Stream of
consciousness by Peter Verity
Mr Chater: I'm sure I remember him drinking
sulphuric acid in class, and advising us not to follow his
example. "Poor old Joe is Joe no more, for what he thought was H2O
was H2SO4"
Mr (Crutch) Chater was our form teacher in 3S, in
the General Science Lab. The lab benches had wooden covers over
the sinks, and on the underside of one of these covers we found
scrawled words to the effect of "F**k Off Chater". Our
excitement drew the good man's attention, and he came to
investigate, to the embarrassment of all.
Quartermaster's stores: on the coach back from a
trip to Stratford - "There was Howard, Howard, being overpowered
in the stores". He was not amused, as he explained to us the
next day in his office.
The lift (for use by teachers only): finding the
inner of a roll of Sellotape, I wondered what would happen if
something that size got caught in the runner of the lift door.
Trained to put everything to scientific test, I discovered that
it put the lift out of action for a couple of hours, forcing all
the teachers to use the stairs at period end. Gunner was
furious, but coward that I am, I never admitted it, and I think
it resulted in a class detention (sorry chaps).
The stairs (for use by pupils): getting from top
to bottom of the tower in as few steps as possible. I think it
was 16 (2 per flight, 4 per floor).
Pirates of Penzance (1966?): during the
interval, the cast of policemen went out to direct the traffic
in Trinity Road. After the show, some of the cast took random
bikes from the racks to go to the off-licence. Someone had taken
mine, so I did likewise and picked a bike at random;
unfortunately, it belonged to a teacher (Nobby Clarke I think).
Why was it always me that got caught out?
Bikes: the usual mode of transport for pupils
(and some teachers). Periodically, the whole form trooped out to
the bike sheds for bike inspection, and woe betide if your
brakes were dodgy or you had loose spokes. Once you reached the
6th form, you could bring scooters or mopeds - that is unless
you were banned, in which case you still brought them but parked
in Balmoral Rd. The most common reason for being banned was
failure to wear a crash helmet (not a legal requirement at the
time).
John Bertalot: taught music, and left in 1962
(end of my 1st year). He first lit the spark in me of a
love of music, which I still have. Since leaving Trinity, he
went to America and inspired a generation of young church
musicians, and has written several books on the subject. He is
now retired and back in the UK, and I bumped into him recently.
He has a website
www.metanioa.org/johnbertalot
David (Dohey) Baker: taught music from 1962.
Dohey was just out of college, and close enough in age to be
almost "one of us" - even to the extent of getting the bumps on
his birthday. Thanks to Dohey, and all the other teachers who
got me through my A-levels, and launched me into the brave
(unsuspecting) world.
Finally, "DD": short for "Double Decomposition" (aka Dirty
Dick), which I never understood, or "Double Detention" which I
understood well.
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