Some Fretwork and the Interminable Christmas Play at the Chalet School

[EmilyAlice]

Now girls, line up and listen because this term is a busy one. Firstly we are combining our hobbies club and the Christmas play, so we will need our fretworkers to get busy on the scenery, some beautiful découpage for decorations, our nimble-fingered needlewomen on costume duty and some scrapbooks for - er...
Now one other thing girls. As you know the Chalet School has moved from the Tyrol, to Guernsey, to Armishire, to some island or other and thence to Switzerland.
This term we have moved again and the first thing I want you to do is to find out where the bloody hell we are....

I am reading a long and gory book about the Romanovs and the royal women of the first Romanovs wore long gowns with pleated sleeves called..... sarafans. Who knew? (Probably everyone except me).
Sorry I have been awol. I seem to have entered a timewarp and ended up back in the classroom (teaching English conversation for the local U3A). Terrific fun. 😊

So the red sarafan is a red dress? I don't quite know what I thought it was, mind you. Something like a samovar.

New picture of Robin singing "Lady in Reddddd"...

I didn't know what I thought a Sarafan was either.
I googled cretonne the other day to get an idea of what the gaily patterned dormy curtains would be like. Not much the wiser now!

Ahh, googling red sarafan brings up photos of a traditional Russian dress.
It is a folk song and is on YouTube.

I think I must have muddled sarafan and samovar because I realise that's the picture I've always had in my head. Not quite sure why I thought a teapot would be red now I come to think of it.

The pictures that google images gives me for cretonne aren't a bit like I imagine the dormy curtains, either. And now that I come to think of it, my internal pictures of them reflect the kinds of flowery clothes (orange, pink, and yes, lime green) that little girls used to have to wear in the late 60s/early 70s. Scarred for life, we were! Google what Lulu wore in the 1968 Eurovision Song Contest and you'll get the idea.

I seem to have entered a timewarp and ended up back in the classroom

Oooh, I hope you're teaching your pupils to reason from cause to effect, with the aid of synthetic maps. As a special treat you can give a stand-up class because they sound like a species of torture so much fun.

No, but every day is English day. 😀 Having a class full of Marie-Somethings, Yves, Yvettes and Yvonnes is quite confusing though.

Oo yes Mornington, I had frocks like that. From Biba if possible and the fabric was often strangely synthetic and sweaty. Big sleeves often with a handkerchief point, length just covering the bottom, always patterned. Plus feather boa in purple or shocking pink. 😀

Though I was a teenager. 😮

Ooh, I totally had cretonnes wrong as well. I think I had sort of substituted hospital curtains, given this is my only experience of bed-separating material, and hadnt thought too deeply beyond that. I definitely imagined them lighter (because they throw them up over the rail every morning!), and probably with a slightly translucent quality. I am not sure how I feel about this.

I'm also not sure what I thought a (red) sarafan was, before knowing it was a dress. Possibly a flag, or a bird...

Also, am delighted by Cheddar's Wertheimers!

I can't find any lyrics beyond these, and the context that a red sarafan was the traditional wedding dress.

I always assumed the Red Sarafan was a person! Like a Red Indian crossed with Robin Hood...

Now I have an 8yo and younger children, all the books mentioning child-rearing are even more amusing (EBD clearly never bothered checking a copy of Dr Spock!). Dd in particular is very resistant to any idea of Instant Obedience and would be full of My Devil if we'd ever inflicted any Catholicism on her. Even if she does call me Mamma...

I bet the Swiss cubeys would be 1960s lurid patterns. The original Chalet ones would be more like these ...

I think all the images are too Cath Kidston. Pretty sprigged cretonne on white background is different.

I had frocks like that. From Biba if possible

I think mine were from Woolworths - Ladybird range! And yes, definitely that odd, curtain-like synthetic material. It was scratchy as well as sweaty. Ah the good old days.

The lyrics posted by Nell make it sound as if the Red Sarafan is a holiday of sorts, and because it's red, it's putting me in mind of Labour Day/International Workers' Day, though it probably pre-dates that meaning of red. I think I shall hum it next time I'm in a boring and pointless meeting... lay the fruitless task aside, that time long since was o'er.

My favourite ebd child quote was I think about Cecily.
"... A determined young lady but at the age of 4 months was finally beginning to learn no meant no."

I always thought a sarafan was a scarf- not sure why, apart from the similar letters!

Pity it's just English EmilyAlice, you don't get to say 'en avant mes amies'.

Well I do, because we speak only English in lesson time and French before and after and I teach them things like trump means fart in English
Mlle would not approve.
😀

I'm sure it's in the spirit of EBD though- can you imagine her reaction to Trump?

I always thought the red sarafan was a person too!

I always thought it was some sort of musical instrument...don't know why I thought it was red though?

So, whilst dealing with a teething baby, my mind was taken back to Jo to the Rescue. Surely her babies didn't teeth for months on end with no sign of any actual teeth? Doesn't she have one bad night, the tooth 'pops through' and then she gets a huge lie-in'? Where can I find me 3 friends who will do that please?

Anyway, I was thinking about what others had said about grown up Joey (who I do think is very irritating). I concluded that EBD should have kept Madge on hand - she could have done the 'mothering' of the girls who needed it (which would work as she is still a sort of headmistress), and Joey could have just been the annoying 'I don't want to grow up, please let me come on your rambles and join your prefect meetings' one. I think it's the combination of the two which doesn't ring quite true - she seems to be 'wise' and ridiculously childish!

I think I'd agree with you about Joey.
Madge could have stayed around and been the one that pupils went to for comfort and a bit of "mothering". I'm not quite sure why EBD didn't, as other than Robin, who Joey is possessive over, you never see her taking an interest in looking after younger ones-or even really anyone else except reluctantly.

Joey could have done the "Me, I'm a permanent school girl" without being so cringy then. Could have been, as I think she puts, like that crazy old maiden aunt who everyone thinks as fun.

But if Joey wasn't providing the gems of wisdom/mothering, her constant school-bothering would look even weirder!

I don't think she often does go over with gems of wisdom/mothering though. Usually when she goes over it's either to tell the new girls they're coming to tea-and she could do that as the local "famous author" quite reasonably, or hasn't really got a reason. I can understand why the prefects don't feel they can tell her to get stuffed, but there's at least one staff meeting she gatecrashes for no reason and is trying to sidetrack it.

When I was a kid I loved Joey and found Madge a bit boring and adulty. TBH my Mum was a bit like Joey- trying hard to be a mate rather than mother so I didn't find it so odd.

This thread reminds me of sulphur cakes and cod liver oil fried doughnuts- www.mumsnet.com/Talk/_chat/2860735-Im-living-with-a-fucking-idiot?pg=1