(No longer proposed) Gathering, Hertford 5/4/08

Share your memories and stories from the Hertford Christ's Hospital School, which closed in 1985, when the two schools integrated to the Horsham site....

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Angela Woodford
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Re: (No longer proposed) Gathering, Hertford 5/4/08

Post by Angela Woodford »

Liz!

We shouted "Vains! or "Vains I!" or even "Vainites!" as an oral get-out-of statement.

As in

Judy Evans: (She is holding a notebook and is making a list) I want a volunteer. One of your form has to do Chapel Cleaning this afternoon. Who -

Chorus of Juniors: Vains! Vains I!

(Some cross their fingers to add emphasis to the cry).

I believe that "Vains" derives from "I would fain do Chapel Cleaning". Well, of course not! Down for netball, er, something else, er - other excuse -

I will check it out, and yes!

Oxford Dictionary - fain, fains; child's formula claiming exemption.
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Re: (No longer proposed) Gathering, Hertford 5/4/08

Post by sejintenej »

Angela Woodford wrote:Liz!

We shouted "Vains! or "Vains I!" or even "Vainites!" as an oral get-out-of statement.

I believe that "Vains" derives from "I would fain do Chapel Cleaning". Well, of course not! Down for netball, er, something else, er - other excuse -

I will check it out, and yes!

Oxford Dictionary - fain, fains; child's formula claiming exemption.
How about the French "venez" as in "go!", "clear off!" as a possible source.
No idea of the latin.
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Re: (No longer proposed) Gathering, Hertford 5/4/08

Post by Jo »

The easiest definition of "veins/vains/vanes...." I think is the opposite of "bags", at least, that's what I thought it meant when I first heard it.

We also used to say "quis" (but pronounced "quiz") and "ego" for "who wants this?" "I do".

Re tea-time seating, during my time in 5's we were allowed to sit where we liked (usually each form chose to sit together) on Wednesdays and Saturdays (I don't remember the tables being set for Sunday tea, I think we more or less helped ourselves from the kitchen). The other days we had a seating plan which rotated one place each night, so that although you always sat next to the same people, you were always opposite someone different. Possibly seniors stayed in the same place. The seating plan changed each term, and along with duty rotas, washing up and table laying rotas, it was designed by the house mons, if I remember correctly.
Last edited by Jo on Mon Mar 31, 2008 2:10 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: (No longer proposed) Gathering, Hertford 5/4/08

Post by icomefromalanddownunder »

sejintenej wrote:
Angela Woodford wrote:Liz!

How about the French "venez" as in "go!", "clear off!" as a possible source.
No idea of the latin.
Heavens, no! We were a frightfully friendly bunch and tu-tued each other :lol:

xx (still don't know what my mobile number is)
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Re: (No longer proposed) Gathering, Hertford 5/4/08

Post by Angela Woodford »

Jo wrote:Re tea-time seating, during my time in 5's we were allowed to sit where we liked (usually each form chose to sit together) on Wednesdays and Saturdays (I don't remember the tables being set for Sunday tea, I think we more or less helped ourselves from the kitchen). The other days we had a seating plan which rotated one place each night, so that although you always sat next to the same people, you were always opposite someone different.
The others in 6's in my year (Phine, Ally, Janessa) were terrifically status conscious about this. If they are reading this, sorry girls... but a bit desperate? We agreed to rotate our seating arrangement in House and Dining Hall "so that nobody was left out of the conversation", i.e. we took it in turns to be sitting a couple of places-more-senior weekly.

I played along with this because sitting two places down, the conversation was far more witty and fun - Alex, Caroline, Cathy Ennis, Susan Knight, MaryMc! And in shouting distance of Liz and Siobhan!

How about a session of Significant Looks on Saturday evening? Warning: I've been practising.

Love from Munch
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Re: (No longer proposed) Gathering, Hertford 5/4/08

Post by Jude »

It was a great day - apart from the rain - the meeting up of so many of us! I was overwhelmed by the changes in the main hall, and so so happy that the stgaircase is still there! I have uploaded most of the photo's from the day to my facebook under my id of judi comber - please feel free to look and comment!

