Unofficial Christ's Hospital Forum

MaryB wrote: Also, someone, possibly Susan Parkin, lost her GA (Green apron - symbol of monitresshood) in the UVIth for posting a leter ni the town.... What can one say?

The incident comes back to me now. I remember when Parkin, bravely and proudly wearing a humble pinny, walked into Dining Hall. Her head was held high; oh, it was magnificent.

A bit like the Lowood Hall punishment in Jane Eyre!

I've described earlier on the Forum that at some stage almost all the BAs lost them as we 'were rotten to the core', someone had been seen to post a letter but nobody owned up. There was confusion in the effort to find enough large pinnies. I think the punishment lasted about three weeks. I think GAs wore BAs and we wore pinnies.

Hi

Just picked up on this.... I went to Hertford as a docile, shy (goody goody) child having quite strict parents, especially father....and it was ever my aim to stay out of trouble, lay low, something of a chameleon and certainly NEVER naughty.

Yet because of all those RULES (I'm sure some of them contradicted one another???) very quickly I found myself regularly in trouble, ricocheting from one crisis to another. Do nothing. Do something. Speak, be silent. Don't smile, take that miserable look off your face, your skirt is too long, your skirt is too short yadda yadda yadda

Decided impossible to please everyone so might as well please myself, and might as well be hanged for a sheep as a lamb. It didn't work of course and I did find it intolerable - thanks to my mum who intervened with my father I did get to leave with some of my sentence unserved.

In my new school I was quickly branded goody-goody again as I observed a record 50% of the rules (even the staff broke more than that!!!) - once I calmed down I was in heaven.

I'm still twitchy around any authority figure and defensive of my privacy. With hindsight I think that was one of the worst aspects of CH, and reading Orwell's "1984" rang many a bell.

Liz

Re: the business of rules contradicting each other - my father always used to say (and probably still does?) that when that happens the correct reaction is to obey the last order; I always assumed that this was something he picked up in the Navy, as were many of the rules governing his (and therefore our) life.

Yes --- your Father was right ----
Although, that principle didn't do too well at the Charge of the Light Brigade !!!

It was the same in 'Plod' !