The CBB :: View topic - Mary-Lou of the Chalet School

#1: Mary-Lou of the Chalet School Author: Rachael,

Posted: Mon Apr 26, 2004 8:33 am

The one you've all been waiting for, right!?! Wink

A summary of the book may be found here Openers for discussion: Fave/worst scenes Views on the Gang being dispersed as Mary-Lou & Co become Seniors Thoughts on her losing the Kenwigses Being tasked with Jessica - is this fair or not? Should Emerence have had a harsher punishment? What do you think of Margot's role in "the accident"?

Last edited by Rachael on Mon Apr 26, 2004 11:28 am; edited 1 time in total

#2: Author: Bel, Location: Cambridge

Posted: Mon Apr 26, 2004 8:52 am

Favourite scene: At the beginning when Mary-Lou is by herself in the dormitory. This shows EBD's understanding of grief, and a more sympathetic side of Mary-Lou's character than is often on display. Worst scene: Even though it's about OOAO, there aren't any scenes in this book which jump out at me as being awful. The trip to Zurich is a bit blah though, kind of 'lets stick lots of historical facts on a page'. Views on the Gang being dispersed as Mary-Lou & Co become Seniors: I think it's quite realistic. Older girls don't tend to go around in a great big crowd the same as younger ones. It's a shame though, that this leads to some of the quieter girls being effectively written out of the story from now on. Thoughts on her losing the Kenwigses: It's a nice symbolic gesture. Anyway, ML always did make far to much fuss about the Kenwigses. Being tasked with Jessica - is this fair or not? Not totally fair, but not a bad thing either. It takes her mind off her grandmother and helps her to work through her grief, as well as being good for Jessica in a stereotypically CS way. What do you think of Margot's role in "the accident"? At the end of the book we begin to see Margot growing up and thinking more. It's no great transformation, but signs of what is to come. It must really hurt to have had Joey sit with ML and not Margot. We also see Joey and Jack beginning to act much more as surrogate parents to ML in this book, not merely brevet aunt and uncle. Sciencey people, is it really realistic that ML's hair grows back curly? I always thought that it was determined by the shape of the follicle, which would not have been effected by the accident.

#3: Author: Cazx, Location: Swansea/Bristol

Posted: Mon Apr 26, 2004 10:25 am

Hmmm I can't really think of a favourite scene, or a least favourite scene. I like the way that Mary-Lou tries to get Jessica involved from the very start. The gang come across as quite mean not including her and leaving her by herself, so it's nice that OOAOML tries to draw her into things. I don't really think Margot was that much to blame for Mary-Lou's accident, after all she was never very happy to go along with Emmerence and I don't think she could have done anything to stop her.

#4: Author: LL, Location: Tottenham to Camberwell - The London Rollercoaster!

Posted: Mon Apr 26, 2004 10:45 am

Ml's hair growing curly is rather odd. They also don't say much about the ages it must have taken for it to grow!

#5: Author: Rachael,

Posted: Mon Apr 26, 2004 11:41 am

Any other views on the book, LL? Don't know about realism of hair growing back curly but my hair was dead straight as a child and when I became a teenager it went quite wavy/curly - presumably the raging hormones Mary-Lou had such long hair (which drags curls/waves out unless you've got real corkscrews) that she may not have been aware of such a change until it was all chopped off and started growing again ... I like this book - particularly the St Nicholas bit and Mary-Lou's ... er ... escapade on the wardrobe! Also enjoy Jessica in Plato's lesson Very Happy

That would be me if forced to sing! The actual accident is a great lesson for both Margot and Emmy - obviouly in different ways - and I like how Mary-Lou handles Emmy in the aftermath ...

#6: Author: LL, Location: Tottenham to Camberwell - The London Rollercoaster!

Posted: Mon Apr 26, 2004 12:57 pm

Could be, Rachael. maybe it's because my hair's always been way too curly and I don't think it could ever go straight just like that... I like the way she includes Jessica but if I were Jessica, ML would get on my nerves no end! i like her as a charcter but as i'm something of a personality myself I don't take kindly to 'gang leader types' in real life.

