Monday 5 March 2012

Does Hunters Hill Open Air School mean anything to you?

It does to me - I was there, 1942 to 1945.

This school set me up for life. Thanks to Miss Maguire, Miss Buckley, Finkey, who helped me grow up.

More to follow of a biographical nature.

 Some this is true when I was there, some not.

 
My three years at the above school age seven to eleven, led me to :

1. be fit for the rest of my life, having arrived three stone underweight and mentally withdrawn

2. go through Five Ways Grammar School, Birmingham in the A stream and on to Birmingham University to obtain a Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering, then Convert Farm Buildings , then become a teacher and who knows what next  . . .

3. enjoy wild life, the building of dens and walks in the countryside and the love sledging not to mention peering up the school teachers skirts at siesta time when we were obediently 'sleeping'.

4. enjoy adventures : I ran away three times at the age of seven and got home the last one much to my mothers shock as I appeared at the window at 8am. A journey by train which included setting off in the opposite direction to that intended.

5. love sticking up for myself and taking on any bully in sight

Miss Maguire was my favorite – who, at the age of 10, I kissed for a dare in the middle of the night. - Well my lips touched her hair and she woke up as I tried to pull the covers lower so as to reach a bit of skin. "Who's that" she cried  - but I was out of the door by then. Next morning I was viewed with interest by the staff - having owned up in response to the cry.

The stuff that memoirs are made of!

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

What a story. A modern day David Copperfield.
It must go into print perhaps Gladys could assist ghost write?
JAK

Geoff Dellow said...

Yes, I have a few tales to tell - I started writing them out - they're somewhere on this computer - God may know where - I doubt it - as always it's up to me. He can give me patience instead - which is why the job may not get done.

Follow my tortuous thinking?

My running away story is rather fun!

No freezing ink or bare feet though, but open classrooms in cold and rain there were.

Cod liver oil there was, from the same spoon, after breakfast - Miss Buckley made us say "Thank you" just to make sure we had swallowed it - otherwise it was down to the toilets to spit it out.

Yes, we cleaned the school from top to bottom every day after breakfast and before assembly when the school day started. One day, I with two others swept the whole dining room moving every table meticulously from one end to the other - TWICE - in order to get a mark of ten which was read out in assembly - I think we got nine.

Yes Gladys, I'm open to some Ghost Writing if you fancy it!