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| The incident described occurred just to the left (and out of sight) beyond the closed fire door |
When I was a young lad at primary school, there was a boy in my class by the name of Ewan Shepherd, who giggled like a girl and was slightly effete. I never realised it back then, but looking back many years later, it struck me that such was the case. Ewan may well be a big manly man now, but it would come as no great surprise to me to learn that he made the journey to Denmark at the earliest opportunity after leaving school.
But Ewan isn't the star of this post - his is nothing more than a cameo role in this true tale from the dim and distant days of my childhood, when I was only about 8 years old. Ewan and myself were part of the double line of pupils waiting at the foot of the stairs one day, ready to ascend to the rooms above. One of us accidentally tripped as the line started to move, placing us slightly out-of-step with our fellows, and Ewan (or is it Euan?) emitted a giggle. Suddenly, Mr. Halliburton descended upon us and violently yanked us from the ranks.
Pushing us against a wall, he started to shout at us, and was either going to belt us or give us 'lines'. (Can't recall with certainty after so many years - it was one or the other.) I'd had an encounter with Halliburton before (see here) and was determined not to let him intimidate me. "I'm going to tell my dad about you!" I declared, and started to move towards the door leading to the playground. (I lived at the top of the road, so my house was nearby.) He grabbed me by the lapels and pushed me back against the wall, glaring at me menacingly.
At this point Ewan burst into tears, eliciting a look of contempt from Mr. Halliburton, who then eyed us while he deliberated his next move. An internal struggle seemed to be taking place - then he ordered "Get to your class!" As Ewan moved off, Halliburton pulled me back, lowered his voice and muttered "Don't ever threaten me with your father again." Yeah, that'd be right - adults wouldn't put up with his p*sh, but kids could be easily intimidated. Except for me that is.
I caught up with Ewan as he dabbed his tears away with the back of his hands. He forced out a giggle - "Hee hee - that always works" he whimpered, sheepishly and unconvincingly. Yeah, sure - but even so it was no excuse to abandon dignity and self-respect. However, Mr. Halliburton never tried to bully me or lay his hands on me again in all my remaining time at primary. That's what I call a result!
Next: Another tale about the tears of Ewan.
Sometimes, telling your parents is the best thing to do, - if you recall, over on your other blog, I told you of an instance where a particular brutal junior school teacher, Mr. Avery got the sack after the Head got a visit from my parents! Plus, old Avery would have gotten a punch on the nose from my Dad, had my Mum not have held him back! ( I was SO proud of my Dad, there! )
ReplyDeleteNow, that WAS a result! - The whole class was happy!
I was later to meet old Avery's son at the secondary school. We never liked each other, but I couldn't give a shit!
I think I was a little of both
ReplyDeleteWere you ever tempted to punch his lights out, JP, because of your dislike of his father? Or did he ever try to bully you as an act of revenge?
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Teachers, AJ - nutters or what? Of course, the pendulum has swung too far the other way these days.
I know that I disliked him, soley because of his father and I now know that that is unfair, but that's human nature for you! I suspect it was exactly the same for him. Once we had ascertained who each other, we just tended not to have much ( if anything? ) to say to each other. We were both pretty evenly matched, size-wise and there was no unpleasantness from either side. Who knows, if it he hadn't been Avery's son, we may well have gotten on all right?
DeleteThat was a point I was going to make the pendulum does seem inmany ways to have swung too far the other way - maybe some were being strict for good reasons (not these sadistic bullies in your story just good strict teachers)
ReplyDeleteYup, nothing wrong with good strict teachers, PM - we probably need more of them. Of course, as you know, there's a difference between strictness and tyranny, and some of the teachers back in our day were sadistic tyrants. We also need more strict parents, as too many of them want to be their kids' pals these days, not their parents. They won't properly discipline their kids (and I'm not necessarily talking about smacking) because they don't want to be unpopular with them.
ReplyDeleteNot only do I find that kid Ewan very funny it appears from the photo as if you went to the school those kids from the Shining went to as well. Oh we do remember the tyrant teachers don't we. Never learnt anything from them.
ReplyDeleteI'm sure I've got a clearer, later, photo somewhere, PS, but can't find it at the moment. The one I've used was taken around 1984 on a 110mm camera, so not great quality. (Never seen The Shining.)
ReplyDeleteYeah, you never know, JP, you could've been the best of friends. 'Sliding Doors', eh?
ReplyDeleteWhen I was around five or six I used to get cramp in my legs from sitting cross-legged on the floor so my father phoned up the school and demanded I must sit on a chair not on the floor. I recall my teacher, Mrs. Peddler, grumbling about it but she had no choice - my father had spoken and he knew his rights !!
ReplyDeleteMore importantly, CJ, he knew YOUR rights. Were you the only pupil to get a chair, or did the others each get one too?
ReplyDeleteNo, only me Kid - because I was special :) But those cramps didn't last long and as I got a bit older I was able to sit cross-legged without any problems.
ReplyDeleteWhich is more than Action Man's rival, Tommy Gunn, could do.
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