#7: Author: Katarzyna, Location: Preston, Lancashire

Posted: Mon Apr 26, 2004 1:18 pm

Fave scene - I liked the whole feast of St Nicholas event, particularly the way it was done with no one knowing what was about to happen (ok, i know we had seen it before in ? oberland?). worst scene - music room fight - there is no excuse for a teacher loosing their temper like that, ok so if you are so passionate about music that it hurts when someone sings in the wrong key or hits a wrong note are you really suited to teaching. Lets face it when your learning anything you make mistakes (can you tell i am not plato's biggest fan?!) Views on the Gang being dispersed as Mary-Lou & Co become Seniors This really starts a few books back thanks mainly to ebdisms! the Gang itself i always tend to think of as ML, Vi, Verity, Lesley and when she comes back Dorris, the rest are hangers on. Thoughts on her losing the Kenwigses - Do you mean through the accident or when she decides to have a pony tail instead? Assuming the later - from a very personal perspective - bunches aren't a good choice of hairstyle for anyone over the age of 10!! Such a big issue is made of the girls hair going "up" when they turn 18 i wonder if with more andmore people having short hair whether EBD wanted to make something of hair styles showing how people are growing up - doesn't Len do it in a later book? Being tasked with Jessica - is this fair or not? Not at all, ok so having a sister by marriage was at that time quite an unusual thing but even so to expect ML to be able to deal with it was unrealistic. It shouldn't be that none of the otehr girl's known about Jessica's home life except ML, what if she hadn't been able to bully them into helping out with Jessica - in reality they would probably have wanted to know why ML was trying to include her in their exclusive clique rather than just saying Yes ML! Should Emerence have had a harsher punishment? Not to sure on this, her obvious remorse by making herself sick was probably enough. These days she would have been expelled immediately! What do you think of Margot's role in "the accident"? quite a lot but i am not putting it on here (sorry but it's reserved for drabbling) Phew, weekly rant over!!

#8: Author: LL, Location: Tottenham to Camberwell - The London Rollercoaster!

Posted: Mon Apr 26, 2004 3:09 pm

Wow that's a long list Kate!

#9: Author: Katarzyna, Location: Preston, Lancashire

Posted: Mon Apr 26, 2004 3:25 pm

With the greatest of respect LL it's not a list at all but rather my own personal opinion on the book under discussion. From your comments you appear to have read this book, perhaps you would like to offer your own opinion using the starting points highlighted in the first posting of Rachaels

#10: Author: LL, Location: Tottenham to Camberwell - The London Rollercoaster!

Posted: Mon Apr 26, 2004 3:29 pm

Sorry Katarzyna! I didn't mean to sound insulting or anything. I don't normally answer the direct questions because I don't have a fantastic knowledge of the books and only recall certain points in detail. I hope I didn't upset you.

#11: Author: Carolyn P, Location: Lancaster, England

Posted: Mon Apr 26, 2004 3:42 pm

LL - If you recall certain points in detail about a book under discussion then by all means talk about those points, the questions are a starting point for discussion, and the q about fave and least fave scenes willl still apply. The point is to discuss the book with some detail. I think ML would have taken on Jessica wether she had been asked to or not, it was part of her personality, look how she interfered with other people later. (e.g Ted) However it strikes me as a huge breach of confidentiality to tell a child what was happening, even if she was in a possible position to understand. I always thought Margot got a tough deal here, she did try to talk Emmy out of it, and didn't get on the toboggan anyway, she may have gone where they were told not to, but she wasn't responsible for the accident. And for her parents then to be away when she needed them. I suppose Jack was nice to her though, saying Emmy's tale had made him proud, that one of the most positive statements about Margot we find.

#12: Author: Ciorstaidh, Location: London

Posted: Mon Apr 26, 2004 5:16 pm

Re curly hair: "If you are on immuno/chemo therapy sooner or later you will notice something happening to your hair. The reason is the medications cause the cells to either stop growing or slow down. This usually occurs about week 12. That is the typical growth cycle. So if it is interrupted, that's where things stop AFTER treatment: The real big question. Well, there is no straightforward answer. Some people return exactly the way they were. Others have less or more hair, some say "luxurient". Some go from straight to curly, some from blond to black. ...Some have the change forever, others for a year. There is no way to know what will happen because the hair growing cells were "upset" during treatment." (from http://what-me.com/hepc/hair.html) I know this is on about immuno-chemo, but this could be an explanation for her hair going curly - the actual shaving itself doesn't do anything (otherwise all those bams and neds who have number 1's or 0's would have curly hair!)

#13: Author: Chelsea, Location: Your Imagination

Posted: Mon Apr 26, 2004 5:22 pm

I'm not sure that the same would happen with shaving. I know my mum's hair underwent HUGE changes after her various chemos, but when her hair fell out, her head didn't look shaved, it looked like her hair fell out. Okay that didn't make much sense, but losing your hair to chemo would do really different things than just cutting your hair off (I would presume). I could see the follicle shape changing due to chemo, but not due to a hair cut.

