Away time thoughts around Little Sissy Tammy

This week is a bit on auto pilot for not actually being here today because I am away at a Littles meet more of which will follow soon when I have arrived and that as being away does both leave you with things to do afterwards like getting your washing done and just feeling a bit jet lagged.

There's always a bit of balancing act to be had between the absolute amount of outfits to take, finding a way that reflects sissy gurl me but isn't so overly BIG sissy that others may feel uncomfortable and obviously when the event is Little, everything needs to stay that way.

The other thing is when you start to pack your case you see the shape of much of what you have and it's fair to say chunks do fit more towards Little Sissy and others as Katie kind of got it right last time are more mix and match rather than being say classic LG school looks and in some way ways reflecting the way the LSG younger me would be if in a real life school.

Satin as a material has crept in quite strongly over the last year or so when I started creating a more bespoke Little Sissy Gurl Look for me, less around the adult side but from a uber feminine way, almost princess way

and I can see more of that coming in even if marketed as "sissy dresses" but being less of the highly puffed Baby Girl sorts.

Things like this, a fairly simple classic little girls but ticking all the sissy gurl boxes sort  with pretty bows, soft colours and all satin with an elasticated  waist to help create a good waist in a fairly decent length where many Baby Girl dresses tend to show your underwear.

In the sort of context I'm talking about a more Littles, more child-like context, things that go heavily into "humiliation" and the like don't belong but something like this teamed with socks with frills and bows would work with matching pink satin panties.

That is why I've bought this.

Tammy can be a very good Sissy Gurl letting it all out in a way that remains little. She just needs encouraging 

Now 12 inch 80's Pt.II

 The World of NOW, gets bigger and bigger taking in numbered volumes of Now That's What I Call Music,, Now Yearbook, themed Now That's What I Call ..... and was joined by the cd only Now 12" 80's series which looks at 12" singles from a specific year rather than the three compilations of 80's 12 inch singles.

The first bunch 1980 to 1982 are on an earlier post.

My original intentions were to group post all the series together but the 1982 edition gained two volumes which doubles the post and you will note they've done the same with this edition so it seems that the remainder will follow the two part format.

That makes it more sensible to break them into chunks and update each.

As ever this is a bare bones card wrap around cover set which is a pity as a book form with some notes as with the Deluxe Now Yearbooks would of been better as this is amimed more at music fans and collectors but we live in their world....

Disc 1 opens with two of 1983’s biggest artists with Wham!’s "Bad Boys”, followed by Eurythmics’ (over 12 minutes remix of) "Right By Your Side”before being joined by Duran Duran with "Union Of The Snake (The Monkey Mix)", and the extended “Communication” by Spandau Ballet. The Human League keeps the momentum with their massive hit "(Keep Feeling) Fascination" which I bought straight on 12 single back then, while Howard Jones and Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark keeps up the Synth-Pop  with "New Song" and "Genetic Engineering" from the Dazzleships album respectively. Extended versions from Blancmange, Ultravox, and Tears For Fears  "The Way You Are" are also feature on the first disc.

Disc 2 celebrates Pop Gold with Adam Ant’s "Puss 'N Boots"one I remember from early Signal Radio here, Bananarama’s "Na Na Hey Hey Kiss Him Goodbye", plus The Belle Stars, and Bucks Fizz. Pop and New Wave fused on fabulous tracks from Haysi Fantayzee, and Altered Images with the unforgettable "Don't Talk To Me About Love", and hits from a huge chart year for Kajagoogoo and Paul Young. The disc closes with more Synth-Pop from Heaven 17, Soft Cell and a huge U.S. hit for Taco with an unexpected cover choice in “Puttin’ On The Ritz”.

