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....

to all the fabulous S&P costumes. Wish I'd thought of the "unlit candle" excuse Robin.

I've been reading "The New Chalet School". I'd forgotten how very sensitively Dr Jem breaks the news of their mother's death to the Balbini twins:

You are too late, my child. She does not want you - she will never again on this earth ask for you... your foolish behaviour has brought its own punishment. Your mother asked for you repeatedly before she died, and she had to go with her last wish for you ungratified. You will always remember that.

AIBU to think that he is a sanctimonious twat?

That is why that is my least favourite book. It is just so so unforgiving.

I do think that level of brutality was not uncommon at the time. I mean ,that's also the book where Jem Russell assaults a little boy...

It is very harsh, makes me want to cry. But look at how Jem treats his own daughter when when she injures Josette, doesn't he ignore her for a very long time.

Nylons I am very disappointed in you, my child. Now, wipe your face and I'll ring Karen to bring some kaffe and kuchen for you.

I have to admit to having a certain sympathy with Jem on the little boy. He had just been hit several times with something, probably a small stone fired from a catapult. Even a light catapult can launch something hard enough to be pretty painful-it's mentioned that one of the shots knocks his hat off, which must have been fairly hard to do that.
Am also in awe at the accuracy of the boys though, they hit a moving target several times. They're not easy to aim without a lot of practice.

The breaking the news of the death is awful though. I know he'd just had all the worry of Sybil being kidnapped, but he really rubs it in gleefully. And then says later he was worried for a bad illness for them. Was that because he felt guilty?

I don't like the New Chalet School much either, my least favourite of the Tyrol years. It's also the first which you begin to see Joey becoming interfering and over-involved.

Wouldn't she be better off if you rang matron to come with some hot milk - and then take her to the san, because anyone who has a crying fit in your office MissAnnersley is always in need of a lie down afterwards - girls being so delicate and everything.

And remember Fair you and Miss Annersley will never mention what was discussed in her office because EBD too lazy to invent meaningful conversation

Mrs Annersley always finishes with "and I'm sure you have a headache" and amazes the girl in front of her with her insight. Chalet School girls were obviously easily impressed by insight.

Miss Annersley just understands girls, doesn't she, my lambs?

(Not as well as that loon from Freudisheim, though, obviously.)

I was panting and out of breath yesterday and Miss Annersley said 'have you been running on the corridor again'.

You just can't get anything past her, can you?

fairnotfair

New Chalet School I did find a bit at that part and I cried when Jem said that to the twins.

Liking the "loon from Freudisheim" most excellent!

Well, the cricket was top hole even if I did miss what sounds like an interesting party.

I just hope that when I'm away at Woolfest a craft fair this weekend we don't lose anyone down the side of a mountain (it's possible - we're off to the Lake District and last year were menaced by adolescent cows - that's a storyline that EBD missed out on).

Miss A is a wonderful character but I do like Bill's temperament as well. Such a good pair.

Are you sure that's all you were doing, Vintage? Not being using the prefect room for your own nefarious purposes? You do seem to hang around with Joan Baker a lot - goodness knows what sort of ideas she's putting in your head.

You should watch out for that Joan Baker my lambs - she can't help it, you know but...

Oooh you're even better than Miss Annersley Tinuviel. Well yes, Joan and I had been looking at some pics of Clark Gable in her Moving Pictures magazine, which did make me a bit red and flustered .
Please don't tell anyone. Mary Lou and the Gang would never speak to me again if they knew I'd been so cheap and common.

"There's a bit in A Head Girl's Difficulties when Rosamund Atherton gets told off for saying something like 'oh no, how dreadful!' when she's told that her friend's baby brother has died of diptheria. Her uncle snaps her head off, basically, and then tells her mother that she's too sentimental."

I'd forgotten that. But I remember the bit when the kitten with diphtheria gets its neck wrung unceremoniously in front of the whole family. Different times...

I've just finished New Chalet School too and was shocked by Jem breaking the news and giving Mario a sound whipping.

I was also wondering how many books have a chapter called "Joey lends a hand".

And was Bill a bit too eager to give up her room to the prees and share with Con?

Yeah, I really don't like Jem, mainly on the basis of New but also how he is towards Sybil after the Josette thing. Poor Sybil. New is however entirely saved by Bill going "no, I insist, I am going to share with Con, please, take my office, take my room, have some hot chocolate too, stop offering alternative suggestions" and running off to bed skipping and laughing suspiciously early.

I just listened to the Red Sarafan on Youtube and could totally hear the Robin's clear baby voice singing it.

Robin is actually really quite sweet in the early books, isn't she? I remember as a child I found her really annoying and couldn't stand to see this 7yo needing to be bathed and hair-brushed and babied and whatnot.

I never got the hatred for the Robin. She is very sweet, I just tend to think of her about half her apparent age for most of the series until she become a (imo) rather lovely senior. I wish EBD had tried to show her as an adult.
I think I dislike EBD's reaction to her as keeping her a baby rather than her character.
I do remember feeling confused reading one book (can't remember which one) as a child where it referred to her as being tall and leggy. In all the other books it refers to her as being rather small. EBD definitely preferred her heroines tall, so maybe she was toying with having the Robin take over from Jo as heroine.

I had a different interpretation of the "Jem can be really nasty to Joey" comment. I took it to mean that he was just firm with her when she was insisting on high jinx which she wasn't up to. And he did it because he wanted to look after her, and cared about her health-if only to keep Madge from worrying.
I think that would have been better showing than telling for both of their characters:

Jem's, because it could have showed a caring side, if done carefully. He could have turned to Madge after winning the arguement, and said something that made it clear that it was for concern not because she was irritating.
I think it also would have looked better for Joey's character seeing someone fight her and win. At school she's always treated a special case by even the staff. Her peers treat her as special, people who met her briefly several years ago are beside themselves with joy at seeing her again...
To have someone she didn't want to offend (again, if only for Madge's sake) getting strict with her, and her having to do as she was told, would have given a depth to her character which is missing. The only people who ever stand up against her, and you see it, are obviously bad eggs and either will meet with a near fatal accident, or expelled or nearly anyway.
Grizel is the nearest to manage to stand up to Joey, and even she is usually portrayed as wrong when she does.

Awww thank you for your kind words. Don't let Joey hear though or she'll get jealous.