3 July 2024
"I don't know half of you as well as I should like; and I like less than half of you half as well as you deserve."
Most likely this post will be read only by some that know me and as I know them. Our natural priority is to share stories, photos or memories with those who are or (in the past) were close friends from Caldecott. This private Facebook site for those that have been at Caldecott Community has members from different times. However, those that do know me are unlikely to do more than glance at what I say or attach before dismissing it as being of no personal interest.
Occasionally there may be a snippet of fact of some general interest, perhaps going back to times of building Mersham Hatch or Lacton Hall or the Paddocks (Caldecott House), or the artist Randolph Caldecott, or the start of the Community in 1911 or its evolution over the decades. A photo from a time when I was not then at Caldecott may be of interest if it shows someone that was on the staff for a long time such as Betty Rayment or James King (indeed, there are some now on the Foundation staff that have been at Caldecott a good while).
This Facebook site has over the years had many photos posted from various sources and relating to different times. We tend to mutuality in being happy to see old photos of ourselves and those we know available only to members with the common background interest from Caldecott, as distinct from being potentially available to just anyone in the world. Nobody is obliged to dig out and share things if they do not wish to do so.
Normally we like to see someone else's old photo of several of us including ourselves. Some of you are good at spotting both yourselves and others, even though most of us look different now than when we were young. Many have generally good memories of Caldecott even though mixed with some negative aspects. Some ex-Caldecotts had especially negative experiences and may never want to be associated with it - in which case they tend not to be members sharing old photos.
Going back to Bilbo, I am sure that, like others, when I was at Caldecott (before Hatch had mixed-age groups) I made no great effort to associate other than with those of similar age or more generally with only such other children as I seemed to get along with at the time. The boarding school type approach suited me personally. However, I happened to be around visiting a fair amount when the mixed-age groups started at Hatch, so I know some ex-Caldecotts from then.
Anyone objecting to his or her name being mentioned in some memory, or his or her image being included on a photo being shared, should say so. Most of us would not want to cause upset to ex-Caldecotts, so we should see what can be done to address such preferences, perhaps aided by modern technology. That should be so regardless of whatever someone may suppose to be a legal aspect (often not so simple as non-lawyers may suppose). It should not have any significant impact on the enjoyment of members from this site [This refers to the closed Facebook page for former children of Cadlecott, from which the blogs posted here on the Caldecott Association site are adapted. This Caldecott Association website is not affiliated or associated with the Facebook page].