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Matt B said
All it takes is a cup of tea, a quick listen to something out of the collection and sitting down to get on with it!
Looking forward to the results…
Oh yes, if your Apple Mac doesn’t have a scrolling mouse (“Mighty Mouse”) then go shopping!! They are an essential treat.
Alan W said
Hi Troy – hope the malaise has passed – maybe it’s the thought of the clocks going back – it always sends me into a tailspin.
I was talking to Mr.Everett recently about Van de Graaff generators (as you do)and we couldn’t recall who taught Physics in Widemarsh St. all those years ago – can any of the old High School lads help me out? I can picture 2 teachers – one of whom had dark hair and matching beard. (And a ‘distinctive’ voice if I rememder correctly.
Matt B said
Easy Peasy! First off there was Mr Dukes (“BJD” on account of his initials!) then there was Mr Archer (“Maggot” who was in fact a good chap and took us hill walking. Inevitably he had the troubled sessions: Amp Meter plugged into mains socket, dry-ice farago etc). Then there was Dr Snozwell, who may be the bearded wonder that you’re thinking of. I can’t recall a nickname, but he was a humourless b**ger.Suffice to say he didn’t teach me. I met my VI Form Physics teacher recently, who told me that the modern A-Level is nothing like as hard as in our day. I couldn’t possibly comment!
The band Van Der Graaf Generator recorded in Rockfield studios near Monmouth, where they had a hammond organ so loud that Rockfieldhad to make a special booth – which is still there today. Trivia!
I hope I’ve nailed the Teacher question – maybe there was one other. Didn’t they all have distinctive voices?
Morten said
If you’re fed up writing, why don’t you go out an take a few more pictures. I’ve just had a look at the latest ones – July onwards – and they’re great.
By the way, they show that it was a brilliant sunny summer – did I miss something?
Alan W said
Hi Matt – good recollection! It was ‘Maggot’ who I couldn’t bring to mind. Indeed, Snozwell had all the charm of a Burtons dummy. We used to make fun of the way he pronounced ’stroboscope’!
By the way – I love Peter Hammill’s solo work – great stuff.
Ian said
Great memories boys but wasn’t Mr Archer “peebo”, named after the uncanny similarity between the colour of his hair and PbO (lead oxide for Matt!).
I dont think anyone actually understood the Physics we were taught at school.
Alan W said
Hello New Zealand – I imagine a little more Physics stuck in your noddle than in mine! When Snozwell started teaching us I caught a rather severe case of Chicken Pox – I was off school for 5 weeks – and I never made up lost time on the Science subjects. (Credit to ‘Biggles’ Hull – he took me under his wing and did his best to help me catch up, but no-one else gave a damn!)
Dave G said
Bloody marvellous – I write a four-word entry and it sparks a blizzard of comments. There must be a lesson in there somewhere.
But all welcome I assure you. Feeling a bit more cheerful now. I have an interview at the Wetlands Trust on Monday so there’s a chance of doing something close to my heart if it comes off.
Some of this school stuff really takes me back, It’s just amazing how much of it you forget.
I envy Ian in NZ now – spring coming and all that. Say Ian, am I right in thinking you have your own blog? I tried clicking on your hotlinked name but couldn’t access the site.
If you haven’t already done so have a listen to the album Matt produced – well worth it. I’m sure Matt could furnish you with a signed copy for a few sovs.
And Mort. Lotte’s present had completely slipped my mind until you posted. I really am sorry I haven’t sorted that out but I promise I will get back on the case. I’ve got to go into town tomorrow so I’ll stop off in Cowley Road. Apologies for the delay ol’ boy – poor form.
Hey Al – it IS the clocks. I bloody hate it. Bloody November, bloody Christmas, bloody dark. We’ll have to organise another jolly night out. The Bloggledebook Supporters Club annual bash.
See you soon folks – apart form Ian – but I’m hatching a plan to remedy that too.
Ian said
Dave, yes I did set up a blog but abandoned it as I couldn’t think of anything that would be worth reading – I might resurrect it at the start of the Summer Holidays (countdown has commenced on that one). Spring in NZ is definitely here – a howling westerly for the last 3 weeks whilst the anticyclones sort themselves out.Then the good weather arrives! Does the plan being hatched involve me having to clean the carpets!! Let me know! Best wishes to all – if its of any interest my favourite month of the year was probably November with the crisp frosts and sunny days ( you still get sunshine in England, don’t you?)
Alan W said
Can’t agree with bloody Christmas Dave – bloody Christmas shopping more like! I find playing ‘upbeat’ CD’s helps at this time of year – no more Nick Drake or Leonard Cohen until Spring!
And said
Trivia. My sister (Sue) stayed with her two boys in St. Ives last year. The owner of the B&B was intrigued that she came from Hereford. He told her that he used to teach physics in Hereford – Dr Snozwell !
