Feel Better:Complain About Anything

Originally posted by Joannie: ↑

Dear Granny pica,

Oh my word, you poor thing! That man from the ILEA was mean to send you to such an awful school. I thought my London school was very rough, but no knives and things thank heavens. I expect like most Aussies you lived in Earls Court

I think yes, we took it for granted that we had free everything at school. We didn't give it a passing thought. One of our teachers used to have eyes in the back of his head and when he spotted someone talking he would throw the blackboard rubber at them, very hard. We did tease the teachers, given the chance. But one got so exasperated with me that she said. Hold out your hand and she slapped me over and over again with the ruler, saying you are a naughty naught girl. I cannot recall what sin I had committed lol.

Breaking into the staffroom and splitting open the curtains! Goodness me, we would not have dared.
All that walking, we had to walk about 7 miles to school and then 3 miles in double file to our canteen and back for our school dinners. I was as skinny as a whip then. I insisted on wearing a mini skirt as we all did and our legs were frozen and chapped.

Well now you understand why so many English people want to live in Australia Well it was an experience for you, I hope you went to lot's of parties and dances etc. I love how you said you don't like kids

Yes back to the screen, LTR is taking a break today, perhaps up later?
Have a lovely day
Jo Jo

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Dear jo jo.

I lived in a street off Kensington High Street. Later I lived at St Johns Wood in a small one bedroom flat, where my friend converted the living room into her bedroom, I had the bedroom and there was the smallest kitchen you could ever imagine. I would sit on the steps going into the postage sized kitchen while friend cooked her meal and vice versa. Not enough room for two pairs of legs at the same time. Not sure where we perched in order to eat our food...
No parties and fun but remember my landlady who rented a small flat on top of a shop to me after my friend decided she wanted to go home, had a newly divorced brother who paid me much attention. As often with me, thanks but no thanks. I also met a dentist from a church I began to attend and complained much to him about my teaching job. He offered me some work.. To my shock it turned out to be packing up sets of false teeth for mailing out.....
dear jo jo your nanna was not impressed by the males she met in London....the Nigerian man was a teacher who worked in the same commerce department at that rough school and he hated being there, many West Indians kids who just swing from the rafters, kicking, pushing and wandering about the classroom completely ignoring my existence.

On first day I invited Headmaster into my class and asked him to tell me what I was supposed to do. He was a very small New Zealand man who gave them a lecture for five minutes and kids just looked at him vaguely curious and when he walked out everything went back to "normal,". I looked inside other classrooms and these classrooms resembled mine.

I used to teach a few white kids in the storage room at the back while the coloured kids continued to ignore me.

I was told I was not to "confront" the children.

It was a nightmare....It was called Hurlington Comprehensive School. I ate the disgusting free lunches, which were free if we ate with the kids. Spam and beans, potato mash slapped onto one's plate, etc slop, slip, slap, clonk, those serving spoons hit our plates. And pudding. Too cold to be outside. One male teacher was picked up by a big black girl, thrown to the ground, and suffered a broken collar bone. Another male teacher would every morning ride the bus, past the stop he needed to alight, because he hated the kids so much he told me he was only wanting to kid himself that he was not going to school that day.

I hope today's the last time granny sounds so grumpy.

Life is far sweeter these days, for sure.

I hope LTR behaves better tomorrow.