Word of the day

Richard Ruck · Post by **Richard Ruck** » Thu Jan 12, 2006 2:36 pm

Actually, on this very subject, I was given a copy of Melvyn Bragg's "The Adventure of English".

Haven't read it yet, though...........

Richard Ruck · Post by **Richard Ruck** » Thu Jan 12, 2006 2:43 pm

And lastly, more specifically pertaining to tomorrow, I give you paraskavedekatriaphobia - the fear of Friday 13th.!

Sounds more like a Sri Lankan cricketer, though.....

AKAP · Post by **AKAP** » Thu Jan 12, 2006 3:50 pm

Dave
One question springs to mind.
Who was here before the celts?

Great Plum · Post by **Great Plum** » Thu Jan 12, 2006 4:30 pm

Richard Ruck wrote:And lastly, more specifically pertaining to tomorrow, I give you paraskavedekatriaphobia - the fear of Friday 13th.!

Sounds more like a Sri Lankan cricketer, though.....

That's quite a word...

And dave, many congratualtions on your immaculately worded 500th post!

DavebytheSea · Post by **DavebytheSea** » Thu Jan 12, 2006 4:37 pm

AKAP wrote:Dave
One question springs to mind.
Who was here before the celts?

Well I know I am pretty old, but if I was around then, I just can't remember. (This type of forgetfulness is called pre-lapsarian amnesia )

Richard Ruck · Post by **Richard Ruck** » Thu Jan 12, 2006 6:11 pm

Great Plum wrote:
Richard Ruck wrote:And lastly, more specifically pertaining to tomorrow, I give you paraskavedekatriaphobia - the fear of Friday 13th.!

Sounds more like a Sri Lankan cricketer, though.....
That's quite a word...

And dave, many congratualtions on your immaculately worded 500th post!

Which reminds me......

I forgot to congratulate Englishangel on getting her buttons.

Congratulations, Mary!

This may have been covered elsewhere, but what was the Hertford equivalent of 'buttons' (no pantomime gags please)?

englishangel · Post by **englishangel** » Thu Jan 12, 2006 6:32 pm

In Vth form (GE) we got a black apron, to replace the blue pinafore we wore until then for meals, chores etc. Then sometime towards the end of Lower VI you swapped that for a green apron and became a monitress, got a silver badge (mentioned somewhere on here). Badly behaved people (or those who DR thought didn't behave more like) didn't get a green apron, not many of those. There were also Head girl, deputy head girl and 4-6 prefects. They had a little flat away from the rest of the houses. It was not far from the back gate. My final year the back gate was taken down to allow access to build a squash court. Whether it was becasue of this the head girl that year had a 'premature' baby 7 1/2 months after leaving I couldn't possibly say.

Richard Ruck · Post by **Richard Ruck** » Thu Jan 12, 2006 6:38 pm

Thanks!

Don't you just miss institutional hierarchy?

englishangel · Post by **englishangel** » Thu Jan 12, 2006 7:07 pm

Richard Ruck wrote:Thanks!

Don't you just miss institutional hierarchy?

I don't miss sewing those alliterative black aprons.

This is a photo of the 1972 monitresses with the fearsome DR,

Our badges can be seen, not as big as the 617 squadron one as worn by Sue Betteridge, 3rd from left in the middle row.

This was taken in June and DR retired at the end of that term., at 60.

I think I put it somewhere else as well but blowed if I can find it.

Katharine · Post by **Katharine** » Thu Jan 12, 2006 7:25 pm

englishangel wrote:In Vth form (GE) we got a black apron, to replace the blue pinafore we wore until then for meals, chores etc. Then sometime towards the end of Lower VI you swapped that for a green apron and became a monitress, got a silver badge (mentioned somewhere on here). Badly behaved people (or those who DR thought didn't behave more like) didn't get a green apron, not many of those. There were also Head girl, deputy head girl and 4-6 prefects. They had a little flat away from the rest of the houses. It was not far from the back gate. My final year the back gate was taken down to allow access to build a squash court. Whether it was becasue of this the head girl that year had a 'premature' baby 7 1/2 months after leaving I couldn't possibly say.

I was very rare, I did not get a GA until the end of my Upper VI year, then I went straight from a BA to School Prefect. Apparently it wasn't DR who had vetoed me but Miss Jenkins my House Mistress. She left at the end of my U VI year, so presumably lost her right of veto!

At some stage of my school career the GAs came in. When I was first there, there were only 2 monitresses per house, also the 2 head Mistresses' mons (that was what I became in Senior VI). At that time there were solid silver badges showing our Royal Founder. These had been polished so many times that he was frequently mistaken for an oak tree! Someone gave the new badges, and they gradually increased the numbers getting them, but it was by no means everyone who got them.

midget · Post by **midget** » Thu Jan 12, 2006 8:44 pm

englishangel wrote:
Richard Ruck wrote:Thanks!
This is a photo of the 1972 monitresses with the fearsome DR

DR seems to have shrunk between 1952 and 1972. What did you youngsters do to her?

Katharine · Post by **Katharine** » Thu Jan 12, 2006 9:06 pm

midget wrote:DR seems to have shrunk between 1952 and 1972. What did you youngsters do to her?

Not only that, Midget, but she is younger than she was in 1965!!

sejintenej · Post by **sejintenej** » Thu Jan 12, 2006 9:40 pm

englishangel wrote:
Richard Ruck wrote:Thanks!

Don't you just miss institutional hierarchy?
I don't miss sewing those alliterative black aprons.

This is a photo of the 1972 monitresses with the fearsome DR,

Our badges can be seen, not as big as the 617 squadron one as worn by Sue Betteridge, 3rd from left in the middle row.

just 2 small questions:
- what is wrong with the girl on the right hand end of the middle row? Is she related to my wide who is dexterously mixed up or are badges placeable anywhere above the ankle?

- didn't you miss having a 1553 style uniform?

Katharine · Post by **Katharine** » Thu Jan 12, 2006 11:13 pm

sejintenej wrote:-didn't you miss having a 1553 style uniform?

In a word - YES!!! Though I think our generation would have gone for the Susannah Holmes option rather than the Housey one.

Richard Ruck · Post by **Richard Ruck** » Fri Jan 13, 2006 9:46 am

Morning!

I'm afraid I won't insult the forum's intelligence with today's word, the verb to pore.....

Sorry!