A glimpse in the HBC basement.

Well here you are, folks, as promised, a photo taken in the basement at the home for the Bewildered and Confused fairly recently. Mr Andrew is pontificating his rules of English Grammar, while Mr Malcolm is

concerned about his next meal! About par for the course for the pair of them!!

Bethany

Hallowen and School

It will soon be Halloween, and a lucky few from New Grange Manor will be spending it deep in the heart of the countryside at boarding school! Double fun! My Guardian is already busy making me a Halloween jumper for the party on Sunday evening. It's full of ghosts, and bats and pumpkins and the wickedest devil you ever did see! Except you won't unless you are one of the chosen few!
We've already seen the timetable, and it's crammed full of activities. There doesn't seem to be much time for causing mayhem and mischief, but of course, where there is a will...... Although I'm not sure if Will is coming, there's me, and Sarah and Michelle, Tommy Mac, Keef, and Chris, not sure who else, although we have a wide range of beaks, Miss Liversausage, Mr (Sherbert) Holmes, Mr Melman (Postie), Mr Malcolm (ol Eff 1), Mr Reamon (A4) and ol Prof Robertson. Gosh, that's a Beak/Pupil ratio of one to one. I hadn't realised that, we'll certainly have to keep on our toes, otherwise we'll just be looking at them (our toes)! Still, I do enjoy a challenge.
My Guardian can't take me all the way to the venue. Poor old dear tires too easily driving long distances on account of her "affliction"..... so I am to be decanted part way and I will share a car with Tommy mac (hooray) and Miss Liversausage and Mr Holmes (boo) all the way there. Not a great deal of scope for plotting, but I dare say we might manage something. Our Beaks do tend to have the hearing of bats, although at least we are spared the company of the completely batty one, as he will remain hanging from the rafters, in the basement of the Home for the Befuddled and Confused, like a bat. I do have a photo somewhere, must see if I can find it and scan it in.......
Anyway, I digress. A nice long weekend, in school uniform, in beautiful surroundings and a gorgeous schoolhouse, what more could anyone ask? And there's always the chance we might learn something interesting too!
Bethany

Something to mull over.....

Definition of favouritism:-

1) The practice of giving special treatment to one person.

2) The state of being treated as favourite.

October School

Well that was an interesting school. We had the presentation of the Trophies. As predicted, Celts came first, Romans were a very creditable second, followed by Saxons and Vikings. I don't exactly understand how House Points are allocated, but as House Captain of Romans I'm happy enough with the result!
Jane took the personal house points trophy, again, as the Beaks had given her the most personal hps during the year.
We had quite a large gathering, 15 pupils, including some new oiks who we inculcated into our mischief making ways. Daisy, Sarah, Maxine and I enlivened morning break by standing side by side, feet slightly apart, arms upraised to make an "X". hands lightly touching. We waited to see which Beak we would draw in, and in due course ol Eff 1 lumbered across to us demanding to know what we were doing. I explained that we were making a human transmitter, to try and communicate with an alien life form. And as we dropped our arms, I commented to the girls "and it looks as if we have succeeded girls". Eff 1 looked a trifle discomfited and said he would deal with us later. I don't think he ever did though, he certainly didn't catch up with me, there's nothing in my punishment book about communicating with alien life forms!
By this time we'd had Political History with Mr Grimshaw (I booby trapped his books with a detonator which made a pleasing bang, oddly enough he wasn't pleased, and expressed his displeasure in the usual way!). Exploration of Knowledge with the new Beak, Mr Ray (Sugar) came next, during which I pinched the box of chalk of his desk and passed it around the class. Several of us were in possession of "School chalk liquorice", a white sweet which looks like pieces of chalk, and we openly ate these as the chalk box circulated. He either didn't notice, or decided not to go there, so once again we got away with a fairly well organised piece of mischief.
I was a little late for biology having not heard the bell. This is probably explained by the fact that I was hiding behind the woodshed waiting for another pupil to join me in an act of truancy. However he got waylaid on his way out and sent back to his desk, and I was bored and a bit cold so I went back in. I got an entry in my book for being late to class, but then in that lesson I got half a dozen entries for one thing or another so it all sort of blurred into one. i didn't sit comfortably for some time, mind. The Grim in particular seems to have realised I won't break in two if he whacks me that bit harder!!
Lunch was scrummy, the downside being that Daisy and I had to sit at the Beaks' end of the table as the other seats were all taken. it's not a pretty sight, you know, dear Readers, watching the teaching faculty at the trough so to speak!
We decided to enliven the day after Lunch by developing measles. I had a couple of packets of red adhesive dots in my satchel, as you do, and we dotted them on our faces, hands and legs. Miss Livingsausage was incensed when we declared that we were allergic to dinner, rattan, canes, straps and anything else the Beaks might have about their persons to chastise poor pupils with. She made us line up, no consideration that we might be ailing, and after threatening us all with a dose of cod liver oil and malt (which I adore) we were sent into the Staffroom two by two, a bit like the animals in the Ark, for the Grim and ol Eff1 to deal with us. And they did so with a somewhat alarming degree of enthusiasm!
Art was great fun. We made Bunting with a Halloween theme. This is going to be hung at the boarding school weekend. I decided on a skull in a coffin shaped box, quite gruesome, and fiddly to do, but it earned me a precious hp so I was well pleased.
By this time we were all getting tired, and Prof Robertson wisely shelved his lecture on military history (bit of a disappointment to me as I love military history) and we played "Who am I?" using figures from history. It was fun and brought the evening to a gentle end.
So all in all a good day.
Boarding school comes next, so watch this space!!
Bethany Grant
Head Girl

Forthcoming School

Another school on Saturday. This is the precursor to boarding school too. There will be presentation of trophies for house points, and hopefully lots of mischief to intersperse the lessons.