Rudolf

[Spoonbill]

Remember bokker extraordinaire Rudolf? Why, he was the matiest, red-nosedliest, work-shyest groundsman bokker of them all, was he not? Always ready to bend the ear of anyone, young or old, who happened to be within ear-bending distance, he was far and away the best-known of the (sane) bokkers at CH for many, many years. So let's have a few full-bodied reminiscences re. good old Rudolph, eh what?

And look here: does anyone know what eventually became of him? Is he living/dead? Did the governors erect a large bronze statue of him, pint-handed and leaning on his broom? And just how long was he employed at CH anyway? (He once told me that he was formerly a driver of articulated lorries till one day when the rear end of his lorry overtook the front end on a motorway, much to his surprise. But when did he first start to bokk?)

[J.R.]

What era are we talking about, Spoonbill ?

QUESTION:-

Was the intelligence factor of bokkers caused by in-breeding ??

[Spoonbill]

Well, Uncle Rudolph was definitely there in the '70s and certainly had the air of being (a) an old stager and (b) someone who wasn't about to make a major career move elsewhere.

(As for the average bokker's IQ, I've no idea quite why they were all so powerfully intelligent and mentally well-balanced, but I've often wondered. Former Northants (?) county cricketer and Head Groundsman Bob Clark(e) was something of an interloper on the bokker scene, I always felt. Not nearly as intelligent and handsome as the rest of 'em - and he also had too many teeth, which was highly suspicious.)

Incidentally, was the renowned '70s dining-hall bokker Jose eventually chained to a wall at Broadmoor?

[J.R.]

Well, Uncle Rudolph was definitely there in the '70s and certainly had the air of being (a) an old stager and (b) someone who wasn't about to make a major career move elsewhere.

(As for the average bokker's IQ, I've no idea quite why they were all so powerfully intelligent and mentally well-balanced, but I've often wondered. Former Northants (?) county cricketer and Head Groundsman Bob Clark(e) was something of an interloper on the bokker scene, I always felt. Not nearly as intelligent and handsome as the rest of 'em - and he also had too many teeth, which was highly suspicious.)

Incidentally, was the renowned '70s dining-hall bokker Jose eventually chained to a wall at Broadmoor?

Probably before my time !