#14: Author: claire, Location: South Wales

Posted: Mon Apr 26, 2004 6:01 pm

I always figured that it was the weight pulling the curls out of it before, and she is said to have fast growing hair and you can see that hair is going to be curly from when it's a few millimeters long - it just looks crinkly against their head

#15: Author: Clare, Location: Liverpool

Posted: Tue Apr 27, 2004 5:41 pm

*Strokes imaginary beard and thinks hard about how to answer this* Hmmm, it's a difficult one for me. I like the book, and I do think Mary-Lou is quite bearable in it, but my dislike of her (thanks to CCGU) keeps cropping up every now and then when I'm reading... For me the worst scene is the St Nicholas one, but only because it is repeated so soon after Oberland. I can't really think of a favourite scene, although I did think that Mary-Lou alone at the start of the book was well written and does convey Mary-Lou's grief at having lost her grandmother. I can also relate to Mary-Lou bottling up her feelings to hide them from her mother. I thought the dispersion of the Gang was quite realistic, and shows that the characters really do 'live' in the CS as it reflects real-life human development. Re the Kenwigses - well she only changed her hairstyle! And she struggled with the Kenwigses at times (too squint, got into everything etc), so it was about time she did something! Being tasked with Jessica - is this fair or not? I thought Mary-Lou would have 'butted in' on Jessica anyway. What I don't like is theJoey tells Mary-Lou everything about Jessica. Firstly, it puts absurd pressure on Mary-Lou to do what Joey wants, but secondly, it also flouts confidentiality. It doesn't matter how discreet you are over it, if Jessica ever found out that Mary-Lou had known about her home life before she confided in her, there would have been hell to pay! It also reminded me of something Miss Annersley says to Joey in "Theodora". When Joey says she wants to welcome Ted to the school, Miss Annersley says "Don't you trust us Joey?" and I just think that is so apt for this situation. I think Emmy punished herself enough - it was good to see her so upset over her actions as I feel it was a turning point for her. What do you think of Margot's role in "the accident"? Margot had little to do with it, and it was good to see her ignoring her devil, and it took some guts to stand up to Emmy like that. Think it was harsh that her suffering was extended by both of her parents staying with Mary-Lou.

#16: Author: Chelsea, Location: Your Imagination

Posted: Tue Apr 27, 2004 5:46 pm

About the whole Jessica thing. When it comes down to it, the school had no right to even tell Joey about it! Why should she know about a student's private life (in RL I mean, where "because she's Joey" doesn't work). My dean of residence (head of the boarding school) had to get my permission to tell anything about my private life to the academic part of the school. It was mainly a day school and the admisitration of the boarding part was seperate from that of the day/academic part.

#17: Author: Sarah_L, Location: Leeds

Posted: Tue Apr 27, 2004 6:34 pm

I didn't like the St Nicholas scene. It seemed strange and out of place in the CS considering their fixation with neatness.

#18: Author: Cazx, Location: Swansea/Bristol

Posted: Wed Apr 28, 2004 8:33 am

I thought the St Nicholas scene seemed out of place too. I don't know why but it seemed strange and out of place with the other aspects of the chalet school.

#19: Author: Donna, Location: Liverpool

Posted: Wed Apr 28, 2004 6:50 pm

I think St. Nicholas is probably my favourite scene - and i didn't have the problem of it being used before, as I hadn't read Oberland until I got the GGB version. Mary Lou stuck on the wardrobe is so funny! worst scene - I don't like the scenes with ML in the san after her accident, although i think it's good that EBD shows ML's worry about not being able to walk again. I can't even pinpoint why I don't like them! The gang - yes, its the right time for them to begin to split up - as they get older, their friendships would change anyway, and they probably wouldn't want to be part of a huge gang anymore - though maybe it would have been more interesting to have shown this as a natural process, rather than the school system splitting them up. Don't really have any thoughts about her kenwigses - other than I'm surprised that she put up with for so long! but from reading other school stories of the time, I suppose that was the accepted hairstyle for schoolgirls at the time (and isn't Len told she can't wear her hair in a pony tail while in school - she has to plait it?). I always wondered about the curls thing too, but as i grew up (and because i had extraordinarily long and thick hair myself) I came to the conclusion that it was the wieght of her hair pulling the curls out, until her hair was cut. No, its not fair that she is given the task of helping jessica, although i can see that it was probably done as a way to stop her brooding over her Gran's death. She definitely should not have been told about Jessica's family - that was unfair to both girls as well as a terrible breach of confidentiality (did Jessica ever find out that ML knew all along?). i can imagine that if Jessica had found out it would have put a barrier bewteen her and ML forever - she probably would have seen ML as just pitying either her or Rosamund. In RL, Emerence probably would have had a harsher punishment. However, this is not RL, and her punishment is in keeping with CS tradition, so we probably can't complain too much! Smile

#20: Author: Caroline OSullivan, Location: Reading, Berkshire, UK

Posted: Wed Apr 28, 2004 10:32 pm

Chelsea wrote:

Quote:

It wasn't the school who told Joey about Jessica. It was Katherine Gordon's Aunt Luce who was a friend of Jessica's mother. Later on after singing lesson row when M-L intercedes with Miss Annersley on Jessica's behalf, Miss A asks her something like 'just what do you know and who told you'.

