To ask all Chaletians to get ready for Madame's birthday?

[LonnyVonnyWilsonFrickett]

Pop to the splasheries my lambs and after you've brushed your hair till it shines we'll have a quick practice of 'I sing of Margaret so fair'.

Once we've finished casting the movie, that is....

[Happydaysatlast]

Just to add lonnies list is the definitive cast list my lambs so please stop trying to suggest new actors.

My worthy hand maiden Anna could only be portrayed as Dawn French as she too is clumpy and dumpy and obviously would lay down her life for me... 'Anna my mainstay what's that knife for?'

[CorrieDale]

A new thread! I have been lost in transcripts so will have to work double duty to catch up!

[Summerbreezing]

Well as we have the definitive cast maybe we should put some scripts together.

ACT ONE SCENE ONE

Miss Annersley's study. Hilda is sitting at her desk writing when the door opens and Bill walks in.

Bill: Honestly. I do wish Joey would stop alarming the new pupils. We'll have no school left at the rate she's going. I've had three more letters from parents saying their daughters have written to them tearfully about the 'scary woman next door'.

Hilda: God, that woman is annoying. I've tried to get her to leave the juniors alone at least. Those poor tots are terrified of her, especially with that mad hair style. And the prefects have been complaining that they can't get on with organising the sale without her sticking her oar in.

Bill: I know. Do you remember the hysterics last year when they wanted to ditch the whole bloody thing and have a Stars in Their Eyes night instead.

Hilda: I certainly do. The sale is becoming a bit tired. And it's embarassing the way that lime green twin set keeps being re-donated for the raffle. I don't think it's ever been taken out of it's wrapping.

Bill: Well luckily Jo's so dim she just thinks she started a craze and that everyone's been madly knitting the same thing for years. Anyway, what are we going to do about her?

Hilda (picking up pen): I'll write to Madge again. She might redouble her efforts to persuade her to visit them in Australia. It worked brilliantly that time they went to Canada. Remember they filled her head with stories about bad weather for flying home etc and she was gone for nearly a year? Bliss!
And we'll also get rid of those dull triplets for a while. Well, Margot's alright but honestly, Len and Con could bore for England they're so dreary. And I know Jo just assumes that Len's going to be Head Girl someday. But the child has no personality whatsoever.

Bill: Any chance she'd take that irritating Mary Lou with her as well? Gosh, imagine how wonderful it would be. No Joey, no Mary Lou, no boring triplets.

Hilda I don't think so. It will be hard enough for Madge having Joey under her feet for a year without having to put up with that annoying brat as well.
No, I'm afraid we're stuck with Mary Lou for the foreseeable future. By the way, I saw you slipping a twenty pound note into young Emerence's pocket earlier. What was that about?

Bill (looking shifty): Oh, er, em..... nothing. Just some birthday money her Godmother sent her. I ...er... well I thought it might be useful for that tobogganing trip they're all going on tomorrow.
Kaffee und Kuchen, anyone?

[Happydaysatlast]

[summer] that was fantastic please continue.

Especially loved the tobogganing bribe to Emerence. Classic my lamb.

[Tinuviel]

Had a topping time at our summer fayre. Sadly no lime green twinset or embroidered afternoon tea cloth being raffled. How do girls spend their times these days? They'll never get a doctor for a husband if they can't do embroidery or knitting or something equally ladylike.

[TooExtraImmatureCheddar]

Why does Miss Dene tell Flavia that she can't be called Copper in school because they allow abbreviations but not nicknames, when we have Tom Gay to contradict that? Tom is not an abbreviation of Lucinda Muriel!

[JoeyMaynardsghost]

I just wondered how many times the phrase "...and to all appearances, dead!" occurs in CS books. It seems to have been in every book so far!

[MissAnnersleyismyhero]

Quite frankly I'm sick of Madame getting all the attention - she was only headmistress for 5 minutes before buggering off to get married and leaving me to do all the work!
What about my birthday?

[fairnotfair]

Tinuviel, I've also been to a summer fayre this afternoon (although the word "fayre" makes me blench; what's wrong with a good old-fashioned sale-of-work?). It was ripping.

