To wonder whether you'd prefer to go to Malory Towers or the Chalet School

[Vintagejazz]

I just heard to girls about 11 years of age having an earnest discussion about this on the bus. I didn't think kids even read Chalet School books any more.
I think I'd opt for Malory Towers. They seemed to have more fun. I'd probably be expelled from the Chalet School for cursing, wearing lipstick and forgetting to speak German every Wednesday or whatever it was.

Hi Winklewoman,

On my laptop the transcripts come in as attachments and, once downloaded, they appear under 'My Documents'. I can then transfer them to my chosen software - I have a Sony eReader and have 'Reader for PC' software that it connects to. I also have Calibre software which allows me to convert formats to make them readable - in my case I use it to convert most things to EPUB documents. They are then stored in the Calibre library as well as the main directory of the computer. The books take up little space on my hard drive.

HTH

NewYear, no that does not help at all! But it's me not you; I admire your techieness and many thanks.

Could I transfer them from my documents to Kindle? I feel a complete prat as obviously lots of people have managed to download and read with no problems.

NewYear

That's a really good point, Hels and Toospotty, thank you.

Camp left me wondering what Guide overalls looked like and I found this.

Gruss Gott mein gnadiges Frauleins. I do love that pretty Tyrolean greeting, don't you?

Could I transfer them from my documents to Kindle? I feel a complete prat as obviously lots of people have managed to download and read with no problems.

You're not a prat - I had to get my DD to do that for me yesterday (with an eye roll and a tut at my computer "illiteracy")

Open the kindle folder on your PC and drag and drop the book into the kindle folder.

You may need to use Calibre to convert the file so it's readable on Kindle.

Hope this helps... :)

Thanks, Revenge, I've just googled calibre and it seems the way forward. Will experiment.

When did Miss Annersley take over the School as Headmistress? I'm reading The Lintons at the Chalet School at the moment and Mademoiselle LePattre (or whatever her name) is still Head. She definitely doesn't have the 'presence' of Hilda Annersley (or even Madge Russell).

Yes, Mademoiselle is so dull that EBD constantly gets her name wrong and kills her off in Exile. Does Miss Annersley take over in Guernsey? I can't remember.

Daisymaisie,

Miss Annersley becomes head officially in A New Chalet School after Mademoiselle Lepattre is taken ill and rushed up to the Sonnalpe for surgery!!

It's in The New Chalet school that Miss Annersley does the formal being askd to take over permanently as Mme LeP won't be returning.

I can't remember which one it is that Mme first becomes ill. I think it's only the previous book, which I think is Jo Returns. It always surprises me how quickly it goes from Mme ill-which is at the end of the book, to Miss A being offered the post permanently. Because it seems like Mme has been ill for ages, but actually it's very short time in the books.

I think Mme dies in Exile, just before the school restarts in Guernsey.

Yes it's in Jo Returns to the Chalet school that Mademoiselle becomes ill. She was always a bit wishy washy.

She does die in Exile because Cornelia faints when she hears and I think that's the last book she's in (although by that time Cornelia must be about 19 or 20 surely)

I'm reading Jo of the Chalet School and have just got to the bit where Joey starts coming down with bronchitis about half an hour (literally) after spending a few minutes in an open doorway looking at the snow:

"Joey was hurried away and into a hot bath. Then she was put into pyjamas heated at the stove, and rolled in a blanket and carried up to Madge's room, where she was tucked into bed with two hot-water bottles and sundry pillows to lift her up to help the breathing that was already becoming difficult...The old bronchitis kettle was routed out and set going...Madge held the glass to her lips...Mademoiselle appeared at this moment with the thermogene (?) soaked in turpentine, and a jar of goose grease with which she greased Jo's chest and shoulders...

How the woman was ever strong enough to give birth to eleven kids if that was the treatment she needed for looking at the snow without a coat on, I'll never know.

It's ridiculous... But it has to be seen in the context of a time when there were no antibiotics and people really did die of ailments that today would be pretty minor.

I think it's more the unlikelihood of a) a person being struck down with bronchitis (which was at risk of developing into pleuro-pneumonia, apparently) as a result of looking out of an open door at some snow for five minutes and b) developing symptoms which required the above treatment within half an hour of doing so that makes my eyes roll. I don't dispute that was probably the treatment for chest complaints at the time, but EBD could at least have given it a realistic time to develop!

Ah, see I've always assumed TB rather than asthma, but that's an interesting perspective.

Well when your sister owns the school it makes it slightly easier to pass the medical requirements plus the reason it was in Austria was that the bracing cold air was better for Joey.

Clearly her falling into lakes, standing at open doors in a snow storm, climbing mountains after runaways etc may not have been part of madge's original plan

The school was full of girls with/possibly with TB! Half their parents were at the San, and didn't they at one point have an Annexe up at the San for the sick girls?
I think Joey's parents had died of TB, then Robin's Mum had, and lots of others. I'm not sure how clear they were about the causes of TB either (or EBD was).

I read it as they were always afraid of Joey developing TB, in much the same way as they were on constant red alert around the Robin because her mother had died of it.

Joey's delicacy never made a whole lot of sense to me until I read the Bettanys of Taverton High which is a prequel written quite recently (I think). As far as I can tell the plot and characterisation are consistent with what happens in the series, but the author gives us a bit more background to the whole area of delicacy which presumably EBD's early readership didn't need because it was part of their everyday experience.

Harsh judgement of Mademoiselle, Mooncup! She was always one of my favourite Chalet School teachers. So much less bracing than the rest of them.