Unofficial Christ's Hospital Forum

Richard Ruck wrote:A very sensitive area by the end of term, one would imagine!

yeeesssss...

Just remembered a few more:

Ooloo (apparently an Urdu8 word introduced by Mr Bourne) meaning idiot, moron, brainless ....

adsum and absum (you latin scholars might just be able to translate) used at evening roll call.
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Trades: In Col A almost everyone except swabs had their trades set for the year. By tradition each year had its own trades; from memory

first year in the upper did dining room trades (setting and clearing tables) plus house cleaning

second year: swabs

third year; serving food

junior monitors: dishing out the food to 3rd years

can't remember the rest even though I was trades mon. By tradition the trades monitor had to be in the dining room for table setting and clearing; fortunately I had a person the next year - Brown K.C. who was more than willing to forgo parade and do it for me in the morning so I could get an extra 5 minutes kip.

Adsum = here
absum = not here

jtaylor wrote:Has any of the Housey Slang survived?

"Bokers"
"Crab, flab and muck"
House "Trades"
Hundreds more, but can't think............

I guess the "lav ends" have gone?

Old Blues:- add to the list
Pupils:- Do these still survive, or been replaced?

J

Bokers- The estates staff !

Surely you mean CRUG/KRUG, JT ? for Bread

You wouldn't recognise the 'lav-ends, now JT. They are ALMOST civilised !

Don't remember TRADES at all in the 60's !!

Trades covered all the chores done in the House and in Hall. They included (amongst others) sweeping, cleaning the bogs, picking up litter, making toast, setting tables, serving food etc and etc.
They were normally allocated on a per term basis by one of the monitors, who the oversaw that they were done on time. A pain, but they did help keep the costs down.

So, did they cease before 1958, because I don't remember 'em ??

we had trades in the 80-90s, but can't really remember what they involved, just cleaning up and other tedious chores.

J.R. wrote:So, did they cease before 1958, because I don't remember 'em ??

Nope! Alive and kicking in the 70s......

The worst 'house' trade in a senior house was the cleaning of the filth pit known as the 'kitchen' (2 rings, a toaster and a sink which no-one really knew how to use).

The khazis were a doddle in comparison (except in the case of a 'log-jam').

eloisec wrote:we had trades in the 80-90s, but can't really remember what they involved, just cleaning up and other tedious chores.

They are still around today - I think there are still house trades, although I may be wrong...

All of which reminds me....

Apologies in advance to those of a sensitive nature -

The bocker whose job it was to clean the bogs in Mid.B. had a habit of regaling anyone who would listen to him about his latest discoveries therein :

"Gawd, it was THAT big, buggered if I can shift it, can't get it round the bend, wot 'ave you lot bin eating?" etc. etc.

I remember he once found a plastic ball jammed in the khazi with a jobbie perched on top. Think he collared the housemaster about that one...

I can only assume that they didn't exist in Coleridge B.

NTF was my Housemaster from start to finish, and I'm SURE we didn't do 'em !

If I hear from Andrew Fawcett, I'll ask him. (Used to be his 'bat-man')

J.R. wrote:So, did they cease before 1958, because I don't remember 'em ??

That's your memory. Certainly you and we had them up to July 1961.

no-one seems to have mentioned 'your mum' which was the most common 'cus' when I was at school, however don't think that was exclusive to CH, but it did evolve to 'your mum on toast' and eventually 'your mums like robocop she's had that many screws' or 'your mums like bread, you have to peel off the crust before she tastes good!' so that's all good, but I'll never forget the assembly when Mrs. Cairncross kept us all behind to talk about 'mother cussing' as she so eloquently put it!

Another one is 'warning' which is what girls use to say when they were getting changed, still I doubt they have that any more as I don't think there are any open dorms any more, at least not for girls? enlighten me.

And there was the old 'res points' which were gained by doing something cool or daring, some examples of mine include: smoking in the headmasters back garden, smoking in the deputy head's back garden, smoking in the Alwoods back garden, and just generally smoking. oh and the good old trick of turning the lights off in dining hall during tea ha ha.

qwerty wrote:no-one seems to have mentioned 'your mum' which was the most common 'cus' when I was at school, however don't think that was exclusive to CH, but it did evolve to 'your mum on toast' and eventually 'your mums like robocop she's had that many screws' or 'your mums like bread, you have to peel off the crust before she tastes good!' so that's all good, but I'll never forget the assembly when Mrs. Cairncross kept us all behind to talk about 'mother cussing' as she so eloquently put it!

Another one is 'warning' which is what girls use to say when they were getting changed, still I doubt they have that any more as I don't think there are any open dorms any more, at least not for girls? enlighten me.

And there was the old 'res points' which were gained by doing something cool or daring, some examples of mine include: smoking in the headmasters back garden, smoking in the deputy head's back garden, smoking in the Alwoods back garden, and just generally smoking. oh and the good old trick of turning the lights off in dining hall during tea ha ha.

Your mum - great...

anyone remember you used to have to say 'res' when doing that Ali G clicking fingers thing...

All far too recent for me, I fear.

Ali G. There's a name to be conjured with.

Personally, I thought Richard Maddeley's 'take-off' was better than the original !