Margaret Wilson, RIP

[Jo]

Ditto re obituary Angela. We must make sure that John Hopgood gets it into the Old Blue.....
Your memory is fantastic!

Leave it to me

[Angela Woodford]

Leave it to me

Really? I didn't write obituary-style, but if you think it would do? Goodness...! Thank you!

Does anyone remember that Miss Wilson agreed to the Geography Room being used as a table tennis room at weekends? I thought that it was very good of her. Whiff whaff! as Boris would say.

[englishangel]

I certainly do

[kerrensimmonds]

I've spent today with my friend Heather (nee Wansey) - who did A level Geography with me in 1966. Her memory is far sharper than mine! She remembers Miss Wilson enjoying the enunciation of 'Vladivostock' and several other Russian places with a heavily accented 'Russian' accent (probably said three times, if Munch is right!), and of a phrase about the warm west winds in the Mediterranean enabling the growth of 'peaches and apricats'.
Ho Hum!

Nonetheless, a sad time even though Margaret was a ripe old age. And I hope that lots of people have written to Betty Jukes. Yesterday I sent her Munch's and Angela Sandford (Pratt's) entries on this thread, under cover of a card saying that I thought she would like to read them. I will phone her next week.

I know of not many teachers of my era still living (well, I suppose that's not surprising since I myself am an OAP now!). Rosemary Whiting (nee Esch) - Art, an Old Girl; Joy Holmes - Maths (an Old Girl); Judith Hepper/Heaven (English in the Junior School); Sybil Radley (nee Dolley) - French - and of course Betty Jukes. And no doubt there may be some others who have not kept in touch. Interestingly, none of the ones I remember are House/Ward staff... only academic staff. Today Heather and I realised that we have fond memories of academic staff, but no fond memories of House/Ward staff. Not surprising, really - given the analyses presented on other threads on this Forum!

[icomefromalanddownunder]

[quote="kerrensimmonds"]I've spent today with my friend Heather (nee Wansey) - who did A level Geography with me in 1966. Her memory is far sharper than mine! She remembers Miss Wilson enjoying the enunciation of 'Vladivostock' and several other Russian places with a heavily accented 'Russian' accent (probably said three times, if Munch is right!), and of a phrase about the warm west winds in the Mediterranean enabling the growth of 'peaches and apricats'.
Ho Hum!
quote]

That would be (repeat after me everybody)

Warm, wet, westerly winds in winter and hot dry sunny summers .


I seem to remember Miss Wilson telling us that someone (an Old Girl) walked up behind her at a location that eludes me (Munch, Liz, are you able to help with the finer details?) and greeted Miss W with the above phrase? statement? Jo, please feel free to edit this

Caroline
who is off to lunch at a winery in hot, dry, sunny Adelaide, reciting as she drives

Swale
Ure
Nidd
Wharf
Aire
Calder
Don

yet highly likely to forget whereabouts in the car park she will leave her car.

xxx

[kerrensimmonds]

To report that Betty was very touched (and amused) to receive the two postings (Angela and Angela..) which I had printed out, and has sent them on to Margaret's sister in N. Ireland.
Thanks for the warm wet westerlies and the Yorkshire rivers, Caroline!

[Katharine]

Why did I miss out on the Yorkshire rivers? I don't recall them at all.

[gma]

With great regret I have to report that I remember spending the first couple of years at CH being taught geography by Mrs Woods who doubled up as RE teacher too and managed to create the most deadly dull environment known to mankind inside the geography room, and incidentally, inside RE lessons too. I distinctly remember having a class with Miss Wilson who firstly scared the c**p out of me and secondly manage to make the class and therefore geography interesting in one hit. I cannot remember whether Miss W covered for Mrs W for a holiday, or an illness or something but I do remember that class so clearly.

Oddly I also remember her taking a cookery class, (puff pastry)? Would that be right or am I mixing up the hair with someone else?

[MKM]

Swale
Ure
Nidd
Wharf
Aire
Calder
Don

I remember those too, though I'd forgotten where the rivers actually were.

Can anyone remember the cities on the trans-Siberian railway? I can only get as far as Leningrad*, Moscow, Chelyabinsk(??), Omsk.

*Yes, it was still Leningrad in the 1960's.

[kerrensimmonds]

When I saw Heather on Saturday she remembered 'Vladivostock' in a heavily accented 'russian' accent - and somewhere else. Was it 'Novosobirsk' or something? Anyway, maybe they aren't on the Trans Siberian Railway at all...... just nice names which Margaret relished using!

[Katharine]

Wasn't it Omsk, bypassing Tomsk?

[kerrensimmonds]

Yes, Katharine. And I remembered Heather's other Russian town... 'Krasnoyarsk' (spelling probably wrong, but with appropriate grinding of k's and double r's, as only Miss Wilson could do....). Probably someone will come forward with the definitive list of towns on the Trans Siberian Railway, just as Caroline did with the rivers in Yorkshire!

[Angela Woodford]

How to remember the Rivers of Yorkshire?

"Sunwac"! (Excitedly) "Sunwac!" (Emphatically beaming) "SUNWAC!!!"

Now here is the weird thing! I don't remember the river Don being tacked on, as does Caroline. Maybe this river was discovered one year later? Maybe the boundaries of Yorkshire were changed?

I've been SUNWACD!!! I must come to terms with this.

[Angela Woodford]

With great regret I have to report that I remember spending the first couple of years at CH being taught geography by Mrs Woods who doubled up as RE teacher too

Oddly I also remember her taking a cookery class, (puff pastry)? Would that be right or am I mixing up the hair with someone else?

Gerrie? I can hardly imagine a Geography/Scripture mistress. Didn't you have DR for Scripture?

But - it must be Miss Jukes whom you remember teaching you the Puff Pastry. Much to the amazement of non-CH contemporaries, I have total mastery of Flaky Pastry, Waising a Pork Pie and Wough Puff Pastry. Miss Jukes never did Puff Pastry with us - Deirdre and me - her 'A' level duo. Perhaps she was economising on marge that year.

The two ladies had identical hair colour and hairstyles. Miss Jukes definitely grabbed a cigarette at Break! Miss Wilson was a little more petite. I've just had another memory of her excited reiteration of the "Hwang-Ho" River. The Hwang-Ho! (repeat x 3).

I wonder if there was any Old Girl attendence at Miss Wilson's funeral?

[kerrensimmonds]

I don't suppose there were any ex-Hertford folk (either staff or former pupils) at MIss Wilson's funeral because whenever it happened, it took place in Belfast, was not publicised, and was for her (large) family only. Not even Betty Jukes went - though help was offered to get her there etc. She decided that she is too blind and infirm, and did not want to 'meet' people she could not see. Very sad.
Kerren