A Huel-rich diet? I feel sick. There is one other element missing from the article which was fascinating, that of impact. So many great buildings, parks, museums, even housing were delivered by the Victorians for the benefit of the greater good, what have we got from Zuck(?) cat videos, doesn't really compare. Today's titans are soulless in comparison to earlier generations.
Their forefathers were a feudal extractive aristocracy, their sucessors political apparaticks competing for the public favor. But for two o three generations, the UK was ruled by a liberal aristocracy, an ephemeral but glorious state of things…
"They loved feasting, sports, holidays, dancing, and dressing up. Contrary to their stodgy reputation, they were probably a lot of fun." You have described my later single-sex school days precisely between 1955-63. So little had changed for a hundred years or so for me. Including boarding school, with a headmaster's background from Merchant Taylors and thus the discipline that went with it. And as a prefect in the 6th form, I learned to subtleties of leadership and responsibility.
The classics, including Latin, helped me no end in my later writing experiences. I have never forgotten the sting of the hairbrush on a bare bottom, the swingeing tramlines of the cane, the resultant chores awarded by a points system of misbehaviour, and other delights like being tossed in a blanket and 'apple-pie beds' (with mandatory 'hospital corners').
We rose early at 0630, and had a rota of ringing the bell to awake the dead sleeping in dormitories engulfed in jack frost windows during winter, and of course the cold shower before breakfast. Our school day was intense, 0900 - 1600 with a hour for lunch, 5 days a week, but also 'prep' in the evenings after 'tea' 1800 - 2000, and additionally 1000 - 1230 on Saturday mornings. Sundays featured church in the morning, with inspections beforehand, including shoe-shining in the 'boot room' with matron supervising our dress to perfection.
We had a common room for R & R, and a tuck-locker to supplement our meagre, stodgy diet. Summer highlights included midnight walks (and sometimes bike rides), and experiments in the hobbies room where I learned build electronics, model aircraft, traditional weaponry, and lock-picking from the elder boys. Informal sports included "Eton Fives", Bridge, Bezique and occasional film-nights (I particularly remember 'Colditz' as an educational aid), and of course cadets training, sailing, and school trips to theatres and historical places.
Good times indeed, and not a moment of regret, except at 16 I had to chose between science and arts. As it turned out, I wrongly chose science and have been catching up in the arts ever since!
I very much enjoyed this
A Huel-rich diet? I feel sick. There is one other element missing from the article which was fascinating, that of impact. So many great buildings, parks, museums, even housing were delivered by the Victorians for the benefit of the greater good, what have we got from Zuck(?) cat videos, doesn't really compare. Today's titans are soulless in comparison to earlier generations.
Their forefathers were a feudal extractive aristocracy, their sucessors political apparaticks competing for the public favor. But for two o three generations, the UK was ruled by a liberal aristocracy, an ephemeral but glorious state of things…
Delightful writing.
"They loved feasting, sports, holidays, dancing, and dressing up. Contrary to their stodgy reputation, they were probably a lot of fun." You have described my later single-sex school days precisely between 1955-63. So little had changed for a hundred years or so for me. Including boarding school, with a headmaster's background from Merchant Taylors and thus the discipline that went with it. And as a prefect in the 6th form, I learned to subtleties of leadership and responsibility.
The classics, including Latin, helped me no end in my later writing experiences. I have never forgotten the sting of the hairbrush on a bare bottom, the swingeing tramlines of the cane, the resultant chores awarded by a points system of misbehaviour, and other delights like being tossed in a blanket and 'apple-pie beds' (with mandatory 'hospital corners').
We rose early at 0630, and had a rota of ringing the bell to awake the dead sleeping in dormitories engulfed in jack frost windows during winter, and of course the cold shower before breakfast. Our school day was intense, 0900 - 1600 with a hour for lunch, 5 days a week, but also 'prep' in the evenings after 'tea' 1800 - 2000, and additionally 1000 - 1230 on Saturday mornings. Sundays featured church in the morning, with inspections beforehand, including shoe-shining in the 'boot room' with matron supervising our dress to perfection.
We had a common room for R & R, and a tuck-locker to supplement our meagre, stodgy diet. Summer highlights included midnight walks (and sometimes bike rides), and experiments in the hobbies room where I learned build electronics, model aircraft, traditional weaponry, and lock-picking from the elder boys. Informal sports included "Eton Fives", Bridge, Bezique and occasional film-nights (I particularly remember 'Colditz' as an educational aid), and of course cadets training, sailing, and school trips to theatres and historical places.
Good times indeed, and not a moment of regret, except at 16 I had to chose between science and arts. As it turned out, I wrongly chose science and have been catching up in the arts ever since!
Wow, they sucked but thought they were elite. They were stoopid people with money.