Laidlaw

Laidlaw

Wednesday, March 31, 2010

Macs by Romesh Mani

It drizzled a little here in Kottayam yesterday (no ice and snow), and out of the blue I got to thinking of the "Macs" we had in school.

No, not the McKenzies, McCarthies, McAteers, McDonalds or McFarlaines - not the computers either - what I'm talking about are those wondrous, sleeveless, waterproof accessories that were regulation issue in our day - khaki coloured canvas contraptions that were raincoats officially, but had many, many other uses too. The name 'mac' is an abbreviation of the name of the great Scotsman who invented waterproof fabric - McIntosh! Well they did serve to keep us from getting wet when it rained for sure - most of the water stayed out, but the fabric eventually would get soaked through and become damp and cold on the inside .... brrrrr!. I also remember that quite often we took off our leather shoes to prevent them from getting wet and spoilt and walked barefoot in the rain with these macs on. The lower hem of the macs with a thin coating of mud on the edge would rub against the achilles tendon (just above the heels) and usually rubbed them raw if you didn't reach your destination before that!
Macs had a whole lot of other uses too, they were great to keep the wind off you on a cold 'monsoon' day (or night) - just get the hood on and keep your back to the wind! Worked great when you had to wait somewhere in lousy weather! I remember walking back to Oakshott after prep in the dining hall late in the evening on cold nights, well wrapped in a good old mac to keep warm.
Macs also formed great ground sheets when you wanted to sit or loll around (or do anything else you wanted to do on the ground) without getting your uniform dirty. But it did get the macs rather dirty, and if your house matron saw it that way, you were promptly given some 'chunnamb soap' and a scrubbing brush and told to get it cleaned up - and that could be some job!
Macs made great tents when you wanted to keep out of the sun or out of sight of someone - especially when you had some yummy tuck with you which you wanted to eat undisturbed. Macs were also used for transporting some tidbit from the dining hall or tuck shop without anyone knowing. For this you either wore the mac - on a hot sunny afternoon arousing the curiosity and suspicion of your fellows - or folded the goodies into the mac and threw it over your shoulder as if it were just another day!
Macs made great weapons of war too. A tightly folded mac could be used for clubbing someone - without fear of any permanent injury being caused. If you did want to cause some injury, you rolled in a piece of euky firewood or a couple of stones into the folds to make it more lethal. Though I've heard of this, in all my school years I've never seen this being put to use.
Macs made great haversacks or collecting bags. It was usually just before the house parties that we went collecting euky bark for the traditional bonfires and brought them back in our macs. Guys returning from a spud or a pear raid also usually brought back their booty in their macs.
Macs made great camouflage gear too, but not always. I remember when I was in Oldham, someone saw something moving suspiciously in the bushes down the banks and told "Bunna" (David Todd). He went over to investigate and discovered that it was only Kenny Baker and Gillian Fewkes looking for a little privacy! But at other times if you were up to no good and didn't want to be identified, your mac was your best friend - with the hood on!
Macs also made great cloaks or capes. The inspiration for this came usually while returning to Oakshott or Lewis after a school movie in the dining hall - with some swashbuckling hero like Zorro or Morgan the Pirate. For this, the hood had to be tucked inside, the top button engaged, and the rest of the mac flung over the shoulders. You usually went charging down the slope to Lewis with your cape flying behind you, with suitable shouts and screams as vocal accompaniment. No, the macs (capes) didn't protect you if you fell, while on one of these charges. You could still get pretty badly bruised.
Then there were the creative types - I think I might have been one - who liked to make a toy we called 'zippo'. For this you got a good, large 'mac' button, threaded a twine through two of the holes, tied the ends of the twine, put your index fingers through the looped twine, wound it up and made it spin by rhythmically pulling on the twisted twine. One golden rule had to be observed here - 'make sure it was someone else's mac you cut the button from; and preferably someone not capable of clobbering you when he found out!
The art of folding a mac was a subject in itself! there were the sloppy guys who just rolled it up and threw it over the left shoulder. Then there were the guys who folded it into quarters - the easiest way to fold it - ended up about 10 inches wide. (Didn't have centimetres in those days!) then there were the buffs who would do a six-way folding and get it into a neat and smart six inch width. These guys really prided their abilities and were rather touchy about others checking the number on these macs to see if it was theirs. Some guys got over this problem by folding their macs inside-out so that the number tag was on the outside and could be seen without having to open up a neatly folded piece.
I've been around quite a bit since I've left school, but I've never seen anything so ineffective for it's intended use, but with so many other uses - or was it just that we were versatile and inventive?
Have I covered it all, or do you have something to add to this?
Regards ----- Romesh Mani Jan 2005

Hi Romesh,
Great coverage on the Mac. I think it was also used when we had to run the gonklet in the dorms. from junior dorm to senior, where many an enemy took revenge by as you rightly put it had shoes(clodhoppers) in them and did give the runner a good wack.
Paulc (74)


Hi Romesh...
A great coverage indeed.... however I do recall one other great use for the humble Mac... They were the best tool for collecting bark and twigs for the House end of year Party and Bon fires... A number will remember the keen competition between Oakshott and Lewis....which house could build a larger bon fire... Boy did those poor Mac's take a hammering....buttoned down with the hood in place to make a good collection sack....
Now I am wondering what other things Romesh was considering when he said...(or anything else you wanted to be doing on the ground...) ..I have no idea...but, perhaps that will stir some responses from those who had better uses for the Mac's on the ground...
I do recall folding and keeping my Mac intact... so when it came to wash day... it was clean for the most part... except for that very narrow area that was exposed... folding had its merits....
Thanks for that memory
Regards
Howard

Ketti Slang Words by Ajit & Romesh Mani

Ajit & Romesh mani started this list...