Disc 3 starts from the dancefloor with the iconic "Flashdance…What A Feeling", from Irene Cara, and the stunning Electropop work-out in extended form on Freeez’s "I.O.U. (Megamix)" a personal favourite. The legendary Arthur Baker produced “Confusion” for New Order, and “The Harder They Come” for Rockers Revenge, and Forrest enjoyed a smash covering “Rock The Boat” while Modern Romance and Level 42 bought Pop and Funk crossover to the charts. This disc works towards its finale with four UK acts who all enjoyed great success in ’83 with these 12” versions enhancing already great tracks – Madness, Fun Boy Three, The Style Council, and Nick Heyward who’s “Whistle Down The Wind” was his first solo hit.

Disc 4 offers a star-studded line-up opening with 12” and remixed versions of Paul McCartney & Michael Jackson’s "Say Say Say" that took much effort to steem a sudden drop in the charts and Billy Joel’s "Tell Her About It" before The Fixx appear with their huge US hit “One Thing Leads To Another” from the album Reach The Beach, followed by Debbie Harry, and Laura Branigan who achieved a global success with “Gloria” from her first album. Hi-Energy floor-fillers from Miquel Brown and Divine, are next alongside Ryan Paris’ pan-European smash “Dolce Vita”. The collection concludes with classic dance hits from Lydia Murdock and Phil Fearon & Galaxy and a great collaboration between the legendary Donna Summer and Musical Youth.

For gathering so many interesting and important 12 inch singles of the year, a good number I personally bought at the time, this set is well worth it filling next to Now Yearbook 1983 (and Extra+Vault) before the next instalment is released. 

On October 18 Part 2 duly arrived adding some additional 49 tracks to this years selection packaged in its now common place wrap around card sleeve.

Just why these cannot be in book form like "Yearbooks" or "Yearbook Vaults" really escapes me as the material more than justifies such treatment with pictures and commentary.

Disc 1 kicks off with the U.S. remix of Wham!’s classic "Wham Rap! (Enjoy What You Do?)", starting off a stellar run of huge hits in their 12” versions: Spandau Ballet with the iconic "Gold", "Who's That Girl?" by Eurythmics, Bananarama with "Cruel Summer", while Culture Club’s infectious "I'll Tumble 4 Ya" was a big U.S. and an essential 12” version. Some of 1983’s new chart stars are up next…the extended version of Marilyn’s "Calling Your Name" and Kajagoogoo’s "Too Shy (Midnight Mix)" feature alongside The Lotus Eaters, Men Without Hats and Flash And The Pan. The first disc wraps up with 12” gems including Joe Jackson’s cool, synth driven "Steppin' Out", and Mike Oldfield’s Top 5 hit ‘Moonlight Shadow’.

Within a collection of ‘80s 12” versions, Disc 2 couldn’t open with anything more legendary than New Order with their groundbreaking "Blue Monday" – released only on 12” in 1983. Some timeless new-wave follows including The Cure with the extended version of "The Lovecats", Echo & The Bunnymen’s "Never Stop (Discotheque)" and Public Image Limited with the remix of "This Is Not A Love Song". Aztec Camera’s "Walk Out To Winter" adds a touch of indie-pop before huge chart pop from Madness with "The Sun And The Rain", and TRACIE and Tracey Ullman providing a fun, upbeat interlude. The disc closes with extended versions of anthemic pop from Paul Young with "Love Of The Common People", Rick Springfield’s "Human Touch", and Yes with the ‘Special Remix Dance Version’ of “Owner Of A Lonely Heart”.

Disc 3 is all about the dancefloor, opening with one of the decades’ biggest floor-fillers from Lionel Richie with "All Night Long (All Night)", followed by KC & The Sunshine Band’s irresistible #1 "Give It Up". Donna Summer’s empowering "She Works Hard For The Money" is up next, followed by ‘80s disco classics, Indeep’s "Last Night A D.J. Saved My Life", and Divine’s “Love Reaction”. Enjoyable mash ups of hip-hop and electro-pop follow courtesy of Malcolm McLaren with the iconic ‘Double Dutch’ in its full 12” version, and Rock Steady Crew with the extended version of “(Hey You) The Rock Steady Crew”. More dance-pop from Modern Romance, and Shalamar, while Booker Newberry III’s soulful "Love Town", Billy Griffin’s ‘Hold Me Tighter In The Rain’ and Level 42’s smooth "The Sun Goes Down (Living It Up)" round off this funky disc.

