Tooth cleaning in India

I've finally found an answer for EO Jones. He was our form teacher in 1952-53 but he also liked to reminisce about his time in India - in the Indian Army I suppose?  He told us one day that he didn't clean his teeth with a toothbrush; he thought that tooth brushes damaged gums.  I don't recall him telling us what he did clean his teeth with but he did tell us about the way the 'Natives' in India cleaned their teeth - they used twigs.  He went on to say that he never could discover what sort of twigs they were or where they came from.

 

I have the answer!  I've recently been reading a travel book by Paul Theroux  (The Great Railway Bazaar) and he tells how the Tamils teeth are prominent "and glisten from repeated scrubbing with peeled green twigs".  The best toothbrush twigs are found in the forests of Madhya Pradesh and are sold in bundles bound like cheroots at the stations in the province.

 

Too late for EO now I suppose

 

John Rowe

Tooth cleaning in India

I've finally found an answer for EO Jones. He was our form teacher in 1952-53 but he also liked to reminisce about his time in India - in the Indian Army I suppose?  He told us one day that he didn't clean his teeth with a toothbrush; he thought that tooth brushes damaged gums.  I don't recall him telling us what he did clean his teeth with but he did tell us about the way the 'Natives' in India cleaned their teeth - they used twigs.  He went on to say that he never could discover what sort of twigs they were or where they came from.

 

I have the answer!  I've recently been reading a travel book by Paul Theroux  (The Great Railway Bazaar) and he tells how the Tamils teeth are prominent "and glisten from repeated scrubbing with peeled green twigs".  The best toothbrush twigs are found in the forests of Madhya Pradesh and are sold in bundles bound like cheroots at the stations in the province.

 

Too late for EO now I suppose

 

John Rowe

Another Recent Reunion Report

I don’t recall why, but when Nigel Palmer joined this community I clicked on his name and discovered to my amazement that he lives just eight miles from me. We have since been in contact by email and telephone and we met up for lunch at 12.30 on Tuesday 21^st May 2002 at ""Finz" a rather smart fish restaurant in Salem, a town situated in between our homes in Massachusetts USA.

Salem is the birthplace of the writer Nathaniel Hawthorne and is a beautiful town with a long maritime tradition and is, of course, one-time home to the notorious "Witch Trials" described in the Arthur Miller Novel "The Crucible" and portrayed by Daniel Day Lewis and Winona Ryder in the movie of the same name.

We had a very enjoyable meal and a couple of beers and talked about our times at Peter Symonds. (we overlapped; Nigel Left in 1951 whereas I left in 1957) such a long time ago. We agreed to meet again.

Peter Churchill

Another Recent Reunion Report

I don’t recall why, but when Nigel Palmer joined this community I clicked on his name and discovered to my amazement that he lives just eight miles from me. We have since been in contact by email and telephone and we met up for lunch at 12.30 on Tuesday 21^st May 2002 at ""Finz" a rather smart fish restaurant in Salem, a town situated in between our homes in Massachusetts USA.

Salem is the birthplace of the writer Nathaniel Hawthorne and is a beautiful town with a long maritime tradition and is, of course, one-time home to the notorious "Witch Trials" described in the Arthur Miller Novel "The Crucible" and portrayed by Daniel Day Lewis and Winona Ryder in the movie of the same name.

We had a very enjoyable meal and a couple of beers and talked about our times at Peter Symonds. (we overlapped; Nigel Left in 1951 whereas I left in 1957) such a long time ago. We agreed to meet again.

Peter Churchill

john lawford, new old boy

Hi everyone,

I occasionally trawl through the Friends Reunited Peter Pips site to see if I can interest anyone in this site.  Just had this from an old boy who may be joining when he can get sorted after a hospital visit.  Maybe there is someone out there who knows him,

 

Dear James

Thanks for the email, I am sorry to be so late in responding but I have just
come home after a short spell in hospital and I am not fully on line at the
moment.