If anyone wants a DVD of the photo's of the Day please let me know, also please send me as many photo's as you have to make up the number of pictures to about 4 Gb!! (so far I have less than 100 Mb!!)

My great thanks to Caroline & Kerren for organising such an event - which may sadly be the last of the CHOGA style events - especially at Hertford.

Thank you all for looking at me and not saying how horrible I was! I hope I am now a nicer person than I was at CH - some know why I was so disturbed - others don't - I am happy to tell the truth and tell you why I was such a brat!

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Re: (No longer proposed) Gathering, Hertford 5/4/08

Post by Mid A 15 »

Jude wrote:It was a great day - apart from the rain - the meeting up of so many of us! I was overwhelmed by the changes in the main hall, and so so happy that the stgaircase is still there! I have uploaded most of the photo's from the day to my facebook under my id of judi comber - please feel free to look and comment!

If anyone wants a DVD of the photo's of the Day please let me know, also please send me as many photo's as you have to make up the number of pictures to about 4 Gb!! (so far I have less than 100 Mb!!)

My great thanks to Caroline & Kerren for organising such an event - which may sadly be the last of the CHOGA style events - especially at Hertford.

Thank you all for looking at me and not saying how horrible I was! I hope I am now a nicer person than I was at CH - some know why I was so disturbed - others don't - I am happy to tell the truth and tell you why I was such a brat!

Jude
Hello Jude! :D Welcome back!

I'm glad you were able to get there. It sounds like a good time was had by all.
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Re: (No longer proposed) Gathering, Hertford 5/4/08

Post by Jo »

Jude wrote:It was a great day - apart from the rain - the meeting up of so many of us! I was overwhelmed by the changes in the main hall, and so so happy that the stgaircase is still there! I have uploaded most of the photo's from the day to my facebook under my id of judi comber - please feel free to look and comment!

If anyone wants a DVD of the photo's of the Day please let me know, also please send me as many photo's as you have to make up the number of pictures to about 4 Gb!! (so far I have less than 100 Mb!!)

My great thanks to Caroline & Kerren for organising such an event - which may sadly be the last of the CHOGA style events - especially at Hertford.

Thank you all for looking at me and not saying how horrible I was! I hope I am now a nicer person than I was at CH - some know why I was so disturbed - others don't - I am happy to tell the truth and tell you why I was such a brat!

Jude
Oh Jude......I didn't know you were there :cry: I would have been really interested to catch up with you as you followed me in 5's - you started immediately as I left. I don't think there were many from 5's there, though I did chat to Valerie Uglow. Did you see her?
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Re: (No longer proposed) Gathering, Hertford 5/4/08

Post by Jude »

Hi Jo

Yes I saw Valerie - she looks absolutely wonderful (honestly) in her chapel cap!!! I left early as the trip up from Glos to Hertford and back again was a lot for me - however, I will next time do it alone and stay over in a travel lodge! I took my daughter and best friend with me - I was actually a bit scared of meeting people who may have remembered me as a total horror, and with MS and other health issues I needed a type of security blanket - see I still haven't grown up!!!

Jude :oops: :oops: :oops: :oops: :oops:
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Re: (No longer proposed) Gathering, Hertford 5/4/08

Post by Jude »

icomefromalanddownunder wrote:
sejintenej wrote:
Angela Woodford wrote:Liz!

