Activities
Apart from the routine of daily life, there were a number of activities, weekly or less frequent, to which we mostly looked forward with varying degrees of enthusiasm. I remember enjoying our introduction to music, which took the form of a session in the library after Sunday dinner [the evening meal; for a reason never known to me, the evening meal was supper from Monday to Saturday, but became dinner on Sunday. The only distinction as far as I can remember was that we ate cold meat on Sunday, probably out of consideration for the kitchen staff].
We would lie on rugs on the floor, reading our books and listening to whatever ‘classical’ record Miss Elizabeth [Elizabeth Lloyd] put on the gramophone, and in this way were introduced to the easier musical works [I don’t recall any Beethoven, which might have struggled to retain our interest at that age]. After a few years, we were forbidden to read at the same time, which upset me at the time, but did of course force me to concentrate on the music.
On a more lowbrow level, there was a gramophone in the Colt House, on which we were able to play what I think was just beginning to be called pop music. This was mainly, as far as I remember, rock and roll and Elvis, and I became thoroughly sick of hearing ‘Hound Dog’ played over and over again.
We were also encouraged to play the recorder. I learnt the basics of fingering etc. and how to read the simplest of musical scores, but came to the conclusion that the descant recorder made the most horrible sound, especially in the wrong hands, and did not make much progress.
Once a week we had reading. We would go to Miss Leila’s room, where she would read to us from whatever book she had chosen. I am not sure, but I think one or two other staff members read to other groups.
I was already an avid reader, and had made good use of our well stocked but rather elderly library; I remember reading works by D.K.Broster and Henry Seton Merriman, and also making the acquaintance of the Scarlet Pimpernel. However, listening to somebody else read was an interesting departure. Two of my favourites among the books that Miss Leila read were ‘How Green was my Valley’ and ‘Cry, the Beloved Country’.
Miss Leila was a good reader, but her readings sometimes provided a measure of amusement. I remember that some of the boys made fun of her several different pronunciations of the name ‘Griffiths’.
Another activity was Eurhythmics, in which a large lady called Mrs Martin encouraged us to do a kind of dance/exercise to music. My favourite memory of this is not of our Eurhythmics, but of a sketch performed by some of the staff at one of our skits, where, wearing the same type of costume, they solemnly performed ‘Fairies crawling under a Toadstool’ to music.
Every now and then, the senior boys would put on a skit, usually choreographed by Simon. There would be comedy items, usually featuring boys posing as members of staff, and singing [ I remember in particular ‘There’s no business like show business’ and ‘We said we wouldn’t look back’]. I was usually cast as Miss Travers, and she was very co-operative, lending me her trademark thick woollen cardigan and thick tweed skirt, as well as a hairnet.
One sketch that I remember in particular showed some of the boys, as Army Cadets, at a camp. The obligatory tin of baked beans having been opened, it fell to David Middleton to say grace, which went “For what we are about to receive – let’s have it”.
As well as the skits, we would sometimes put on a play. I remember taking part in a performance of Toad of Toad Hall, in which I was [presciently] cast as the Judge. In a play which had no dialogue except a voice-over, I was cast as a burglar named Whippet Quick. As I entered the stage [the front lawn] the voice-over went “With a quick look to the right, to the left, and behind him…” and, in addition to exaggerated glances to right and left, Mike Clover, who was directing, suggested that it would be funnier if I were to bend over backwards to look behind me, which I attempted, but without much success.
On one occasion, somebody had a cine camera, so we made a film. I was asked to write the script, which involved the abduction of a young maiden [Frances Fletcher] by the villain [Alan S] and her rescue by the hero [Robert Lawton], much of it done on horseback. Sheila was the hero’s horse, and I think Alan rode Tessa.
At the end of the film the villain was chased by the Bow Street Runners [played very enthusiastically by boys from either the Study or the Junior Study] and was finally cornered by them and fell backwards into the pond. The idea was that Alan would bend over backwards as if falling but would not actually fall in, and the film would then cut to the splash created by a log being thrown into the pond. Whoever was editing the film forgot to cut it, and when it was shown we saw Alan falling backwards, apparently in distress, and then straightening up with a huge grin.
I do hope that someone, somewhere, [Mike Clover, perhaps] still has that film.
Photograph above: 'Whippet Quick' in action