This winter’s task is to learn how to do this properly. Apologies to my techy friends!
I am enjoying chatting on Facebook about my time at WDGS for Girls and of course my time spent at WDGS for Boys as a teacher, ten years later The school still looks the same, today, from a distance but is totally different behind the facade, rather like a film-set. Some of the old pupils have been meeting up in the The Crown Pub, opposite to discuss an organised visit. I fear they would not find much of the old school left.
We moved to the new girls’ school building when I was in Lower Sixth but that was never ‘home’. It was shoddily built and had no character. The boys had used the three classrooms initially built for the girls and of course had to walk across to them past our prefabs. This suited us fine as we were able to observe these movements. The prefabs were full of asbestos so it’s a miracle we’re all here to tell the tale.
Every day at 4 pm I used to go to my Father’s car which was parked outside the boys’ staffroom. I would suit and wait for him to come out at about 4.30pm. This gave me another opportunity to study the male students so I didn’t mind at all.
We used to visit the Tuck Shop opposite school and this was very much frowned upon by the girls’ teachers as the boys would also congregate there after school.
My brother was four years older than myself and played rugby for WDGS so our Saturdays were taken up by watching rugby at school in the morning and then at Widnes Rugby Union Club in the afternoon. My Father became Vice-President at The Wids as we called it.
My brother David was known as Butch because of his crewcut. He also did athletics – mainly high jump so I would tag along for that, too. I did do some studying at school as well as all the boy-watching, honestly. It was a very happy time.
HUNTINGFORD MATTERS 