Phoenix's Future Plans

[Phoenix]

After my hectic morning, the ship steadied itself. I collected Alex from school, then we went to Tesco in St Ives to pick Lois up. It is a suitable collection point because it's walking distance from her school, and if they are thirsty we can get coffee in Costa, which has a reasonable-sized area inside Tesco. Ballet tonight in Lelant for 90 minutes. I took her there but went back to hers rather than wait in the Badger. It nearly turned out to be an unfortunate decision because on the way back to Lelant a double decker bus had broken down, blocking the road at one of its narrowest points. I reached the Badger's car park eventually, and had a half of Tribute in the lounge while waiting for her. Her class must have overrun because she was over ten minutes late, so her coca cola was worried in case it started to warm up. I filled in my application form this afternoon to renew my driving licence, and Russ dropped it in the post. He is of the opinion that I may not be allowed to drive for a few days after the 19th, when the licence expires, until the DVLA start to process my application. I'm sure my Jag will complain somehow about having to stand idle on my drive for the several days it will take. In fact, I may not even be needed tomorrow, or even the rest of the week, now that Rach has more or less got over her heavy cold.

It's Rachel's birthday on the 16th so the five of us may well go out for a meal that night. On the other hand we may wait until the 17th, which is my birthday.

[Phoenix]

I may not even be needed tomorrow

I was needed. Rach took Alex, I took Lois. I go back for her this afternoon, then it's off to ballet for her, to the Badger, with a book, for me. She told me this morning that she is on television tomorrow night (BBC1) singing A Million Dreams in The Children's Choir on Children In Need. How fantastic is that!!!There will probably be so many children in the choir that I won't even be able to spot her.

[Phoenix]

I go back for her this afternoon, then it's off to ballet for her, to the Badger, with a book, for me.

I went back to St Ives School to pick Lois up as arranged, but Rach felt well enough to take her to the ballet, and collect her later, so I've got the evening off. Lynne has been here most of the day, helping to categorize the contents of the most recent boxes that Russ brought in from the lock-up, and we won't be finished until her next visit on Monday. In the meantime, Russ will probably bring what is left in the lock-up if there are not too many boxes still there. My heraldic shield from Birmingham University has surfaced, and will soon find itself on one of my walls, as have several hundred photocopies of pages from ADVENTURE (1921 - 1945), that I made in the British Library a good few years ago at great expense on the offchance that I might actually write THIS WAS ADVENTURE as a companion volume to THIS WAS THE WIZARD. My expenditure then will not be wasted now because the knowledge and material can be incorporated into ADVENTURE AND HIS BROTHERS, although I have to admit that I was annoyed that the charge per pass was roughly three times what I would have paid for a photocopy in my nearest Post Office. The British Library have you by the short and curlies because it isn't a lending library.

[stevezodiac]

Can't you do what they do in the spy movies and take out a mini camera and photograph each page. Looking over each shoulder before so doing? And then stuffing it back into your trenchcoat pocket.

[Phoenix]

Can't you do what they do in the spy movies and take out a mini camera and photograph each page. Looking over each shoulder before so doing? And then stuffing it back into your trenchcoat pocket

On one occasion, Steve, when the British Library was at the back of the British Museum, they did allow me to take a small recording device in with me, and I spoke the information into it. I was on my own with the bound volumes, and nobody bothered me. I didn't get writers' cramp that day.

N.B. :- When you have answered this post, you will have notched up 4500 posts. Well done!

[Phoenix]

It's Rachel's birthday on the 16th so the five of us may well go out for a meal that night. On the other hand we may wait until the 17th, which is my birthday.

Tonight 's the night. There may well be five of us going, but as Lois is singing in the TATE ST IVES, she won't be one of the five. Her performance is being recorded though. I'm assuming that my ex-wife Lynne will come with us anyway, so long as someone goes to St Ives and fetches her, oh, and takes her home afterwards. Lois will just have to get tanked up at the TATE with her singing cronies. I wonder who will volunteer to stay off the pop so that both of them can get home unscathed. I might have volunteered, but I've had a pint of Trelawney in the White Hart already, which I will have to own up to. My money's on Rach.

