Unofficial Christ's Hospital Forum

Lots of pupils find marching the single most inconvenient and annoying part of school life - despite the fact that it's about 30 seconds long, and is a great way to get everyone into lunch. I know I'm going to miss lots of things when I leave, but I just can't fathom marching as being one of them. Are you glad never to have to do marching again; or do you miss that more than you had expected when you were here?

30 seconds marching, 10 minutes waitn around bored b4 tho

+ its a pointless way of gettin the half the school who have already had lunch into lunch coz they just walk out the back.

I suppose they've changed everything since the 90s when the whole school used to eat (horror of horrors) TOGETHER ?! I always found marching a bit of a laugh. Sometimes we'd try to copy scenes from Full Metal Jacket etc by making up rude/daft songs to march in to. I don't recall anyone ever complaining about having to march in to lunch - it was accepted as being a long-standing tradition. It's a shame if the school have tinkered with it...

I always enjoyed the marching, and it was great being in the band too...

Why does the school not eat together anymore?

i was in band so always got lunch last!! do miss marching with band though, not so keen on marching with the house though its more fun with a saxophone!

you think that's bad, it was only in the mid 1980's they stopped us having to march to BREAKFAST!. It was different in that there was no band and each house marhced in as they were ready.

I'd forgotten about that, distictly remeber a number of people marching in wearing slippers / pajamas cos the were late.

marching . . . . . what great memories !!!

I've never lost that ear for the stong beat and the left foot down at the same time.

Marching into lunch and marching through London on St Matthew's Day parade (every year as I was in the choir). It makes me proud just to think of it.

In 1973 the whole school marched through London (I think it was something like the tercentenery of the RMS or something like that for a service at St Pauls). We had practice sessions marching up and down the Avenue but when it came to the day we couldn't really hear the band, LHA being almost at the back.

Yes, I suppose it's something I have missed on occassions over the years. Every time I hear a band playing a march I just want to join in. If the march happens to be Sussex by the Sea then it all gets very nostalgic !

I thought it was a great tradition, and something to be really proud of.
A unique tradition, and great practice for St. Matthew's Day - how many other schools get a chance to close the streets of London and march past St. Paul's?

I do remember the horse-sh1t - the ranks would part, or if someone was feeling evil, they'd walk right up to it straight and then dodge at the last minute - the person behind them then plowing straight into it! Get THAT off your yellow socks!

The "Swing March" was my favourite - don't know the proper name for it....

J

that would be "Swing March" - I think it's by Henry Mancini - most famous for The Pink Panther Theme tune.

The Swing March was great, especially if you were a drummer... as a piccolo player I got about 8 bars at the end! LOL

Now, Army of the Nile, that was a cracker (especially if you got the cornet solo).

The problem is, you do get very strange looks when you hum along to marching tunes...

adlop wrote:you think that's bad, it was only in the mid 1980's they stopped us having to march to BREAKFAST!. It was different in that there was no band and each house marhced in as they were ready.

I'd forgotten about that, distictly remeber a number of people marching in wearing slippers / pajamas cos the were late.

This reminds me of the most HATED parade of the year, at least from the point of view of a member of the band.

For some reason, it was decided that the band should play for breakfast parade on the last morning of the Christmas term. At 7.30 on a mid-December morning, this was no fun at all. The freezing temperatures (we had proper winters in those days) caused much pain to the fingers, and keeping a brass instrument in tune was a bit tricky to say the least.

I think the idea was to give leavers a good send-off with a last parade (the school used to break up on a Monday morning), but God did it hurt....

I think marching into lunch became a bit strange after they introduced the cafeteria service at lunch time. It wasn't as though everyone even sat down together properly any more.

So I'm going to add my usual 'we had it worse than you lot so stop grumbling' bit. We had to march to breakfast at hertford, with no band, and having had a half hour of housework(household chores- cleaning, scrubbing etc.) plus prayers before even a cup (bowl) of tea. I have missed a career with Montyn Python I think.