Unofficial Christ's Hospital Forum

For the 14 years I was married to a nurse, I was definately made to feel like I was stopping a nurse from doing her duty. And whan she got pregnant, How could I possibly do that to a nurse!

That attitude always made me laugh because it came mainly from married senior nurses.

Not an Old Blue because not educated there. Was a teacher there in (Horsham) the 1970's I think and has become fascinated by its history. In retirement is building up his own little Museum - and spending time going through material at the Museum in Horsham. He trades on eBay under a number of different identities.
We have at least agreed that he will not knowingly bid against me again on any Hertford item in which I am interested - and he has offered to sell on the sampler at cost, once he knew how disappointed I was and assured him that my own little collection would in due course also be willed to the Museum at Horsham. Magananimous!

what a lovely idea.

and as a reply to Scone Lover's comment about non-OBs wanting stuff, SL, just search for 'Shoz' in the membership list and read his posts.

That's really nice Kerren.

I don't know it feels a bit like truck spotters for me. The times I would pull up at a truck stop jump out of my artic and be accosted by some damned anorak asking me about the merits of split gear boxes over twin split gearboxes. Like I cared, I just wanted the damn loo!

Sorry, that's well off topic.

Have we decided that there is no latin motto for the school?

Like I have said before, my strongest memories are singing the Votom (spell check please DBTS) and being told to love the Brotherhood. I have always carried this idea with me. So much so that I think of all of you as brothers and sisters in Housey. Is that daft or not?

I think technically you are right Scone Lover. The school does not have motto in Latin (that I know of...). The quotation from 1 Peter 2 v. 17 is straight from the King James Version and is in English.
The only Latin is the School Song - known as the Votum at Horsham and the Carmen at Hertford.

Surely this is a question to be addressed to the School Orrifice or the School Partnership Office ?

When I worked at CH they tried to broaden the amount of memorabilia (sp). Things they looked for were an unofficial CH Emblem - for which the "CH" that was on the iron work on the old school desks and appears on the drain pipe tops was used. And they also looked for the "School Motto" to put on some items. Everyone was wittering on about why there wasn't a Latin motto! My guess is it is something to do with the fact that we're a school born out of the reformation. "Fear God. Honour the King (spelt Honor on the East Grecian's Arch IIRC) Love the Brotherhood" is a very apt motto for CH in my opinion and not in need of Latinification (a made up word) which was a trend in the 19th Century when lots of School Carmens were written. The only other thing I've seen used in that context is the last two lines of Votum (et floreat, ut floruit, contentio aeterna or something .... dunno). Personally - I hated Votum. It sounded like something that should have been played on a merry-go-round at a fair.

Re Hertfordy things. Whilst I was at CH (Horsham), after the last lunch in the school year, all the girls would gather in a circle around the statue to sing Auld Lang. Before that the Hertford "Toast" was shouted out by the Head Girl and we'd all respond with something. Problem was, when it got to our year, we couldn't remember what it was and so we stuck with the Founders Day Toast ("The Ancient, Royal & Religious Foundation of CH. may those prosper who love her and may God increase their number" IIRC) and replied "Housey". It seemed to do.

We have the former Band Captain staying with us and he asked if I knew the Votum. I replied that I knew it and had sung it on occasion, but could not remember when.
He was on a recent Rugby/Hockey tour to Australia where Old Blues asked them to lead the singing of the Votum. None of that complement of travelling Blues had ever heard of the Votum. They were much more familiar with the Foundation hymn.
Can anyone remember when and why the Votum was cast on the scrap heap?

Peter Southern said it was elitist - I believe?

May I rephrase Deb's version above of the final part of the Votum/Carmen (only four years late!!) ........... et floreat ut floruit, honore sempiterno ........ at least that is how I remember it.

An update. Peter Southern abolished the Votum (the Carmen to us Hertfordites) when he realised on Speech Day one year that the parents in the congregation could not sing it, neither could the staff on the platform...........thus he deemed it to be elitist. It is no longer taught to the children and has not been for several years. There is a suggestion that it might be sung at Founder's Day Dinner at Horsham this year..............

DavebytheSea wrote:Fear God, Honour the Queen, Love the Brotherhood (in that order) is the school motto BUT ..... each Block has a house motto over the door, and all, except Peele have it in Latin - eg. Middleton's is Festinae Lente i.e. "make haste slowly". Peele's is quite extraordinary - "Passing Away". Is that because it almost falls off the end of the Avenue, or what?

The school song - the Votum - on this site is ain Latin with a posting to a full translation.

viewtopic.php?p=11620&highlight=votum#11620

Maine’s was Dum Spectas Fugit

I seem to remember they all had something to do with time

The library was “it is shameful to be ignorant “, in Latin which I have forgotten

jhopgood wrote:Can anyone remember when and why the Votum was cast on the scrap heap?

The rot started in 1970, when David Newsome became Headmaster. Under his predecessor Clarence Seaman, a small choir (I was in it in 1969) would stand on the Big School stage at a Junior Assembly in Michaelmas Term and teach the song to all the new pupils. But in Michaelmas 1970 there was no choir, nothing. As far as I know, the song was never taught again. After that it was used less and less. The phasing-out process was completed, I believe, in November 1977, when the custom of singing the Votum at the School Concert was abandoned.

So I'm a little puzzled by Kerren's remark, "It is no longer taught to the children and has not been for several years." Was the teaching of it revived at some stage, only to be discontinued again?

I don't remember being "taught" the Carmen at all. It just was. Some seemed just to absorb it by osmosis. I know a couple of friends were made to learn it by The Study as an educational punishment, and tested on it, but I seemed to have escaped this.

I relied on "The Breakfast Carmen" which began "Bacon and eggs and sausages", and providing you mouthed some form of breakfast food which fitted in with the metre of the Carmen - sung before Mark Reading in School Hall twice a year, and before Prizegiving, all amici quotquot estis who weren't word perfect just... blended in!

Before Mark Reading, I used to look at DR, alone up there on the platform, grimly singing with such resolution, and wonder "What's she actually thinking?" I can see her face now in my mind's eye, singing away.

The Carmen was a good last-Latin-lesson-of-term with Queenie - hey - a translation of it for light relief!