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We had a large (or so it seemed to me) playing field adjacent to the school yard. Down one side the hedge was trained like a tunnel. In the summer the Infants Class took their chairs out into the tunnel where Mrs Coupe would read us stories. I  used to love to catch the farmer as he went up 'Bunting Nook', to fetch his milk from another farm, but the horse always farted when it went down the dip in 'Bunting Nook'. We often found things in the hedgerow along 'Bunting Nook' - fish and fruit and other things dumped (who was responsible I do not know).

We used to have a very nice policeman who patrolled the area. We were in awe of him, but he was very kind. One day going home for my dinner, when there was a lot of snow, I fell down twice, so the Bobbie said he would hold my hand after he had emptied my Wellingtons. After my third fall, he grabbed my hand and said, "I will save you from falling." One Christmas Father offered the Policeman a Christmas drink, but he refused as he had to meet his sergeant en route to Woodseats Police Station and it was more than his job was worth, drinking on duty.

I mentioned earlier, it was a church school, so every Armistice Day, we walked in a file to the church. Afterwards Mrs Bagshaw gave us half a day off. I think we all had a gift from her at Christmas. She was, I believe, the Lady of the Manor, the Local Inn was known as 'The Bagshaw Arms'.

In the summer time, there was a mud patch in the goal mouth in the playing field, which turned into a dust patch. One day we made parachutes with our hankies and stone put in powdered mud and threw it up in the air. It came down and covered us with dust. We all went before the headmaster who gave us a choice stick (six of the best) or detention. The tough boys chose the stick, I chose detention but my teacher sent me home as usual!!! The headmaster I felt was a bully. One boy, whose father had died and was only ten and a half pence to the shilling, was singled out for regular caning. I thought this terrible. Another girl had to breathe through a rubber patch with a tube inserted into the windpipe (tracheotomy). She lived just near the school and her mother sold pears and apples at  half a penny for your pockets full - made me feel full of sympathy for the unfortunate girl.

A job I enjoyed was ringing the school bell to call the children to school, which I did as I got older. One terrifying happening when I was quite young, an older boy took me into the school boiler room where there was a 'Robin Hood' boiler to heat the school. He told me it was the boiler Robin Hood used in Sherwood Forest!!!

End

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