1. Bubbed - Pregnant (including developed foetuses in birds eggs)
2. Bugout - Garden Lizard (One of my classmates, Everette Johnson was called Bugout because he had bulging eyes!)
3. Cadging - Begging for food, "Give us some, man"
4. Coaster - Term used (by Anglo Indians with English names) to describe Eurasians (with Portuguese names like D'Cruz, D'Souza etc. from West Coast of India) Never did hear this one during my time - '55-'64 (RM)
5. Dame - Girl, Girl-friend (who is your dame?)
6. Defaulter - When points were minused for bad behaviour or low marks. Defaulters got punishments like intensive labour, caning. The dreaded "Defaulters Book" was used by teachers and staff to ensure good behaviour
7. Drainpipes - Trousers circa 1960, which measured 11" at the ankle
8. Fag - Prefects' orderlies, who carried their macs, polished their shoes. Also another name for cigarettes
9. Flicks - Breeks pucca English for early films which used to "flicker"
10. Gooseberry - a go-between used to send overtures to a girlfriend or boyfriend, love-letters
11. Gunjing - Originally a term from playing Tops where you damaged another's top with the sharp spike on your top - sometimes even breaking a top, but also used for sexual intercourse
12. Kottu - from Tamil: To give someone a hit on the head with your knuckles
13. Mooching - Kissing, "amorous dalliance"
14. Paappaan Food - the food served in the "Vegetarian Mess" in school circa 60's. Indian Breakfast, Curries etc.
15. Sixer, thick - 'Thick' for the one inch slice of bread we got, Sixer (theoretically 6" but more realistically 3"), the crust which prefects got I think this was supposed to be "six fingers"!(RM)
16. Spuds, Spud-mash - Potatoes, Potato Mash
17. Switching ("He got switched") - Caning
18. Wog - Derogatory term for Indians, from Gollywog. Westernised Oriental Gentleman.(RM)
19. Apple-pie bed - To fold the cover sheet under the blanket so your feet get stuck midway
20. Blanket tossing - Punishment, when someone got tossed on a blanket (usually in Inter-dorm), high enough to hit the ceiling
21. Deadly bowling by Sobers - Expression for "Excellent", "Outstanding" (from name of W.Indies Cricketer)
22. Don't show your breed, man - Admonishment from one Anglo Indian to another when reverting to 'native' behaviour or speech... very often the word 'breed' pronounced "breedh"
23. Four and a half - Private parts - 4½ spans from top of your head down - Dorcas, Oldham Ayah used to say, "Wash your four and 'ap") Wash your "fores" & "afts".(RM)
24. Got Geech in your lugs? - Grease in your ears - If someone didn't hear what you said
25. Goththay Bandhi - Almost certainly originated as a derogatory term for Badagas, from Kannada "Gotthu"=know and "Bandhen"=came, but later applied to anyone considered to be sloppy... He's a bloody "goth".
"Big gothay" - big log of shit!(RM)
26. Gunner weather - Windy weather in Aug-September when Euky trees got whipped around
27. Hot Stuff - Fried S.Indian snacks like bondas, vadas, bajis
28. Luckote Place - A nest where you hid Luckotes for ripening. Luckotes were also called "wild olives" Loquat(RM)
29. On the lut - To get an erection
30. Pile on - For a gang to bash up an unsuspecting victim, sometimes throwing a mac over his head
31. Poppy-day - "Monthly curse" for girls
32. Run the gauntlet - Punishment, when defaulters had to run between the beds in a dorm while they got beaten with pillows
33. Stone-age - Physical body pains experienced by boys who were maturing into men
34. Take a plug - Take a bite (of a pear, for example)
35. Spajjy (spaggy?) - common sparrow
36. Jivic - Java Sparrow (the grey and black Javanese Finch)
37. Bullick - bul-bul
38. Jacks - jackals
39. Cumbly Boochies - hairy caterpillars
40. Wood Boochies - black beetles found in decaying tree stumps - used for nipping the ear lobes.
41. Bundoos - any beetle like insect (from the Tamil/Malayalam word "wandu".)
42. Bandy, Bandy Cart - any hand pulled/pushed trolley (From T/M "vandi")
43. Belly busters - fruit from a wild creeper resembling passion fruit, with thinner shell that made a pleasant 'popping' noise when you threw it at someone - not necessarily pleasant for the one who got hit!
44. Four Eyes - guy/gal wearing specs.
45. Down the Banks - to go into the wooded areas. (Never heard anybody say "going up the banks"!)
46. Cloddoppers - (from 'cloud hoppers'?) - big, loose fitting, noise making shoes.
47. Pothole - (from pot hole?) any pit, hole on the sole of shoe, hole in socks, underwear etc.
48. Jocks - (from jock straps?) gents/boys underwear - briefs.
49. Ball splitters - gents/boys underwear - boxer shorts type.
50. Hitler's Ball Splitters - same as above - very tight though. (Torture apparatus devised by Hitler?)
51. Knicks - girls' undies (knickers)
52. Cloggers - hill guava with high pectin content could cause constipation/clogging if eaten in excess.
53. Breaking the ice - first guy to jump into freezing water of cubs/old boys dam.
54. Going Bareballs - swimming with no swim trunks/undies on.(Guys only - don't know the feminine equivalent for this.)
55. Booksed - to book something - to get the next turn. ("I booksed the next go!")
56. Cogsed (same as above) - what the origin of this is, is anyone's guess.
57. Yarn up - modern equivalent could be "bullshitting" - showing off or acting up.
58. Feeling Frisky eh? - ticking off someone who's acting spry/fresh.
59. Yapping eh? talking too much? Usually a warning before a senior put his fist into your mouth!
60. Squijjy (Squiggy) - Squirrel.
61. Kamris - Kamrikuts - Small, marble-sized sweet made from jaggery and coconut? supposedly rolled in the arm-pits.
62. Pal Kottais - dumpling-like pudding served up in SGH in the days of yore. Possibly made with rubber latex, plaster of paris and sugar to taste.
63. Diving - nothing to do with swimming - it's taking a generous/unduly large helping when someone offers to share their jam or pickle or condensed milk or any other tuck.
*
Vandana Indramohan
64. Don't Jaal ok!!! - meaning Don't Lie ok!!..haha
July 17, 2009
*
Suresh Rajarethinam
65. Cloggers- a fruit found down the banks
66. Toe jam - a smelly pair of socks
67. Ponging - Whose socks is ponging with toe jam
August 1, 2009
*
Elizabeth Khan
68. Jose cut - a particular kind of up handed swipe starting from the base of the neck and going all the way up. Invented and perfected by Mr. Jose. ( i forget what he taught )
69. Sighting - Checking out a girl / gal who intent to date.
70. Skivving - licking a bottle or jar or bowl clean. eg.: i skivved the jam bottle.
August 23, 2009
*
Elizabeth Khan
71. Cadging - a term used for someone who is maska maroing someone with lots of tuck or a new spiffy video game.
August 23, 2009
*
Gopalakrishnan Sankaran
72. Keep K.V - a term used to tell someone to act as a look out .K.v stood for keep vigilance
73. Jacked - to be caught by a staff when you are doing something you shouldnt do
74. Jam bottle broke
75.Soaking - saying something stupid but funny
76.Kadugu- beingmiserly , Mr Raghavan's nickname cuz he always used to give quarter and three quarter marks
September 21, 2009
*
Beena Nair
Don't gup! = Don't lie
November 30, 2009

Kamrakkuts

Elizabeth Khan
I hope i got the spelling right..... U guys know what i'm talking of. they're the jaggery and groundnut sweets rolled into balls. And rumour had it that they were rolled into perfect balls by being put in the confectonier's armpits and the guy would grind his armpits therefore rolling perfect balls. Gross, i know but hey, i'm just trying to keep the legend alive !
July 15, 2009
*
Never heard part of the legend- the armpit bit. Loved that stuff from Bhojas, Top Shop- Yellanhalli or Palada. Guess it tasted so good since we were always hungry. Tasted good when I ate it in 2004 and in 2005 when someone- maybe Tom Varkey brought some to the Atlanta Reunion.
July 15, 2009
*
Suresh Rajarethinam
Kamarakuts were also called kamrees, ( did you buy any kamrees ?)also available in palada & top shop were honey sweets which was orange in colour with a dry surface...
August 1, 2009
*
Ravoof Abdul
Yeah I remember then clearly cos they were my favourites! Now we do get them but not like the old type. Dont know if they still make the same one somewhere?
Yes Suresh I still run after the honey sweets when I go home! yummy!
Then there was the Pulippu mitai, shaped like an orange pod.
Then the bubble gum in a box containing 4 balls.
Then the Phantom ciggis! Cant get them now.
November 25, 2009
*
Anish Das
How much did we get for 5 bucks ? 500 ?!!!
December 18, 2009

Georgian Bread

Elizabeth Khan
I know all of you on this group will agree that's it's the best bread in the world. It's amazing how the taste and texture is the same for all these years. God knows how many cooks / bakers the recipe has been handed down to and all of them have managed to get it right on !
July 15, 2009

Does anyone have the recipe and the secret?
Yummmmm- thinking bout it makes me hungry- dip the thick in whatever we are drinking- tea or milk- remember dipping it in water when it was too dry!!
Those were the days.Someone asked me what bundies was- bananas.

