Mr Stiff's Cambridge outings

Share your memories and stories from the Hertford Christ's Hospital School, which closed in 1985, when the two schools integrated to the Horsham site....

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Mr Stiff's Cambridge outings

Post by michael scuffil »

Hi girls

I'm told Mr Stiff's Cambridge outings are still remembered. Anyway, I was one of the outers -- 1964 and 1965. Excruciatingly embarrassing! Mind you, to be surrounded by little girls then was merely comical.

Is there anyone out there who was on my punt? I was the one from Emmanuel College.
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Re: Mr Stiff's Cambridge outings

Post by cj »

michael scuffil wrote:Hi girls

I'm told Mr Stiff's Cambridge outings are still remembered. Anyway, I was one of the outers -- 1964 and 1965. Excruciatingly embarrassing! Mind you, to be surrounded by little girls then was merely comical.

Is there anyone out there who was on my punt? I was the one from Emmanuel College.
Excuse me? Is this what was known as the Swinging Sixties?
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Re: Mr Stiff's Cambridge outings

Post by Katharine »

cj wrote:
michael scuffil wrote:Hi girls

I'm told Mr Stiff's Cambridge outings are still remembered. Anyway, I was one of the outers -- 1964 and 1965. Excruciatingly embarrassing! Mind you, to be surrounded by little girls then was merely comical.

Is there anyone out there who was on my punt? I was the one from Emmanuel College.
Excuse me? Is this what was known as the Swinging Sixties?
Ah - you're too young, Cath - as for me I am too old - the outings started while I was there, but it was the Lower IV who went and I was senior to that. Can't remember exactly when - Michael may have helped host the first or second lot to go.
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Re: Mr Stiff's Cambridge outings

Post by icomefromalanddownunder »

Katharine wrote:Excuse me? Is this what was known as the Swinging Sixties?
Ah - you're too young, Cath - as for me I am too old - the outings started while I was there, but it was the Lower IV who went and I was senior to that. Can't remember exactly when - Michael may have helped host the first or second lot to go.[/quote]


I, and I guess Alex, Mary and Mary, went on one of these outings. If we were in the LIV at the time, it would have been the summer of 1967 (?).
I'm guessing that we were shown around at least one of the colleges, but don't remember that - do remember punting and having tea in someone's room in Gonville and Caius (I think).
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Post by Jo »

Gosh, I'd forgotten about Mr Stiff. Yes, I remember going, although I don't remember exactly which year as I repeated the LIV year. Probably first time round - I don't remember going twice. I remember being shown round Cambridge by a very nice young man, and being taken punting, which looked hard but I remember taking to it quite well.

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Post by Ajarn Philip »

WHO WAS MR STIFF? :shock:
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Post by michael scuffil »

Mr Stiff was an OB who was something in the City. In the 60s he had the idea of taking Hertford juniors on outings to Cambridge, and getting OB undergraduates who could stand the embarrassment of being surrounded by 12-year-old girls to do Cambridgey things with them, like punting on the Cam and tea in college. Under some pressure, I helped out in 64 and 65.
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Post by englishangel »

I went with Lesley Smith, Judy Furnival, Phyllis Chuang and Amanda McIlwain in the summer of '67. We were shown round by two lovely Mike's, Smith and something else. I have a photo somewhere which I will dig out when I get home. I think the second Mike's name is written on the back.

p.s. Could you only go to Cambridge if you were called Michael?

and yes Judy had at least one brother at Horsham (Tony I think) and Amanda's brother was David and she had a couple of sisters too, I think Vonny knew one of them.
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Post by Euterpe13 »

Hey, since I was at Hertford from 63 to 70, I must have been in your '64 group .... tee hee !
I remember the punting, but not for the life of me much else - although I do remember that our undergrad ( not necessarily you, Michael) would not let us have a go with the punt - he thought that we might fall in... spoilpsort !

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Post by Vonny »

I remember going. I've got some photos of the day somewhere.
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Post by michael scuffil »

Vonny wrote:I remember going. I've got some photos of the day somewhere.

Heavens, was Stiff still alive in the 1980s? Did the custom continue until Hertford was abandoned?
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Post by J.R. »

michael scuffil wrote:Mr Stiff was an OB who was something in the City. In the 60s he had the idea of taking Hertford juniors on outings to Cambridge, and getting OB undergraduates who could stand the embarrassment of being surrounded by 12-year-old girls to do Cambridgey things with them, like punting on the Cam and tea in college. Under some pressure, I helped out in 64 and 65.
Hmmmm.

Sounds highly suspicious to me !

... and there's me just having to have filled out the advanced CRB form !

Worryingly, they want bank details amongst other things. Hope Mr Darling isn't involved with THAT department as well as the Treasury !
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Post by michael scuffil »

Euterpe13 wrote:Hey, since I was at Hertford from 63 to 70, I must have been in your '64 group .... tee hee !
I remember the punting, but not for the life of me much else - although I do remember that our undergrad ( not necessarily you, Michael) would not let us have a go with the punt - he thought that we might fall in... spoilpsort !

B
Each undergrad was assigned about 5 or 6 girls. If you were in my party in 64, I would have taken you to Emmanuel College's (then) modern but slightly suburban hostel. In 1965, we would have gone to my rooms in college (in 1965 I also had a young teacher in the group).
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Post by Vonny »

michael scuffil wrote:
Vonny wrote:I remember going. I've got some photos of the day somewhere.

Heavens, was Stiff still alive in the 1980s? Did the custom continue until Hertford was abandoned?
I guess he must have been IF it was still him that funded the trips :? I can't remember which year I was in when I went but it was sometime in the first 3 years I was at CH so would have been 1982/3 or 4 :?
As to whether the tradition continued until 1985 - I don't know. CJ was a couple of years behind me so maybe she knows.
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Post by englishangel »

englishangel wrote:I went with Lesley Smith, Judy Furnival, Phyllis Chuang and Amanda McIlwain in the summer of '67. We were shown round by two lovely Mikes, Smith and something else. I have a photo somewhere which I will dig out when I get home. I think the second Mike's name is written on the back.

p.s. Could you only go to Cambridge if you were called Michael?

and yes Judy had at least one brother at Horsham (Tony I think) and Amanda's brother was David and she had a couple of sisters too, I think Vonny knew one of them.
I found the picture and the second Mike was Mike Hiley, I think they were at Sidney Sussex but I can't be sure. The picture is dated May '67. I will scan it at work tomorrow and post it on here.
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