I am very interested in the site and would like to join you and perhaps some
former friends. Unfortunately I am housebound and partially crippled by a
stroke so my activity as far as the site is concerned would be limited.  You
mentioned the interest shown by some of the older lads, well at 73 I guess I
qualify! I left Peter Symonds around 1946. I was a rather puny idiot with
ginger hair and a proven candidate for the Remove and Five 2 General.

If anyone remembers me I would be delighted to hear from them. Good luck
with the site and my best wishes to you.

Regards
John

 

Greetings Jim
I do hope you enjoyed your visit to the wild debauchery of the sinful south
coast and feel none the worse for it!
I would be delighted to be posted on the site if you don't think it would
completely mess up the whole thing but it certainly would be interesting to
know if I am remembered by any of the old gang or just a figment of my own
ageing imagination, you could mention that I was also one of the much
despised Eastleigh train boys.
Thanks for your very speedy reply to my earlier effort.
Very kindly yours

John

john lawford, new old boy

Hi everyone,

I occasionally trawl through the Friends Reunited Peter Pips site to see if I can interest anyone in this site.  Just had this from an old boy who may be joining when he can get sorted after a hospital visit.  Maybe there is someone out there who knows him,

 

Dear James

Thanks for the email, I am sorry to be so late in responding but I have just
come home after a short spell in hospital and I am not fully on line at the
moment.

I am very interested in the site and would like to join you and perhaps some
former friends. Unfortunately I am housebound and partially crippled by a
stroke so my activity as far as the site is concerned would be limited.  You
mentioned the interest shown by some of the older lads, well at 73 I guess I
qualify! I left Peter Symonds around 1946. I was a rather puny idiot with
ginger hair and a proven candidate for the Remove and Five 2 General.

If anyone remembers me I would be delighted to hear from them. Good luck
with the site and my best wishes to you.

Regards
John

 

Greetings Jim
I do hope you enjoyed your visit to the wild debauchery of the sinful south
coast and feel none the worse for it!
I would be delighted to be posted on the site if you don't think it would
completely mess up the whole thing but it certainly would be interesting to
know if I am remembered by any of the old gang or just a figment of my own
ageing imagination, you could mention that I was also one of the much
despised Eastleigh train boys.
Thanks for your very speedy reply to my earlier effort.
Very kindly yours

John

Recent Class Reunion Report

Well, Wayne Evans, Steve 'Chocky Hen' Collins, Phil Cork and David Singer all stuck to their word and reunited in Winchester on Saturday evening, 11th, May 2002. We were all in Class 3B,4B & 5B (74 to 76) and 3 continued on to sixth form until 78. This event happened as a direct result of this very website. We first e-mailed each other individually and Wayne organised things from there.

 

David came in from Stockholm (visiting family in Southampton), Phil from Oxford, Steve from Easleigh way and Wayne had to trek miles from Winchester.

 

We all appreciated that the gathering was informal and not large for a first one.We first hit a couple of pubs and then enjoyed some excellent Chinese food and some wine later. It all helped to make the chat relaxed and enjoyable. After over 25 years we needed it! We were a bit worried about having little to say to each other before meeting, but found that we all got on rather well. Surprisingly, we had little trouble admitting to our apparent faults, bad fashion sense and our difficulties when at school. We shared stories, updated each other about our jobs, families and home, our current views about education, etc but then time ran out too quickly.

 

We have decided to all meet again in about six months in another location, possibly to watch a game of footie at the Dell and then a pub and restaurant later. A couple of us may even manage to meet before then.

 

If anyone from those days would like to join us (you don't have to come to the match if you hate the sport of course), please do contact me by e-mail.   

 

David Singer

Recent Class Reunion Report

Well, Wayne Evans, Steve 'Chocky Hen' Collins, Phil Cork and David Singer all stuck to their word and reunited in Winchester on Saturday evening, 11th, May 2002. We were all in Class 3B,4B & 5B (74 to 76) and 3 continued on to sixth form until 78. This event happened as a direct result of this very website. We first e-mailed each other individually and Wayne organised things from there.