July 15, 2009

Imran Sait
I have tried bread all over the world....and nothing is even remotely close to our Georgian Bread! You just cant beat it...! I'm sure if somehow we can market it....no one will ever eat any other bread again!
July 15, 2009

Babu Rajasabai
There was a time in the seventies when we bought bread for .25 paisa from Nelly Clay our matron in Oakshott ....and how we used to share it down the banks with our sharing gang :) ...fond meories ... the bread was fab when it was coated with margerine and also the fresh peanut butter at teatime :)
July 31, 2009
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Suresh Rajarethinam
Do remember words used in the dinning hall, Sixer- Crust of the bread, oldly- taking the mugs back to the hatch after a meal, 1st pick , jigs-peanuts, suji-bonda on thursdays, fried banthi's on fridays....
August 1, 2009
#
Nadir Sahib Abdul Muthu
Bread with rusum.... amazing taste.... handy when you need to get rid of cold or fever ;)

Good Old Traditions by Paul Chater

I was stunned to learn that the House system has disappeared... and the old House names now simply represents the buildings as opposed to the fierce rivalry those names used to engender... Lewis and Preston the brother and sister Houses... Oakshott and Blackburn the other rivals..

The rivalry is still there as i have my son and daughter in school. the colours are still the same red, green, blue and yellow. The names of the houses have changed but the comradary is still there. They still play cricket hockey basketball, and football with as the same intensity as we did at least during the time i studied there 69-74.

The other activities added on are TT, tennis, Dramatics, Quiz , debates, chess. these are played and the school takes place at the inter-school competitions. The chief rivals are still St Josephs and Lawrence and we manage to come in the first 3 places. In fact the school records at inter-school level still stand in the name of Safira and Imran Sait children of Sattar (1971) and Jenny Sait.

Of course how can i forget the singing competetion group , solo and duet. For all the inter-house matches the winners are given a 2 kg cake nothing close to our cake pud etc. I find the battle of the houses doesn't end at school.It continues even during the hols just light a fire under one of them and u have a battle royale in the house.

So much said about comradeship in school. i do agree with you the old days were different and if i tell my kids that they tell me that I am old fashioned.

This was the first time after over 30 years that Stanes visited Ketti and we lost in the cricket by a run and the overall to Stanes. The return match is to happen in 2005. Maybe we will take home the trophy then.

Happy Reading...

Regds
Paul Chater written in January 2005

Memories - Class of 1974

Mark Paul - written in Jan 17th 2005

Forty years ago, this class would have been preparing to go to ‘Upper KG’. I’m sure there are some mistakes in the list – Mike. Briony, Tinkerbelle, PC and Jakes please check. I’ll send you an Excel file attachment separately so you can download work on the list. It goes out of alignment when I copy/paste it on the message. Those
from the 63 to 73 and 65 to 75 batches will also be able to contribute – either you contributed to our batch or we did to yours.
I’ve put question marks against those I’m not sure of – eg. I don’t remember if Christopher Cunningham was in our class or if I just used to play with him during
the holidays. His mother was a matron in either Blackburn or Preston.
I started this list one night while I was traveling in Orissa. The first 50 names came quite easily. The rest kept popping up at odd hours. I had to keep getting up
(at least about 20 times) and adding them to the list, lest I forgot them in the morning. When Mike and I met a few years ago, Mike started on some line from our 3rd standard Reader and we found we could almost recite quite a bit verbatim. The line
were :
‘ Through the long grass, creep, creep, creep came the Hobbiyahs(sp?) etc etc
But little dog Toby could neither slumber nor sleep etc’ not bad at all after all those years.

Markey Paul

No. NAME Std.
1 Diana Allen 1
2 Ashley Bailey 1
3 Stewart Bird 1
4 Sheryl Cummins 1
5 Christopher Cunningham 1 ????
6 Shireen Cuxton 1
7 Robert Debra 1
8 Vernon Dillen 1
9 Desiree Ford 1
10 Vilas Nath Govind 1
11 Satish Gowda 1
12 Briony Hammick 1
12 Humphrey Hughes 1
14 Ivan Hughes 1
15 Raju Jayaveer 1
16 Aruna Jyoti 1
17 Nallaswamy P.N 1
18 Mark Paul 1
19 Althea Rodrigues 1
20 Arasu S 1
21 Tinkerbelle Sargon 1
22 Vijay Urs 1
23 Thirumalaiswamy V 1
24 Eric Walton 1
25 Balaram 1

26 Kumar 2

27 Bobby Bhasklar 3 ??
28 Jehangir Gopal 3
29 Satish Gopalkrishnan 3
30 Gary Jackson 3
31 Michael Kerr 3
32 Davey Krishnan 3
33 Surosh Kurvilla 3
34 Richard Menasse 3
35 Rajkumar Pandian 3
36 Christine Scully 3
38 Joy Sengupta 3 1st or 3rd ???
39 Sam Thomas 3
40 Ravi Timothy 3 1st or 3rd ???
41 Ashokan 3
42 Siddarhth 3 2nd or 3rd
43 Kathrivel Ratnam 3
44 Subramaniam 3
45 Kandaswamy 3

46 Keith Harding 4
47 Preston Tully 4 ???

48 Jaya Chandran 5 ???
49 Gerald Corfield 5
50 Jacqueline Graham 5
51 George Ninan 5
52 Mary Thomas 5 ??
53 Rajasekharan V 5
54 Peter Suares 5
54 Halid 5
56 Paul Chater 6

57 Michael Harding 7 ??
58 Gerry Hearne 7 ??
59 Ivan Jacob 7 ??
60 Selvi S 7 ???
61 Clifford Terry 7 ??
62 Anne Thomas 7 ??
63 Howard Thompson 7 ??
64 Ronnie Varghese 7 ??
65 Alan Young 7 ??
66 Corrine Young 7 ??
67 Sathyanarayanan 7 ??

68 Anand Kumar K.R.S. 8 8th or 9th ???

69 Prakash Raman 10
70 Hyacinth Ritchie 10 9th or 10th
71 Cheryl Smith 10 9th or 10th
72 Raju Tehrani 10

Principals - 1914- Now

THE REV.J. BREEDEN 1914 - 1921
DR. WILLIAM SCHAFFTER 1921
DR.A. FRANCIS 1922
THR REV. W. HERBERT SPENCER 1923 - 1925
THE REV.S.F. STREATFIELD, B.A 1926 - 1930
G.H. CUTLER, ESQ., M.A., 1930
C.S. ROWBOTHAM, ESQ., 1931
E. CLARENCE SMITH, ESQ.,M.A.,(OXON) 1931 - 1937
THE REV.C.T. KEY., M.A.,I.C.P.,M.R.S.T.,V.D., 1937 - 1941
M.A. WYNTER BLYTHE, ESQ., M.A., (CANTAB) 1941 - 1945
THE REV. C.F. ASH, A.K.C., 1945 - 1957
E.A. HAMMICK, ESQ., B.A., 1957 - 1976
T.D. WALSH, ESQ., B.A.,B.T., 1977 - 1981
W.R. GARDNER, ESQ., 1981 -

Tuesday, March 30, 2010

Fishing & other stories

Fishing & other stories by Pat Kerr

There are probably one or two tigers around in the parts of the Kumaon
that I frequent but it's infested with leopards. The river sands -
especially at the confluences -are full of leopard tracks & pugmarks.

One early morning, I tracked the movement of a leopard to a rock
overlooking our fishing camp of 6 tents. He had, at first, crouched
behind the rock & sort of spied on us & then eventually gathered up
the courage to climb onto the rock & watch us as we ate dinner around
the campfire. He crept closer when things quietened down as we got
into our tents, and then he walked through the camp to the outside of
the kitchen tent where he sniffed around before going down to the
river for a drink of water. Finally, he ambled back into the forest!

Then there was this cow/bufflow-herd who was set up on the opposite
bank to where we were once camped. We would boat over to his bank for
a chat & to share a 'Bidi' or a cigarette, but primarily for a supply
of fresh milk for the camp.

