Alma Mater

[poliphilo]

My old school (which is a "public school", meaning a private school, a fee-paying forcing-house of privilege) sends me its annual old boy's mag. Very glossy. The headmaster lauds his achievements. We are told about exam results, sports achievements, building projects. Yes, yes, yes, I mutter; but why won't you tell me about the real life of the school- like who's hot, who's smoking what and who's going to bed with whom.

At least I'm not having to pay for these ghastly sales brochures. "How about remembering us in your will?" they hint.

In a pig's arse, friend.

The mag is full of faces. Privileged faces. Crusty and ugly and hooting drunkenly at some awful reunion dinner. Oh look, there's Sir Tim Rice!

And here in a single frame are my two least favourite teachers: the baby-faced paedophile and the creepy chaplain. Forty years have passed. The paedophile is no longer baby-faced. The creepy chaplain looks like a lizard.

Comments

[poliphilo.livejournal.com]

Now that is classy!

My school's most famous alumni (a little before my time) is Evelyn Waugh.

[halfmoon-mollie.livejournal.com]

That's pretty classy, too!

Yep, Tony, bet your way too cool for school while you were there, even.

[poliphilo.livejournal.com]

Thank you.

I adopted a semi-detached attitude.

[ibid.livejournal.com]

My granny met him on a cruise round Florida!

I was Thomas Paine librarian, I had responsibility for looking after an interesting collection including various books about Norfolk and Suffolk folklore and antiquities, some eighteenth century sudent's excersize books (they were beautiful things - I particularly remember a geometry one with lovely copperplate writing and wonderful drawings) and phonebooks from the 20s which had instructions on how to talk into the phone! As well as a bust of the man himself.

[poliphilo.livejournal.com]

Waugh was crusing round Florida? That seems very much out of character. Was he as nasty as everyone says?

Paine Librarian sounds like a great job!