Disc 4 begins with the Monster Mix of Duran Duran’s first #1 "Is There Something I Should Know" and Heaven 17’s timeless "Temptation". Tears For Fears deliver brilliant pop on the extended version of "Change", while Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark and Blancmange continue a superb run of synth-pop gold with “Telegraph” and “That’s Love, That It Is”, ahead of Japan’s cover of “All Tomorrows Parties” and Annabel Lamb’s cover of "Riders On The Storm". The disc concludes in style with Yello ahead of Talk Talk’s "My Foolish Friend" and Midge Ure’s collaboration with Mick Karn on "After A Fashion" – even more sublime in its’ extended version, wrapping up this second volume of 1983’s 12” essentials!

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.

Walter - a hero for all

 Comics were very much a part of my childhood and Walter, pictured below in a blue shirt was the kind of boy I liked in it for being very girlie and running "The Softies" who were engaged in a battle with Dennis and his often "queer bashing" menaces gang.

It was the comic strip version of what sissies like me went through at school and on the streets playing but in recent times he's changed.

Walter's personality has changed drastically over the years.

In the beginning, Walter was a "softy", a boy who preferred peace and quiet over mischief, and liked mostly girly things like smelling flowers or playing with teddy bears.

Later, he was characterized as a spoiled but intelligent child.

Now, he is more of a child with the mind of an adult. He is deeply involved in his father's business schemes and hates people having fun without his permission.

Profile

Walter has traditionally been portrayed as a camp and effeminate boy, always very stereotypically girly in his behaviour: this varied from a strong aversion to typically "masculine" interests and situations, to full-blown transvestitism. While these tendencies have vanished in modern years, Walter is still portrayed as a typical "geek", wearing a blue schoolboy's jumper, schoolboy's shorts, a bow tie, and has glasses and slicked-back hair.

Walter lives next door to Dennis and his family. In earlier years, he often spent time in his Wendy house with his gang "the Softies", playing with dolls or pressing flowers etc. He regularly features in the Dennis the Menace strip; when he appears, he is usually either being attacked by Dennis or involved in a plot to attack Dennis himself—traditionally involving either chess or perfume. Though these attacks, in earlier years, arguably represented a legitimate feud between the Menaces and Softies, it was often difficult to interpret them as much deeper than his being bullied by Dennis for his effeminate nature or positive attributes.

Walter is often seen as a devoted and seemingly "perfect" child. He does well in school and is adored by his teachers and parents. Indeed, Walter is a stereotypical mummy's boy and a spoiled brat, luxuriously pampered by his wealthy parents — who, rather uncannily, resemble each other.

In earlier years, Walter had a white cat called Fluffy and a pink poodle named Foo Foo. In 2012, a new cat named Claudius was introduced.

Issue 1712 (10 May 1975) featured a girl named Priscilla, described by Dennis as Walter's sister, but she has not appeared since. In one story, he and Dennis are revealed to be distant cousins, but nothing more has been said of this.

Personal life

Walter is Dennis' neighbour and arch-enemy, most likely because he is the complete opposite of Dennis: Dennis being wild and naughty, and Walter being calm, intelligent and "soft." He is always Teacher's Pet at school. Walter is strongly disliked by Dennis because of his teddy-bear picnics and softy antics.

Walter long had two apparent friends named Algernon 'Spotty' Perkins and Bertie Blenkinsop. They were equally as camp as Walter, and the three of them often wore their mothers' clothes and makeup. In more recent years, the former bit player Dudley Nightshirt has replaced Spotty as third-in-command.

Walter also got himself a girlfriend named Matilda, who bore an eerie resemblance to him, except that she was a redhead, and obviously wore a schoolgirl's uniform. She also spoke with a lisp and can sometimes lose her temper. For example, Walter brings her a bunch of ragged nettles and dandelions because he had lost his glasses, and she angrily slams the door in his face. She appeared in the 1996 TV series of Dennis and Gnasher (although a character with the same name appeared in at least one comic library from 1993), and has also appeared in The Beano Video, to which she makes a cameo appearance during "Pink Glove". Also, his evil uncle, Slasher Brown, who owns a barber shop in Beanotown, tries to cut Dennis' hair live on TV, but fails, as it is revealed that Dennis had a wig, landing Walter in trouble.

