Memories

So, here is your chance to add your memories to the site! Obviously, we have to vet what gets put up, so don't expect everything you say to appear - it may even take a day or two to finally get up here, so be patient!

Simply send us memories by sending a message to pps@snatzo.com.

From Yvonne (Taylor) Nicol:

Queuing for school buses, working in the tuck-shop, wearing the school tie as short and fat as possible, long walk to the playing fields opposite Crookhorn School (could never understand why), another long walk to the old art block and tennis courts (or shortcut back through the woods), accidentally whacking Vanessa Blakeman in the mouth with a tennis racket whilst being taught by Miss Kemp how to improve my backhand (I still feel awful about that and remember it every time I see Wimbledon), disgusting dead rats in biology, selling my Mud album on the school bus so I could afford the school disco, and the total humiliation of being dumped (or was it 'chucked') by Mark Collins BY POSTCARD and my Mum getting to it first (Mark - no hard feelings now, but I do hope you've got a bit more class these days!!)

From Stephen Parkes:

In no particular (indeed v. Random [sic] order: Steve Cutler climbing up to to the 6th form common room via the drainpipe outside, with Mr Collyer at the bottom, and me trying to distract his attention from looking upwards - and failing miserably - SC being sent to Larry Morris for a 'chat'); Mr Instance and his inpenetrable accent and permanent tide marks on his jacket in the armpit region (yeeuch!); Mr Wellman not being able to keep any sort of control in his maths classes; tennis on the quad; nasty Dr Race; nice Mrs Dingley; footy outside A-block every break (jumpers for goal posts of course); Larry Morris crying in assembly over a broken chair?? and saying he didn't care - IT WAS OUR SCHOOL NOT HIS!!; queueing for lunch (changing sessions every week - blue tickets first for lunch this week!! - chewing corner of lunch tickets while queueing, so by end of term it was a well gnarled mess); school discos, smooching to 10cc; pogoing to the one token punk tune the DJ played halfway through (always either 'Mary of the 4th Form' - Boomtown Rats or 'Hey Little Girl' by the Banned - or both, if we were lucky); jumpers for goal posts (sorry, already done that one)Oh well, that's enough to be getting on with...

From Phil Parker:

Carefully applying a condom to the exhaust pipe of Headmaster Morris's car and, later when he turned the ignition key, watching it inflate to monster proportions before the inevitable explosion. He then drove off obliviously in his Morris Minor, followed by the school cleaner who, from memory drove a Jag.

From Jacquie (Hungate) Andrews:

God there's so many but the worst has to be the awful "fight" that Alexis and I had - what was it about?

Another hair one............. Mrs Eastlick?, the French teacher, whom I'd adored up to that point, announcing to the whole class that my hair "looks like a stabbed settee!" Bitch!!

From Richard Davis:

I remember an incident in an Art lesson in the old art rooms upstairs in the old block: Art teacher has left the room, one of the still-life objects was a large conch shell. Several of us boys try to blow it, and I succeed in getting a long and loud note from it. Mr Grace re-enters the room shortly after, and another boy very unfairly gets a clout round the head for doing nothing, whilst I get away with it. Anyone remember who the hard-done-by lad was?

I remember Cdr Foster regaling us one morning with the fact that his full name was Thomas William Henry Foster - if I could forget trivia like that I'd have more capacity for something useful!

From Phil Taylor:

I seem to remember a Mr Wood (Lawrence?) who taught biology (seventies suits and platform shoes) and a Miss Lawrence (RE)- who certainly kept the boys attention when playing tennis on the grass courts- the boys will probably remember why!!!! I also saw Mrs Mundy on tv on watercolour challenge- she did an interesting painting (interesting may a bit of a euphemism)

From Karen Sheppard:

It's all a bit of a blur really. Strange things you remember - little paper balls covered in spit and stuck to the classroom ceiling, dead animals in jars and the smell of the biology labs, the strange ritual of "sprog bashing" (beating up the first year kids), summer of '76 (lessons outside!), Tony Salmon and David Seall and others making up silly words which seemed hysterically funny at the time, thinking Steve Cutler, Steve Parkes, Tim Furmidge, etc were really cool, punk music on the common room record player and thinking it was daring to have a Never Mind the Bollocks album. That's about it! How sad is that?

From Liz (David) Green:

I remember smoking down the slope at the bottom of the field with Ali McFadden, Caroline Legg and several others. Neil Macabee was at the top of the slope-on watch. He called the alarm - we extinguished our cigarettes and then watched in amazement as Dr Race and Mr Burns ran from tree to tree (remember the big old oak trees) in an attempt to sneek up and catch us.

From Mark Collins-Cope:

I remember writing a note in English (Mrs McChesney - who as you'll see - I wasn't a great fan of) saying "McChesney is a c**t" (I'll leave that the imagination). This got passed around, but spotted by the eagle eyed english teacher - who had a bit of a fit in the class room. Five of us were called out of assembly next day, and sent off to see Mr. David (our form teacher). He promptly (and with something of a grin on his face) told us that comparing people to parts of the anatomy was a silly thing to do. And that was it...

From Christina (Smith) Short:

Out of the Question:
Lisa F-L & I being soundly ticked off for 'curtaining' the arch (rear stage right in the photo) as a team had just spent ages painting an even border round it!

Running short of the same curtain material when it came to the french windows (rear stage, left) we (LF-L & I) added a rather fetching frill of black lace to the bottoms. We were told that they made the set look like a 'tarts boudoir'.

Not OotQ
A phone call to Vicky Bradbury being cut short by the rabbit biting through the 'phone cord!

From Rebecca (Plummer) Taylor:

My mum got so cross with me for not keeping my long hair tidy she cut it all off, Lady Di fashion, before there was such thing as Lady Di (no girl in the 70s had short hair). I arrived in assembly next day only to have Paul Peyser suggest I move over to the boys side. It's OK, Paul - you didn't damage my self esteem for my entire life!!!!!

From Steve Short:

Being moved from the end of a row to the row behind in morning assembly by Commander Foster because, as he said, he'd blow me away with his singing!

From Richard Eyles:

Dr. Race always struck me as a bit on the odd side. Who remembers him catching his beard alight on a Bunsen Burner just minutes after telling us long haired boys to make sure our hair was held back from the flames. "Oh no. My beard, my beard!".

From Steve Short:

A typical lunchtime finds us (Piggins & Steve) running down a corridor being chased by Mike Battye and Andy Lucas. Mr Latcham turns the corner: "You boy! What do you think you're doing ?". Piggins: "Messing about, sir." This insanely great ploy of admitting that we were being naughty obviously confused him. "Oh, OK." He let us go!

From Stuart Sutherland:

Mr Collier (to me): Take your hands out of your pockets boy - you're not working for the civil service yet !

Mr Collier (to me again!): What are you doing coming in here late boy - you're not working for British Rail yet !

I subsequently DID work for the Civil Service and, from what I hear, many people would be quite happy to have British Rail reinstated !