Unofficial Christ's Hospital Forum

Hi all,

A little trick I've picked up and thought I might pass on:

When you use the payphones in house, the person cannot hear you unless you put money in. They will instead hear a tone, sounding something like "beep-bop". So what you can do is find out the numbers of the house payphones and arrange them with your child into 1st, 2nd and 3rd choice.

When your child rings you, they needn't put money in. You will know it's them, and if you're on BT, it is either free or 5 1/2p to call them back on that number (1st-3rd, depending on if they're engaged) for an hour at a time. After the hour (or 55 minutes), simply redial!

Hope this helps!

Who remembers, amongst the oldies on here, how you could 'fiddle' a call for free on the old 4d (penny-in-the-slot, call boxes ? (Pre-decimalisation.)

Eruresto wrote:it is either free or 5 1/2p to call them back on that number (1st-3rd, depending on if they're engaged) for an hour at a time.

Sorry, Josh, but I haven't the faintest idea what you're talking about! Fortunately, that really doesn't matter.

When you use the payphones in house, the person cannot hear you unless you put money in. They will instead hear a tone, sounding something like "beep-bop". So what you can do is find out the numbers of the house payphones and arrange them with your child into 1st, 2nd and 3rd choice.

ha I remember doing that! I used to shout "HELLLLLOOO!" down the phone so they knew it was me, not to sure if they could hear me. I don't ever remember the money (if there was any) being collected from those phones.

Apparently, and I hope to be able to confirm this evening, if you ring out on one of the house phones, you can hear the the other person but they can't hear you. So hopefully ds will ring, I will hear the beep-bop noise and I'll tell him to put the phone down and I'll ring him straight back. That way he obviously isn't out of pocket and we get to speak to him for up to 59 mins, at a time, for free.
That's the plan anyway.

We have a code .2 rings and son rings off and I ring back 3 rings and daughter rings off and I ring back.

nastymum wrote:We have a code .2 rings and son rings off and I ring back 3 rings and daughter rings off and I ring back.

Nothing new there; used to do that in the fifties but with a twist. The number of rings was used as a code to avoid costly calls- could be used for "all's well", need money ............

Sometimes I think life at Horsham may have been much more humane than Hertford. We didn't have a payphone for pupils' use until the postal strike in 1970, and then it was just the one for the whole school. I don't remember any more being added before I left in 1975.

What's the policy on mobile phones?

All children in the school can have a mobile except mine. That is why I am a nasty mum...(partly)..

Juniors have to hand them in at night.

nastymum wrote:All children in the school can have a mobile except mine. That is why I am a nasty mum...(partly)..

Juniors have to hand them in at night.

.. and new Second form aren`t allowed them for at least the first 3 weeks until Leave Weekend (maybe longer, I`m not sure!)

Mobiles are very useful as all the houses have fobbed entry systems.

Mrs C. wrote:

nastymum wrote:All children in the school can have a mobile except mine. That is why I am a nasty mum...(partly)..

Juniors have to hand them in at night.

.. and new Second form aren`t allowed them for at least the first 3 weeks until Leave Weekend (maybe longer, I`m not sure!)

Mobiles are very useful as all the houses have fobbed entry systems.

Please explain, Janet.

Most of the houses have a fob key systems on the main doors, so if you haven't got your fob key then you can't get into the house at all! - not even into a sheltered hall area if the weather's horrible. I've been stuck outside for ages before someone came past with a key. If I'd had my mobile on me I could have called someone inside to let me in.

Arrr !

The wonders of modern science.

Thanks for that !

nastymum wrote: That is why I am a nasty mum...

Confirming my opinion - give me a nasty mum any day!