Walter is sometimes scared, but can sometimes act spoilt rotten as explained in the 1996, 2009 and 2013 series. He always plays with his fellow Softies, including Spotty Perkins, Bertie Blenkinsop, Jeremy Snodgrass, Dudley Nightshirt and Nervous Rex. They all share the same characteristics as Walter.

Walter has been punished many times despite his well-behaved nature.

In the recent comics, he has dropped his soft personality, and now is ingenious, ambicious, intelligent, and wants to rid Beanotown of all its fun. He is deeply involved in his father's business schemes and hates people having fun without his permission.

Truth be told, the Softies often seem to be bound together much more by fear of Dennis than by any real mutual liking; though they are scrupulously polite and strangely devoted to each other, they have occasionally decided to pick on someone too.

It's unfortunate that in an attempt to remove the queer bashing in the original Dennis The Menace, in Dennis And Gnasher, they also took out someone who was queer or sissy could identify with and seeing the attitudes of boys such as Dennis being punished.

Now Yearbook 1993

 

Well it is Wednesday and as much as the urge to blog something around style and that is, you know we're going to get another one of those Now Yearbook compilations as they criss-cross the decades turning over memories.

1993 was in the early days of exploring being sissy before online really started and everything was more catalogues, certain mail order magazines and shops where you just had to come out about what you were being was for you to the sales staff if you needed a hand.

I loved music too and that's where we're going this week.

We last looked at the 1990's in February this year with 1990 and as this mega series works in five year batches the question was to be which year next which helpfully is the year after initial 1990's batch, 1993 where shoe-gazing, dance trends,grunge and the start of brit-pop were the thing.

As ever this comes in three versions, a deluxe book form 4 cd with notes, a cheap card 4 cd and a three lp selection.

Disc 1 opens with a posthumous #1 for Freddie Mercury with the remix of 'Living On My Own', before the first of two tracks included on this 'Yearbook' from Pet Shop Boys taken from their classic 1993 album 'Very' with its lego cover, 'Can You Forgive Her?'. New Order returned to the Top 5 with 'Regret', and R.E.M. had a string of hits including 'The Sidewinder Sleeps Tonite'.

 One of the highlights of 1993 was the Chart renaissance of Duran Duran - and 'Come Undone' features next (with another to come on Disc Four) while Take That had their first #1 with 'Pray', Ace Of Base scored a global smash with 'All That She Wants' that I heared in the local HMV at the time, and a-ha were back in the Top 20, plus Whitney Houston and Lisa Stansfield had huge singles from the soundtrack of 'The Bodyguard' and the collaboration between West End feat. Sybil produced a massive floor-filler. 

Long established superstars enjoyed huge success in 1993 including Billy Joel's River Of Dreams, with  Annie Lennox, Sade and Sting, who closes the first disc with his timeless 'Fields Of Gold'. 

Disc Two opens with two of the year's newer charting bands: Radiohead with 'Creep', and the brilliant Suede with 'So Young' - both destined to become an essential part of the fabric of the decades' Charts while Paul Weller returned with 'Wild Wood', and Paul McCartney was back in the Top 20 with 'Hope Of Deliverance'. 

A popular TV-ad propelled The Bluebells to #1 with 'Young At Heart', 9 years after its first release while M People and Dina Carroll both had hugely successful Pop-Dance albums containing a number of big hit singles, and Pop-Trance crossover hits are featured from Cappella, Urban Cookie Collective, and Utah Saints along with big club tracks from D:Ream, Leftfield, The Beloved and Jamiroquai - who were celebrating their first (of many) Top 10 singles. 

The disc closes with 3 of the years' Reggae smashes including #1s from Shaggy with 'Oh Carolina' and UB40 with their cover of '(I Can't Help) Falling In Love With You'. 