One morning, I went across to his bank to fish while my camp boy went
up to get some milk. About 20 minutes later, the camp boy & the
cowherd were down on the river besides me. The cowherd wanted me to
come up & take a look at one of his cows. Now I'm no Doctor, but a
self-taught paramedic & first-aider so I asked him what the hassle
was. "The cow was attacked by a leopard last evening" he said.

Apparently, the previous eveniing, at dusk, when calling in his cows &
bufflows, he noticed that one cow was missing. He went into the forest
to look for the animal thinking that it may have got it's horns stuck
in a bush or slipped into a hole or something. He went around a bend
on the forest track & almost walked onto the leopard!

The leopard had the cows face in it's mouth. It was hanging on &
trying to bring the cow down with it's weight before going for the
neck/windpipe. The cowherd yelled at the top of his voice - probably
in terror & shock - and hit the leopard a couple of times with the big
stick he was carrying. The leopard ran away.

The cow, when I saw it, was all swolen-faced & quiet. I could see the
deep puncture marks that the leopards canines had made & where the
claws had scraped the cows neck. Our hill cows are probably the size
of your sheep & this little one was in quite a bad shape.

I sent my camp boy back to camp to bring me the first-aid box. I had a
large bottle of iodine in it. I poured the iodine onto the wounds of
the unflinching cow & dabbed the neck scrapes down with an
iodine-soaked wad of cotton wool. I left the bottle with the cowherd &
told him to keep dabbing on iodine over the next week.

When I visited the spot again two years later, I asked about the cow.
That particular cowherd was not there and no one else remembered the
incident - it was probably too much of a day-to-day thing to remember!

Now here's the real unbelivable part - I've never seen a leopard or a
tiger in the wild - ever - in my whole life!

I've seen plenty of tracks, pugmarks, kills, victims, heard roars from
very close up, yes, but I've never ever seen one with my own two eyes!

We still have the dynamiters around, but yes, we're trying to educate
them and get them to change their ways - showing them how to farm a
tract of the river & for a sustainable existance rather than dropping
in a stick of dynamite & destroying the complete eco-system of that
stretch!

Also, the Mahseer being the wiley fish that it is, has learnt, again,
this is my theory, to recognise the hiss & splutter of a burning fuse
for what it is. The big guys get out of the way in a flash - you
should see a Mahseer run/swim when it has to move - as fast as a flash
of lightning - a glitter of a silver scale & the're gone!

Then again, you have to experience the gut-wrenching 'take' of a big
Mahseer in fast, heavy water - it's got to be experienced as it cant
be described with the justice due!

Anyway, the dynamiters have noticed this 'hearing ability' of the
Mahseer too & being the lazy bums that they are, out to earn a quick
buck, have started cutting down the fuse to a stub & yes you've
guessed it....they're blowing their hands off!

Another grusesome operation is when these guys go into partnership
with the local Pujari (priests).

You have a poor family coming down to a confluence to perform the last
rites & cremate the body. The priest rushes thru the whole process &
announces it's done & gets these poor & illiterate people to immerse
the half-burnt corpse (medium -rare? juicy? in BBQ terms ;-) and the
Mahseer, being on the top of the food chain of a healthy river, moves
in for the feast.

The dynamiter & his gang are waiting around the next bend in the river
when down floats the bait with maybe a couple of dozen or more
Mahaseer, big & small feasting.....
Boom!
Belly-Up!
Net stretched across the river.
Into the bags & a truck.
Race up to the local "Mandi" to sell the day's "catch".
Share the spoils of the outing.
Have a drink & get ready for the next poor soul on his way to heaven!

There's a great book writen by one A St J Macdonald titled
"Circumventing the Mahseer and Other Sporting Fish in India & Burma",
first published in 1948. As a tip to anglers in the Kumaon Hills, at a
beautiful confluence named Pancheshwar where the Sarju & the Maha Kali
meet, Macdonald suggests lighting a huge fire on the banks of the
river if the action is slow. This signals 'cremation' to the fish &
they get worked up! You then start getting into some action.

I've fished at this very spot on a very slow day, one of those days
when you've resigned yourself to going through the mechanical
movements of tossing out a plug & reeling it back in, over & over
again & again, knowing that you're not going to get a bite but you're
still enjoying being out of the city, on the river, listning to the
sound of the water, watching the sky, the clouds & the birds, soaking
in the jungle.....

& then it happned.....

A group of villagers came down to the confluence on the side of the
river where I was fishing - I was about 200 yards upstream from them -
and started the Hindu ritual of a cremation.

As I fished, another group came down to the river on the far bank
opposite me & it was another funeral.

Now you'll never believe this, but out of the jungle on the third
bank, (a confluence has three banks, I'll try to illustrate this with
a 'Y', now put a dot at each section of the Y & you'll see what I
mean) down came another funeral procession & I witnessed three
simeltanous cremations, spaced out by about 10 minutes between each
other !

I reeled in my plug.
I checked the hooks.
I snipped my knot & re-tied it with a couple of extra turns.
I inspected the last 20 feet of line for frays & nicks.
Satisfied, I re-set the 'drag' on my reel & was finally ready to catch
the 'fish of my dreams'!

I mean, Macdonald said 'build a fire if the action is slow'.

Now the action was definately slow & I had not one but THREE huge
fires going - "The fish must be going mad down there!" I gleefully
told myself, as I started casting.

I fished continously for three hours from that moment onwards & I
didn't get a saussage!

"It must have been one of those very bad days", I muttered to myself
on the way back to camp!

School Song

We will hand down to future generations
A past that in our presence has been made
Traditions good and strong whose first foundations
That in those earlier stressful days were laid
Now we are striving in the way they trod
Our watch word "Self Reliance" - thanks to God.

Now time has flown on kodi's Hills no longer
Our School from Ketti's Vale Spreads influence wide
We looking back will own its power the stronger
And praise our founders with deep thanks and pride
That we, like them with courage and renown
May follow George our Saint and win the Crown.

My Stage Career

My Stage Career by Henry Marriott

Hitherto, I’ve kept my stage career a secret. I’ve appeared internationally in a number of plays, here follows my acting curriculum vitae.

My career started when I was 7 or 8 at school when eight of us were dressed in Little Lord Fauntleroy costumes, velvet shorts, cream silk shirts and socks and shoes, at a time when we children went unshod in school. We had to dance the “Sir Roger de Coverley “(aka the Virginia Reel) an ancient English country dance. I think I went OK, in any case if anything did go wrong there were eight of us to blame, we were very young and were wearing shoes which pinched.

My next effort was during Rev Ash’s reign. I don’t know why all Protestant Vicars seem to be frustrated Stage Directors, and at the first opportunity would force people into a spot of Am. Dram. On this occasion Rev Ash directed us in a play rivaling any Bollywood epic, all dancing, and all singing and with a spot of drama thrown in, the offering was “Jan of Windmill Land” with practically the whole school in the cast. I hitherto thought, and maintained this belief for years, that I had the lead and Ernie Bamford was my village idiot friend. I was discussing this with Anna Yates (nee Ricketts) and Joanne Dillon and they both told me that I had the subordinate part and Ernie was Jan, and to underline this Anna stated that she played Jan’s mother so she should know, so there. I don’t know what effect if any this had in the course of the play. The play was about Jan and not by him, we had very few lines and they were all asides spoken at stage left front. The choreographer for the many dance sequences was Miss Dennis with whom I was in love. I was only ten or so, and she was very understanding and as a keepsake she gave me one of her handkerchiefs, I suppose because I sniffed a lot. I washed the wisp of lace hemmed scrap of material and when still wet I folded it very precisely into a 2 inch square and kept it next to my anguished heart.

