As children across the country return to school after the long summer break, coincidentally this week I
found myself examining an edited transcript of the events at a nearby village school. Records began in
1872, sadly the first two lines record the deaths of two pupils - the first of which, a boy of six years of age, said to have died "from a softening of the brain."
Perhaps some of the other notes would never make it into modern diaries, although they do give an
insight into what staff considered important in times gone by.
January 1873 - Mrs Arblaster visited and brought the children a packet of sweets. (One hopes it was a
large packet as there were at least 80 children in attendance at this time.)
June 1875 - the school is now very full, the children rather noisy.
October 1886 - Five children had to be sent home this week suffering from a scurvy complaint.
June 1899 - Attendance not so good owing to Rugeley pleasure fair.
December 1907 - A visit from His Majesty's Inspector who reported: "A new timetable must be drawn up
for the infants. Their lessons at present are far too long. The main room is very narrow, badly lighted
and
ill ventilated and is wedged between the Teachers House on one side and some farm buildings on the
other. I understand that at times there is a most offensive smell from some neighbouring premises."
January 1912 - Mrs Orgill visited the school on Monday and gave each child the present of an orange.
May 1915 - Impromptu census of parents' occupations reveals: 54% farm workers; 17% pit workers; 30%
various trades (yes this does add up to 101%)
February 1917 - Timetable will be varied during the next few months in order that many additional
gardening lessons may be taken for the purpose of cultivating waste land.
July 1917 - Mr J. Price, a bee expert, called to examine the school hive.
August 1918 - Headmaster absent through examination by the Army Medical Board.
August 1918 - Commencing today children will be frequently engaged in blackberry picking (apparently
this was part of a national scheme)
March 1927 - Gardening class will be allowed to attend the pruning competition in the orchard belonging
to Mr Jones opposite the school at 2pm.
May 1939 - Emergency Supplies S arrived today and have been duly stored unopened (it seems they
knew what these were, although I wish they had bothered to note what "Emergency Supplies S" actually contained.
September 1939 - Outbreak of war meant the school remained closed in the morning to allow the
headmaster to attend a meeting in Lichfield (this would have been to discuss taking evacuees).
June 1940 - Ten evancuated children from Westgate-on-Sea arrived at the school.
September 1940 - Air raid siren at 3:15pm saw the children head for the shelters until the all clear
sounded at 4pm. (Until the end of this year the siren sounded out a further eight times)
September 1941 - two groups of children were out picking blackberries which were later delivered to the
Drink Preservation Centre. Later that month other parties collected elderberries and rose-hips.
November 1947 - children had a day's holiday to mark the wedding of a certain Princess Elizabeth to
Lieutenant Philip Mountbatten.
June 1953 - 64 children and three teachers had a half-day's holiday and attended Rugeley Plaza to see a
film entitled The Queen is Crowned.
October 1953 - another day's holiday, this time to allow the children to travel to see Queen Elizabeth, th
e Queen Mother open Blithfield Reservoir.
January 1964 - During the holidays the school had had toilets installed and connected to the main sewer,
the old privy buildings were demolished.
February 1965 - Granada Television delivered the school's first ever television.
April 1969 - overnight the school rabbits were stolen.
December 1970 - industrial action by power station workers resulted in children being sent home with a
letter warning parents they may find the children sent home at any time when the temperature in the
school dropped too low.
July 1990 - (and my personal favourite) saw the evening report by the school governors attended by a
single parent. This was July 4th 1990 which, as any football supporter will be well-aware, was the evening
of the World Cup Semi-Final at Italia 90 between West Germany and England. The match went to extra
time and then penalties - although I just can't recall who won the penalty shoot-out.
Showing posts with label television. Show all posts
Showing posts with label television. Show all posts
Sunday, 6 September 2015
Sunday, 5 January 2014
Health and Safety
Recently I was asked to look at the sillier side of the world of Health and Safety. My research turned up a number of ludicrous narratives and among them these three gems.
Marathon The modern Olympics cover a myriad of sports but for many the athletics competition remains the defining image. Of all the track and field events surely the 26 miles and 385 yards of the marathon epitomises the Olympic idea. First run to commemorate 490BC when the Greek soldier Pheidippides brought news of the victory at the Battle of Marathon over the Persians to Athens. Having run all the way and announcing "Joy, we win!", he collapsed and died. This set the distance for the modern event which, for many years, was run only at the very biggest athletics events and at a mere handful of the biggest cities in the world. Today there are some five hundred marathons run annually, with many more at half the distance. For many of us a marathon, or even a half marathon, is several miles further than we envisage walking, never mind running. Yet for those who do the main target is to beat their personal best time. Individual records were certainly on the cards in Cardiff in October 2008 when conditions for the race were ideal. Yet when a veteran of 70 half marathons across the globe discovered he had beaten his own record by almost a minute he suspected something was amiss. Soon other runners crossed the finishing line and, equipped with personal GPS systems, discovered they were still around 350 yards short of completing the race despite having crossed the finishing line. By the end of the day organisers had discovered the problem lay with newly-erected scaffolding. Not that the inanimate metal framework could be held responsible. Correctly this was the health and safety inspectors who, having examined the route for the annual Cardiff event, discovered a building had had scaffolding erected partially blocking the route. Taking the number of runners into consideration this was deemed unsafe and an alternative route laid out. It is a pity Pheidippides was not available for comment.
