the actual condition of the book itself.

For me then while I love the dust jackets, it's the original text and the illustrations by Elaine Soper that have never been surpassed that are the reasons why I'm replacing the other set and enjoying re-reading the stories as they were originally written as I identified with them as that child.

I don't appreciate having my memories messed with.

The all purpose Sissy Gurl

We may be in the Fall, but really it's hardly got going yet, maybe another two or three weeks on before everything starts coming out all glowing and golden.

It's really time for a recap, renewing what all of this was really about for me.

To be a sissy means to embrace a submissive role with a feminine demeanour as an alternative to traditional masculine behaviour. The term “sissy” was traditionally used to call out boys or men whose behaviour or interests deviated from the typical masculine norm. 

Now, it has become a term that is willingly adopted by those who desire to become a sissy and enjoy being called a sissy, that is why I, Tammy, want you to call me one.

From where I'm coming from Sissification contributes to the discarding of societal gender roles and the exploration of one’s sexual identity beyond the binary confines. It involves encouraging or training a submissive partner to imitate feminine mannerisms and dress in a feminine or exaggeratedly feminine manner. This could range from just wearing female underwear to full time sissification, performing tasks in a feminine manner and altering one’s physical appearance.

For me nothing is truly off limits, only subject to my own lines at that point in time.

Sissy tasks can range widely, reflecting the spectrum of femininity. These tasks could include cooking, cleaning, wearing lingerie, and even more erotic adventures. These tasks help in step out of my masculine shell and embrace my alter ego, acting much like a woman ordinarily would.

All are open to Tammy and Tammy is open to all.

My journey of turning into a sissy isn’t an overnight process. It involves repeated sissy tasks, sissy training, and the altering of behaviours over a period. As a sissy I did not go too far in physically altering their appearance initially, slowly embracing feminine tasks and behaviours before proceeding to more involved steps.

The journey of sissification involves a desire to mould into femininity, often involving a struggle with one’s identity and societal prejudices. A sissy willingly humiliates himself to break free from toxic masculine norms, challenge gender norms and roles, and find satisfaction in being submissive, slutty, or sissified.

What I went through around 2008 to 2010 taught me the whole expression of my sissy gurl ways from Little Gurl to Full adult made me feel satisfied in myself

Pivotal to the sissy’s transformation is the adoption of feminine attire such as lingerie, stockings, and high heels. These items are symbolic of the sissy’s break from patriarchal norms and enhance the depth of their femininity and they are what Tammy so loves doing.

The psychological aspect of sissification involves tapping into the desire for self-subjugation. Snuffing out my masculinity is seen as an act of self-humiliation or submission to a dominant. 

This process helps the subject see and accept all the amazing benefits of feminization and for me makes my identity sissy gurl.

Sissification doesn’t necessarily imply an alteration of one’s sexual identity. It is a kink or sexual preference that involves the subject adopting exaggerated feminine behaviours and attire as Miss D found out with me.

Even if I take a break from sexual activity, say during a period of intense Little Sissy Gurl role playing and getting in that most innocent of headspaces because "My Little" should not be subject to advances "My Big" might enjoy, it doesn't mean I have no sexual neediness.

Those needs when they emerge have the right to be met including her "Big Gurl" cravings and Tammy  enjoy it.

Elton John on vinyl

A good few years back, going back the last dying days of my original laptop I did post something about my collection of Elton John cds and his "To Be Continued..." box set of 1990 of which my copy is Canadian.

During a period in the late 1980's through early 90's much of my original vinyl and tape collection of his got converted into cds some of which are specialty gold re-masters of better than regular cd quality.

Feeling the need as I got back into vinyl for some of this prolific singer/songwriters output in that form, I decided to add a couple of well chosen compilations.

My original copy of this the 1974 Greatest Hits album was the MCA edition that had a different track selection but it was an album much played growing up and to which I have the DCC gold remaster that over twenty years on still stands out.

What's on it ten essential tracks including such vignettes as Crocodile Rock, Candle in the Wind and plaintive Border Song.

I got the original 1974 UK lp which sounds like he's almost in your room singing.

 That compilation was followed up three years later by another that because he had just switch labels required some cross-label licensing that has caused issues with the US cd edition since to the point I remade the selection digitally.

The strength of this compilation was it housed on lp form a number of non album 45's such as Pinball Wizard, Philadelphia Freedom and Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds and his Rocket Records duet Don't Go Breaking My Heart with Kiki Dee which was a British #1.

I decided to get the UK version as it sounded better and between both volumes of Greatest Hits I was only missing one song, Levon, and that didn't matter so much.

If one was to pick a single album of Elton's that you could say was his greatest achievement musically, then it would be the 1973 double album Goodbye Yellow Brick Road which breaks very well into four suites of songs.

It was the home of Candle In The Wind, Saturday's Alright For Fighting, Bennie & The Jets and the title track although for me nothing surpasses the opening Funeral For A Friend/Love Lies Bleeding.

My copy is the 1976 Japanese reissue that kept the tri-fold jacket in thick card with inserts and rice paper inners to cuddle the mint super quiet vinyl.

Issued in 1987 only for a brief period on Geffen Records in the States and Canada, this third volume of greatest hits covers the very late 70's to 1987 taking in such hits as I'm Still Standing, I Guess That's Why They Call It The Blues  and Wrap Her Up.