SAXONWOLD
Saxonwold Primary 1951-5
My primary schooling was at Saxonwold.
I made many friends at Saxonwold, some of whom have endured for 70 years. Those in our Standard 5 class are in the photo above. My mother mounted the photo and added the names, suggesting to me, with great insight, that one day I would value the memories. I have kept this photo for over 60 years.
For the annual concert, Les Weil and I decided to sing some songs. The problem was that Les could sing. I could not. Fortunately, I recognised my limitations and pulled out. Instead, we joined Adam Weiler’s group.
In about 2005, Alison Beveridge and Marie Holstenson oganised a reunion. It was great to see how everyone had changed and to discover what they had done in life.
I remember 2 songs the group sang.
The first was about 2 drug addicts, Morphine Bill and Cocaine Sue.
The second was a parody of the Boatman’s Song:
My brother Bill and I, we went to school in Minsk.
There we spent our time manufacturing safety pinsk.
My brother Bill and I, we went to school in Omsk.
There we spent our time manufacturing atom bomsk.
The headmaster, Mr Burnham, took over from Mr Hands. He taught us art. We will never forget how to draw Pierneef trees. When we misbehaved, he threatened to go berserk. I didn’t fully understand, but it sounded most menacing.
Mr Saunders was our class master for Standard 4. He loved English and imbued in us a love for and appreciation of poetry. The following poem about his beloved England brought tears to his eyes:
Four ducks on a bond,
A grass bank beyond
Blue sky of spring
White birds on the wing
What a little thing
To remember for years
To remember with tears.
Mr Edwards was our class master for Standard 5.
We played matches in the storeroom. Mr Edwards would allow us to go to the storeroom once we had finished our work.
During the break, I accumulated a large stash of marbles.
We would play a variety of games at Jerrold Kessel’s house:
Football, Cricket, Table Tennis, Chess.
If the batsman hit the ball into the thick hedge, he could be deemed out “Caught Hedges”. Hedges was the best fielder.
There were 4 houses:
Alfred, Bede, Cadmon and Dunstan.
I played cricket for my house, Bede. A memorable achievement was taking 6 wickets off 6 balls.