International Incident at the Chalet School

[RueDeWakening]

Hear ye, hear ye! Gather ye hence, all angels (be-costumed with slightly tacky silver halos and suchlike) with your lark-like notes and prepare to dazzle us all with your charm.

No, not you Joan. Shop bought cake and cheap looks for you, my dear. See Matron for some milk on your way out.

was THAT the child Nicolatatatata Mcbobbinbobbin known as nick ... all those years ago? Always thought they were a bit more than just a tom boy.

She was in the same year as Davida Carmeron.

I remember, best friends , did everything together, tho davida did tend to dominate rather.

Was Edwina whatshername there at the same time???

No, she was few years earlier, overly friendly with Joni Mager the boring child.
Maybe your thinking of Milly?

I've just been re-reading Shocks for the Chalet School. Emerence was 13 years old but ending up sitting on Miss Annersley's lap crying her eyes out after being caught out in another misdemeanour. EBD really did infantilise some of her characters.

It's ages since I've read it, but isn't Emerence referred to quite often as a 'small girl' and a 'small Australian'? I can just picture the looks on my daughters' faces if anyone had referred to them as small girls after about the age of 7! If EBD and other writers are to be believed, I'm rather struck at how adolescence has changed in the last few decades - on the one hand you get early teenagers described as children and they seem a lot younger than their counterparts these days, but on the other hand they're often a lot more independent, resourceful and self-reliant.

A 13-y-o sitting on the headteacher's lap crying does seem extreme, though.

I have been reading the Elsie J Oxenham books on the drive - thank you to whoever posted them, I have a new passion! And, I don't suppose anyone has any more to add? Beautifully written, slower paced than EBD and clearly a major influence on her.

On the note of the last couple of posts, in the latest one I'm reading two 13 year olds are called 'kids' and sent to bed early. However, one has a male nickname, the other has very short skirts and they have decided to get married - very CS.

I've not been on this thread for ages as have been reading other stuff for a while. However need a Chalet School fix again and am missing a few. Could someone update me with the Onedrive details as password has changed since last time I used it.
Read "Prefects" again at the weekend and agreed with myself again that it's a total load of drivel and not like the old ones at all.

I found the droves of children bursting into tears (and if they didn't it was always because they had a "almost boyish hatred of tears") after being glared at and told how disappointed Miss A/the prefects were in them actually quite irritating at times.
(And then Miss A saying "I'm sure your head is hurting and you'll be glad to have a bath and early bed won't you. I'll ring for Matron", followed by astonishment on the pupils' part as to how on earth she knew this.)

I mean, I can think of teachers that had huge reputations for being pretty ruthless, but reducing someone to tears was relatively unusual, by secondary level. Perhaps being a former all-boys school we all had a boyish hatred of tears. Actually I can remember more boys being reduced to tears than girls, thinking about it.

And I can't imagine taking a 13yo, even a small one, on your knee after you've told them off, and them appreciating it. Arm round the shoulder at bad news from home, yes, cuddle after being told off... hmm... actually sounds a bit dodgy put like that.

Maybe I should ask my 14yo and 11yo what they'd think of that idea. I think they'd give you the look.

I think part of it was that she wanted to make a point that inside Emerence was very young, younger than her 13 years as she'd probably have put. A bit like Robin being treated as an infant to make the point that she was the school baby.

There were a few scenes were EBD had Miss Annersley behaving a bit oddly for a headmistress. Kissing an upset student, allowing Con Maynard to share her bed after an upsetting sleepwalking incident both springing to mind.
I know she was trying to portray her as kind and humane as well as a strict disciplinarian, but I think some of those scenes jarred a bit.

I was still bursting into tears when I got told off at secondary school when I was 12 & 13, managed to stay out of trouble by n large when I was 14+.

I was in the chemists just now and an elderly woman said to the pregnant Chemist, "I see you're busy again". The Chemist looked at her bewildered for a couple of minutes before she realised what she meant

I always wondered why Bill would punish biddy by making her sleep in her bed room for a week?

I mean wouldn't that be a complete pita for Bill. Surely biddy would be in her presumably put up bed early and then Bill, famed for her late nights and 6 am starts would find this difficult?

And ffs surely they would have had a glass of wine in that staff room before the doyennes nectar coffee.

The highlight of the staff was a sheets and pillow cases party or pudding themselves laughing at the pantomimes.

No wonder they married the first breathing bloke that asked them.

Pissing not pudding!

Love the daft books though.

I read Eustacia last week. I think Robin was meant to be about 8 or 9 in that book but she was still talking and behaving like a 4 year old. It was very irritating.

I think you should offer to lend your chemist a few CS books, ballet. S/he obviously needs educating!

The highlight of the staff was a sheets and pillow cases party or pissing themselves laughing at the pantomimes.

Ah, but aren't you forgetting the thrill-fest of a radio party at Joey's? And if you were really lucky, the opportunity to help bath the latest Maynard sprog. Oh the excitement.

Oh yes the radio parties! Highlight of the platz and perhaps Joey could sing with her golden notes to those assembled.

And yes dear Robin a bobbin! Mind verity Carey was often falling into a stupor after a long walk, popped unconscious into a hot bath and put to bed and she was at least 13!

Who really gets undressed, bathed And put to bed without waking up? Really?

And the great big string men around who would arive at the blizzard/lost party/anything else that might happen on a mountain glance round the group, pick on the delicate children that they could tell by their faces, pick them up and they promptly go to sleep on them, or stay away by heafty eye rubbing.
Can you imagine the AIBU?

AIBU to be concerned about my dd's school? She tells me they do a lot of mountain walking although she's not very strong, and they do know that. Last week they got caught in a blizzard, which was bad enough, but she tells me that on the way back they met a couple of men who offered to show them the way home, and one of the men picked her up and carried her home. I mean she's small for 14yo but still!!
She tells me that the man says he's a doctor and is now frequently seen around the school. The gossip is that he fancies one of the teachers (she lost her hair clips in the storm and dd tells me with her hair down she is out of the ordinary beautiful) But AIBU to be concerned about his intentions?

(Chuckles at the thought of string men.....)

YANBU DeWee. I think my DD may be at the same school - she was taken on a "ramble" through the countryside, with two teachers and several prefects in charge, and yet managed to nearly hang herself, fall out of rotten tree, give herself a black eye and come home with no dress on! I mean, did no one do a risk assessment?

Another wee request for the updated login details for the transcripts pretty please?

Also all the Juniors who fall asleep in hot peasant huts after drinking milk. Said Juniors are usually Amy Stevens at least 11 and have only been having a bit of a walk. AIBU to suspect that Matey may have been at the milk again?

Inspired by chat upthread of completing one's collection, I have just purchased a GGBP edition of Mary-Lou. Half of mine are still paperbacks, but that's the last one I didn't own in any format.

Mornington, my lamb, that Sale idea is inspired! Can we have Thekla back to represent Nigel Farage? She had, after all, imbibed a great deal of the spirit of Young Germany.

A jigsaw sounds like an excellent idea. I think we should gave rainbow clock golf on the lawn, each hole a different party colour. Government decided by which hole gets most balls.

I've been diligently cutting out images from the leaflets popping through my door and I'm making a tasteful election scrapbook which I'm sure the poor children in the local San will just love. Oh how it will pass the time for the poor mites!

Nice to see you again, Cheddar. I'm afraid that as well as changing surnames you've been demoted from upper fifth to lower three A while you were away. But, hey, it means you get to stay at school forever a few extra years, so who's counting?

Does the winning clock golf party have to score an overall majority?