#21: Author: Kathy_S, Location: midwestern US

Posted: Thu Apr 29, 2004 4:22 am

I think another factor may be that views on confidentiality today are much more stringent than they were in CS days, and that paternalistic (maternalistic?) attitudes toward helping the students were more common. Even in the years I've been teaching there's been a tightening up on the confidentiality front. For example, in the CS everyone seems to know where everyone else ranks in the form. Even when I was a student, grades were disguised by number when posted, and now, we can't post them at all, nor discuss a student's academic problems with concerned parents. Similarly, this past week we received a missive with another warning that we mustn't say anything remotely negative in a letter of recommendation due to confidentiality, and of course the possibility of being sued. Unfortunately, we can't refuse to write the things either. So, these letters are no longer worth the paper they're printed on.

#22: Author: Liss, Location: Harrow, London

Posted: Thu Apr 29, 2004 10:04 am

Yes, I think at the time things like form lists were common knowledge - and not only by change, as it were, but because they were actually read out. I suppose the idea was to congratulate those who had done well and shame those who hadn't into working harder! When we had exams at my senior school the subject teachers had a list of results in order that could often be seen lying around on their desks - they weren't exactly careful about them! A fine moment was when I discovered I had come 1st in Maths in the UIV summer exams - after my Maths teacher had been planning to put me into the 2nd set!! Mwahaha! That told her! (Shameless bragging - I apologise!) When they set Mary-Lou on people, at least they never had the nerve to tell her not to butt in. That was what always made me cross about how people laid into Len (especially after the whole Ted thing), when they had been piling exactly that sort of responsibility onto her for years.

#23: Author: Rachel, Location: Plotting in my lair

Posted: Thu Apr 29, 2004 10:36 am

When you think about it, the whole issue of telling someone other peoples business begins right at the start of the series in "School at" when Madge tells Joey about Juliet's parents being killed before she even tells Juliet. Joey is also kept informed when Captain Carrick dumps Juliet on the school - Madge reasoning that Joey has always been included up to now and it would be unfair to exclude her now! I find that reasoning somewhat off as I don't think it appropriate for a schoolgirl to be in the posistion of knowing private details about another girl - no matter how involved she had been before Madge started the school!

#24: Author: Pat, Location: Doncaster

Posted: Thu Apr 29, 2004 2:04 pm

When i was at school the exam results for each subject were posted on the form room notice board in order. That meant that not only your own form but any form who used the room during the day could see hoe you'd done. We didn't think anything of it. It didn't damage us in nay way. We knew rougly who we were up against (or our level in the form) and judged ourselves by that as to how well we'd done.

#25: Author: Chelsea, Location: Your Imagination

Posted: Thu Apr 29, 2004 2:12 pm

In high school, they posted the term's honour roll in the front hall of the school. If you didn't want to be on it, you went to the office and told them, which I did - it was no one else's business what my marks were (even though they were obviously okay since I was on the honour roll). However, all they did was white out my name and marks, so there were a few blank lines in the list (only 5 or so people ever asked to be removed), so it was pretty easy to work out where I fell anyway. SIlly I know, but it REALLY annoyed me!

#26: Author: LL, Location: Tottenham to Camberwell - The London Rollercoaster!

Posted: Thu Apr 29, 2004 2:27 pm

we never had that except for the really high marks in religion subjects, which I never came near. However, the teachers announced the higher marks in class for secular subjects, so people always knew my marks when I had high ones and never when I had low ones> which is why they always thought I was straight-As in everything! *g*, but hard to live up to!

#27: Author: Sarah_K, Location: St Albans/Leicester

Posted: Thu Apr 29, 2004 2:54 pm

The attempts at keeping marks secret in my old school always amused me as we'd all share almost immediately u less we'd done particularly badly in which case everyone knew anyway. But then again I always enjoyed the competitiveness of it all and it really made me work harder, I spent most of Secondary School competing with one of the other girls in my form because we were always within a mark or two of each other and I'm sure it lifted my grades. I know some people don't like that at all but it seems to be the way it works in the CS too. On the otherhand if my techers had given out any soopersekrit information about my home life (if there was any) I would have been VERY unimpressed. It always slightly unnerves me when it happens in the books and the case of Jessica particularly so. You can just see how mad it would make her if she had found out!

