Christmas 2020

[Peg Monkey]

I attended Harry Lucas Senior School, Farm St, Hockley 1960-65 and enjoyed many a lunchtime egg sandwich and mug of tea at the workingman's cafe junction of Farm St and Bridge St West, it has to be said the Christmas menu bore a striking resemblance to the regular one.
Peg

[Edmund Fifield]

DO YOU MEAN LIFE PEG.

[Peg Monkey]

Remember your school Christmas plays? My debut public appearance was as Doppy in the Farm Street Infants School 1956 production of Snow White and the 7 Dwarfs, many said I was a natural for the part, I thought I was mis-cast.
Peg

Another chance to tread the boards came my way in my first year at senior school, it was the tradition that the first formers at Harry Lucas staged the nativity, I was assistant chief shepherd........
Peg

[Edmund Fifield]

Peg,Don't know about looking after sheep.I was doing big time,buying and selling pigs to get school funds.I was the treasurer for the school Pig club Fund at Lea Villages school from 52 -54

[Spud]

Peg We have at least one ex Professional Actor  amongst our numbers on the Forum

[Peg Monkey]

Peg,Don't know about looking after sheep.I was doing big time,buying and selling pigs to get school funds.I was the treasurer for the school Pig club Fund at Lea Villages school from 52 -54

Hope you're not telling porky's, Ed.
Peg

[Edmund Fifield]

Peg Would I ever. STILL HAVE THE MENU FROM THE XMAS DINNER AND THE THANK YOU FOR THE GOOD JOB FROM THE HEADMASTER MR COWLEY

[Peg Monkey]

Remember your school Christmas plays?
Peg

The last opportunity to satisfy my thespian desires was when I played a leading roll in the Mummers play performed each year by the 4th Form at my senior school, Harry Lucas. The Mummers play is a traditional folk play which stems back to the 18th and 19th centuries. The play was a bizarre effort with a storyline that was almost invisible and numbered amongst its cast, an actor wearing a wooden horse head, King George and me a doctor, my dialogue, limited to just a few lines, included my declaration on how to cure a crow of toothache, delivered in a board Devonian accent: You lay 'im on a stone and cut his head off, I told you it was bizarre. Note: No living creatures were harmed during the performance but there could have been a fair amount of corpseing by the cast.
Peg
The audience adoration (if there was any) might have gone to my head, slightly.....

[Peg Monkey]

Did anyone ever get a sledge for Christmas? I did when I was about 7, it was made for me by a well intentioned aqaintance and sturdily built from timber, but therein lay the problem - it was far too heavy, in addition the design was fundamentally flawed in that it had really narrow runners so the  sledge just sank into the snow until it reached terra firma.
Peg.

[Peg Monkey]

I know the store has been closed for many years but I still mourn the closure of Lewis's, it still for me remains a part of Christmas - the toy dept, top floor was a magical place.
Peg

[Peg Monkey]

Did anyone ever get a sledge for Christmas? I did when I was about 7, it was made for me by a well intentioned aqaintance and sturdily built from timber, but therein lay the problem - it was far too heavy, in addition the design was fundamentally flawed in that it had really narrow runners so the  sledge just sank into the snow until it reached terra firma.
Peg.

I  did attempt to lighten it by stripping off all but essential timber parts but I was always left with the narrow runners which just cut into the snow like knives, looking back it would probably have been worth trying just turning the sledge upside down with the runners pointing up, and there the tale ends - yes I did have a sledge but it never worked.
Peg