Summer Special edition

After all that groan up election stuff on Thursday and the counting bit yesterday let's get back to more agreeable matters shall we?
As we head toward the end of May, we move from Spring into Summer which usually in this country tends to bring warmer weather and lots of Sun, indeed you might remember from last year we kind of over did it with temperatures in the high 20 degrees C range for a long period.
Summer in the UK is marked by the start of school holidays that usually start around the third week of July and run for typically 8 weeks which makes it a highlight of your childhood years and depending on age and in some cases districts marks such milestones as graduating to Juniors or moving on to Secondary schools at 11+ and college/uni at 16 and 18 respectively.
Something else generations of britishers also looked forward to was the publication of unique Summer Specials of their comics that came in full colour on better magazine quality paper with a binding.

They were and are almost like miniature annuals, which are a staple of childhood Christmas's  over here with special cartoon strips, games and things to do in them that you'd pick up before you went off on your summer holidays.
The company D C Thomson are a well known Scottish print media magnet printing magazines, comics and newspapers and two comic titles they are known for is The Beano and The Dandy.
Recently I got my copies of these two Summer Specials.
The Beano is a current comic, read by today's children as well as sizable number of adults who are continuing a enjoyable interest from childhood aimed at both girls and boys  whose cartoon strips have changed by the times with some old ones discontinued for new ones and some changes within the older ones to reflect more the society around today's children.
Thus it features such long established series as Dennis the Menace with his dog, Gnasher, Minnie the Minx, my heroine and the Bash Street Kids set in a working class junior school together with newer ones such as Rubi JJ and Pie Face that feature disabled children and people of colour in an attempt to be more 'inclusive' and all are drawn especially for this years summer special.
It has stickers, games and quizzes too clearly aimed at today's children.
The Dandy's is different because it is no longer published weekly and like the Annual is aimed more at those who remember reading the Dandy as I did as a kid and so has decided to make it a compilation with illustrations of some front covers, of some vintage comic strips featured in past summer annuals.
Reading that does bring back past memories and really childhood nostalgia is where this one is aimed.
Two annuals aimed at different markets all a great summer read.

Stuff on my mind

There is much that is on my mind like sorting some of my things out since having a few new clothes and books that have to be fitted in some how into this room otherwise their could be ouchie trouble.
We have that election thing this Thursday taking place that I'll need to make a point of walking down to to vote but the biggest thing on my mind has been that Personal Independence Payment business which resulted in a letter last week to say they'll be coming out to do a personal face to face assessment next Wednesday.
This means Mum needs to be with me to try to answer whatever it is the so-called Health Professional might ask questions about  while we try to remove things like the grump from the scene as he really doesn't know that much but has the tendency to interfere saying things that that either not wholly true or  doesn't  actually know  which you'd then need to correct in front of them.
But then we don't know what they'll be saying or if they are either telling the truth or got it wrong cos they don't say as they pretend to gather evidence someone in DWP looks at to make a decision.
Still whatever happens it'll be fought.

Resting week

Phew! It's been a warm ol week this week with brilliant sunshine  here so much so I've had to shower and cool off more than usual although I did have an issue with a pesky clothes moth who seems to have dead a death with super strong insect spray.
Sorry but the last one made holes in my school sweaters and even the odd cotton t shirt too so I can't be doing leaving them around fluttering when at night I put this Eco light bulb on that seems to send him a trance dancing all around it.
Between them and Wasps, who'd have them?
It's like bookworms that eat paper and can even burrow holes through the spines of hard backed books.
Talking of books I have tidied up the bookshelf so everything runs in order and removed a few books that either I never started or I've tired of ready to go to one of several charitable collections where the monies raised will do some good and someone gets to enjoy them all over again.
I've been dipping into one of those multi-composer box sets that seem to be all the rage where a range of recordings are all gathered on a large number of discs  that live in printed wallets with background notes to relax while the Euro Election talk starts although truth be told it hasn't stopped since the referendum and many of us have had enough of it.
Now for a glass of pop!