My next foray was as the Duke of York in Richard 11, not the Laurence Olivier “Now is the winter of our discontent made glorious summer by this sun of York….”That one is Richard 111. But the one which has John of Gaunt’s patriotic speech on England, which inter alia says”……This royal throne of kings, this scepter’d isle, This earth of majesty, this seat of Mars……” etc, etc see King Richard 11, Act 11 Scene 1. Just before that speech the Duke of York, that’s me says:

“No; it is stopp’d with other flattering sounds,
As praises, of whose taste the wise are fond.
Lascivious meters, to whose venom sound
The open ear of youth doth always listen;
Report of fashion from proud Italy,
Whose manners still our tardy apish nation
Limps after in base imitation……’

This was written in 1593 or 1594 and is still true today.

The play was rehearsed but never staged, I think because Miss Grey introduced Rabies into the school

My next experience of Am Dram was at MCC; here the director was Rev Dr Martin, a protestant priest again. I was an extra, without a speaking part in “She Stoops to Conquer” by Oliver Goldsmith. I was ‘man in pub’ and left the stage soon after the opening. Originally, it was proposed that my companion and I should exit singing, but on hearing our effort it was thought more advisable that we should leave silently. My next effort was again at MCC, this time in an inter collegiate contest of Shakespearean plays. The set piece was from ‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream” Bottom’s play within the play, I think it was. Here the chief of the judging panel was kind enough to specially mention me. He said that my speeches were the fastest he’d ever experienced. I don’t think it was a compliment.

I now fast forward to my Military Dramatic career in Malaya, here the Rev Willis, the padre, was the director and I was cast as a Welsh father whose child had been accidentally abducted. I only appeared in the final act to reclaim the child. Now, I don’t know if you have any knowledge of acting, but you keep quiet and avoid bumping into the furniture, until your cue is uttered and then you jump in and say your piece. In this play the person who had to speak the cue for me had herself got her speech in early, so having heard my cue, I uttered my speech, only to find that a great slab of the last act was in this way subtracted. It caused confusion among the other cast members, the director who was the prompt, and of course the audience. However, it appeared that the piece that was extracted in this way was not germane to the story and the curtain came down at a convenient moment with understanding restored. I was not cast in the next play.

Down All the Days - People

Down All the Days - People By Henry Marriott

My earliest memory of St Georges staff was, as already recorded, Sister Spenser, Miss Richards and Miss Dover. Miss Richards could also have been my first teacher, there was a Miss or Mrs Clay who taught KGII, there is an image of a Ma Clay among those saved in the photo albums, but staring at it for a lengthy period elicited no spark of recognition. The classroom was at the south end of Hesketh House, which subsequently became the School Office.

The Principal at this stage was Mr M.A Wynter-Blyth a bustling sort of person, whose one abiding passion was Cricket and even on school days if the weather was fine he’d declare a Cricket day. He coached the First XI and would chastise any one guilty of bad fielding or for a wrong choice of stroke with a stump on the backside. Once some boy had bitten me very severely just above the knee, drawing blood, he wouldn’t let go so I punched him on the side of the head which resulted in a KO, This caused much consternation and later in the day I was summoned to the Principal’s office, which had been KGII, I approached with trepidation expecting a thrashing. But he asked me to explain myself, I gave a true account of the incident and he said I’d done well, but warned me against any repetition. He may even have said “Well done”. I understand he was subsequently engaged by an Indian Prince to tutor his sons in Cricket .

However, my next teacher Mrs S. Sassoon of whom I have a clear memory, “I don’t know why she swallowed a fly”, she really did, there was a lot of coughing and spluttering but to no avail it had been ingested. She was a stout lady given to wearing all her jewellery, every day, I understand she was Jewish and had fled persecution from either Austria or Germany. She seemed to have instructed us in all subjects except drawing which Mr Robinson taught. Mrs Sassoon believed in a power nap in the first period after lunch, she would ask us to rest our heads on our hands crossed on the desk and have a 15 minute siesta. Mrs Sassoon taught us in most subject in Standards II and III. In Standard III Mr Vasudevan was the class teacher but he didn’t take us for anything, he was teaching Maths in the more senior classes. I know he left the school but I see he returned as the Maths teacher after I left. He lived in a house which was on the way to the Methodist Church which we used to attend for evensong one Sunday each month. He always wore his academic gown over a white drill suit and walked with tremendous speed, and on windy days did give the appearance of a large magpie, A gap in my fading memory cannot recall the Standard IV teacher, somebody called Narayanan could be of either sex .

Thr Standard V teacher was the versatile Mr. S.V.S Paul he taught Tamil and English, he used to take us for P.T and in the absence of Mr Dique coached in Boxing, He was more a theorist at that sport rather than a participant. He was the Lewis House Master replacing Mr Robinson, and inherited me as his house boy, my main duty was to bring him two cans of hot water from the bath house each morning. One of the boys in the junior dormitory suffered from epilepsy fits and his bed was between that of Eustace Dillon’s and mine. He used to have fits quite frequently at night and it was my duty to put on the light and summon Mr Paul from his slumber, while Eustace shoved a spoon sideways in his mouth to prevent his tongue being swallowed or bitten. We were also required to control him as best we could from thrashing about too much. These fits were progressively lasting longer and longer, Mr Paul’s contribution was as a spectator to our activities. The epileptic’s name was Boardman and he was sent off to an asylum where he died shortly after. Around about this time Mr Paul married and brought his beautiful wife Janaki to Lewis House. She didn’t teach at the time but she played haunting Hawaiian tunes on her guitar.

At this time Mr Lavocah joined the school teaching Maths subjects, he later became Lewis House Master, following a Mr Elwin, I know the latters name but cannot remember anything else about him, except that he was wraith like.. Mr Paul moved into the old bakery which had been converted into a reasonable cottage, this allowed him to start his apiary, and indulge in other horticultural activities. Mrs Bryant also started about now teaching History. I remember on one occasion she went down with an attack of flu. But she nevertheless took her class with her students arrayed around her bed as she taught us about Hannurapi. Mr Aaron also featured about now teaching Natural Science and Mr Dique teaching Art and taking us for PT and coaching the Boxing team ,also Mr Rosario (?) teaching Carpentry. My piano lessons started about now but unfortunately the names of my first two piano teachers escape me, only that they were festooned in beads and colourful scarves, and left part of their breakfasts for me to consume at break time. Mr Tharu also featured here teaching Geography and Indian History. Mr and Mrs Tharu were I believe the first occupants of the staff house beyond Oakshott,

In 1947 I was in Standard VI, the Class teacher was Mr Tharu, but he only taught History , Mr Dique took us for Geometry, Mr Paul guided us in Tamil, Rev Ash took us for Arithmetic and Algebra, Mr Aaron taught us Science, while for the first time we had Mr Hammick taking us for English. (Dictation, Grammar, Composition and Literature) and also Geography, Mr Hammick was a versatile teacher and a blessing for any school he was a keen participant in sport and was especially skilled in Hockey. He was the sports master and the annual sports day was arranged and conducted by him, besides coaching in Hockey and Cricket. He was a patient teacher, he had the knack of flicking pieces of chalk at your head to gain your focus when your mind wandered onto other things. He once in celebration of my birthday gave me a tin of Huntley & Palmers Marie biscuits which I ate surreptitiously ! I was not a good athlete and for Cricket, Hockey and Football I was probably the last team member selected. He normally umpired or refereed at our inter school games and every time I made some glaring goof he would say nothing but glare at me pityingly. He occupied the staff house above Lewis, he was at that time the Headmaster and looked after the schools text book and stationery requirements. He would sometimes take lonely walks, at a measured pace, one hand in a trouser pocket and the other holding a cigarette in a very casual manner. I think we tried hard to do well in the subjects he taught, so as not to disappoint him, He was always dressed very correctly and obviously careful to be colour co-ordinated. He was in fact very neat in all he did. He was unfailingly courteous, even to students, he was really a tremendously worthy gentleman , and a shining example for his students to emulate. I really admired him.

