Nice view - for some of us

[icomefromalanddownunder]

Cruising through Rosie's photographs from the 20s led me to Kerren's assorted postcards, one of which (view of the playground) made me realise how lucky we were in 6s (and 5s, 7s, and 8s) to back onto the playing field, and have a view from the fire escape (note, the fire escape, not the side window sills) of the playing field, mulberry tree, chapel etc.

[Katharine]

Agreed - e always KNEW it was the better side of the square!

[midget]

Show offs!

Maggie

[Angela Woodford]

Location, location - far far more pleasing on our side!

As I was putting on my trainers just now, I remembered that we kept our day shoes and sports shoes in two little shelves under the bench beneath our peg in Cloakroom. Those (mostly) Dunlop Green Flash plimsolls needed frequent daubings with a sort of white cream cleaner. I can't think what it was called - the stuff didn't actually clean, but once it had dried, it left white powder wherever the wearer then trod.

A strange little memory!

We kept brush, combs and rubber bands for "bunches" in a bag on our pegs too. Chapel caps on a peg above the rest. In winter, hockey boots lived in a rack by the outside loos. The trick for cleaning these was to wait until the mud had dried and then bang them against the wall by the back door. One's shoe-polished stone for Midsummer Revels also lived in the hockey boots rack.

I can see it all in my mind's eye as if it were still all there!

Munch

[J.R.]

Erm, Plimpsole whitener, Angela !

We used it on Cricket boots as well !

[Katharine]

We kept brush, combs and rubber bands for "bunches" in a bag on our pegs too.

Did we have a name for these bags? In 6s these were marked with cross stitch in royal blue - did other houses mark theirs in their house colours? I can remember a chart of the cross stitch numbers kept on the mantelpiece in the Wardrobe Room. What else did we mark with cross stitch - I know the scarves were, and the first BA we made for ourselves anything else?

By the way Munch, I can see it all too - sometimes I kept a book in with the shoes, why did I do that?

[englishangel]

Were they hairbrush bags? I got in a fight with someone once (I do remember who but I am not going to name names) and she hit me with her bag, her comb was poking out and hit me on the hand, I still have the scar. The sight of the blood stopped us in our tracks. I don't think anyone else knew.

[Angela Woodford]

I can remember a chart of the cross stitch numbers kept on the mantelpiece in the Wardrobe Room. What else did we mark with cross stitch - I know the scarves were, and the first BA we made for ourselves anything else?

By the way Munch, I can see it all too - sometimes I kept a book in with the shoes, why did I do that?

I can't remember marking anything else with cross stitch but I do recall that chart on the mantelpiece in Wardrobe Room. Does anyone else remember putting their names on their needlework when - bliss! - it was completed and being handed in? A little rectangle of paper on the garment or whatever anchored with a small cross stitch in each corner. It had to be immaculate. And sometimes it would bear the proud legend "for my brother" or whoever if you had sewed away for a family member!

A book kept with your shoes, Katharine - hmm, could have been in summer you would sit and read on those benches outside Sixes overlooking the Field?

Fancy fighting with brush-and-comb-bags, Mary! I am ashamed to say I once swung mine at somebody! A training for hitting people in the future with our handbags?

JR, the shoe whitener - ISTR my father calling it "Blanco" when equipping me for a new term. Or is that an Army expression? Mine was a squidgy tube with a pierced sponge through which I messily daubed my games shoes, trying to retain the Green Flash bits.

Love, Munch

[icomefromalanddownunder]

I can't remember marking anything else with cross stitch but I do recall that chart on the mantelpiece in Wardrobe Room. Does anyone else remember putting their names on their needlework when - bliss! - it was completed and being handed in? A little rectangle of paper on the garment or whatever anchored with a little cross stitch in each corner. It had to be immaculate.


Oh yes, the memories are flooding back.

Does anyone else still sew? I haven't made any garments for some years, but still used tailor tacks. An ex flatmate once asked what on earth I was doing, I explained, and she scoffed and said to just stick pins into the appropriate spots. Tried it once - total failure The legend of shewhocannotbenamed lives on


JR, the shoe whitener - ISTR my father calling it "Blanco" when equipping me for a new term. Or is that an Army expression? Mine was a squidgy tube with a pierced sponge through which I messily daubed my games shoes, trying to retain the Green Flash bits.

I remember this too, and think that you also had the option of a small glass bottle with a wedge shaped dipper/applicator. Cannot remember the precise smell, but do remember it being objectionable (possibly toxic? Excuse me while I pause for a ladylike clearing of the respiratory tract).

Off to deliver some dog and cat food to my daughter's house sitter. Hmmm, perhaps I will include some muffins, having just heard that the younger dog ate Kelly's phone yesterday. Then it's off for a girls' night out at a local Thai restaurant - people that I first worked with in 1994, one of whom is now my PhD Supervisor. Our evenings together are always full of much laughter and enjoyment: much like this Forum

[MKM]

Does anyone else remember putting their names on their needlework when - bliss! - it was completed and being handed in? A little rectangle of paper on the garment or whatever anchored with a small cross stitch in each corner. It had to be immaculate. And sometimes it would bear the proud legend "for my brother" or whoever if you had sewed away for a family member!