Do you remember when he was introduced to the school by Bart?. Bart welcomed “MR” Snozwell – and was immediately corrected with a loud ‘DOCTOR SNOZWELL’ from the back of the hall. The audacity…
Matt said
Even more trivia!
A Physics teacher at Aylestone in the ’90’s (I always hated the name ‘Aylestone’ and the way they used the initials to name your form stream) used to be a record producer in the ’70’s, doing bands like The Velvet Underground! He’s a good ol’ boy with long grey beard and eccentric ways. Probably can’t knock up a full English like DOCTOR Snoz though!
Alan W said
If you have any Pat Hastain trivia Matt…..
Matt said
None publishable on this worthy journal…
Dave G said
Aww, do tell. She was a sexy beast if ever I met one (though 12-year-olds at an all-boy’s school do tend to regard anyone wearing a skirt as a gorgeous goddess of erotica).
Ian said
I’m ashamed to even mention this one but does anyone remember “nipple”?
Alan W said
Yes, I do remember! Was it Miss Roberts? She was known as ‘cliche’ for some strange reason.
Ian said
yes , thats it – the English teacher at the old Boys High School site.Well done Alan
Matt said
Quiz! Put real names to the teachers’ nick-names of old. Oh yes and see if you can remember anyone else… No prizes, just another trip down that dark and twisted memory lane. We need names and subject taught. So far I have:
Wad, Champion, Diddy, Des, Davros, Maggot, Biggles, BJ, Ears (aka Whipsnade!!),Oiseau (or Waz – brilliant!) Rasputin and Tiger.
I can see other faces and have the names almost there, but I’m chuckling too much!
Alan W said
Davros has really got me stumped – I can picture him but a name wont come.
Does anyone recall a short aged relief English teacher at High School who was known as ‘Gnome’? I used to feel sorry for the poor chap – we gave him such a hard time. He didn’t last long!
Alan W said
Forgot to mention United home to Leeds in FA Cup first round. Does that make you feel slightly homesick Ian?
PS – Hey Dave this is comment 21 – does the blog self-destruct if we reach a certain number?!
Ian said
Des Sparks – English (?) Tasker was waz (French Teacher) Davros has me stunped – was that a young History teacher with curly hair (male)? I have no idea about Rasputin My memory has gone.
Ian said
sorry – oiseau was female now I recall – one of Mr Walkers excellent impressions I think
Matt said
OK, time to put the record straight!
WAD Mr Fieldhouse (Subject included sex education! Drove a TR5, sported a pencil-thin moustache)
CHAMPION Mr Chapman (Geography. Great guy, supported Man United at the time Southampton beat them in a thrilling FA Cup. How we ribbed. Great lessons, once asked “What’s the difference between a Buffalo and a Bison? Can’t wash your hands in a Buffalo!”)
DIDDY Mr David (English. Hippy type. Wore brown cords, long hair and only once lost his temper – with me)
DES Mr Sparks of course. DES were his initials. (English. One of the greats. His lessons went far & wide)
DAVROS Mr Spyros (?) (Deputy head. Name after the mutant leader of the Daleks who looked just like him!)
MAGGOT Mr Archer (Physics. Top bloke, long suffering, always entertained with practical experiments that ended in disaster)
BIGGLES Mr Hull (Geography. Cool dude, biggles moustache. Spoke very quietly. Actually flew Dakotas during the war!)
BJ Mr Dukes (Chemistry. BJD were his initials. I seem to remember that like most of them at the High School, he was a hugely qualified chap)
EARS/WHIPSNADE Mr Colgate (History. Another top chap, excellent teacher. Had huge sticky-out ears, along with short brylcreem hair. Once shouted at a class: “You lot belong in Whipsnade!!” Fatal.
OISEAU Mr Tasker (French. This guy was so good he should’ve been on TV! A delight and would host a BBC2 programme these days. Went to town with his use of “Oiseau” and we used to enjoy “Soixante-Neuf!” when we learned numbers.
RASPUTIN. Mr Wooley (Maths. Bloomin’ clever bloke. Unfortunately sported a long shaggy beard and looked exactly like Rasputin!)
TIGER. Mr Coates (Art. This feller must have been way past retirement age when we were in our first year! Good chap though and the only time I enjoyed Art. His nickname “Tiger” Coates was as old as the school itself.
Now I can recall some real names and some faces of others. All in all I found the school depressing because we were the first year that the grammar school status was wiped out and “CSE’s” were brought in. The clever, qualified & disciplined teachers had a whole new ball-game and didn’t like it. When we moved up to Aylestone hill it was a disaster and I felt as though we were all living within an experiment at the expense of our education. Very uninspiring I must say. Thankfully VI Form College was a whole lotta fun by comparison!
Rather depressing to think that most of the teachers mentioned have now passed away. Still, they saw Patricia Hastain’s legs too!
Alan W said
Glad you liked Tiger Coates – he used to put the fear of God in me! Give me Johnny Exton any day.
When I think of ‘73 – the year we started – the turnover of staff was huge – by the time we got to Aylestone very few were left. How many of these ring a bell?
