Web Page 1178

31st  August 2013

Top Picture: French Knitting

Bottom Picture: Junior School shoes

Junior School and Things

As I have said so many times before things were very different when we were kids, so much simpler. Take going to school for example; we kept our school books at school in our desks and only took our private stuff to school in our bags. So lets take an imaginary look through a late 1950’s school bag or satchel and

To start with there was always a pencil case either a soft covered one or a hard wooden one with a sliding top and rotating shelf. In here we always carried pencils and pencil sharpener, (remember the large pencil sharpener that the teacher had screwed to her desk at the front of the classroom?), coloured pencils and a pack of Crayola crayons, fountain pens, (no biro’s for us) and a bottle of Stephens, Quink or Waterman’s ink. Some of us would also have had a pair of compasses and a protector along with a standard wooden or plastic school ruler.

Maybe, in the bottom of the bag we would find some pocket money for use at the tuck shop, a three-penny piece or maybe even a tanner (6d) if we were rich. There was often a small paper bag with a couple of biscuits for playtime in it and maybe a couple of half penny chews or a packet of Smiths Crisps with the little bag of salt inside.

It was here you carried your collection of marbles or conkers in the right season or a yoyo, there was always a Dinky or Matchbox car in the bag or if you were a girl some French Knitting or a skipping rope. Both boys and girls carried a ball to school either for a game of catch or for a game of football. Maybe you carried your latest I-Spy book with you so that you could tick off things as you walked to and from school. Or if you were keen in your younger days one of the Janet and John books! We collected the cards given away in chewing gum packets and swapped them, I particularly remember the ‘Quo Vardis’ series

These were the days when we all wore Clark’s or Start-rite shoes or sandals, found Magic Painting Books really wonderful even though we always soaked the books in water and one of the most exciting things at school was growing Mustard and Cress on blotting paper or a runner bean wedged behind more blotting paper in a jam jar.

What else was in the school bag? Notes to and from school, plimsolls (this was before the days of trainers!) in a homemade shoe bag and PE kit (remember those smelly rubber mats we all had to lay on?), there was also savings stamp money and dinner money safely put in a tin so we did not loose it! Now here’s a thought about how the names of meals have changed since then. For us 'Dinner' was the main meal of the day; it was always a cooked meal and was normally eaten sometime between noon and 1.30pm. At weekends when the family was at home, 'afternoon tea', or 'a cup of tea' came around 4.00pm, followed by a light and usually cold evening meal known as 'supper'. On weekdays there was 'high tea', usually just called 'tea', at around 5.30pm. Consequently for school children a weekday's meals would be: breakfast at home, school milk during the mid-morning break, dinner, tea or high tea, supper with a hot drink at bedtime.

For us and for the whole of our school lives the school day started at 8.55 when we lined up in the playground when the bell sounded, marched off and then congregated in our classrooms with our coats hung up in the cloakroom ready for the form teacher to take the register, and then we filed out into the school hall for assembly. This was conducted by the Head Master (not Head Teacher) here we sang a hymn and had prayers. Teachers sat on chairs at the side along the wall. Then came various school notices. Then the day's lessons began. They each lasted 35 minutes, although some were double periods. There were four lessons in the morning until noon with a mid-morning break, and three in the afternoon from 1.30pm with the day ending at 4.00, whereupon everyone had to put their chair on top of their desk to make it easier for the cleaners to get to the floors during the evening.

I look at the school hours my grandchildren put in now and wonder how they get through it all between 9.00am and 3.15pm. I really must be getting old!

Stay in touch

Peter

DUSTYKEAT@aol.com     

Pj.keat@ntlworld.co.uk

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News and Views

Marianne Faithfull is resting at her home in Paris after spending four weeks in a hospital with a broken bone at the base of her back. The 66 year-old has been forced to cancel shows the next two months in the U.S. and Lebanon. The injury will delay her next album, as well.

On this day 31st August 1960-1965

On 31/08/1960 the number one single was Apache - The Shadows and the number one album was South Pacific Soundtrack. The top rated TV show was No Hiding Place (AR) and the box office smash was Psycho. A pound of today's money was worth £13.68 and Tottenham Hotspur were on the way to becoming the Season's Division 1 champions.

On 31/08/1961 the number one single was You Don't Know - Helen Shapiro and the number one album was South Pacific Soundtrack. The top rated TV show was Blackpool Tower Circus (ATV) and the box office smash was One Hundred and One Dalmations. A pound of today's money was worth £13.25 and Ipswich were on the way to becoming the Season's Division 1 champions.

On 31/08/1962 the number one single was I Remember You - Frank Ifield and the number one album was Pot Luck - Elvis Presley. The top rated TV show was Coronation Street (Granada) and the box office smash was Lawrence of Arabia. A pound of today's money was worth £12.89 and Everton were on the way to becoming the Season's Division 1 champions.

On 31/08/1963 the number one single was Bad to Me - Billy J Kramer and the number one album was Please Please Me - The Beatles. The top rated TV show was Coronation Street (Granada) and the box office smash was The Great Escape. A pound of today's money was worth £12.64 and Liverpool were on the way to becoming the Season's Division 1 champions.

On 31/08/1964 the number one single was Have I the Right? - Honeycombs and the number one album was A Hard Day's Night - Beatles. The top rated TV show was Labour Party Political Broadcast (all channels) and the box office smash was Dr Strangelove. A pound of today's money was worth £12.24 and Manchester United were on the way to becoming the Season's Division 1 champions.

On 31/08/1965 the number one single was I Got You Babe - Sonny and Cher and the number one album was Help - The Beatles. The top rated TV show was Coronation Street (Granada) and the box office smash was The Sound of Music. A pound of today's money was worth £11.69 and Liverpool were on the way to becoming the Season's Division 1 champions.