Clothes we made for ourselves had to fit, so things that had turned out the wrong size were sometimes submitted under a label of convenience as "for my cousin".

I made a multi-coloured flowered skirt in one of the junior years. At this stage the whole class made the same thing, from a pattern supplied by you-know-who. I didn't fit at the time, but I finally grew into it in my twenties when I wore it to do the gardening.

One year there were lots of dresses with sleeves tight at the top and baggy round the wrists (Much will know what they are called). DR sighed gloomily at each one and predicted "they will get in the marmalade".

[MKM]

Were they hairbrush bags? I got in a fight with someone once (I do remember who but I am not going to name names) and she hit me with her bag, her comb was poking out and hit me on the hand, I still have the scar. The sight of the blood stopped us in our tracks. I don't think anyone else knew.

Brush-and-comb bags, as immortalised in the "School Uniform" song.

• School uniform, in every form,
  We so proudly wear.
  What would we do without you?
  We'd go-o round bare.
  
  At night I wear a negligee on Primrose wynciette
  All tied up in my brush-and comb bag, how could I forget
  To dum-de-dum=de-dum-de-dum ..
  And kiss my teddy bear goodnight
  And put my shoes in line
  

I feel strangely embarrassed that I can remember this.

[Angela Woodford]

One year there were lots of dresses with sleeves tight at the top and baggy round the wrists DR sighed gloomily at each one and predicted "they will get in the marmalade".

How welll I remember those dresses, Mary! It was a Simplicity pattern - everyone was crazy about it. The dress was a short fitted sixties shift-dress, with long tight sleeves at the end of which was a flared ruffle. The prettiest version was made by Sally Tyrrell, in a flowery Liberty Tana lawn. We begged her to put it on before it was given in, and she looked ravishing.

Typical DR to imagine those ruffles trailing in the marmalade....

Oh no! I'm supposed to be setting off for work !

Hastily, Munch

[cj]

By the time I was at Hertford (and maybe also Vonny), our first project in Needlework was a Teddy bear from a kit. I think it had to be hand sewn and I remember pushing the fur through with the needle before each stitch so it didn't catch on the seam. Still did it when making fancy dress a few years ago for daughter no. 1. The other thing I remember was 'the nightie'. I'm sure Vonny would have made one also. Rather tent-like with a ribbon tie round the neck and French seams all over the place. It took me ages on the hand-turned machines. The only concession to individuality was being able to choose the fabric (from a range of small florals in pastel shades - very insipid). I made mine and gave it to my mother. She wore it for years. I was always behind in needlework as I had music lessons scheduled in that slot (you couldn't miss an academic lesson more than once a term) so consequently I never knew what I was supposed to be doing and only had half the time everyone else did. Shame really, as I love sewing now and could have done with the guidance and knowledge then. My mother was so impressed with the senior girls work at open days. What would our teacher have been called? I'm ashamed to say I can't remember.

[Katharine]

Clothes we made for ourselves had to fit, so things that had turned out the wrong size were sometimes submitted under a label of convenience as "for my cousin".

We only tried them on in the Summer term. I remember Linda Smith making the school's first minidress - ooh you can just imagine DR's reaction!!!! She had to turn around and touch her toes several times to see whether she was revealing her blues (Note to JR - blues were the slightly lighter outer knickers we would have worn in the Summer - still with inner linings)

My year group all made needlework bags when they were in the third form, before I joined the school. These were actually used and when we had the dreaded Miss Richards to coffee in 6s Study they showed her that they all had one line of tacking still in place as she had never told them to remove it!

As juniors, in the Lent term we had to make something for the school - we made pinnies one year and the second year we embroidered collars for bed jackets for the infirmary. This led to total confusion as this project was rarely done, and Miss Richards fell ill so there was nobody to tell us what to so next, so during the whole term, if I remember correctly we only did the collar - a line of lazy daisy flowers and stem stitch stems on the collar. Perhaps we should have made the whole bedjacket?

[englishangel]

One year there were lots of dresses with sleeves tight at the top and baggy round the wrists DR sighed gloomily at each one and predicted "they will get in the marmalade".

How welll I remember those dresses, Mary! It was a Simplicity pattern - everyone was crazy about it. The dress was a short fitted sixties shift-dress, with long tight sleeves at the end of which was a flared ruffle. The prettiest version was made by Sally Tyrrell, in a flowery Liberty Tana lawn. We begged her to put it on before it was given in, and she looked ravishing.

Typical DR to imagine those ruffles trailing in the marmalade....

Oh no! I'm supposed to be setting off for work !

Hastily, Munch

I don't remember this but I do remember her saying she had been out to dinner in an Italian restaurant and the girl at the next table had long hair which had trailed in her bolognese sauce and flicked all over her white blouse.

Strange the things we remember.

I remember sewing those labels on the needlework with a cross stitch at each corner too.

And I havwe never had a button fall off that I have sewn on either. Unfortunately I cannot get my daughter to sew on buttoons though her older brother is quite good. Daughter does counted cross=stitch to a very high standard so it's not that she 'can't' do it.