Quick questions and (maybe) answers Hertford Memories thread

[Alexandra Thrift]

Hi Midget.....

I am talking about the very dim distant past here.....even pre-you....There is something about "Nines"....it definitely existed....just not sure about when or why...???

[Angela Woodford]

Lonely_Wolf asked "Why was "nines" called nines ?"

I think "nines" must still be there as it was part of the row of ancient listed buildings at the front of the school. It was once used as a house or "ward" as they were called in the distant past. There were still all kinds of artefacts lurking around when I was at CH marked "Ward 6 ", " Ward 9" or whatever. I think some of the young boys had lived there before they moved out ( did they go straight to Horsham or was there a period between when all the boys were in London ?). After that the youngest girls lived there for a time ( way before my time when some of the girls were eight and nine )....I'm sure DR told us that...but it could be my imagination....anyhow it had definitely been "Ward Nine" and children were housed there.

I loved Nines! Structure and function just as Alex describes.

I first went up there when I mistakenly tried to join a Guide Patrol. We clumped up to the top which once must have been a little boys' dormitory. It felt strongly atmospheric in a particular way, and totally wrong to have noisy Guides there; a patrol in each corner.

Health and Safety would have banned us from Nines, I'm sure. The roof, with beams that went from centre of ceiling to floor, was very old wood. I could imagine so clearly the little boys sleeping there, beds closely together.

I would occasionally creep up there and sit, sometimes with a book with which to hide away; loving the strong feelings of the past. It wasn't a "happy" place, but the silence up there gave me a mysterious sense of... what? I didn't quite know, but it was intensely private and secret.

[englishangel]

They do have a 'Nines' reunion from time to time at Horsham if you look at the CHA calendar, I think it is usually allied with the Middleton one. What is that all about?

[MaryB]

I think that beyond the guides room there was an atticcy bit where costumes and props were kept. More fire risk. Our churchwardens would have an apoplectic fit.

I'm fairly sure that on the day we arrived as new girls, after being handed a pile of clothes ("small, medium or large?"), we were marched off in a crocodile to 9s to be given chapel caps, and possibly blazers, by Miss R******s. To say we were fited for them, which I originally wrote, would be an overstatement.
I may have imagined this, but I think my mother said later that their last sight of me was vanishing round the corner in this line... and then they went home with my own clothes in a pile on the back seat.

[kerrensimmonds]

My mum was on the train when she delivered me to Hertford in September 1957. She took my home clothes back with her in a brown paper parcel......

[fra828]

Perhaps this should be on another thread but here goes anyway: my mum also took away my home clothes in a parcel , also travelling by train. Many years later she said how upset she'd been leaving me at 'that place'. My mum had been chatting to a fifth or sixth former and when she asked her if it was a happy school, the girl replied that it was an 'awful place'. Of course that was a very distressing thing to hear when leaving your child in an unfamiliar place, ( in my case 100 miles from home). The very worst thing about that was, like the majority of other new girls, I knew no-one. So very much easier to go back somewhere when you get to make friends. The same can be said of many situations through life....

[Angela Woodford]

Help, please!

Does anyone remember what was in Veg Pie?

It was always the same, so I don't think the contents were just leftover vegetables. Am I wrong in remembering furtive strands of tinned spaghetti? Thick soggy pastry!

[fra828]

Veg pie, yes! Can definitly remember spag in it and baked beans; other than that, it could have been any old leftover veg. Apart from the often soggy pastry, I think it was one of the better Hertford meals tho- no grisly meat at least!

[Katharine]

I always thought veg pie was leftovers - but still one of the best teas we had!

[Angela Woodford]

Doing my best with menu economising...

Thought a version of Veg Pie might be a good idea! It was one of the better teas - the hot pie in cold weather!

Thank you for the advice, Katharine and Frances!

(I've just noticed - on my way to 2,000 posts! Does this mean I can be a virtual Prefect and live in the virtual Flat? )

[Jo]

Doing my best with menu economising...

Thought a version of Veg Pie might be a good idea!

I also remember a veg pie made with mash and cheese on top - or have I imagined it? I decided to give it a try when my vegetarian in-laws came to say a while ago. Due to a change in arrangements I never did get to make it for them, but I made it for the two of us a few days later and Chris loved it. I've done it again several times since. It's actually a variation on the CH one, as I put the veg in a sauce - I think the original was a bit dry and stodgy. Also, because of the size of my pyrex dishes I tend to serve the mash separately, but I put the grated cheese on top of the veg mix.

Ingredients
- any veg you have to hand, though Chris does like some baked beans in it. Some veg are best microwaved beforehand unless you plan to leave in the oven for a very long time. I think a colourful mix of different types of veg works best
- 1 jar Tesco value pasta sauce (about 59p I think)
- ready mash (or real mash if you're not lazy like me)
- grated cheese

Shove in the oven for about half an hour.

You could serve it with garlic bread if you want to add a bit of variety.

[Angela Woodford]

You're absolutely right Jo! There was a Vegetable Thing that had a variety of vegetables (I suspect frozen diced) in a mixture of cheese flavoured mashed potato baked with cheese on top.

Didn't we call it Cheese Veg? Veg Mash? Veg Cheese?

Oh dear. Tonight I am making Kedgeree - another teatime favourite, and I'm thinking of Mary V who I believe still specially likes it. This economy effort seems to be resulting in my doing food not unlike the CH menu!

That is, CH fed us very economically! Veg Pie! Kedgeree! Do you want to squat?

[kerrensimmonds]

I don't think we had garlic bread at school, Jo.... tho your recipe looks enticing!
And, yes, I often buy single vegetable pies from Sainsburys or Tesco and serve them to myself with chips or garlic bread. A gesture towards sensible eating......

[englishangel]

I am afraid my kedgeree is not now very economical as we discovered the joys of adding prawns and smoked salmon, yummeee.

My husband is from Yorkshire and a good cook (as Carolina and Angela have been told) he is not just a 'fair-weather' cook but a 'leftover' cook, his Mum having taught him.

I must suggest the veg and mash pie with cheese on top, that would suit all the family. (We get sons to mash our spuds, they have to do something)

[Angela Woodford]

I am afraid my kedgeree is not now very economical as we discovered the joys of adding prawns and smoked salmon, yummeee.

My husband is from Yorkshire and a good cook (as Carolina and Angela have been told) he is not just a 'fair-weather' cook but a 'leftover' cook, his Mum having taught him.

Well done Barry! Our mothers never threw food away!

Mary, why did you mention the prawns and smoked salmon? Maybe I could just slip out to the local shop... maybe a little slurp of cream?

I remember now - Cheese Veg. Brought over in the big covered tin, sploshed onto our plates with a big serving spoon. Were the plates hot? If so <puzzling> how? Did we bring the plates over in a basket?