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Some Fretwork and the Interminable Christmas Play at the Chalet School

914 replies

EmilyAlice · 11/10/2016 15:08

Now girls, line up and listen because this term is a busy one. Firstly we are combining our hobbies club and the Christmas play, so we will need our fretworkers to get busy on the scenery, some beautiful découpage for decorations, our nimble-fingered needlewomen on costume duty and some scrapbooks for - er...
Now one other thing girls. As you know the Chalet School has moved from the Tyrol, to Guernsey, to Armishire, to some island or other and thence to Switzerland.
This term we have moved again and the first thing I want you to do is to find out where the bloody hell we are....

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Original poster
EmilyAlice · 05/11/2016 16:56

We had this discussion before. If Joey is 98 then they must be in their late seventies. They were about six months old when they were evacuated from Guernsey in 1940.
A bit old for slidey mats.

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hels71 · 05/11/2016 16:51

How old are they now?

Papergirl1968 · 05/11/2016 16:25

You beat me to it , Primrose. I was just about to post about it being the triplets birthday. How sad we are

PrimroseDay · 05/11/2016 16:13

*off

PrimroseDay · 05/11/2016 16:13

Is anyone else of to Freudesyurt for the triplets' birthday? Hoping we can play aeroplane and slidey mats! Obviously I won't go until the baby angel rehearsal has finished...

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EmilyAlice · 05/11/2016 15:57

I will be there in disguise. .

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ImpYCelyn · 05/11/2016 15:06

I'll be at the rehearsal.

TooExtraImmatureCheddar · 05/11/2016 14:37

Bless Dick. So concerned that he fecks off to India and only returns when he wants to saddle Madge with more of his children. I'm sure that at one point it's 8 years since Peggy and Bride saw their parents. Some inspired parenting there...which is a comp in itself.

morningtoncrescent62 · 05/11/2016 11:56

Hey! What's this with all the baby angels defecting to EmilyAlice's dance troops troupe? I announce a baby angel rehearsal this afternoon in Mushy Pea - I've got the distillery going, so there'll be plenty of dainty refreshments to get us into the party sweetly pretty mood. Who'll join me? You don't need to be able to cartwheel, or polka, or strip the willow or anything like that, but you have to be a dab hand at felling the odd tyrannical warlord, with or without the help of Rufus/Bruno.

That's a top contender, Cheddar, but may I offer the original classic line: " 'If only I knew what to do with you girls!' said Dick in worried tones." Yep, great start to a novel all about the most extraordinarly resourceful young woman upping sticks and making a new life for herself and her sister.

TooExtraImmatureCheddar · 04/11/2016 23:42

Roll up, roll up for a New Comp! Best opening paragraph to a Chalet School novel? I would like to start the bidding with the incomparable, ineffable, incomprehensible (and I paraphrase due to not having the book to hand), Joey Goes To The Oberland, with "Joey stood up, pushed back black pigtails which had come loose and were tumbling over her shoulders, sat down on the edge of a large packing crate and promptly doubled up and disappeared into it with a startled yell."

Anyone got any other decent contenders?

TooExtraImmatureCheddar · 04/11/2016 23:33

I can polka too. draws veil over the rest of Emily's choreography I can also offer a good line in drunken tangoing after watching Evita or ceilidh dancing. Which is as "folk" as "Charlie's neat and Charlie's sweet and Charlie, he's a dandy" as sung by the young Jo. I can't remember the name of the compiler.

Witchend · 04/11/2016 14:01

I can cartwheel. Or at any rate I could cartwheel when I was at school and in the absence of testing for 20 years recently I will assume I still can.

Worst case scenario anyway, there'll be plenty of doctors in the house. Grin

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EmilyAlice · 04/11/2016 10:18

Well I can add in some pas de chat too. But entrechat is when you jump up with your feet together, toes pointed downwards and beat your feet back to front several times before you land.
Anyway, next bit.
Coupé, chassée, pas de bourrée to the right, pliée, chassée into arabesque and hold.
Find your partner and polka around the stage. (You will see thst folk dancing at the Chalet School on the Steppes is an eclectic mix of styles).

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TooExtraImmatureCheddar · 04/11/2016 07:22

Me, me, I can cartwheel! My EBD style French translates 'entrechat' as 'between cats'. I'm sure it will be piquant and charming!

RueDeWakening · 03/11/2016 22:07

Is the mixed Kindergarten still in operation out here on the steppes? Only 6 year old DS1 had his first gymnastics class yesterday and the fools taught him to cartwheel and would be delighted to demonstrate his new cartwheeling ability it mostly involves flinging himself somewhat sideways across the living room.

PrimroseDay · 03/11/2016 21:44

I've been practising the dancing and cartwheeling too. Matron DH has just come in to make the pleasing discovery that I've broken two vases and a lightbulb.

EatingMyWords · 03/11/2016 21:24

That sounds so pretty.

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EmilyAlice · 03/11/2016 18:04

You certainly can. We will need striped skirts with stiff petticoats, white blouses, embroidered waistcoats, flowery headresses and long, supple, leather boots.
I haven't quite finished the choreography, but we will start with a simple skipping circle, then pirouettes on the spot, triple entrechat and two lines of cartwheels.
If you can just practise that for now.....

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EatingMyWords · 03/11/2016 17:04

She got dosed for everything!

Can I be a folk dancer? I've got no sense of rhythm but I'm sure one of the world class French ballet girls can teach me.

ImpYCelyn · 02/11/2016 21:23

PMSL at falling into boxes. She got dosed by Jack for that, didn't she?

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EmilyAlice · 02/11/2016 15:21

Well she normally spends the winter tucked up in my chateau, but every so often she uses her plaits as a rope ladder and gets away. The rosy-cheeked locals put down their glasses of Calvados to go and look for her, but sometimes it is a steppe too far...
Meant to say I downloaded quite a good biography of DLS for 99p. Interesting on Lord Peter and also on her rather troubled love life but I skipped the boring God bits.

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TooExtraImmatureCheddar · 02/11/2016 10:37

Not to mention having multiple multiple births, adopting extra children, being an Authoress and ensuring she still has a finger in every CS pie! But cannot cope with falling into boxes.

ImpYCelyn · 01/11/2016 18:51

Schrödinger's Chalet School girl - both incredibly frail, yet capable of yomping all over bloody mountains steppes. You don't know which she'll be until the end of term and there's been time for an epidemic and/or expedition

smilingmind · 01/11/2016 17:31

Do I get an order mark for my mistake ?
Still 98 and trekking across the Steppes. Good thing we have plenty of doctors.

Original poster
EmilyAlice · 01/11/2016 17:09

Do let's get it right. This year Joey will be 98 and I will be 67 on the same day - and you have less than a month to get planning....

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