Sunday 2 September 2012

Storytelling Sunday - It's contagious

It's storytelling Sunday over at Sian's again and she's suggested 'Too Cool for School' as a theme.  Well back in the 60s when I was at Primary School, I don't think that 'cool' had been invented! My story today relates to something that happened when I was about nine.
 
I loved school, couldn't wait to get there in the morning and volunteered for anything (my proudest moment was being noninated the person responsible for collecting the silver milk bottle tops off our playtime bottle of milk. My job was flattening them down to send off to Blue Peter as they were collecting them to raise money for a guide dog).  So it came as a bit of a surprise to my mum when one night I sobbed my way to bed saying that I was not going to go to school the next day.  I was tucked up in bed, given a glass of warm milk and gentle questioning as to what had happened.  I didn't want to talk about it.  I just wasn't going in the next day.  Or ever again really.  I finally fell asleep, woke up the next morning and agreed to get dressed but I was NOT going to school.  Had breakfast, brushed teeth, had my glorious ginger hair put into fashionable bunches above my ears, pretty ribbon tied round them,{the bunches, not my ears} cardigan put on and sensible Clarks sandals buckled up.  But I wasn't going to go to school.  Mum explained that I had to go and that whatever it was that had happened, could be sorted out.  A firm grasp of my wrist and I was propelled through the door and dragged reluctantly up the road.  Probably moaning all the way, it must have been a long journey for poor mum.
Arriving at the school, I held onto the gate and reminded mum that I wasn't going to go in.  Mrs Bishop (my teacher) came out to the playground to see what the fuss was about.  For a small girl, I had a remarkably loud cry!  Mrs Bishop and Mum unprised my fingers from the gate and took me into the school  where we all sat on chairs while they tried to figure out what the problem was.  Mrs Bishop could think of nothing that had happened the day before and nothing was worrying me about the work. 
After a while I had to admit to what the problem was.  I didn't want to catch a broken leg.  Well, I mean you wouldn't, would you?  A broken leg would have meant I couldn't go to the playground with my friend Nicky, I wouldn't be able to go on stage with the recorder group, and I certainly wouldn't be able to stand up for handbell practice.  What would I do at playtime if I couldn't hang upside down by my knees on the play equipment?  No, I absolutely did not want to catch a broken leg.
You see, back in the 60s, boys didn't wear long trousers until they went up to secondary school at age 11.  No matter what the weather was, they wore shorts.  With long socks in the winter and short ones in the summer.  So when the boy I sat next to in class fell off his bike and broke his leg, his plaster cast was not covered at all and I had convinced myself that if my skinny little bare leg touched against his plaster cast, then I would catch his broken leg.  I'm pretty sure I saw mum and Mrs Bishop share an amused grin as they assured me that it couldn't happen, but just to keep me happy, Mrs Bishop would suggest that he sat at a different desk on his own so that he could stretch his poor broken leg out.  Happy in the knowledge that my legs were safe, I skipped along to class. Giving Robert H a wide berth as I passed his desk - just in case! 
 
 


26 comments:

Missus Wookie said...

Oh dear! Glad that concern was sorted out :)

scrappyjacky said...

Amazing what you can catch!!!

Irene said...

Terrific storytelling. I bet the teacher dined out on that story for years to come. But I really felt for your younger self. It is agony when something bothers you at school. Irene

Sian said...

lol! I can just imagine you as the little girl with the very big cry. What a terrific story, so richly conjured up for us..

..and you've reminded me about the time when I was about the same age and I saw a boy fall off his bike and break his arm. Creeped me out for weeks.

Thanks for the story today Deb. Love it

Jane said...

lol, we never know the worries children can have, love the story!

Amy said...

Oh Deb you precious little munchkin! I hope you keep this story, on a layout perhaps or even just printed out - it's fantastic!

Fiona@staring at the sea said...

So funny! The things that we get in our heads as children. Hooray for the patience of the mothers and teachers that got to the bottom of our worries.

Alison said...

So funny Deb..and I love all the little details you always add!
Alison xx

Cheri said...

imagine if broken bones were contagious! yikes! what a funny notion to get.

Elizabeth said...

Your story is so sweet and innocent. The things we believed when young could fill a book.

Deb @ PaperTurtle said...

Haha - what a cute story, Debs. I always love reading your stories full of funny little bits and pieces. I'm smiling as I type and for that I am very grateful this morning!

PS: My youngest brother broke his arm by jumping out of a swing when he was 5 but my mom didn't know it was broken until a few days later when a friend of mine "pushed him off the front porch" and it really snapped. To this day he blames her for breaking his arm!

Unknown said...

Superb story, are you sure it's not contagious?

Kirsty.A said...

Great story. Made me laugh

ComfyMom~Stacey said...

LOL! Wonderful story! It's really interesting what children worry about sometimes.

Mel said...

This is a classic story - it reminds me of when my mom broke her leg and had to have a plate put in and my little sister was crying at the thought of a dinner plate coming out of my mom's leg!

Sandie said...

Oh that is so funny, Debs. I love that you were a little girl with a big cry, and needed fingers prised off the school gate. From what my Mum tells me of my infant school, that was me everyday!!
I don't think I ever liked it as much as you :)

Lou said...

lol! you can never be to sure! lovely story made me smile!

Anonymous said...

What a lovely story Deb. I can remember being mightily impressed when the boy I sat next to was violently sick - and it was green!

Valerie said...

Thank you for a great story!

Scrappi Sandi said...

LOL at the thought of ribbons on your ears!! Love this & thanks for bringing back a memory of my first day at primary school where I couldn't wait to 'play' with the crate of mini milk bottles...then it was explained that that was indeed for our breaktime drink! I'm envious of your role as 'Milk Monitor'!! :D

p.s. so glad you're enjoying the pic of David Cassidy on your visits...I may keep the photo in my sidebar, just for you, even after the event countdown is completed! :D

Melissa said...

What a great story - isn't it funny the way kids think? It's wondeful that you remember this so well - such a great memory to record.

Ifa said...

LOL, that was funny Deb. I can't think of anything funny that happened at school but I did print off a school photo from 1984 that my dearest teacher had posted on FB...that brought back a lot of memories.

Beverly said...

lol ohmygoodness, thanks for the laugh, I thought it was going to be that someone had said "break a leg" wishing good luck in a school play.

Maria Ontiveros said...

What a terrific story and so well told!!! I'm finally getting around to finishing the stories, and this one really put a smile on my face. Thanks for sharing,
Rinda

Lisa-Jane said...

No way! I wonder what made you think that but its a great story and very worthy of a layout. I bet the adults had a wonderful time with that little story!

Jennifer Grace said...

Oh, your mum must have been telling that story to everyone that day! I'm glad you didn't 'catch' his broken leg! x