Unofficial Christ's Hospital Forum

On the penultimate day of term the hot water usually ran out as most of the school seemed to take a bath (in 1953).

J.R. wrote:

Fjgrogan wrote:I thought the 5" restriction was because of the Suez crisis - an attempt to save on the heating fuel?

The Suez crisis never affected me !!

It certainly affected me ----- I thought I was defending King and Country and then Queen and Country ! I received a Wound, and a Campaign Medal, some 60 years later (The Medal) it turned out that it was because we were "Not at War" ----- Then why was I being shot at ???

Was Barnes B under L M Carey, the only House to have compulsory "Cold Baths" every Morning -- before Breakfast ?

Since they each lasted about .5 of a second --- in and out-- I don't remember the amount of water, but it DID wake you up !!!

NEILL THE NOTORIOUS wrote:
Was Barnes B under L M Carey, the only House to have compulsory "Cold Baths" every Morning -- before Breakfast ?

People in Maine B in my day (housemaster Morton Peto) claimed this regime was in force, but we were never sure whether to believe them.

I remember that bad-tempered character A.L.Johnstone ("Stine"), a man not renowned for laxness, surprising us by saying that he had a horror of cold baths and wouldn't allow them anywhere where he had a say in the matter.

michael scuffil wrote:

NEILL THE NOTORIOUS wrote:
Was Barnes B under L M Carey, the only House to have compulsory "Cold Baths" every Morning -- before Breakfast ?

People in Maine B in my day (housemaster Morton Peto) claimed this regime was in force, but we were never sure whether to believe them.

I remember that bad-tempered character A.L.Johnstone ("Stine"), a man not renowned for laxness, surprising us by saying that he had a horror of cold baths and wouldn't allow them anywhere where he had a say in the matter.

The moment I read that name and nick-name, I could see his face and hear his distinctive voice.

Funny that, coz he wasn't a master I would automatically remember after all these years.

A L Johnstone used to take Dining Hall on occassions.

DavidRawlins wrote:A L Johnstone used to take Dining Hall on occassions.

Thats right !
I assume when 'Pongo' wasn't available.

DavidRawlins wrote:A L Johnstone used to take Dining Hall on occassions.

Yes, he gave me a school drill for being late for breakfast early trades. That was considered a bit OTT even then. He also put the whole house "off toast" for a month after someone went up to him with a piece of soft, barely-browned bread, and said: "Would you like a piece of so-called toast, sir?"

I was in Lamb B and remember AL Johnstone next door in Lamb A with great clarity - including the initials! He had ginger hair, red face and a very abrupt manner.
On occasions Lamb A people would assemble in a small group and set fire to a (redundant) table-tennis ball, singing "Johnny's got a head like a ping-pong ball, ping-pong ball, ping-pong ball..." to the tune of the Habanera. What this achieved, I have no idea.
It was also alleged that his only advice on "life" to his leavers was: "Beware of ladies in shiny raincoats..." at which point he went red (or, to be more accurate, even redder) in the face and left the room abruptly. What ghastly incident in his past gave rise to this observation was never explained.

Foureyes wrote:I was in Lamb B and remember AL Johnstone next door in Lamb A with great clarity - including the initials! He had ginger hair, red face and a very abrupt manner.
:

There was a science master known by his initials - AC who had a brother with the initials DC (or I could have got those the wrong way around). I don't remember his surname if it was ever used. Being boys I don't think anyone thought of the electrical connection but rather there is another meaning.

michael scuffil wrote:

DavidRawlins wrote: He also put the whole house "off toast" for a month after someone went up to him with a piece of soft, barely-browned bread, and said: "Would you like a piece of so-called toast, sir?"

Miserable git!

Foureyes wrote: He had ginger hair, red face and a very abrupt manner.
:

He was self-conscious about his red face. He once admitted that his army paybook stated:
Complexion: ruddy
He was annoyed by this, but it was only the truth.

He had two much-used phrases: "as it were" and "common-or-garden". On the deps, we used to make a point of allowing a book to fall on the floor whenever he used either. I don't know whether he realized.

Another Johnny-ism: "The only good things that ever came out of Oxford were Fowler's English Usage and Cooper's English Marmalade."

He was in charge of meeting new boys and their parents from the train, so he was for a long time the first face of CH for many.

michael scuffil wrote:

Foureyes wrote: He had ginger hair, red face and a very abrupt manner.
:

He was self-conscious about his red face. He once admitted that his army paybook stated:
Complexion: ruddy
He was annoyed by this, but it was only the truth.

He had two much-used phrases: "as it were" and "common-or-garden". On the deps, we used to make a point of allowing a book to fall on the floor whenever he used either. I don't know whether he realized.

Another Johnny-ism: "The only good things that ever came out of Oxford were Fowler's English Usage and Cooper's Oxford Marmalade."

He was in charge of meeting new boys and their parents from the train, so he was for a long time the first face of CH for many.

We did something similar on a training course and it took our trainer about 3 passes to realise, so I suspect he did but chose to ignore it.

Johnstone was bl**dy Johnnie to us, he had an evil spaniel caled Ipheginia which suffered as his surrogate. Think I had him for French in LE. His house, Lamb A, was an oddity because BJ didn't approve of House Colours so they didn't have them.

Col B had cold baths sometimes but the passion for them normally petered out after a while.

I had a cold bath once in Col A and decided then and there Never again.

englishangel wrote:

michael scuffil wrote: He had two much-used phrases: "as it were" and "common-or-garden". On the deps, we used to make a point of allowing a book to fall on the floor whenever he used either. I don't know whether he realized.

We did something similar on a training course and it took our trainer about 3 passes to realise, so I suspect he did but chose to ignore it.

I had a Brazilian boss who was "not appreciated" (that's the Bowdlerised version) and reckoned that he spoke better English than we did (in fact he did speak grammatically better English than his native Portuguese)**. In consequence, before managers' meetings we would check "The Dictionary of Difficult Words" and agree a previously unknown word to use in its correct application whilst discussing loan applications and the like. Possibles might be the need for a "ha-ha" when discussing a property deal or even "haecceity" when commenting on someone's absense.

At such times he always nodded sagely as if he understood exactly what was being said and often made some totally irrelevant reply. We had a lot of other ways of expressing our feelings ;