Twelve

Sometimes I feel writing about a part of my life as if it were in the 'modern era' because in so many ways the lightning speed that technological and associated changes has a dramatic effect on life that while some stuff at the edges changed  there was little real difference  between the postwar period, the era I allegedly grew up in up to the end of the nineteen-eighties just before the home computer brought in a limited amount of desk bound communication.
Twelve is a pinnacle age with me an age where I had just transferred to secondary school but in lots of ways your still quite young.
For me if I were the 2000's 'twelve' one big change with me would of been the ability not so much to make telephone calls which I could but they were restrict to areas where people would see and hear them.
As that  twelve year old girl, I know have the means of making phone calls on the go and sending messages so even if I have it out you would not hear me which would be something we'd never had before.

I might be lucky and have the newer generation of cellphone called "Smartphones that have a built in camera so I'd be able to send pictures in real time to my school friends and so in some ways I'd be less deskbound to the sort of computer that was creeping into schools or indeed where as an adult I worked in this period.
One thing that would not of changed is I would be wearing blazer and skirt, rather like the girl above because to be honest I liked the way in which they make me look very much a junior unlikely to be considered an grown woman which was the case in my actual childhood at this age.
I often wore them by choice and certainly on school vacations where some of my peers would of held out for even jeans and a t shirt.
Where I had a old fashioned wooden wardrobe, in this era I'd of had a walk-in one with a lot draws to keep socks underwear etc in which didn't really have being given just what I needed for that day.
Twelve too was when I started to realize I was still very much that child compared to my peers who always appeared to be the 'older' girls to me even though we were the same age because they had matured in  away as that girl I hadn't even though this was just before the major developmental changes.
I don't think you can have a successful new future unless you feel comfortable with your own past.

Oh boy!

There were many things we read at high school, some by ourselves and some we shared and discussed at length.

These magazines were shared every week between us, having features on pop stars, usually hunky boys and well as stars of tv and the movie theatre.

The members of Duran Duran were something we sure discussed back then, I can assure you!

We also liked Sting

They also had features on fashion, making out and boys! In the pre-internet age apart from siblings it was the best place to find out stuff from.

Photo romance stories also featured and we talked about the issues they raised between each other.

Little truths

Zanadu

One of favourite movies of all time is a modern day musical from 1980 called Zanadu that featured Olivia Newton-John with music by her, the Electric Light Orchestra and the Tubes.
It has a  good recreation of a 40's big band which something I grew up listening to on record.
Although panned by critics I loved it for the skating songs and feel good factor as it lodged in my head as part of the soundtrack of summer vacation in 1980 so here's an image from it:

Outing

The term 'outing' usually refers to when some aspect of your life specifically your gender or sexual life that you wish to be hidden is revealed to others without your consent by others and can be seen as part of bullying or intimidatory behaviour.

Although I did feel awkward about it originally on this blog I am being more open about some aspects of me not least I am a Sissy and I can enjoy some notions like being dressed in very feminine and frilly way even to the point it may be female who is encouraging my self exploration and maybe she loves that "made to dress as" thing.

That though is different than if a person deliberately against my wishes and interests decides to make all of that known.

At one time it was either in print or face to face sometimes with it being used to blackmail an individual in professions where say being gay or being trans  may of been limiting to your roles or even prohibited.

Today though I feel the biggest danger fro being outed in this way is through the internet using social media such as Facebook to comment on you or to set up fake account in your name to alert others to what makes you different.

I have seen some folk deliberated outed by folk and it sure ain't pretty.

 
Even if it isn't deliberate, the impact of an accidental compromising tag in  picture or comment from someone you might know can really bite you in the rear.

If your friends with someone, please do think about what you say about them and where.

Choo choos

One place I visited in my childhood was in North Derbyshire near the Cheshire border which you have to climb up steep hills along the Pennines in our car.

Pop you see was something of a Railway Enthusiast, insisting on dragging us everywhere  in pursuit of his interests when all I wanted to do was sit out in the sun having a picnic with teddy, which if you ever been there you'll understand as the scenery is lovely. This period of my life wasn't so nice as he'd get mad if he didn't get his ways although I have now started to be to separate an understanding of the engines and appreciation of the engineering from all that.

This was a famous train that at the time run at the rail centre which I think was covered on the BBC TV children's program  Blue Peter in 1971.

Candyfloss

As it was my birthday recently, I had this new in paperback book that originally came out a year ago.

Floss's parents are divorced, and she divides up her week, spending five days with her mum, her new stepdad and her baby half-brother. The other two days Floss spends with her dad, helping him to run his greasy spoon cafe. But their simple arrangement is thrown into disarray when Floss's mum decides to move to Australia.

Making the difficult decision to stay at home, Floss moves in permanently with her dad and they muddle along happily together, surviving on chip butties and enjoying visits to the local funfair. But disaster strikes - Dad's money troubles catch up with him and they have to move out of the cafe. They're homeless - but can their new fairground friends help out?
This is what the story explores.