And then we also went every so often to the stables at the back of the Horsfall, and we used to do drama there with a Mr Schofield. I don't know where--, who arranged that, whether it was the Education Committee or where it came from, I don't know, but we went from school. And that was good, 'cause you used to do little plays, and you learnt to put stage makeup on, you know, we made ourselves up like animals, and things like that, you know, and cats, and all this. And then you made yourself--, made each other up to look like an old lady, you know, with wrinkles and everything. Or really ugly, or really pretty, with one of these powdered wigs on, you know. We were taught to do the minuet there, much to the lads disgust. You can imagine, can't you, the boys then, "I'm not dancing this." Hand on your hip [laughs] and all this sort of stuff. It didn't go down well with the lads.
[. . . .] we used to go to the Royal Geographical Society in the Parsonage,
St Mary's Parsonage down by Kendal's. Now, that really was quite a coup for
our teachers to get us to go there, because all the schools didn't go there,
and most of the schools that went there were high schools. Most of the pupils
that went there were all in school uniform, hats and everything. And I mean
we just wore our own clothes we didn't have a uniform, and we just wore, you
know, clothes. And that was really, really good, because you'd got people that
had gone--, like now people go all over the world for holidays, but in those
days you didn't know anybody that had been to Thailand, you know, and people
that had been to Ceylon and all these places. And these explorers, or whoever,
would come and tell you their adventures with slides.
37.35
Q: And was this always children?
37.36
A: This was always children. And this was in school time, but it was absolutely
fascinating, you know, to see these places that they'd been to. Like I say,
'cause--, it was Siam, wasn't it then, not even Thailand? And India, and all
these places that, in those days, you didn't even think of anybody going as
such. I mean the only people that you knew had been to some of these places
were people that had been in the army, in the forces, you know. The photographs
and the slides that they brought back were wonderful, you know, of the temples,
and absolutely wonderful that was. We used to really enjoy that.