How about the French "venez" as in "go!", "clear off!" as a possible source.
No idea of the latin.
Heavens, no! We were a frightfully friendly bunch and tu-tued each other :lol:

xx (still don't know what my mobile number is)
Oh Caroline!!! you could have tried ringing mine and could have told you!!!

for those wishing to send photo's of the day - remember everyone is different email me on judicomber@aol.com
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Re: (No longer proposed) Gathering, Hertford 5/4/08

Post by judy »

Like most others on the day I had a brilliant time and would like to add my thanks to those who had the inspiration and the sticking power to organise it. My only regret was not being able to be in ten different places round the dinner table. I do, however, have a very public apology that I have to make as a result of the evening. I had always thought of myself as warm, thoughtful and even sensitive to most of those younger than me at CH. Imagine then my horror and, indeed' public humiliation to be confronted by one much younger than me who recounted the tale of a cruel and unusual punishment inflicted by me on a group of first years. They were having fun by daring each other to gently gang up on a scary member of the Upper VI. I forced them all to do 100 lines- not a major issue you might think although perhaps slightly petty on the part of the senior involved. The person on whom I had inflicted this punishment , however, could still repeat word for word the text that I had provided them with. I promised I would go public with it so here it is:
"It is impolite and unkind to attack, surround or otherwise molest an innocent member of the Upper VI who is pursuing her duty of gravel crunching on a Sunday morning."
I was reliably informed that not only had I taken up most of her free time for several weeks but that I had "blighted her life". She did not look very blighted on Saturday evening but I do very seriously apologise again Jane. I am very glad that you did pop in to the Cafe Rouge and were not put off by memories of adolescent cruelty. To anyone else that I was cruel to either on that occasion or others I am sorry. We really should not have been given the power we had -with no accountability at all.
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Re: (No longer proposed) Gathering, Hertford 5/4/08

Post by englishangel »

Well done Judy, very brave of you. I agree she didn't look very blighted,

Diana (Garnham) reminded us all of Monkee mania in 1967/8 (?) and I apologised to Judy for going for her with a breadknife when she volunteered me for something at the same time as "The Monkees" was on. She couldn't even remember.
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Re: (No longer proposed) Gathering, Hertford 5/4/08

Post by Jude »

sadly lots of us remember words and punnishments given more than the smiles and assistance we were given during school life - I know how often I was punnished for talking after lights out - but I was always replying to someone else, but it was always me who got the punnishments - I guess some of us stuck out more than others and in that way we were punnished. And yes I can remember some of those who punnished me - however, at the re-union I could remember names from my time, but not the faces - maybe having MS is a blessing after all, as I can't put the 2 together. I hope no one was really upset from the discussion over dinner - which sadly I was not there for - but I for one would like to try to put the bad memories to the past where they belong now - and look more at what heritage we had and the education we received being above that of a normal school. I was a troubled child - my father was sexually, physically, mentally and verbally abusing me at home, and people at school were also being physically , verbally and mentally abusing me... I got so confused as to where I was safe, I am not surprised that people may remember me as being horrible. I can only apologise publically for those whose lives I blighted - but maybe now after reading this they may understand why I was so disturbed (in some ways I probably still am - being raped by your father at 14 isn't exactly normal)
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Re: (No longer proposed) Gathering, Hertford 5/4/08

Post by englishangel »

Jude, another brave woman
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Re: (No longer proposed) Gathering, Hertford 5/4/08

Post by Jude »

englishangel wrote:Jude, another brave woman
Brave? no - I think the time has come in my life to lay my cards on the table and let everyone look at them, I am often so confused by what people say one minute to the next I almost need a pad of post it notes to stick up and down my arm... I suffer a lot of "senior moments" which at 44 is a bit harsh, but I think the little tale of if you want something done well and quickly give it to the busiest person applies also to illnessess! I have more than my fair share - not that I would like ANYONE to have what I have - not even my worst enemy (which is probably myself)!, but just trying to remember the same name for one person everytime I looked at them was monumentally difficult - so I might as well come out and say things now.

EnglishAngel - I know you know enough to keep face and name together
Munch the same
Valerie - maybe
Caroline - maybe
Kerren - maybe

others - I am so so sorry - but the names and the faces seem to have gone already - perhaps the senile dementia has hit early as well!!! oh well. for those who have emailed me their photo's - thank you - for those of you thinking "whats the point they will all be the same" = Send them no one's view point is the same as anyothers, so no ones photo's will be the same either!

Going for a snooze as I feel pretty ill.....(couple of bad days - it will pass) talk to you all later!
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