Old Blue Boys and Girls or Men and Women?

[Angela Woodford]

CH Hertford will always be with me in all sorts of insidious ways...

I always do just one form of housework at a time. Just as if set to do the Bluebells.

I volunteer for things - might be compelled to do whatever anyway?

I am completely overanxious about being late for appointments, work, etc.

I've suffered from several episodes of depression and low self-esteem. I was told I was useless constantly from the age of 12 - 18... thanks DR et al.

I can't really believe I'm allowed to enjoy myself.

It's all my fault.

Be funny! Nobody will realise how I feel...

[Barnes Mum]

Do you scowl at us parents when we chew it too?

Yes! I have perfected a very evil glare that works wonders.

[Vonny]

I had to have about 2 inches of hair cut off to get it out. I NEVER did that again.

Funnily enough the only time I ever got chewing gum in my hair was at CH (Horsham). I was sunbathing on the grecians path outside BaB whilst revising and when I got up I realised I had someone's manky chewing gum in my hair Luckily I managed to snip it out!

[lonelymom]

Yes! I have perfected a very evil glare that works wonders.

Ooops! That means I'll be forced to swallow it (an art I perfected at school!)

[Barnes Mum]

Careful!

[mvgrogan]

Our dentist has advised that I encourage my 3 year old to use Xylitol chewing gum... it's good for her teeth and is ok if she swallows it accidentally! Apparently ALL children in Finland are positively encouraged to use it... maybe something to do with the Finns discovering the miracle properties of Xylitol and the abundance of it here (it comes from birch bark!).

[dinahcat]

Chewing gum is not biodegradable , apparently .

[Fjgrogan]

I think my least favourite place for encountering discarded chewing gum is under the edge of a church pew! As a child I was never allowed it, yet I remember once getting licquorice bubble gum, or possibly Black Jacks? stuck in the back of my long hair and having to have it cut out.

[jhopgood]

Valencia have just brought in a new local regulation, together with plain clothes inspectors, who can give on the spot fines from 600€ up for littering, including not cleaning up after your dog.
Listening to the Valencia Environmental Secretary on the radio, the worst litter is chewing gum, since it can only be cleaned up by scraping it up. It won't dissolve and cannot be removed by the water cannon.
I nearly phoned in to say that they should look at the soles of my shoes, which seem to have a magnetic effect on chewing gum.

[icomefromalanddownunder]

Just reading through this thread again, I suddenly remembered the punishment of 'Lines'

This always seemed to me to be the most pointless off punishments at CH.

Writing out 200 times something along the lines of....

"I must not........."

I once wrote mine out on toilet paper (bet you couldn't do that at Horsham these days. The welfare agencies have surely banned anything more abrasive than Kleenex). Pointless protest. Had to rewrite them

xx

[icomefromalanddownunder]

I also remember being made to sew up every pocket in every garment I owned, after being caught once with my hands in my pockets. Does anyone remember the no elbows on the table issue? I realize this is just a good manners thing - but Amanda McIlwain in particular was the 'Elbows' Nazi and I cannot tell you the number of times my chin thunked onto the table as Amanda crept up behind and yanked the offending elbow prop out from under me, with an accompanying strident battle cry of "El-bows!!" {Much emphasis on the 2nd syllable)

I had sewn up pockets too.

Elbows on tables always reminds me of a Private Eye joke - The Queen Mum had her splendid mammaries covering a large proportion of the dining table, while saying 'Elbows, Philip. Elbows!'.

Something that I still cannot stand is sitting next to someone who sticks out their elbows while eating. I always eat, even when lounging infront of the TV, with my elbows tucked into my ribs - well the padding that now covers my ribs

xx

[englishangel]

Me too, husband sprawls (and licks his knife) so I used to tell the offspring to emulate me, which of course always made him do it even more, fortunately they did as they were told

This is at home, he is quite presentabvle in company fortunately.

[gma]

CH Hertford will always be with me in all sorts of insidious ways...
I always do just one form of housework at a time. Just as if set to do the Bluebells.
I volunteer for things - might be compelled to do whatever anyway?
I am completely overanxious about being late for appointments, work, etc.
I've suffered from several episodes of depression and low self-esteem. I was told I was useless constantly from the age of 12 - 18... thanks DR et al.
I can't really believe I'm allowed to enjoy myself.
It's all my fault.
Be funny! Nobody will realise how I feel...

Housework ditto but a) I'm a business consultant and I teach that being task oriented and task follow through are a basic principle because they work and are very labour efficient and b) I always wash particular colours together waiting till I have a lot of that colour which is twin tub thing or possibly OCD but it means that HWMBI has to have 1/2 dozen of allsorts in all colours before he can rotate, particularly shirts!!

Volunteer ditto but not first (in case no-on else does - blending you know) but not last (horrible, especially if it was for rounders!!) but tah could just be that I don't want to do more work than I have to but don't want to be seen as a lazy a**e!!

Ditto get very twitchy most clocks and watches set 3-8 mins fast (varies so I can't predict which was might be most accurate!!) but is also because my 'just five more minutes' in bed is very elastic...........

Not several bouts but a couple but I think that was, for me, part of growing up (which I have still not quite accomplished!)

I always think I'll get blamed so I might as well do it anyway but that might be an excuse for just not caring too much about anyone elses rules and regs! However I do get very up on my high horse when blamed for something I DIDN'T do! (Yep, there were one or two.....)

Be funny, 'one of the boys' and LOUD! Hand on heart don't know whether that's a diversionary thing, a five brothers thing, agreat pulling trick or maybe I am just LOUD!

I DO know that I get really pi**ed off when I see someone overtly squashing someone else, am a real defender of the underdog and now have the gift of being able to analyse practially anything to death and thus remove the sting.

I remember seeing an Oprah show years and years ago which was filled with women in 20s through to about their 50s all who had been damaged by their experiences as children - I remember being so angry and really feeling it all with them and then I suddenly thought that I did not want to be them, I did not want to see the next 30 or 40 years looking backwards all the time and finding too late that I was only the sum of old experiences and made a decision to step away from the emotional drama. I get annoyed about things that were done to other people, I remember intellectually what was done to me. I couldn't control what went on in my childhood and some aspects of that time were taken from me but not all of it and I don't care to surrender my adulthood voluntarily to the same c**p!!

And AW you are funny but not in way you think, not in the hidey way - you are observationally very astute, (virtually all stand up comedians do this, Jack Dee, Lee Evans...); you have all the abilities of a raconteur (Peter Ustinov was one, not so bad eh?); you are a natural story-teller and reveal on a daily basis a loving and warm character.

Truth up, if all ofthe above are outcomes of the insidious practises at CH then your housework (when you start it, gets doen in te most efficient manner possible apart from having a maid), you ares eena s generous and caring (volunteering and timeliness!!), life has offered support and supporters for your feelings (and the gift of being able to express them), you are not arrogant and welcome gratefully even the tiniest blessings, as for it all being your fault ....WELL OF COURSE IT IS BECAUSE IT CERTAINLY ISN'T MINE!!!!; and for the funny, well see above!

P.S. But one of the best bits about CH is that once you learned to wear one of those appalling titfers you could then wear ANY HAT YOU WANT TO WITH APLOMB!!!

[J.R.]

I personally don't like having to watch people chew gum.

Probably one of the reasons I detest Sir Alexandria Funguson of Man United so much !!!!

[lonelymom]

I personally don't like having to watch people chew gum.

Probably one of the reasons I detest Sir Alexandria Funguson of Man United so much !!!!

Oh, me too, JR! Doesn't he look awful?! I always wonder how he doesn't bite his tongue, the way he chomps!