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

[TheShellBeach]

..........................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.

I always assumed 'leafy' was a typo that missed being edited away. (who did edit those books?). 'Lardy cake' is a north country cake that EMB would have known.

Larry cakes are southern

Well, maybe they are everywhere. They're in Northumberland anyway, and ELizabeth David has a recipe:
www.countrylife.co.uk/food-drink/greatest-recipes-ever-northumberland-lardy-cake-19243

@yugi that’s a very good point. She probably thought it was common, and that “sisters by marriage” sounded more elegant and/or affectionate :)

This is what I was thinking! Spent hours reading this thread, could have read at least 2 books.

I'm re-reading Rivals on the drop box link. I only ever had the Armada versions so will go and check what was edited out - jaw dropping references to the Ku-Klux Klan as role models for people facing an opponent in this version. I know it was a way off the Civil Rights Movement but the Klan was a deeply unpleasant organisation from its founding.

I felt so sorry for Eustacia, her punishment for stealing the library key so she could go in there to read was to be banned from the library for the rest of the term!

And she somehow knocked over a "giant jar" in the science lab that everyone thought was hydrochloric acid (didn't it occur to anyone to label the jars?), but turned out to be distilled water.

I despised angel-child The Robin with my whole being! Always turning her beautiful face up to any random adult for adoration and kisses.

I was always confused (still am) that the original Chalet had about 15 girls, then by Eustacia's time there were 80 (although they had added Le Petit Chalet for the juniors). Maybe there was a Tardis section containing dorms of various colours and the science lab.

But I loved the descriptions of the scenery, nature, train journeys and the food. And the use of French/German/Italian expressions, although I got bored with "five o'clock, or seventeen in Continental time" popping up constantly.

although I got bored with "five o'clock, or seventeen in Continental time" popping up constantly.

That is a real oddity - does, or did anyone ever refer to the 24 hour clock like that? Nowadays, everyone is familiar with it but I don't think anyone in the UK would say 'dinner is at 18' In my experience it only tends to be used verbally if someone's referring to an itinerary or timetable: I'm catching the 14:31 train etc.

I don't know whether it is different in Europe? I was never taught that way of expressing the time when I learned French or German.

It’s definitely widely used in French and German speaking countries. When booking restaurants you would ask for a reservation at ‘dix-neuf heures’ for example. It’s the o’clock that jars! We tend to say ‘fourteen hundred’ rather than ‘fourteen o’clock’.

That's interesting and useful to know. I can see why the 'o'clock' doesn't fit - a bit like the clock 'striking thirteen' at the start of '1984'!

I wonder why it's never caught on to that extent in the UK. Even in a formal context at work, you'd say the meeting was at '2:30' rather than 14:30 (unless, I suppose, you worked somewhere that was likely to have meetings at 2:30 am!)

We use 24 hour clock at work because we work 24 hours but usually only when it’s written. I wouldn’t normally say 1900 for 7pm.

I’ve been reading The Head Girl of the Chalet School today, and I’ve just got to the bit where they’re talking about the whole school being invited to Marie’s wedding. This is the Marie who’s worked as a maid at the school for 3 years, not an ex-pupil.

And Joey is talking about how Marie was overjoyed with her wedding present from the school. They’ve given Marie a large framed group photo of the whole school 🤐
I wonder how genuine Marie’s joy at this gift was?

the series was what sparked my interest in languages and travel as a child. I ended up doing French and German for final exams and visiting Austria many times.

I'm currently reading through Gay from China as that was mentioned a bit and I hadn't read it. Just got to a particularly bizarre moment when Grizel Cochrane says to Bill and Matron that she's going to resign. Then afterwards, Bill and Matron agree that Madge wouldn't let Grizel resign, basically because she hasn't got any family and can't be trusted to look after herself properly. I remember that Grizel had a complicated relationship sometimes with Madge/Joey/ the school, but I'm pretty sure it didn't include actual slavery.

Me too. I learned German at school and a few years ago met the man of my dreams. My Austrian DP and I are the perfect partnership. And it all started with the chalet school 😁.

I do wish I could remember these books in such forensic detail, I loved them back in the day but they all came from the library! Another series I loved was the Sadlers Well books written by Lorna Hill, even now 60 ears later every time I drive through Northumberland I think of them.

I think a lot of the quotes are coming from people suddenly re-reading them from the dropbox group :D

That cracked me up too. The school-centric view of the world is hilarious (which is why I laughed at Wanda taking two days out from her honeymoon to attend the school garden party. As if!)

Is he a 'solid lump of comfort'?

👏 I love this!!!

Totally 😂. I'd describe him as a cross between Jem Russel and professor Richardson, without the inappropriate doping or going to space. Alas he is not a doctor but you can't have everything.

Grizel is treated so nastily by everyone. Her stepmother hates her. Her father doesn't bother about her. Madge just about tolerates her and makes her Head Girl against Grizel's wishes.
She is frequently left out of plans for holidays. EBD frequently tells us how horrible Grizel is.

As she gets older, we are reminded over and over again that she has no real musical ability, yet she somehow becomes the music mistress at the CS. For years.

Because of course you'd go back to the school where everything went wrong when you were a child. It's like there's nowhere else for qualified teachers who are ex-pupils to work. You were a CS alumna? You qualify as a teacher? You have to go and work at the CS.

Even after Grizel sets Len Maynard on fire (for which I do not blame her) and leaves the CS to go to New Zealand with Deira, things continue to go wrong for her. The business she and Deira set up fails, then they both fall in love with the same bloke, and Deira marries him.

FFS. Poor Grizel. I am so glad that she finally meets her doctor and marries him, but it takes EBD about 700 books before this happens.

My DH is NOT a sold lump of comfort this morning.

He has drawn the new curtains badly AGAIN. I think I should start a thread about it.

(Lighthearted) would have to be appended. Because nobody on MN has a sense of humour.😩

Absolutely agree about poor Grizel - the bridesmaid bit with Jo is awful.

But I don’t think she’s meant to lack ability at music. She’s meant to be technically proficient thanks to being made to practice a lot by her father (and stepmother?). She just doesn’t enjoy it at all.

What is this dropbox link? Sorry I've read back about ten pages trying to find the link but if anyone could post it again to save me some time that would be great.
Would love to re-read some again whilst waiting to go to my parents at Christmas to pick up some more of my CS books to read.