Well upwards and onwards, in Standard VII there was some sort of external examination Mr Hammick was the class teacher. Mr Lavocah succeeded him as House Master. The teachers were Mr Hammick for Literature Arithmetic and Algebra, Mr Tharu taught Geography, (but failed to grasp our attention), Mr Paul still tried to get us to love Tamil, I still remember the story Yarnikum Paanikum Surri, ( which gives my Spell Check conniptions). Mr Aaron still taught General Science, and Mr Rosario, Carpentry, at which I was very disappointing, and of course Mr Dique taught Drawing where I produced slovenly work, I’m very sorry, but I’m no artist or for that matter a fitter and joiner, I wish I was.

In 1949 I was in Standard VIII, and things were getting serious, Rev Ash took English, and Miss Bye, a member of a Protestant order of nuns, took us in the Maths subjects ,she always dressed in a grey dress, sometimes of silk, but always the same pattern, with white collar and trimmings. She wore a cross proudly denoting her religious affiliation, She lived in Fernhill with her sister, close to the Palace, now hotel, I once took tea with her in her neat home. She always attended Chapel on Sundays, she was a lovely person , very quiet and a very competent teacher. She somehow got the best out of us, I suppose we didn’t want to disappoint her, it would have been rude, perhaps. I was still bad at Tamil.

So we come to Standard IX. The same teachers as in the previous year faced us. I was still bad at Tamil. We had a selection test prior to taking our High School certificate, which was the next time we would be examined. I did badly apparently in Tamil, as did many others in that and other subjects. Rev Ash decreed that we should all be given six of the best, the executioner was Mr Dique and the witness, who looked miserable was Mr Hammick. I don’t think that this was thought through well enough. How can you improve the students knowledge of any subject by beating him on the backside. Should not the teacher, as in Palins and Jones’ “Tomkinson’s Schooldays” also be punished. Who gains anything by this chastisement? Hopefully not the teacher, that would smack of sexual deviance. This is supposed to make the student try harder, or will it cause his disenchantment with the subject? I know some of you will say that you had been thrashed and now see how well you’ve done despite the ill treatment, good for you, but we are not Everyman like yourself.

At this time a Miss Grey had been appointed as the Music teacher and the House Mistress of Oldham, and in order to help her with the little ruffians, I was appointed as a sort of Assistant Master . She got herself a cute little Alsatian Puppy. AAAAh, some of you might say, but it got ill and Miss Grey thought she should administer some Dr Martin’s Conditioning Powder, she mixed it with milk but the animal wouldn’t have any of it, so she called for my assistance, I forced opened its mouth and poured some of the powder down its throat. It promptly bit me , drawing blood and leaving a little scar. Next day it died, and the Pasteur Institute reported that it had Rabies. The puppy had been touched and fondled by the majority of the school. Besides myself Joanne Dillon had been bitten and we were admitted to the hospital for a course of Rabies injections Each injection was of 5cc and were given subcutaneously on either side of the navel, alternately. They dissipated slowly in fact after 14 days I looked like I was wearing a waistcoat. To this day I still have a large bump on my abdomen but this is caused by ingestion rather than injection!

Now when I was in hospital Rev Ash visited and in politely getting out of bed to greet him I tripped over the bed sheet and fell flat on my face, he interpreted this as weakness and he invited me to stay in his house and be looked after by Shadrach (his butler). I enjoyed his hospitality for about six weeks. Joanne only got eggflips each day which she was not very fond of. Rev Ash was a lonely man, he had no friends and the only company he had were visits from Miss Jones (the schools Head Matron) she was a short person who stuck out prodigiously fore and aft, actually I took the place of a pet dog. As a teacher he was very competent, he read stories well. I remember he read Hugh Loftings “Dr. Dolittle” to us, now of course very un PC, because of the descriptions of African persons. He was a great admirer of Shakespeare and one year staged Richard II, at which I was a very creditable Nottingham. He also staged “Jan of Windmill Land” where I played the definitive lead role!


He was a good choir master and developed a very good choir, the Ellery brothers starred in this role as did the girls singing descant. The services were conducted with the appropriate rituals, including bells and smells, I officiated as the thurifer at one time and his senior altar server. He had a beautiful collection of ecclesiastic vestments which added to the dignity of the services, which were a production in themselves. The most embarrassing of these rituals was the blessing of the fields on Rogation Sunday, when the choir in full voice paraded through the fields with Rev Ash, scattering Holy Water. This drew a small crowd of spectators and the small boys used to follow with wonderment. Following the progress Mr Bojangah Rajalu Naidu (spelling) who owned most of the land around the school used to make a generous donation. He supported any ceremony which resulted in increasing harvests.

Rev Ash I believe subsequently became the Dean of St Marks Cathedral in Bangalore and encouraged Reggie Wynne to join the Clergy, while I moved to MCC.