Disc 3 starts with the big come-back star of the year was Meat Loaf: 'I'd Do Anything For Love...' spent 7 weeks at #1 and was 1993's best-selling single, and is joined by Bon Jovi, and Lenny Kravitz. 

A great run of Alt-Rock/Pop follows from Manic Street Preachers, Spin Doctors, Crowded House, The Cranberries and the massive 'What's Up?' from 4 Non Blondes plus Soul and R&B huge hits from Arrested Development, SWV, Shara Nelson and the #1 debut 'Dreams' from Gabrielle. 

The disc slows tempo with some of the years' most soulful ballads including 'Delicate', 'Now I Know What Made Otis Blue' and finishing with 'In Your Care' from Tasmin Archer. 

Disc 4 is all about anthemic Pop! - and kicks off with defining tracks from Duran Duran with the sublime 'Ordinary World', from "The Wedding" album of 1992 and Pet Shop Boys with their superb cover of 'Go West'. The #1 collaboration between Take That and Lulu is followed by dance-floor gold from Robin S, SNAP! feat. Niki Harris, Haddaway, and RuPaul. 

The final disc continues with Bananarama, Kim Wilde, Deborah Harry and Gloria Estefan ahead of enduring artists Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark, Go West and Tears For Fears, and love songs from Lisa Stansfield and Dina Carroll lead to a sign-off from Elton John & Kiki Dee with their version of 'True Love', which was a Top 3 single through the Christmas period. 

Out on August 9th, the three cd extra set adds a further 57 unforgettable tracks to the collection.

Disc 1 sets the stage with a blend of classic hits across multiple genres. Pet Shop Boys kick off with "I Wouldn't Normally Do This Kind Of Thing," followed by New Order with "Ruined In A Day" and Duran Duran’s "Too Much Information." 

Next come the powerful vocals of Annie Lennox with "Little Bird" followed by classics from defining albums: Sting with "If I Ever Lose My Faith In You” from ‘Ten Summoner’s Tales’ and R.E.M.'s "Nightswimming" from ‘Automatic For The People’. Up next are a stellar run of beautiful songs from Saint Etienne, Sade, Go West and Terrance Trent D'Arby (Sananda Maitreya). SNAP! and M People scored huge Pop-Dance hits, and Heaven 17 and Visage saw remixed versions of their classics become hits once again. The first disc draws to a close with a great collaboration between David Sylvian and Robert Fripp plus Suzanne Vega, Chris Rea, and finishing with Elton John’s “Simple Life”.

Disc 2 travels through Dance and Alternative Pop. Cappella’s high-energy "U Got 2 Know" and Urban Cookie Collective’s “Feels Like Heaven" set the tone, followed by infectious beats from Captain Hollywood Project and S.O.U.L. S.Y.S.T.E.M. featuring Michelle Visage. R&B smashes from Jade with "Don't Walk Away" and SWV’s "I'm So Into You" feature alongside Shara Nelson’s "One Goodbye In Ten", and Jamiroquai’s funky "Blow Your Mind". Stereo MC's, Sunscreem, and Pop Will Eat Itself add to the eclectic mix, and James’ "Sometimes", Del Amitri’s "When You Were Young," and Paul Weller’s "Sunflower" are representative of ‘93’s Pop-Indie crossover hits. The disc finishes with “Kite” from the brilliant Nick Heyward – his first new release for five years, and power ballads from Cher with her live interpretation of “Many Rivers To Cross” and Bon Jovi’s “Bed Of Roses”.

