Yes the charging of the sixth form door ! You will no doubt remember that the one door underlings, up to the sixth form, were forbidden to use was the door at the rear of the school near the gymnasium. I, amongst many others, tried to use it over the years, especially when it was raining, but there was always a Prefect to turn you away ! I came across a plot towards the end of term at about Christmas time to get a ladder, which was hung on hooks at the side of the canteen, and charge the sixth form door ! This whole plot seemed doomed to failure and I can remember backing off. The plan was to charge the door when it was opened at the end of the afternoon break ! I can remember being nearby at the time and being roped in on the plot. As it was near to time I found that I seemed to be close to the front of the ladder along with Gerald Meagor, Danny Mallet, both from St.Ives, another Paul, can't remember his Christian name, and several others. As the door opened and the charge began we were stopped in our tracks by Fred Jarvis ! When we, rather sheepishly, put the ladder down I looked around and there were only about 4 of us left out of what must have been 12 ! Of course we had to return the ladder to its rightful place and report, immediately and with Fred Jarvis in tow, to Snakey's office ! I'm convinced that Snakey had a job to keep a straight face as the story was being told to him by Fred.
The result was an instant 3 conduct marks, the cane and detention after school writing lines ! I can't think of anything more soul destroying than being kept in after school writing lines ! I can remember a few enterprising types would have the more common lines already written and sell them for a small fee !
I had many narrow escapes along the way through Grammar School but, by todays standard, the things we got up to were very tame. Can you remember trooping down to the bathing pool down on the Promenade in the summer for swimming ? I can remember on several occasions peeling off from the rear of the crocodile of fellow pupils and going down to the harbour for an hours sailing with Brian Heather and then re joining the crocodile on their way back up to school ! If you remember, the whole year group used to go down to the pool quite a few times during the summer term so this made skiving off easier !
I think that we could all "write a book" as we say on some of the things which we got up to and some of the things which happened at school ! One last story-----------I don't think that you were in Fred's Army, i.e. the Air Cadets, were you ? Fred Jarvis was the C.O. of the Penzance Wing of the Air Cadet Corp and used to turn up on a Wed. and Fri. night in his little Morris Eight car. I can remember during the break one night a group of us bounced it around into a corner so that when he came to leave he could not drive forward or back and had to go next door, the Yacht Inn, to get help to get his car out ! How he didn't hear the laughter coming from the St.Anthony Gardens opposite I don't know. He, of course, had the last laugh as he cancelled our next Saturday trip to R.A.F. St.Mawgan, Newquay for shooting !
I think you once said, in an e-mail, that we had the best days !!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Take good care and very best wishes--------------John.
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