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AIBU?

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Original poster

AIBU To Think That The Chalet School Matron Would Be In Prison Nowadays

996 replies

TheShellBeach · 26/11/2022 21:56

..........................for giving unprescribed sedatives to the girls so frequently.

(lighthearted) (in case a million people tell me that IABU)

The Chalet School Matron was forever doling out sedatives to the girls, without even asking Jack Maynard to prescribe them first.
Shocking stuff. Nowadays, she would be jailed and struck off the NMC Register.

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Thread gallery
9
Sophoclesthefox · 01/12/2022 18:57

TheShellBeach · 01/12/2022 15:04

Cousin Helen was a nightmare.
Who goes to live next door to her ex-fiance and his wife?
I mean, that's weird as fuck.

Show quote history

Then the ex fiancé and wife name their kid after her- weirder still 🤣

AIBU that my husband wants to name our kid after his ex?

Cousin Helen was utterly insufferable, passive aggressive religious maniac that she was.

CliffsofMohair · 01/12/2022 19:16

School of pain, my arse

PlaitBilledDuckyPuss · 01/12/2022 19:22

CliffsofMohair · 01/12/2022 19:16

School of pain, my arse

It does sound like the title of some deeply naff 80s porn video.

CorporateBull · 01/12/2022 22:00

Ankaret!

A gift for you all. Even if you’ve never read a Forest book, you can probably still enjoy the collision between Chalet world and everyone else.

archiveofourown.org/works/28574?view_full_work=true

ToWhitToWhoo · 01/12/2022 22:30

EHopes · 01/12/2022 12:00

On the disabilty as redemption storyline - has anyone come across Canadian author Jean Little?

I love her books, especially FROM ANNA

She wrote her first children's novel as she was teaching a class for children with physical disabilities and therefore deliberately reading aloud to them classics with characters she thought they'd identify with. The kids pointed out that Clara (Heidi) Pollyanna and Katy all walked by the end of the book. In her autobiography Jean Little talks about how much that wasn't good for her group of students, and she wrote 'mine for keeps' about a child who has cerebral palsy at both beginning and end of book.

EBD was very much a product of her upbringing. She was desperate to keep hold of her middle class status. And she also was very much a late Victorian in terms of many attitudes.

Yes- she is one of my favourites!

Bloatstoat · 01/12/2022 22:49

CorporateBull · 01/12/2022 22:00

Ankaret!

A gift for you all. Even if you’ve never read a Forest book, you can probably still enjoy the collision between Chalet world and everyone else.

archiveofourown.org/works/28574?view_full_work=true

Fabulous, thank you so much!

EHopes · 02/12/2022 07:03

I hope Ankaret knows how incredibly amazing she is.

Forest is probably the best author of school fiction ever - bar none.

And the crossover cannot be dismissed. It's amazing and wonderful and all should sit back and admire.

The Mary-Lou and Giles wedding is perfection.

Gremlinsateit · 02/12/2022 09:12

I’m up to “but she had a really unbecoming way of doing her hair”. This is brilliant. Thanks so much for the link! 🤣

CorporateBull · 02/12/2022 10:32

Just finding the time at last to reread it, and I had forgotten quite how good it is. This bit though in particular made me snort, given our earlier discussion.

“It was - well - rather humbling to see the places where they'd kept their faith alive all those years," said Mary-Lou, looking up at the table-mountain rise of Rum Beacon which was visible over the stable wall. Nicola wondered whether she'd seen an aeroplane, though she couldn't see anything of the sort herself.”

Original poster
TheShellBeach · 02/12/2022 18:10

Just been reading Head Girl and it is terminally dull.
I couldn't even finish it.

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Original poster
TheShellBeach · 02/12/2022 18:12

However, I was heartened when I read Rivals yesterday, to discover (again) that not everybody in the CS books though the Robin was amazeballs.

Elaine Gilling shoves her (or so Joey says) and the whole CS is up in arms about it.

(AIBU to think girl at school should not have hit our baby even though she is now nearly nine)

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Original poster
TheShellBeach · 02/12/2022 18:14

Also Dr. Courvoisier, who sedated Biddy after she had one of their infants

I wonder if he sedated her (or gave her painkillers) while she was in labour?

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StitchesInTime · 02/12/2022 18:14

Is Head Girl the one where Grizel is head girl? And where they have to escape a burning hotel?

Original poster
TheShellBeach · 02/12/2022 18:21

Talking of labour - when Joey had the triplets, they were delivered by Dr. Chester at home. At least I think it was Dr. Chester. Just had a look - it was.
There was a nurse there, but I do not think much of Dr. Chester (or Jack) if they hadn't figured out much earlier in the pregnancy that there was more than one baby in utero. and how did she get to term with three babies in there? I have never known a case where triplets went to term. Even if they did, there would have been threats of prem. labour from early on.

