Not long ago a friend from Grammar school days made contact; the first time we’ve been in touch since the mid 70s. Conversation inevitably turned to our shared experience of those times when the Headmaster, in all seriousness, accused me of being “a corrupting influence on the entire sixth form”.
The event that Chris remembers most clearly, and possibly the one that supports the accusation most strongly, was the fake funeral I conducted for the Head. That in itself might not have been too terrible had I not chosen to perform on the sixth form lawn, outside the “deceased’s” office window, a spot that was also overlooked from the staff room and several classrooms. Thus my atrocity was witnessed by many Masters and Mistresses as well as members of both upper and junior schools. The Head felt that his authority was being badly, possibly fatally undermined which was, I admit my intention.
For some reason Mr Fisher had taken a dislike to me from our first encounter when I was but a lowly third former. I honestly have no idea what he found to dislike so thoroughly about me but as time passed things just got worse. Prior to the fake funeral my worst offence had been a stand-up row with him in an assembly for the whole upper school. Being in lower sixth I was standing at the back of the hall and he was on the stage with the Vicar of Midhurst who was acting in his role as School Chaplain. I shouted the length of the hall “you can’t say that!” when the Chaplain stated that fighting for one’s country was a sacred duty. The Head intervened and a full scale argument developed while the whole upper school watched agog, looking from the stage to the back of the hall like a crowd at Wimbledon.
The final straw was when I got a laugh and applause for a very witty put-down and the Head lost his temper demanding that I attend his office forthwith. After we had continued the argument in private for a while he dismissed me, threatening to call my parents and to suspend me. I possibly didn’t help the situation by shrugging my shoulders and saying “do whatever the hell you want”.
I didn’t get suspended but my parents did get a letter and a request for a meeting with the Head. I won’t detail the punishment that followed as part of the deal to avoid suspension. The school may have banned corporal punishment, much to the Head’s chagrin I suspect but no such proscription was in place at home.
Do I regret that flagrant act of provocation? Not really, it is a part of who I am.
You my friend, are my new hero!
That’s nice, according to teh Head and my parents I was just a “bad kid”…
Donald Fisher hated everyone, even those he pretended to like!
Wish I had been in the hall that day!
It was one of my better moments and to be honest well worth the pain I went through at home. It’s reassuring to have someone say that he hated everybody but he went out of his way to provoke me; possibly he knew I’d react. VB? I’m trying very hard to place those initials…
Year above you, you wouldn’t remember me. I was VS at the time. DF was a creep, using MGS to further his career……………..nuff said.
You might enjoy a couple of little stories that I’ll be telling soon, all involving MGS’s most “corrupt” pupil and his fights with DF
I’ll keep an eye open for them!
Ah, we wouldn’t have had very much contact then. Fisher was a truly horrible man; not even half the Headmaster that Luke was.
Was it, and is it still, a private wake or can anyone join in?