Down All the Days - Again

Down All the Days - Again By Henry Marriott
During my time in Ketti I was an active and frequent hiker and at every opportunity I would get an exeat and range over the hills surrounding the school. I usually did this in the company of either Neville Matthews (a brilliant Mathematician) or Eustace Dillon ( afterwards a Merchant Marine captain). If you are a serious hunter gatherer, its useless confining yourself to the school grounds as they were picked clean in no time, no you must travel.
All the hills on the eastern side of the school grounds were named, you could see a kidney shaped hill The Droog in the distance ( think Tipoo Sultan -who used to toss his enemies from this prominence to meet their death on the rocks below) and then there was Every Hill (the trees atop the hill spelt ‘every’), then Old Tom and One Tree then Noseys, and further in the distance and more southeast was Benjies and Latimers. In fact for some time a path leading up to Noseys was called Marriott’s Path. The latter three hills were easiest to access, they yielded provender in abundance, the others being more distant. If notice was given and the cook was advised early enough each of us would get 4 chapattis stuffed with aloo mattar curry. These were normally consumed en route to the chosen destination.
Neville and myself discovered a Kota village on the road past the Cauvery Dam (Katery Dam) and beyond an old pear orchard, and coffee plantation. It was about a two hour trek I think with a pause to look for pears. We made our find known and we were asked to accompany a visiting anthropologist from UCLA, a Professor Mandlebaum, we did this in a monsoonal down pour and thought our trouble was well worth 10 chips each at least, we got 5 chips between us. He was a boring type, his one joke was to tell us that anthropology “was the study of man embracing woman”, a wicked sense of humour ! I wouldn’t have mentioned this had we been properly recompensed!
At the dam where the dammed water outlets were, was a very deep pool which afforded great swimming for the bolder people among us, not me, you see I’m an Aries, the fire sign, not good to mix with Aquarius! There were rocks to dive from and places to paddle in for wimps like me!. There were the school dams, we referred to the dam on the western boundary (behind the boys’ houses) as the Old Boys Dam, and the rather shallow dam on the eastern side beneath Noseys as the Cubs Dam. I remember once returning in the evening from Old Boys something in the stream caught my attention and I sat down on the bank to investigate, a sound made me look up and a female hyena was approaching for a drink, I backed off, it looked at me and had a long drink turned its back and loped off. At my time in school there were jackals you could hear their howling quite often I have seen them from a distance, neater looking than pariah dogs, but about the same size. There were also wild boars, one day in early evening returning from a hockey match on the road between Oldham and Lewis I was about 100 yards in front of a crowd of boys, I heard a rustling sound in the bushes to my left and out popped a wild boar, big beast , it looked at me, crossed the road, and vanished up the bank on the right . To mark the occasion I dug a deep hole about a foot high and deep in the base of the bank. Should you see such a hole, you now know what it commemorates.
Then there were the organised field trips to Tigers Cave, near Fernhill and several trips to Dodabetta. I remember one expedition to scale that mountain by about 40 of us led by the intrepid mountaineer Mr Hammick, memory tells me he was in full suit and tie, but that couldn’t be. Anyway, we had to haul a dekshi of biriani for our lunch up the mountain strung on two poles, four people at a time taking turns. There were smaller expeditions also up Dodabetta, the trip back was also enjoyable if you ran down in a controlled manner, in one area there was a patch of shale which permitted a sort of skating run. I also enjoyed visits to the Ooty and Coonoor Botanical Gardens. In Ooty there was the Toda village and I used to watch the comings and goings, the Patriarch of the tribe would be greeted by the women crouching right down and placing his foot on their heads. Although he had to suffer this form of obeisance several times in a short progress he never seemed to prevent it. Coonors garden also housed the Pasteur Institute which my sisters and I had to visit occasionally to receive injections of one kind or another before travelling to Ceylon. On the return trip we used to stop off at the Andhra Villas for one or two dhosais for which they were particularly renowned.
I’ve left my favourite place to the last, which I always visited alone, this was the Boer forest, north west of the school, towards Lovedale. It was heavily forested with pine trees, on approaching the birds would cry out warnings of potential harm but would quieten down when they perceived no danger. If you fought your way to the centre of the forest you would come to a glade in which there were the remains of a building. I used to sit quietly there and an exchange would take place, any worries I had would be absorbed and be replaced by the prevailing peace of the place. I imagined prisoners living here and felt their presence. Oberon and Titania would favour this place for holding a tryst with elves and fairies gambolling around and over them. To get a feel of the type of place see the paintings of Josephine Wall. I always felt at peace when I visited my secret place. (Oh! Come on let me be a little corny!)
What is it about Ketti that inspires many of you, some from foreign climes and even at great expense to visit for three or four days each year? I’ve read that it’s the smell of eucalyptus, the slight sharpness in the air, or is it the camaraderie inspired by the sharing of a special gift bequeathed to you by your presence here in your formative years, has it formed you and are you returning for its refreshment? Its truly Shangri La. You and I are fortunate people sharing a common experience and a magical place.

Down All the Days - Also

Down All the Days - Also By Henry Marriott
Warning: Persons of a delicate nature may find the opening paragraph gives rise to disturbing images if you have a fertile imagination.

The school had two magnificent Brahma cows, which produced lovely loads of manure. The cow shed was somewhere near the girls toilets and the Netball court. There was also a magnificent Hampshire Large White pig, who wallowed in his own ordure ,the disgusting animal. At one point when it was adjudged to have achieved a suitable size, i.e. immense, it was decided to slaughter it, because the butcher could not transport the animal on the hoof, anyone interested was invited to witness the process. I was there front and centre being of a bloodthirsty type. It was strung up in the wash room, It was first stabbed in the heart and then its throat was cut and left to bleed before being quartered and cut into suitably transportable pieces.

Besides the gardens in front of the cottages, the boys houses also had vegetable gardens which were judged each year by a visiting horticulturist and a shield awarded to the winning house. For some years Lewis house walked away with the shield because we had Erdley Powell, he was a very quiet chap, never entering into or starting a conversation, he only spoke when he was addressed, His morning ablutions was an example to us all. It was a strip down to the waist job, with soap being lathered generously to all parts, the rest of us merely had a lick and a promise.

I believe he was dyslexic. Now, he was a great gardener, to see him caressing, yes actually caressing, the tilth gave you confidence that any seed planted in that tilth would sprout into a sturdy plant yielding generously of its produce. At recess he would take a wheelbarrow down to the cow shed and help himself to the manure, which was subsequently spread over the beds. One year the Lewis vegetables were so advanced that they had to be harvested before the annual inspection, Mr Paul ,who was gardening master suggested that the garden be prepared for sowing, (although in fact sowing would be after the annual holidays), however this was done under Eardley’s supervision and Lewis won again. The next year Eardley didn’t attend classes but was given a plot of land which he cultivated, he was then sent to an Agricultural College and subsequently he began as a creeper (trainee Manager) in one of the tea estates.

Like many students of this period I complained of perpetual hunger. If I had subsisted purely on the school cuisine I would have been in a sorry state, but for many years I had a mucus problem , I was perpetually having to blow my nose and sniff loudly which was an irritant to me and to the teachers. Sister Spenser used to syringe out my nose which made me comfortable for a day or two. When I did get back to Ceylon my mother, then in the money, took me to a ENT specialist who pronounced me under nourished and prescribed Keplers Malt and egg flips. Miss Dover gave me a daily dose of malt which was delicious. In those days I took piano lessons and the three music teachers who succeeded each other ordered that their toast and scrambled eggs not eaten at breakfast be given to me at the morning break, so I had egg on toast and egg flip then.

Also like others I was a competent hunter gatherer, and in season filled up with loquats, hill guavas, blue plums, potatoes and turnips. I also trapped quail, using the four brick trap and rabbits using the wire noose method taught me by Rodney Jonklaas of Lawrence school. I had a fireplace complete with oven on the way down to the dam behind Lewis and Oakshott. Unfortunately the wild life was always over cooked on the outside and nearly raw inside because of our impatience. The old baker was always kind to me and gave me lumps of dough and even on one occasion baked it for me.

I too used to run down to Palada where there was a tea shop. The monthly visits to Ooty meant laying in stocks of ‘jigs and jogs’ (peanuts and jaggery) ,besides having a meal in the cafĂ© near Jubilee Rooms. These visits always resulted in me being violently ill, because of the quantity and variety of what was consumed. I have educated my children to eat a toffee when eating peanuts.

Sister Spencer was replaced by Mrs Wynne, who brought with her Reg, Norman and the vision of loveliness Pamela, who was three or four years my junior. I remember after a year or so the school went on a picnic by bus and I sat next to Pamela and we held hands during the trip there, at the venue and on the return journey back like conjoined twins. On returning I was hovering outside the hospital unsure whether to go back to Lewis or go early to the Dining Hall. I heard a sound behind me, it was Pamela, she put her hands on my shoulders end kissed me on the cheek. Immediately the birds sang a merrier tune, the wind rustled the leaves in the trees making an accompaniment to the bird song, the air became scented, the flowers bloomed more brightly my teeth whitened and my hair curled and I became altogether a better person. While all this was happening to me she skipped away, and I was denied the opportunity of returning her kiss. I was in love I tell you, my heart sang with joy and I did without supper, it was only that ox liver muck anyway, I wanted to be alone with my happiness.

For some reason I had been baptised or whatever they do in the Pentecostal Church, but I’d never practised as one, remember this as you read on. Mrs Wynne left Ketti and returned to Bangalore. Some time later I was spending a weekend at Rev Ash’s house prior to going to Tambaram, I was 18 at the time,. I was sitting on the bank where the maps have been drawn, looking down the road towards Lewis House . I had skipped evensong. Mr Hammick occupied the staff cottage near Lewis House. The Hammicks were married but had no children as yet., it appears that Pamela was spending a holiday with the Hammicks. Suddenly there appeared this vision of a flower full blown, at 15 Pamela was a beautiful vision., blue eyed , blonde hair and a perfect face framed by curls. As she slowly walked up the hill, I rehearsed what I was going to say to this vision,. “My God” I planned to say “You are the most beautiful person I know, is there any hope that you would consider me worthy of your love” Something along those lines I thought would meet the case. She drew abreast of me and the Pentecostal spirit hit me and I said in Swahili I think in clear ringing tones“Gnrr niigg arrginng brreter chang a linggart”. She replied in similar vein but in a softer voice “ Arriggii nogggijkl arributting” I’ve never seen her again.