When Lynne was here yesterday, the postman delivered three packages She took one look at them and said, " They're not books are they? Tell me they're not books." When I opened the packages, thus revealing the books, she said "Not more bloody books, Derek, you've got hundreds." I find it odd that I need to explain why I buy books, and why I buy those particular ones. I bet the partners of Briony, Lorraine, Jenni, and Kashgar, for example, don't ask such questions because they surely know the importance to them of research into literary matters and suchlike, and yet Lynne is an intelligent woman, who is clearly interested in my BUNTY AND HER SISTERS project, and consequently should be able to do likewise. Maybe she will see the light on Monday when she comes over next because she knows that not that long ago I bought the paperback printing of BALLET FOR DRINA by Jean Estoril, which I read last week. Two of the three books that arrived this morning, which so far she knows nothing about, are follow-ups to BALLET FOR DRINA, namely DRINA DANCES IN EXILE and DRINA DANCES AGAIN, both paperbacks in the same format from the same publisher. The third book is a hardback of MYSTERY AT GULL'S NEST by Roberta Moss, although from what little research I have done on her so far, she appears to be Robert Moss. It will by no means be the first time that a man has used a female nom de plume. Lots of them did the same thing over the years, when writing fiction intended to be read by girls or women.

[peace355]

My partner probably buys more books than me, so we are well matched! Though we have done a bit of a clear out in the last year. I scanned a bunch of comics and sold them, was in need of space. Of course at different stage of life, toddler takes up lots of space despite being so small!

[Phoenix]

My money's on Rach.

If I could have found a bookmaker offering odds on this matter, I would have made a killing. Rach took Lois to the TATE ST IVES and went to pick her up again at about 10 o'clock. The cameras didn't focus directly on her during the presentation but she was clearly visible when an interviewer started asking questions to some of the children wearing red jumpers, and one camera zoomed in on the girl sitting next to Lois, on her right in the view the TV audience saw, on her left in actuality. There was something about the singers from Devon and Cornwall in SPOTLIGHT, the 6.30 regional news bulletin. I haven't seen it yet but Russ definitely recorded it, as he did the later presentation. Oh, and as expected, Russ, Rach, Alex and I went to the Brewers Arms for our evening meal. I went up to theirs earlier than was necessary to take Alex to Blewett's Toy Shop because with all the attention Lois was getting, he was getting his nose pushed out. He didn't find anything that he really fancied so off we went to Home Bargains where he did find a couple of items, so he left there quite content, and we drove back to his, and shortly afterwards Rach drove Alex, me and Russ to the Brewers 'for us teas' as some Lancastrians are in the habit of saying. It was a joint birthday meal, something we may have done previously, but I can't swear to it.

[Phoenix]

I scanned a bunch of comics and sold them, was in need of space.

Couldn't you have made one or two large piles criss-crossed in years, Lorraine, in order to avoid selling them. Worth considering, I believe. It is certainly my method, but I do believe that I have enough unused storage for a fair number of the story paper titles. Lynne will be here again on Monday so between us we should be able to come up with a solution. The trouble is that the principal bases for her classification do not take account of what could be a particular story that I want to read immediately.....if not sooner.

Of course at different stage of life, toddler takes up lots of space despite being so small!

I know because of course Lynne and I brought up our two sons, now in their early 40s, but most of our difficulties were in relation to their school, especially their behaviour. I'm assuming that Ruby is roughly two years old by now, hopefully developing within normal parameters. When ours were getting a bit fractious at that sort of age we would put them in the pram and walk them all round the estate a couple of times. The one thing we never stopped doing was talking to them, whether we got a reply or not. I did exactly the same with Lois. From the day she was born I never stopped talking to her, and she certainly seems to have imbibed our moral code. I have never heard her tell a lie. Not a single one. She still owes me £6 for the slime though, but she is a very busy girl.

[Phoenix]

I'm assuming that Ruby is roughly two years old by now. When ours were getting a bit fractious at that sort of age we would put them in the pram and walk them all round the estate a couple of times.

