Unofficial Christ's Hospital Forum

by the time I arrived in 75 we had red leaded metal fire escapes from the top of house to the ground - all the houses had them - I think they must have been a newish addition as we seemed to get a lot of fire drills to test them out!

englishangel wrote:I don't ever remember having a fire drill, I don't remember ever going down the fire escape, the stairs were put in at teh end of my first year I think, before that there were ladders attached to the back of the houses, except 1's and 5's which were junior houses so had staircases

Quite agree, Mary, no fire drills in my time!

We must have had a a couple of night drills a year Don't remember having any during the day though.

The red staircases were built in 1966 I think.

I used to go for quite a lot of late night walks mainly in the summer though. The one that sticks in my mind is the one that happened after a couple or ten shandys. I awoke one night on big side, slightly confused but none the less alive. I looked at my watch to see it was about 1am and proceeded to walk back to Mid A. When I arrived I looked at my watch and it was about 4am so three hours for a 5-10 minute walk. I have no idea where the time went, it seemed like 5 minutes at the time.

I have nights (and days) like that,

englishangel wrote:I have nights (and days) like that,

oh Mary - why did you have to tell everyone! you have let the side down - I feel i have to confess now - I have whole months like that and it's nothing to do with alcohol!!!

At the risk of tainting my "reputation", (not much to tarnish admittedly) we in Lamb A (96-2000) spent most of our UF and early GE nightwalking.

We used to wait until the Grecians and Hobson our housemaster were in bed and then the person detailed to wake us up would do so and then we'd sneak down to the front studies in the day room.

We would take it in turns to watch out and then sprint out to the art school car park bushes, checking the night watchman didn't see us on one of his patrols.

Then we used to walk up via the New Science School and round past Mr Bailey's house and down the avenue to Barnes B where the girls would have taken the handle off the window from the inside so we could prise it open and then jump in. We used to hang out and then go back about 4.30 when it got light.

We did this quite regularly for a while (about once or twice a week) but then someone grassed us up to the nightwatchman and we ended up getting chased by him and so we knocked it on the head. Well, that when someone else grassed a girl who was visiting me from Hunt B at about 6am in broad daylight.

Seriously though. It's not JUST me is it?

Newman wrote:At the risk of tainting my "reputation", (not much to tarnish admittedly) we in Lamb A (96-2000) spent most of our UF and early GE nightwalking.

We used to wait until the Grecians and Hobson our housemaster were in bed and then the person detailed to wake us up would do so and then we'd sneak down to the front studies in the day room.

We would take it in turns to watch out and then sprint out to the art school car park bushes, checking the night watchman didn't see us on one of his patrols.

Then we used to walk up via the New Science School and round past Mr Bailey's house and down the avenue to Barnes B where the girls would have taken the handle off the window from the inside so we could prise it open and then jump in. We used to hang out and then go back about 4.30 when it got light.

We did this quite regularly for a while (about once or twice a week) but then someone grassed us up to the nightwatchman and we ended up getting chased by him and so we knocked it on the head. Well, that when someone else grassed a girl who was visiting me from Hunt B at about 6am in broad daylight.

Seriously though. It's not JUST me is it?

what, a slave to your hormones?

Nah.

We would walk through by matron's then used to climb out of the Ba B window, the Buckman's were pretty tight about ours.

I think the pig's room was the usual destination. That or going to the 24 hr garage to buy smokes.