Mr.David – History/Geography
Mr.Sherratt – Maths
Mrs Cadman – English/Remedial(!)
Mrs.Piggott – Music
Mrs.O’Dwyer – German (a close second to Pat Hastain)
Mr.Cannings – Biology (had the initials P.A.R.C)
Mr.Hancock – English/Economics
Terrible twins Muir and Wurzer – P.E./Games/Psychologigal disintigration
and of course good ol’ Jack Prichard – Woodwork.
If memory serves all the above left before ‘76, and I’m sure there’s more.
Hey Ian – was it Mrs.Warburton who Phil Parry and I duped into thinking your name was Ian Turner for 6 months?! I do apologise mate!
And said
Does anyone else remember the Physics teacher Mr Corbett (?) – briefly nicknamed ‘Cor-bet-your-hard’ by someone (Dave?). He had a northern accent, pretty strict and I think that he may have been bearded. Anyone who was naughty was threatened with sitting at the ‘Baby bench’. I think that he’d left by the time it became Aylestone.
We were either in the 2nd or 3rd year.
Matt said
Mr Sherrat was a top bloke and the only reason I was interested in Maths. Good ol’ Jack Pritchard also. He gave me a lift home in one of his Opel cars – scared the living daylights out of me!
Apparently Mr Roberts (took us on a trip to the Rhineland! Anyone else go?) was romantically connected with Mrs O”D. Sadly Mr R is no longer with us to tell all.
Does anyone recall Dave ‘Troy’ Gilbert who used to write for this Blog?
And said
You are right Matt, very sad that Mr Roberts (and several of the others) are no longer with us.
I mentioned the physics teacher who once produced the Velvet Underground to a colleague – who immediately said “White light…White heat”.
I think that ‘Tommy’ Tucker was my favourite art teacher (3rd year) ( This was part of the woodwork/non-German option!).
Didn’t Johnny Exton have a yellow Lotus Europa ?.
Where are you Dave?
Matt said
Geoffrey Haslam is his name! “Sweet Jane!” and many more.
Mr Tucker is indeed a good bloke – works part time in Phillip Morris’ new gun room, as this is another passion for him.
I think that most of ‘em are gone And. I met Des Spark’s daughter out walking one day and said how much I’d love to hear him rant on again! He knew a lot about all kinds of stuff!
Maybe Troy’s out going over old Geography Field Trips!
I wasn’t there on the original one. Nor Joanne Taylor…
Ian said
Well this topic certainly unleashed a lot of (probably repressed) memories. The blog has taken on a life of it’s own. Where is the owner now -hould we be told? I think Matt is the winner with his Pandoras box of memories.
Dave G said
It’ll run and run as we used to say in ye olde newspaper business. Yep, still here and reading with utter astonishment all the people and places I had completely forgotten.
Matt’s assessment is a vertitable work of art and should be recorded on a stone plinth at Widemarsh Street. And that hysterical Geography field trip catastrophe with Joanne, Matt and myself is one that will live long in the memory. Matt must be the only boy in history who once condemned to the cane managed to win a reprieve because the executioner had a nervous breakdown before he had time to apply it. And good ol’ JT – I wonder where she is now. Top gal (…especially in jodhpurs as I recall). Shame about teachers is that their good works don’t get recorded anywhere.
Apologies for the radio silence but I’ve had a few things on my plate, mainly going hell-for-leather on a presentation at Slimbridge. Depressed them with my rather harsh evaluation of their website – and I think they are looking for a flouncy young female PR meeja-type so not that expectant. But thanks to everyone who wished me well. I really appreciated that.
Will update the blog and attempt to stimulate a fresh debate in the coming week. I’d especially like to showcase some creative stuff – Matt and And for starters. there’s no need to be bashful about comments – you can see that the world loves ‘em.
Take care all.
Matt said
Ah Joanne in Jodhpurs! Phwoar!
Now then I shall try to ensure that all this praise goes straight to my head.
Any flouncy young females have to get by me first bucko!
Dare we start a thread on winsome young ladies we recall from school??
Ian said
I think that thread has already started!
And said
I don’t think I ever saw JT in jodhpurs, but did see her in Phillip Morris once (not the Gun Shop) – so phwoar anyway!.
I could do with a copy of the school photo !
Sue said
I think I’m glad I went to school in Bradford!
Alan W said
I had a soft spot for Sylvia Nash, who I knew from Infant School.
Helen Price looked particularly stunning at the re-union 4 years ago. (And boy did she know it!)
Matt said
Sylvia Nash! Oh yes – she married Steven Park I believe.
Where’s Bradford??
Good job I have a scrolling Mac Mouse, this goes a long way down the page.
Dave G said
Enough already.
I can’t remember Sylvia Park or Steven Nash or Hanman and Chapcock (and.. er…yes, where is Bradford?).
Time we moved on eh?
I’m going to give some thought to organising a jolly.