2) Hair cutting and Letter Writing
3) New Technology
4) Fights with Bhatt
5) That car at Home Farm
6) The three wheeler incident
7) Silence in Prep'
S*** Shovelling and other memories:
"Voluntary work in the gardens started with S*** Shovelling with Sheppherd, clearing out the hen houses, then feeding the dried excrement into a powder maker – a very solid cast steel apparatus driven by a long belt from the tractor PTO – I am sure Tim Prestage would have apoplexy at the mere memory – How safe was that? We then used to shovel the dried powder into bags (and our lungs no doubt) for JHM to sell…….
This was rewarded by ‘saved teas’ that amazing deep fried bread (stale?) which Richard Hole mentions, dried scrambled egg or perhaps 2 (!!) fried eggs all topped off with a light sprinkling of ash from Stan or Vera’s fags. (again what reaction to COSH there Tim?)
Also, I learned to like(?) / tolerate Camp Coffee, black + no sugar in the Prefect’s cubby hole under the stairs, with Iggy 1 and Iggy 2 in charge – and that black hole underneath?
Tuck Shop on Friday evening after pocket money? Anyone got a bargain to sell? It was a real lesson in learning the value of money.
I am amazed that I mastered soccer, and hockey as well as rugby – all to be able to ‘get out’ on an odd Saturday afternoon to play another school and experience ‘real food’
AND Smudge (Smith) hitch hiking to Oxford, getting caught and being returned
OR the huge guy from Turkey, whom we all thought had left the army and been sent to a “Proper English Public School” – he was unmanageable – are you out there?"
Hair cutting and Letter Writing:
New Technology:
Fond memories of Richard Gunston (or was it Curtis II?) and a record player (constantly playing Del Shannon's "Runnaway") inside which he hid a copy of Lady Chatterly's Lover. Gunston also had brand new Phillips tape recorder with small tape reels on the top which gave a very tinny output - but was the latest must have in transistor technology.
Fights with Bhatt:
The Malik brothers, an Ambassador's boys - Czechoslovak, I think based in Russia.
The great Friday night trading sessions! Following pocket money and buying chocolate bars from the Tuck shop at the bottom of the main staircase.
... of JHM, "I have a recollection that on occasion, probably during his Tuesday afternoon Current Affairs class, he would refer to a factory he once had producing rubber heels for shoes. Does anyone remember this?"
I met Mr Mosey in Stroud in the late 60's/early 70's in Stroud and saw him standing alone. It took me a good few minutes to be sure it was him and to brave it enough to approach him To my delight he was FAR shorter and less imposing / intimidating than when at school. He confirmed that he was living locally and running a chicken farm at Lyppiatt (not far from the Duke and Duchess of Kent).
He told me of parts of his life and confirmed that at one point he ran a factory making rubber soles - and the reason he always quoted his ability for hard work and strength was that the moulds for x hundred soles (heels) he produced each day required him to move them for filling and then later to empty them and stack them up for the next day. (I think he used to say 14 tons a day - 7 tons each way - anyone remember?).
That car at Home Farm:
Dave Pullen is in the driving seat, he and others clubbed together to buy the car @ about £5 and convinced Farmer Powell to allow them to do a ‘mechanical project’ and it was cut apart in the Stable Block outside the Woodworking Room (north west corner) – I can’t remember how I got involved – I certainly didn’t have the necessary 12/6d to contribute – but probably because I was part of the ‘mower gang.’
Ant Prestage was certainly a ‘member’ of the car project as was Brian Saunders, Hobhouse in the passenger seat, Bill Limbrick (surely) rear nearside, very difficult to make out the face behind Pullen and I can’t think who is on the starting handle.
The three wheeler incident (and a bit of background):
The Reliant was my father’s only means of getting around the parishes and because he only had a motorcycle licence this was a great leap forward from an old Humber bicycle with a 2 stroke resting on the front wheel! He did progress to a BSA Bantam (which I used to ride around the churchyard footpaths) before 310 ADG arrived. I learned to drive her round the garden and at the Royal Agricultural College car parks etc. – bearing in mind that with a motorcycle licence the reverse gear was blanked off, so you had to get out and push if you hadn’t negotiated obstacles carefully! Perhaps the most fun was had during the heavy snows of ’63 - when all conventional 4 wheeled vehicles had cut 2 ruts in the snow – we would be driving with the front wheel perched on the mound of snow!! Every now and again it would slip to one side and we would crab along for a while until we had to get out and lift the front back up onto the centre mound... just think how much fun all of you missed!
The biggest frustration I had was that Sunday morning exeats didn’t happen for me until about 1:00pm (he and my mother being a bit busy all morning) so he decided to let me return to school on Saturday evening and then return at 10:00am on Sunday. I let slip that I had the van in the Stable Block and there was a mad rush to pile in. Ginge (Ant Prestage) leapt into the front seat and off we set... unfortunately as we rounded the corner from behind the church, another car was speeding towards the drive from the front door and instead of breaking I accelerated, little realising that all 4 boys in the ‘back’ were all sitting with their backs to the nearside leaving me as the only ballast on the right! I remember Ant saying that when we came to a standstill I was still sitting in the seat, hands clasped to the wheel and totally upside down – until I slumped down to the roof! My big regret was that the Insurance Company argued for almost 9 months before it could be repaired! Pop did an awful lot of walking...
The only time I met Dave Pullen was at The Cleeveway Hotel & Restaurant, run by John Marfell, Dave had been doing the Prescott hillclimbe and we were ensconced with John and his family. John lives at nearby (location withhheld - Ed.) now, has a wife 2 daughters and a grandson.
Brian Saunders moved to Crete with his wife and son, his daughter lives in London, with husband and daughter.
In the 60's it was always in the sports showers - up the steps behind the Kitchens and the ' 4A and 4B Prep Room' (4A and 4B were in the stable block, so not conducive to use in the evenings - more so because we could have escaped for various escapades far more easily!!) during the day it was the Art Room - and on Sundays - Letter Writing! "....and don't seal the
envelope!"
- who always used his shoe to hit you on the head, but unlike most house shoes, his had heavy leather heels.
I well remember sitting on the back of the car and racing around Top Pitch, the road down to Home Farm and the opposite road (west) to ???
As promised here are my recollections of THAT Sunday ... when Sid insisted that he waited to eat his lunch before driving me home to face my father and then back – I don’t think we spoke in the car at all.
Silence in Prep'
An 'essay' submitted to me the Prefect who gave the punishment to a boy who had been noisy in Prep'. Will the miscreant please own up?