Housemistresses

[Angela Pratt 56-63]

While we are on the subject of hair - does anyone else remember Clare Lissant, who had the most wonderful really 'Titian' coloured hair?

Yes. There were 3 sisters- Mary Clare and Lucy who were orphans who lived with their kind but old-fashioned grandparents.(Were parents killed in a car crash? )They all had the same curls and style, but Mary's and Lucy's were dark and Clare's was that georgeous stunning colour. Mary was one of the sweetest, quietest, gentlest girls in the school, who everyone in 8s really loved.

[kerrensimmonds]

I had the sad experience of attending Lucy's funeral in Worthing, several years ago. She suffered severe mental health problems. Mary was in attendance - apparently she was living the life of a recluse in Lancing, and had to be dressed and brought to the funeral by Clare and her family. I think that Clare lives or lived somewhere in Hampshire (?Winchester) but I might have got that wrong. Clare was lovely. Yes, the three girls did live with grandparents in Worthing while they were at CH, given that their parents had died together, tragically young. When I got to know Lucy again in later life (must be 12 or more years ago), she was living back in the same house in Worthing, which was actually then owned by an aunt and/or cousin, who had kindly taken Lucy in.

[dotsrebel]

Nothing, but NOTHING got past Fanny, certainly not a rogue hairdryer. She smoked like a chimney too, but I think she stopped after her op when she came back a much calmer person.

Obviously I didn't realise the extreme strictness of Fanny!

Although now, something comes back to me! I met Sarah Titcombe (6's, ?three years older than I) several years ago, and she recounted a story in which Fanny had spotted that she had long fingernails and ordered Sarah to report to DR. It seems that Fanny was in a state of fury over the fingernails. Weird! You'd think that Fanny would have complained to The Hag, but no! This was serious enough for DR. Did Fanny have a fingernail obsession, Mary?

Sarah duly queued up in the anteroom and presented her lovely nails to DR, who actually seemed puzzled about what to say. I don't know the outcome - was Fanny thwarted? I must ask Sarah and find out.

I remember those regular ' breaktimes' spent in the queue in the ante room. I used to gaze at the rows of filing cabinets and wonder what 'lap-said'
(L A P S E D ) meant - it wasn't until many years later that I realised how dim I was being. And as for Fanny. Do you remember that end of year habit of getting everyone's autograph? I still have my books (somewhere) with little dinky rhymes etc. and when Fanny (Mrs Winstone) left she signed my book Cecilia Winstone 'Fanny' - I remember being mortified that she knew her nickname (was it 1968 that she left?) how naive we were....I wonder what operation Fanny had to cause her to become calmer? Some cardiac drama that caused her to meditate on her furious ways and cut down on smoking? Or maybe a thyroidectomy?

I should remember those 8's Housemistresses of my time - Barlow, Willie and Pryke - but I don't at all! I should, as I was an occasional visitor to 8's Study as they were allowed (gasp) to listen to their Dansette record player any time!

[threesrebel]

I got on rather well with Nobs; she protected me from D R - our loathing was mutual and my end of term "Interviews" reduced me to tears nearly every time but if Nobs had told her what I was really like I would'nt have lasted long! Mrs Horne was my Housemistress in Fives and Heaven Help you if you got on the wrong side of her.
My husband was a Housemaster for fifteen years and I used to plead the cause of our rebels - I found them and their beefs rather easy to emphasise with!
Miss Hindesley (?spelling) and Miss Mitchell also scared the pants off me but then my incompetence at their subjects was legendary.