I was surprised, however, that (a) a stall wasn't knocked over by a St Bernard; (b) Lady Russell wasn't there to declare the fayre "open"; and (c) one of the raffle prizes was a KEG OF ALE

[fairnotfair]

TooExtra - I noticed that too. Unfair. Also: Polly (Hildegard) Heriot.

ALSO - ahem - "the Robin".

[flugella]

You know, I go in holiday and you all decamp to a new thread!! What are the preparations for Our Dear Madame's Birthday this year? Same as ever?!

[MargiaStevens]

And I too have changed my username to a CS one!

[MargiaStevens]

(I was flugella)

[Flappingandflying]

Can I ask a dim question? Perhaps I'm so feather brained I'd be educated at St Scholasticas. The documents on the One drive. When I open one (and some seem determined not to open), how do I then convert them to either my Stanza or Dropbox, or best still my Kindle. I've tried sharing them with my kindle email but naught availeth. Am I being very dim?

Wanders off to make a jigsaw out of fretwork.

[NellWilsonsWhiteHair]

Flapping, I think you have to download (save to your computer) all the files first, then email to your kindle as attachments. I think 'sharing' effectively just sends a link to the Onedrive, which is unfortunately no use to your kindle. I may be doing this a too-longwinded way though!

MissA but the trade-off is that you get agency and stuff: Madge is just the bird in a gilded cage, suffering endless tedious birthday parties with a missing foodstuff. Madge would be all "AIBU to tell my sister and co not to bother, I'm going on holiday for my birthday instead?".

[NellWilsonsWhiteHair]

Oh and I loved Act 1 Scene 1! More!

[DeWee]

If Joey has "infectious giggles" one more time then I think I'll send her triple pneumonia caused by looking at a picture of a snowstorm.

The Copper thing made no sense whatsoever. Other than the loads of people who did, it made no sense in the plot, surely it would have been better if she hadn't been generally called Flavia? I would have thought it would have been much more sense for them to encourage her to be called by a name that wasn't hers.

[blueasthetiernsee]

Long term lurker and chalet fan here. Any chance someone could send me the details of the onedrive so I could see some transcripts? Have quite a big collection somewhere (possibly in my parents' garage) of Armada paperbacks from the 90s but still had loads of gaps so it would be topping to catch up!

[RueDeWakening]

Right, I'm not sure Jeremy Irons is going to work for Jem.

Am reading Exploits, Jem is described as "fair". Since when? In my head, he's always been dark haired, and Jack is fair. What goes, my lambs? Do we think Jeremy could just have highlights?

(I actually called DS1 "my lamb" earlier, he looked like at me.) :o

[TooExtraImmatureCheddar]

Oh, I picture Jem as fair. Think he's described as a big blond man in New CS. Also, Daisy and Primula are fair and they're his nieces.

Fair, yy to the Robin!

[MissAnnersleyismyhero]

Jem is definitely fair, I imagine him all fair and clean cut but rugged like a man from a 1950s advert with a preppy sweater and a pipe.
I imagine Jack as dark haired even though he's persistently described as fair. Madge I see as having lots of mid-brown, glossy curly hair and brown eyes with olive skin.
Joey is easiest to picture because she's described so often.

[TooExtraImmatureCheddar]

No, no, dark hair and eyes presupposes an olive skin, but here, Madge had...(something I can't remember) and her skin showed the marvellous Saxon fairness...(of her mother's people, maybe?)

[Stokey]

Flapping download a programme called Calibre and open the books using that. Then you can plug your kindle into the computer and move the books across.

Who's coming to my sheets and pillowcase party tonight? I've managed to fashion a Napoleon costume using just a sheet and some wire for my hat.

[JoeyMaynardsghost]

Smashing! A sheets and pillowcase party!

I just love those! I'm going to be an angel and forget that the gold painted halo won't dry until it's on my head. :)

I always imagine Jem as being quite fair and Jack as being dark haired. But it could be as EBD mixes up ages she mixes up appearances. Apart from Joey's earphones. Such a lovely image.

[TooSpotty]

No, both of them are definitely blond. That's always been in my head too. Madge in my mind is from the cover illustration from the original School at the Chalet - a very 20s look.