Channels of Bureaucracy Colchester is renowned as an old Roman town but in June of 2010 it hit the headlines for a very different reason. As with all towns the length and breadth of the country, the local council are always keen to cut costs and to ensure as much household waste as possible is recycled. Large items would be taken away on payment of a collection fee of eleven pounds. It was such an item which brought Colchester notoriety when a lady of 85 years, having paid the required fee, claimed she was 'outraged' when an official told her they could not collect her television from her house. It seems health and safety regulations restricted the council officials to collections from the kerb outside the house, insurance did not cover them in the home of the poor woman. When she telephoned the council to ask how she could dispose of the unwanted television set she was told it was her responsibility to get the set to the kerb. When news broke she found neighbours from near and far rallied to her aid and the set was quickly removed from the kerb.
Completely Nuts For some the glorious colours of autumn are the high spot of nature's calendar. In churches around the country collections of fruits and vegetables represent the bounty gathered from the fields as churchgoers celebrate the Harvest Festival. Not only are there edible fruits available at this time of year, this is also the traditional season for the dispersal of seeds by the local flora. Among the best known are the conkers from the horse chestnut once eagerly sought by schoolboys, that was until playgrounds were cleared of this mortal peril by health and safety. While the oak tree produces countless numbers of acorns, sought by squirrels and eaten by herds of swine in traditional woodlands. At Brentwood in Essex, acorns were proving more of a nuisance than a bounty as a sign was erected outside the community hospital in 2010 warning PLEASE BE AWARE OF FALLING ACORNS. This was not a warning from Henny Penny that "The sky is falling!" but a result of health and safety officers discovering an increase in turned ankles and similar injuries almost exactly twelve moths previously. Unlike the acorns feasted upon by the swine, these were not falling on the greensward beneath the woodland canopy but on the concrete paths and steps outside the hospital. Here they were to prove troublesome beneath the feet of unsuspecting pedestrians and thus when the acorns began to fall the following autumn the warning notice was put up without delay.
I would welcome any suggestions for themes or subjects, or even specific words to examine the origins, meanings and etymologies. I’d be delighted to hear from you.
Marathon The modern Olympics cover a myriad of sports but for many the athletics competition remains the defining image. Of all the track and field events surely the 26 miles and 385 yards of the marathon epitomises the Olympic idea. First run to commemorate 490BC when the Greek soldier Pheidippides brought news of the victory at the Battle of Marathon over the Persians to Athens. Having run all the way and announcing "Joy, we win!", he collapsed and died. This set the distance for the modern event which, for many years, was run only at the very biggest athletics events and at a mere handful of the biggest cities in the world. Today there are some five hundred marathons run annually, with many more at half the distance. For many of us a marathon, or even a half marathon, is several miles further than we envisage walking, never mind running. Yet for those who do the main target is to beat their personal best time. Individual records were certainly on the cards in Cardiff in October 2008 when conditions for the race were ideal. Yet when a veteran of 70 half marathons across the globe discovered he had beaten his own record by almost a minute he suspected something was amiss. Soon other runners crossed the finishing line and, equipped with personal GPS systems, discovered they were still around 350 yards short of completing the race despite having crossed the finishing line. By the end of the day organisers had discovered the problem lay with newly-erected scaffolding. Not that the inanimate metal framework could be held responsible. Correctly this was the health and safety inspectors who, having examined the route for the annual Cardiff event, discovered a building had had scaffolding erected partially blocking the route. Taking the number of runners into consideration this was deemed unsafe and an alternative route laid out. It is a pity Pheidippides was not available for comment.
Channels of Bureaucracy Colchester is renowned as an old Roman town but in June of 2010 it hit the headlines for a very different reason. As with all towns the length and breadth of the country, the local council are always keen to cut costs and to ensure as much household waste as possible is recycled. Large items would be taken away on payment of a collection fee of eleven pounds. It was such an item which brought Colchester notoriety when a lady of 85 years, having paid the required fee, claimed she was 'outraged' when an official told her they could not collect her television from her house. It seems health and safety regulations restricted the council officials to collections from the kerb outside the house, insurance did not cover them in the home of the poor woman. When she telephoned the council to ask how she could dispose of the unwanted television set she was told it was her responsibility to get the set to the kerb. When news broke she found neighbours from near and far rallied to her aid and the set was quickly removed from the kerb.
Completely Nuts For some the glorious colours of autumn are the high spot of nature's calendar. In churches around the country collections of fruits and vegetables represent the bounty gathered from the fields as churchgoers celebrate the Harvest Festival. Not only are there edible fruits available at this time of year, this is also the traditional season for the dispersal of seeds by the local flora. Among the best known are the conkers from the horse chestnut once eagerly sought by schoolboys, that was until playgrounds were cleared of this mortal peril by health and safety. While the oak tree produces countless numbers of acorns, sought by squirrels and eaten by herds of swine in traditional woodlands. At Brentwood in Essex, acorns were proving more of a nuisance than a bounty as a sign was erected outside the community hospital in 2010 warning PLEASE BE AWARE OF FALLING ACORNS. This was not a warning from Henny Penny that "The sky is falling!" but a result of health and safety officers discovering an increase in turned ankles and similar injuries almost exactly twelve moths previously. Unlike the acorns feasted upon by the swine, these were not falling on the greensward beneath the woodland canopy but on the concrete paths and steps outside the hospital. Here they were to prove troublesome beneath the feet of unsuspecting pedestrians and thus when the acorns began to fall the following autumn the warning notice was put up without delay.
I would welcome any suggestions for themes or subjects, or even specific words to examine the origins, meanings and etymologies. I’d be delighted to hear from you.
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