May Day weekend thoughts

Monday was literally a damp squib because I had planned to go for quite a long walk out but we had showers thought the day so I only managed a short walk and even then I just avoided getting drenched by the skin of my teeth.
Instead I spent just over an hour cleaning records, yes those big round black things you put on your phonograph as couple of cherished discs had been bugging the heck out of me as no amount of cleaning with carbon brush could remove whatever it was that was causing it to get stuck at a couple of spots when playing which was very frustrating.
A few others had  static charge that attracted anything such as fur, dust or hair within seconds of coming out.
Thankfully all of that got dealt with as they've all come up as good as new having sat at a table doing it as the last time I tried doing it standing up I hurt my lower back.
I also been straightening up my bookshelves, doing a bit of an inventory so at least I know what I have which helps to avoid buying the same thing twice although there's nothing wrong with upgrading to better copy when it comes to older books.
Seeing we've entered May and summer won't be long, I've just got my summer comic special editions organized to land in the mail as soon as they're published part of a childhood ritual that inner kid me still loves.
We also had a royal baby!

May Day edition

After all that talk about going out temperatures got a little lower and we are entering May Day bank holiday over here which means schools shut and public services such as transportation shut down even though events will be taking place across this district and beyond.
Fortunately we've stocked up and I have enough spare minidiscs to continue copying some records onto and if I remember to record a half hour reading on Radio Four, the BBC spoken word channel of a Just William story which might seem odd given it's centred on an eleven year old boys fanciful adventures with much comedy but I loved those stories as a kid.  
They had me in stitches, laughing.

 One thing that will be happening in many communities is traditional Maypole Dancing  for those whose memories include applying polish to your footwear and having to have co-ordinating socks as we wove the ribbons to music forming a cross-cross pattern.
As is almost a tradition on this blog, here's a picture of Year 5 and 6 children this time  from the mainly Girls only Granville prep school performing it in style.

May confusion

After the drop in temperatures last weekend and the rain, things are starting to climb back up again here ready for that stupidly timed holiday where I've got pack at the end of this week only to return on Tuesday. 
Honestly how messed up can you get it?
I'm supposed to be getting some stuff sent home ready to clean my round things called records before putting them on MiniDiscs as its easier to store a few in my dorm and play them on a player than cart a stereo system back and forth apart from lending itself  more to be used on the train.
Thing is so far from what I told in a text message although the red coloured Royal Mail van has been with other stuff it wasn't on it which is very odd as we're only a few miles from the sorting office about seven minutes drive in a car.
The groan ups have had the cards that confirm if you are able to vote both on Thursday for the local government district elections for this bit of the Greater Stoke-on-Trent region and for the Election to the European Parliament , IF in this god awful  mess the groan ups have made around it  and when somebody actually says they will be held cos nobody knows for sure if we will be.
You don't have to bring them with you when you vote apparently but having them is proof you are eligible to vote. They use a pencil and paper here for it.
What I don't get is why although it has the correct address on it, it has a street ID that's not ours on the top right hand corner. 
That's so bizzare.
 

Time to be out

Seeing we had some good weather not unsurprisingly I have been out of doors a far bit  this last week or so and one thing I always found handy was the able to read a map and to take a smallish one me in case either I get lost which can happen or for extra details about the terrain or area  that might prove most useful.

One thing I always looked forward to seeing when I was younger were the Dandelion's coming out after Winter even though as you can see in this photograph the soil is fairly dry underneath, they  are all out and I can enjoy blowing the seeds away which always seemed magical to me.
It was taken on my new camera last weekend.
I shall most probably be out distributing our communities monthly magazines on foot this week depending on how soon they get to me from the printers as it's sometimes as a bit of dash to get them done in time.
I don't know about you but sometimes it seems there aren't enough hours in a day to cram it all in but somehow we just manage it all right, making for a rich life.