As you will no doubt appreciate, Lorraine, in the early hours of yesterday my mind was elsewhere, because otherwise I would certainly have remembered that at the age of 2 my children had been walking for ages. I've just rung Lynne, who told me that Andrew started to walk at 17 months, Russell at 13 months. Apologies for the earlier misinformation.

[peace355]

I scanned a bunch of comics and sold them, was in need of space.

Couldn't you have made one or two large piles criss-crossed in years, Lorraine, in order to avoid selling them. Worth considering [...] I'm assuming that Ruby is roughly two years old by now, hopefully developing within normal parameters.

I'm sure I could have found the space if I was desperate, but I don't mind reading on my laptop (which doubles as a tablet) and I've kept those most important to me. But good to keep in mind for future. When Ruby's old enough I'm sure she'll get enjoyment out of them.

She will be 2 in April, and full of energy, early walker like Russell at 13 months. We are lucky as she really is quite well behaved and a sweetheart, has a good bedtime routine and sleeps for the night. Of course not all sweet all the time, still a normal toddler, today I had to encourage her that drawing is for paper not walls!

[Phoenix]

I've kept those most important to me.

I will admit that I have often wondered why people have parted with the very copies of the D C Thomson story papers that I have been buying from them for the last two or three decades. The idea of parting with any issues in my collection, unless they were duplicates, would just not occur to me. Maybe that is because my collection is a kind of reference library for me, and to sell even one would be like sawing off an arm or a leg.

[Phoenix]

It's been all go here today. Lynne came over from St Ives just after 10 to help categorize and value the contents of about a dozen boxes, and we had just about finished when Russ and his elder son, Jordan, turned up with the entire story paper contents that had still been in the lock-up, that being another thirty boxes, reuniting me with virtually my entire collection of THE HORNET, and presumably every issue of SPELLBOUND apart from number 1, which is already upstairs. Heaven knows what else as I haven't opened any other boxes so far because, due entirely to the excitement, I had to go straight down to the White Hart to gather my wits, and slow down the heartbeat with the help of a pint of Tribute. If we go by the dates, it will have been five months tomorrow since I last clapped eyes on this recent batch.

[Phoenix]

reuniting me with virtually my entire collection of THE HORNET, and presumably every issue of SPELLBOUND apart from number 1, which is already upstairs

It would appear that I presumed too soon! I've been through the contents of every box without finding a single SPELLBOUND. All my collection of THE HORNET is present and correct, so I'm now wondering whether this is a repeat of the 'first year of BUNTY situation' when I couldn't find them for ages, and then discovered them in a wardrobe without remembering having put them there. The main contents of the other boxes were lots of issues of THE SKIPPER, and pre-war issues of ADVENTURE, THE ROVER, THE WIZARD and THE HOTSPUR, which in the main are photocopies done for me by my late friend Colin Morgan.

On another matter, my granddaughter, Lois, sent me a birthday card for the 17th. Her written comment read ''Gramps, your amazing". What's this "your" all about?!? I'm going to have to have a word with that girl, because I want to know what noun she didn't bother to add!!!!!

[Phoenix]

I've been through the contents of every box without finding a single SPELLBOUND.

That's because they were already in the house, hiding under a couple of yearsworth of BUNTY. I'm only missing issue 65 (December 17 1977). If anyone is prepared to scan or photocopy their issue 65, I will be delighted to PM my new address to them, along with my gratitude.

On another matter, I have reverted definitively to the 13 three-line synopses per page for BUNTY AND HER SISTERS and for ADVENTURE AND HIS BROTHERS. Furthermore, in both instances I am going to omit the supplementary title THE GREAT STORIES because there will be plenty of room to feature a much greater number of serials. Under these circumstances, where the female enthusiasts are concerned, they will see a more comprehensive selection from the eleven titles, twelve if I include THE BLUE BIRD, and will be more likely to find many of their own personal favourites included. I will of course have a greater range of options for the serials in the boys' papers because although I haven't got every issue, they go back a lot further, the first issue of ADVENTURE appearing in 1921. Comments invited so don't hold back.