(AIBU to think Jack Maynard is incompetent)

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StitchesInTime · 02/12/2022 18:22

TheShellBeach · 02/12/2022 18:14

Also Dr. Courvoisier, who sedated Biddy after she had one of their infants

I wonder if he sedated her (or gave her painkillers) while she was in labour?

I learnt this week that in the early - mid 20th century, it was quite common for women in labour to be so heavily sedated that they couldn’t remember the labour and birth. It was called twilight sleep, and sounds dangerous and creepy from what I’ve read.

So it’s not impossible that Biddy was sedated while in labour.

Original poster
TheShellBeach · 02/12/2022 18:25

StitchesInTime · 02/12/2022 18:14

Is Head Girl the one where Grizel is head girl? And where they have to escape a burning hotel?

It is where Grizel is head girl, but as I couldn't finish it, I can only guess about escaping a burning hotel. Hang on - I'll have a look at the Dropbox...........
.............no. It ends with Grizel and Joey rescuing Cornelia, who has foolishly run away.

There is one which ends with a hotel fire....................I shall have to investigate.

OP posts:
PuttingDownRoots · 02/12/2022 18:29

Fire is halfway through Head Girl

Original poster
TheShellBeach · 02/12/2022 18:31

I always wonder how many actual Irish people EBD knew, because she gives a terrible and unbelievable brogue to all the Irish characters in the series (Biddy, Deira, even Donal (Juliet's husband).

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Original poster
TheShellBeach · 02/12/2022 18:32

PuttingDownRoots · 02/12/2022 18:29

Fire is halfway through Head Girl

Is it? I guess that proves how much I failed to take in when reading it.

I mean, bearing in mind I thought I'd half-read it yesterday............it must have been spectacularly dull for me to have missed that.

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Original poster
TheShellBeach · 02/12/2022 18:35

StitchesInTime · 02/12/2022 18:22

I learnt this week that in the early - mid 20th century, it was quite common for women in labour to be so heavily sedated that they couldn’t remember the labour and birth. It was called twilight sleep, and sounds dangerous and creepy from what I’ve read.

So it’s not impossible that Biddy was sedated while in labour.

Show quote history

Yes, "Twilight Sleep" was given to well-to-do women when they gave birth in nursing homes.

It invariably caused extreme sedation in the baby, with concomitant problems in neonatal resuscitation, so it was abandoned.

HM Queen was shown having it when she had Prince Andrew, but that would have been guesswork - however, it was not entirely unlikely.

Forceps would have to be used as they mother is not able to push.

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Original poster
TheShellBeach · 02/12/2022 18:36

TheShellBeach · 02/12/2022 18:35

Yes, "Twilight Sleep" was given to well-to-do women when they gave birth in nursing homes.

It invariably caused extreme sedation in the baby, with concomitant problems in neonatal resuscitation, so it was abandoned.

HM Queen was shown having it when she had Prince Andrew, but that would have been guesswork - however, it was not entirely unlikely.

Forceps would have to be used as they mother is not able to push.

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I mean in The Crown, of course.

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PuttingDownRoots · 02/12/2022 18:39

TheShellBeach · 02/12/2022 18:32

Is it? I guess that proves how much I failed to take in when reading it.

I mean, bearing in mind I thought I'd half-read it yesterday............it must have been spectacularly dull for me to have missed that.

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The half term trip

StitchesInTime · 02/12/2022 18:47

TheShellBeach · 02/12/2022 18:31

I always wonder how many actual Irish people EBD knew, because she gives a terrible and unbelievable brogue to all the Irish characters in the series (Biddy, Deira, even Donal (Juliet's husband).

And the terribly unbelievable Irish brogue never, ever fades.

I mean, Biddy’s adopted by the Chalet School when she’s, what, 10? I can’t remember any reference to her ever returning to Ireland. And yet, she never loses that strong Irish brogue.

L1ttledrummergirl · 02/12/2022 19:24

I left Wales for England when I was five. Returning six months later on a visit, my relatives were teasing me because I sounded posh with my English accent.

The Irish brogue must be a lot stronger than the Welsh lilt, or those three extra years make a heap load of difference.

DappledThings · 02/12/2022 21:44

TheShellBeach · 02/12/2022 18:35

Yes, "Twilight Sleep" was given to well-to-do women when they gave birth in nursing homes.

It invariably caused extreme sedation in the baby, with concomitant problems in neonatal resuscitation, so it was abandoned.

HM Queen was shown having it when she had Prince Andrew, but that would have been guesswork - however, it was not entirely unlikely.

Forceps would have to be used as they mother is not able to push.

Show quote history

And in Mad Men when Betty has baby Eugene. She has pretty hefty hallucinations with it.