The chalet school and ofsted?

[thebody]

Aibu to wonder what Ofsted would have made of the Chalet school.? Any fellow chaletians around?

Even more reflected glory: one of the additional Chalet School books was written by a friend of mine. She felt the need to add an Author's Note at the beginning to the effect that the first aid lessons she describes were what was best practice in the 1920s and people shouldn't try any of it at home...

2am "I find life is vastly simplified by this motto:

What Would Joey Do?"

Generally she would turn cartwheels around her huge garden, sing an aria and have a couple more babies (between writing another bestseller).

Gosh - I love the Chalet School. off to re-read Eustacia now

I have very nearly a full set but they're all paperbacks. Apart from a couple of GGBPs. I recently bought Adrienne and was soooo disappointed! I can see why there's not many copies around...

There is an ace website called the chalet school bulletin board. A forum for the serious addict!

I have added to the ebook PM plaints! !

Marking place to beg for ebooks later.

I have about 30 I think, in storage with some of my dad's stuff. Must dig them out. I LOVED them and have read some of the early ones about 400 times.

I am the only person I ever knew who read the Chalet School books - and now I have found you lot!

God I loved them. All the talk of liberty bodices, eyes like black pools, messy mops of hair, ridiculous fertility and the plump cushions in Madge's airy salon - lol it's funny the things you remember isn't it?

I remember reading one of the girls say something like 'what's important in life is to get a really good screw' and I was shellshocked. I was about ten but I knew it was very rude. Of course later I found out it meant a job. The rudest thing that happened was some of the vulgar American girls reading a very naughty book called 'Forever Amber'.

I was very discombobulated by the different illustrations through the ages; I started off with the 70s ones (which are my favourite covers) where Jo has short hair in a pixie style, then I got some of the original copies and she had a bob with a fringe! I thought 'page boy style' meant short like a boy's. Then the ghastly 80s ones came out with the wishy washy grainy illustrations. Those rubber-necked four-flushers!

Oh! I used to be on CSBB... but I've no idea what my username was, it was so long ago

I was about three away from a full set (in the 80s)and then they were all packed up and taken off to storage. I've never seen them again.

But I'm fairly sure the Chalet School was the reason I went to boarding school at 13.

DD has a Chalet School name but I didn't tell DH where I got the name from! Absolutely love them and have the full set but only about 25 in hardback/GGB. I also have a few extra that tie in - La Rochelle/The Lost Staircase/Monica Turns Up Trumps (a particular bargain 10p at a summer fair in Robin Hood's Bay!) Nice to see so many CS fans.

O wow I adored th Chalet School books! It was my sole ambition as a child to go there, and as an adult I spent many years working in international schools (though not in Austria or Switzerland). Must dig them out.

I think I've emailed everyone who asked me for copies - if I missed anyone out, let me know!

Skating? On the ICE? On a lake??????????????????

Oddly enough, that never really bothered me - I blame Arthur Ransome! His Winter Holiday has kids skating, unsupervised, including in a blizzard at one point... The Chalet School ice mishaps seemed rather tame in comparison

Thank you to whoever send me a copy. :-)

I love Mumsnet - you ladies are amazing

Love this thread! I'm glad I'm not the only one who thought Mary-Lou was insufferable...

Thankyou everyone who sent me stuff,I've done nothing but read since yesterday lunchtime!

Ive actually been to Pertisau, the place EBD based her books on. And though a little touristy, it's as gorgeous as the books make out!

Oh what a fabulous find - just read all this thread - dd1 found CS books when younger - second hand books from charity shops first and then our local Hampshire librarian printed a list for her and set about tracking down most of them for her to read from the library stores - fantastic lady. We had such fun with them and most supper times were spent with dds eating while I read them aloud - God, I miss those days - now both big teens.

Like Weegiemum we were all so taken by them that we went to Pertisau - travelled on the train, walked up the mountains, took the boat to Scholastika, ate the cakes! Loved it so much we're going again..

Wonderful ladies MNers!!

I have to go to pertisau one day - that sounds like an awesome holiday.

Wow I loved those books. I have vague recollections of Joey getting double pneumonia - does that even exist? And a girl called Eustacia who magically became Stacey after her life-changing experience

And the months of planning before putting your hair up. "xx has put her hair up now and xx's goes up after Christmas"

I used to be on the CBB. Might have a look to see if I remember my name/password.

Need to do my check of GGBP to see what's new too!

Double pneumonia is simply pneumonia in both lungs. However Joey was far too speshul to simply get double pneumonia. Oh no, she had PLEUROpneumonia! I asked a doctor friend about this once and she looked a bit nonplussed and said it sounded like pneumonia and pleurisy at the same time. But pleuropneumonia presumably sounds worse and made Joey into More Of A Hero for trying to save Maureen and falling through the ice! EBD missed the basic fact that cold water immersion is not going to give an infection of the lungs and pleural membranes . But it sounds more dramatic than hypothermia.

Remember the first winter they were in the Tirol, Joey became seriously ill after standing in a draught?

Have possibly thought about this a bit much.

I thought 'double pneumonia' meant you got it in both lungs? I may be completely wrong about this of course, or it may have been what they though 60 years ago when everyone was so TB-obsessed.

BTW did anyone else know that the main reason people stopped dying of TB all over the books towards the end of the series was because in the real world it had become possible to treat it quickly and effectively with antibiotics?

Cor! Were they administered by Dr Jem at the San?

DeWe - I have a paperback of A Chalet Girl from Kenya. I've also got a hardback copy of a book called Monica Turns up Trumps - about Monica Marilliar, and a bit of her life before she joins the Chalet school. It starts with her getting a bad report from her school, and her dad, Dr Marilliar (who, in a later book, tells Lavender Leigh's Aunt to send her to the Chalet school), decides to remove her from that school, and send her to a day school near home, so he can keep an eye on her.

Then some cousins have to come and live with them too - and through it all, Monica grows up and becomes the all-round good egg that means she is a worthy pupil of the Chalet School/

That sounds good SDTG I must get more EBD's when I've finished reading my Chalet set. Very of people with hardbacks, let alone 1st editions mine are all paperbacks or GGB editions.

I'm re-reading Joey and Co. in Tirol- Professor Richardson must be ASD surely? And if there were SS in Austria Joey and Jack would've reported him! Instead they just adopt (well become guardians) of the 3 kids they met a week before instead!

The fertility in the CS isn't as bad as in the Abbey school- one woman has 2 lots of twins in a year