Disc 3 includes powerful vocals and dance floor favourites. Opening with a huge track taken from a massive hit soundtrack: Whitney Houston’s "I Have Nothing", from ‘The Bodyguard’. Sister Sledge’s classic "We Are Family" was a hit again, remixed for the ‘90s dancefloor, followed by Taylor Dayne’s cover of "Can't Get Enough Of Your Love" and Lulu’s "Independence”. Sybil enjoyed her second big hit in ’93 with "When I’m Good And Ready", as did Haddaway with "Life", while more Eurodance came from Dr. Alban with the uplifting "Sing Hallelujah!". Barry Manilow’s "Copacabana" was remixed to become a hit for the second time, and cover versions of Pop classics “This Is It” and “Everlasting Love” gave Dannii Minogue and Worlds Apart chart success. Soulful vocals from Michelle Gayle, Gabrielle, Lisa Stansfield and Dina Carroll are featured ahead of UB40’s “Higher Ground”, whilst the final two tracks are from the years’ biggest pop groups; East 17 continued their chart run with “Slow It Down” and Take That saw “Babe” become their third number one in 1993.

And there over four discs we have 1993 a year that matched new and old acts and quirky things...Blobby!

A return to Blytonville

This week we're going to the most celebrated little boy (of sorts) with the original form of audio book, the story record.

1953 was a very different era, many children lived in highly polluted cities where smog was a killer, grown ups ruled your life quite firmly and even those of us who lived in areas with our own accents and spoke in dialect informally such as here in twin conurbations of Staffordshire were expected to learn received pronunciation which was the language of radio and television back then.

Regional voices such as ours were kept down, we were the uncouthed, so to listen to these recordings does take you back  but the star is Noddy and the magical world of Toyland  and that was where I returned to this week.

In 1953, very much at her height as leading children's authoress, Enid Blyton went to EMI Records with the idea of making a sound recording of her reading a series of the Noddy stories for record.

She was open to the use of sound effects and songs to add dramatizing, realizing this all helped hold your attention and they were issued on ten inch (22 cm) 78 rpm records during that period where we were moving from shellac 78 discs to unbreakable microgroove 45 and 33 rpm ones.

They were recorded on tape which made re-issuing on 7 inch 45 rpm extended play discs with two sides of the originals to a single side easier and the quality is of the highest of the era.

Of course these are not the secretly rewritten versions where gollies no longer exist, everybody is presumed English of the dominant cultural norms and we lived in world we were just a step a way from the threat of a spanking.

Times change and will no doubt continue to but that world was closer to that of my childhood than that of today's and really one needs to explain to children about these differences so they understand different times have their own norms.

I recently re-read Those Dreadful Children.

The story begins with the three Carlton children - John, Margery and Annette - being excited when a new family move into the house at the bottom of the garden. However, the older Taggertys - Pat, Maureen and Biddy are loud, rough, dirty and not at all the sort of children the prim, tidy Carltons want to associate with. 

Due to an old friendship of their fathers they are forced together - two sets of Dreadful Children - who have to take a hard look at their own behaviours as they learn to get along, learning from the best of each other, understanding each others faults.

This is very much product of its era in terms of values but in showing the good in each family rather than pushing any one, I feel she was on the right lines.

You can kill iniatitive and imagination with kindness, preoccupations with cleanliness and respectability but there are standards too about respect for others, please and thank-you's and turn taking.

The other side of you

Another week and in the eclectic mix slice of life blog that this is we'll go back a bit to the early days on this blog during a guided period in my life where for the first time a lot of work was done into exploring every latent idea and interest within me, pulling them right out.

In so many ways having been confronted by their presence and dragged out the treatment ensured they could never go back and you only consider when to act upon them.

I could never again resist them

So that meant sissykins beyond replacing one pair of Pj's for something more overtly feminine also needed to get back on track as only until the period just before covid did I stop wearing any kind of a night dress,

With that in mind and the many remembered words from those early days I have a satin pink Baby Doll night dress with dainty little rose bud details, frilly lace strips and hem.

It positively oozes uber femininity

To go underneath them, matching panties.

A Baby Doll night dress is really what the older "Big" side of sissikins really belongs in, something that is so much sensual, that while not being explicitly grown up is not worn by the Littlest of Girls because it is sexy.

A sissy that has gone through puberty is sexual even if while in little form you elect not to use that side, you ARE sexily needy and that's really the best for you when that is the case.

You don't take a vow of celibacy as Little Sissy, you protect that side of you whenever she's out.