I think I've got another article in me dealing with Mr Hammick and Rev. Ash, but do be patient I've got a ham string injury in my writing muscle!

Down All the Days - Too

Down All the Days - Too by Henry Marriott
In the fullness of time I transferred to Lewis House, Miss Dover was the Matron and Mr. Robinson, he of Robinson pitch was the House Master. Miss Dover was the main stay of the School Fete. She collected those cylindrical tins in which 50 cigarettes were packed and progressively she would dress them with coloured paper, there were also larger containers similarly decorated and close to the fete she would cook up a storm in her quarters producing great quantities of toffee, fudge and peanut brittle with which the containers were filled with my assistance. She also made guava jelly, I remember after the fruit was boiled down it was strained through a linen sheet, the lees left in the sheet was a delicious frothy substance which I was allowed to scrape up for my consumption. The liquid was poured into jars where they jelled. This was also well presented for sale at the fete Her stall was emptied of its stock very quickly. much to her satisfaction.
Mr Robinson was an alumni of MCC, he had many pencil sketches of college scenes, mostly trees and pillars from various angles. He said they were scenes of what could be seen during lectures .He also owned two bull terriers, the male Winston was a bad tempered brute. Mr Paul owned an Australian wire haired terrier which was no larger than a floor mop but was also evil tempered and on one occasion challenged Winston. The result was pitiful Mr Paul’s dog was reduced to a bloody pulp, but it did survive and its temper improved Mr Robinson suffered occasionally with bouts of rheumatism and had to be carried in a sort of palanquin fashioned of a rattan chair secured to two long poles which was carried by four of the bigger boys. This desirable vehicle was roofed with a large umbrella secured to the chair back.
This was during the war, so we were encouraged to rear chickens, a suitable run was constructed together with roosting quarters and a number of Leghorns were procured. I was the ‘chicken monitor’ , the duties of which was to clean out the hutches each morning, an extremely unpleasant job. One of the more senior boys called Nutall, who I’m sure modelled his legs for billiard table manufacturers, owned a broody hen which was sitting on 12 eggs. I was the keeper of the key to the chicken run so each recess he and I would run down to see if the eggs had hatched, eventually on the great day I was given one of the brood which was promptly named Henry, there was another chicken with a twisted neck which was also presented to me., and Nuttall who held that he was a trained chicken sexer, pronounced it to be a hen which was named Henrietta Early one morning Henrietta straightened its twisted neck as much as it could and attempted a weak crow and had to be renamed. However he didn’t get his evil way with the hens because Mr Robinson’s magnificent cock (I’m not being personal- how could I know?) was cock of the walk . Eventually, at wars end ,it was decided to bring to an end our chicken rearing venture . Most of the chickens were sold but Henry and Henrietta were slaughtered and a delicious curry was enjoyed by a number of us. Mr Robinson moved on to sunnier and drier climes and Mr Paul became our House Master.
My overall memory of school life was hunger. I was continuously hungry for 11 years . I remember the menu quite well. Breakfast, porridge sometimes of ragi, a slice of bread a banana and half a mug of tea. I’ve never eaten porridge or banana ever. This was unchanging except towards the end, on Sundays only, we had scrambled eggs made from egg powder which tasted distinctly ‘couchy’. Lunch was rice and a sort of gruel, you had to avoid the black rice grains, they were rat droppings. Sundays was yellow rice and a sort of rusum, this too was in my final year or so. Tea was always a slice of bread and half a cup of tea On Tuesdays and Saturdays we had stewed ox liver in a watery gravy. I never ever ate this I‘m sure very nourishing meal…Wednesdays was a suspicious looking salad, everything was cut up so finely it was difficult to spot the wild life. There was a pudding most days latterly, but again dumplings cooked in milk which stuck your teeth together was eminently missable. Sundays featured a stew with a piece of Madeira cake which was enjoyable. Some staff member made a study of the diet and pronounced it adequately nourishing, comment was not made as to taste or presentation. I detested ragi but when I was in the Ashram I mentioned previously, the Missionary ladies invited my sister and myself to lunch one day. We sat around a large ball of boiled ragi. Which we were advised to consume by pinching off morsels of the ragi and dipping it into a common curry and popping the morsel into the mouth without touching the lips. We were advised not to attempt to chew the ragi but merely to savour the flavour and swallow . The curry brought tears to my eyes but some butter milk was prescribed to douse the furnace. Does anyone know what this dish is called, apparently a gourmet dish from those parts.?

Down All The Days

Down All The Days by Henry Marriott
One day early in 1940 my mother deposited my sister Mary and myself at St Georges. My sister was aged 10 and I was 6. Being older Mary was immediately housed in Preston while I was to spend the night with my mother at the school hospital (now Hesketh House) . Sister Spenser who was the School Nurse decided I needed a bath, she drew the bath water and ordered me to strip. I was horrified, as the only people who had bathed me previously was my mother or an ayah, and certain parts of my body I thought were not for general exhibition, I was persuaded to cooperate and I suffered the indignity disapprovingly. My mother accompanied me to Oldham House the next day where I wished her a tearful goodbye with promises on her part that she would send for us in November... We didn’t see her in the next four years. We spent our Christmas holidays either at school or one year we spent them with Miss Spencer and her sister in Chinnapatna in Mysore where she ran a Maternity Hospital for Muslim women, part of the hospital was an Ashram run by a group of Indian Missionaries.
Sister Spenser was a large Australian lady from Perth and when some time later I was confined in hospital with some malady, I remember on fine afternoons she would take her gramophone out to the garden and play recordings of Dame Nellie Melba, Waltzing Matilda and other Australian ditties, which seemed to cause her considerable anguish, tears ran down her cheeks, her breasts heaved with emotion and her shoulders shook as she wept. But she was enjoying herself apparently. because she frequently played her gramophone either in her quarters or in the garden. The hospital was very short of reading material as the Sister only allowed The Church Times, which included the sermon of the week, John Bunyan’s Pilgrims Progress ( which I read in daily instalments) and the Eye Chart which had a confusing plot as it went E, TB, DLN. PCER, FBZDE, etc. not as uplifting as Pilgrims Progress.
Oldham House was in the care of Miss Richards, or Pitchie as she was called. She was red haired and freckled and a very lovely person. I remember on fine weekend afternoons we took our afternoon naps on the very luxuriant lawn in front of the House and she would take the opportunity to cut our nails. I remember she once got me to stand in the corner of the play room for some minor infringement and forgot me, about an hour later I was desperate and called out but she had gone out so I wet myself it was only when she performed her nightly rounds did she discover a very wet and shamed lad. She actually apologised for forgetting me and gave me a biscuit in propitiation.
In those days we didn’t wear any form of footwear or underwear for that matter Our clothing comprised of a khaki shirt and shorts, and a rain cape which had at all times when not raining, to be neatly folded and carried draped across the left shoulder. In cold weather it was miserable, it was difficult to get warm, we suffered from chaps on the feet and lips, and I had cracked heels as well. The remedy was Vaseline for the feet which made them black as they picked up dust. and for the lips whatever the scrape that was spread on the bread.. The Principal at this time was Rev Key, a very remote person. It was only when Mr Wynter-Blythe became Principal that we were required to wear chappals