 

David came in from Stockholm (visiting family in Southampton), Phil from Oxford, Steve from Easleigh way and Wayne had to trek miles from Winchester.

 

We all appreciated that the gathering was informal and not large for a first one.We first hit a couple of pubs and then enjoyed some excellent Chinese food and some wine later. It all helped to make the chat relaxed and enjoyable. After over 25 years we needed it! We were a bit worried about having little to say to each other before meeting, but found that we all got on rather well. Surprisingly, we had little trouble admitting to our apparent faults, bad fashion sense and our difficulties when at school. We shared stories, updated each other about our jobs, families and home, our current views about education, etc but then time ran out too quickly.

 

We have decided to all meet again in about six months in another location, possibly to watch a game of footie at the Dell and then a pub and restaurant later. A couple of us may even manage to meet before then.

 

If anyone from those days would like to join us (you don't have to come to the match if you hate the sport of course), please do contact me by e-mail.   

 

David Singer

Doctor Freeman

Who can tell me more about Dr. Freeman? What was Doc. a doctor of? Was it, as I have always supposed it was, Divinity? He wore a clerical collar and his one class as I recall was Divinity.

Every Friday for five years of my life, Doc would, without fail (I was going to say "religiously") appear in the Lecture Room for about a one hour of lecture, but his subject did not even resemble "Divinity". It was closer I would say now, to Darwin’s Theory of Evolution except that he always maintained that there was no continuity between one form and another; that each improved species appeared spontaneously – maybe that was his message.

Despite the fact that I always felt he had tired of talking to the likes of me, I did enjoy it as, with the aid of a beaten-up old epidiascope, he would lead us on an illustrated walk through the Cretaceous, the Devonian, the Oolitic etc. periods. I can see why Hollywood later latched on to the subject of Dinosaurs! He paused occasionally to lament falling standards of education and literacy – "it is not" he would say (reading the label on the photo) "a Scotch Fir Cone, Scotch is a drink and the Fir is unrelated to the Pine", and to tell us about how he once attended a football match and was so overcome by the crowds that he almost fainted. Apparently. the fellow in front of him turned around and said "What’s the matter mate? – you look as white as a bloody sheet!". I remember quite clearly the wry look he had on his face as he told us that one.

Does anyone know any more about our erstwhile headmaster, does any one have any other reminiscences about "Divinity in the Lecture Room" with Doc?

Peter Churchill

 

Doctor Freeman

Who can tell me more about Dr. Freeman? What was Doc. a doctor of? Was it, as I have always supposed it was, Divinity? He wore a clerical collar and his one class as I recall was Divinity.

Every Friday for five years of my life, Doc would, without fail (I was going to say "religiously") appear in the Lecture Room for about a one hour of lecture, but his subject did not even resemble "Divinity". It was closer I would say now, to Darwin’s Theory of Evolution except that he always maintained that there was no continuity between one form and another; that each improved species appeared spontaneously – maybe that was his message.

Despite the fact that I always felt he had tired of talking to the likes of me, I did enjoy it as, with the aid of a beaten-up old epidiascope, he would lead us on an illustrated walk through the Cretaceous, the Devonian, the Oolitic etc. periods. I can see why Hollywood later latched on to the subject of Dinosaurs! He paused occasionally to lament falling standards of education and literacy – "it is not" he would say (reading the label on the photo) "a Scotch Fir Cone, Scotch is a drink and the Fir is unrelated to the Pine", and to tell us about how he once attended a football match and was so overcome by the crowds that he almost fainted. Apparently. the fellow in front of him turned around and said "What’s the matter mate? – you look as white as a bloody sheet!". I remember quite clearly the wry look he had on his face as he told us that one.

Does anyone know any more about our erstwhile headmaster, does any one have any other reminiscences about "Divinity in the Lecture Room" with Doc?

Peter Churchill