#28: Author: LL, Location: Tottenham to Camberwell - The London Rollercoaster!

Posted: Thu Apr 29, 2004 2:56 pm

[quote="Sarah_K"]I spent most of Secondary School competing with one of the other girls in my form because we were always within a mark or two of each other and I'm sure it lifted my grades.[quote] Why didn't that come out like a proper quote? Sorry Sarah! So did I in many subjects. I'm very competitive in that way.

Last edited by LL on Thu Apr 29, 2004 2:57 pm; edited 1 time in total

#29: Author: claire, Location: South Wales

Posted: Thu Apr 29, 2004 2:57 pm

We always used to share what the results were (or sometimes tests would be given back in the order of marks we'd achieved so you may not know the figure but you'd know who did best etc) Also I found that in some spot tests we'd all have to mark each others so you knew that way too. Madge did keep Joey too involved, but on certain things she would have had to have known (eg with the Juliet aspect she would have as Juliet would have been living with them in the holidays - even so, that said, Juliet should have been told first)

#30: Author: Sarah_L, Location: Leeds

Posted: Thu Apr 29, 2004 3:27 pm

My gran always used to ask my brother if he 'was a good scholar' and was he top of his form? At the time, I thought it was hilarious she still thought the old ideas and vocabulary still existed in schools.

#31: Re: Mary-Lou of the Chalet School Author: lizarfau, Location: Melbourne

Posted: Fri Apr 30, 2004 2:49 am

Fave/worst scenes I don't have a favourite scene in this book. I found this to be one of the most disappointing books in the series - reason being, it is the only book with Mary-Lou in the title, and given Mary-Lou is the second most important character in the entire series (to EBD's mind, anyway) I expected it to be really good. And it wasn't. Most of it was dull. Views on the Gang being dispersed as Mary-Lou & Co become Seniors It made sense, and as someone else has said, I'd always regarded many of them as 'hangers on'. The core of the Gang stayed together. Thoughts on her losing the Kenwigses Who cares?! -) Being tasked with Jessica - is this fair or not? No, absolutely not. It was also appalling the way she was told confidential details of Jessica's life. I think Mary-Lou was somewhat put-upon as a senior in terms of looking after people, particularly by Joey. Should Emerence have had a harsher punishment? Her natural punishment was harsh enough. Had she not caused the accident, she would probably have found herself in deep trouble. What do you think of Margot's role in "the accident"? She showed signs of maturity in that incident - signs that flattered to deceive, given her behaviour a few books later.

#32: Author: pim, Location: St Andrews (right next to the beach)

Posted: Fri Apr 30, 2004 11:54 am

Um, thoughts on this book... Well it was a good incentive to spend time in the gym, and is one of the few books where I actually don't find OOAO irritating. I liked the way she handled Jessica, but I agree with everyone else that it really wasn't Joey's place to be telling OOAO about that. In fat it really wasn't Joey's place to know in the first instance. It was also nice to see Margot not giving into her devil and trying to talk Emmy out of the tobogganing incident. But something that I'd not really picked up on before, when Jack goes to see Margot after it all and she says how much she'd wanted to see him and Joey but they'd been with OOAO all the time. I know that she was in grave danger and all the rest, but surely Jack and Joey could have spared even a few minutes to go and see Margot on account of the fact that she was their own daughter. Hmm. I enjoyed the St Nicholas bit as well, it was certainly something different and quite refreshing. On the whole, having initially not thought very much of this one, I've now decided it's one of the better ones in the series.

#33: Author: Helen, Location: Melbourne, Australia

Posted: Sat May 01, 2004 2:31 am

[quote="Sarah_K"]I know some people don't like that at all but it seems to be the way it works in the CS too. I'm one of those who hated it. In third and fourth form our English/ History teacher used to always hand out the exams from bottom to top, reading out the marks of those who passed. I was a good student in those subjects too, an "A" student. Since girls were getting much the same marks each time it didn't seen to make any difference to how well they did later, just embarrassed them. Just my thoughts.

#34: Author: Lesley, Location: Allhallows, Kent

Posted: Sat May 01, 2004 7:38 am

Fave/worst scenes Overall I quite like the book although it's not a favourite - if I had to chose, favourite scene - Mr Denny apologising, so nice to see a teacher realise he was in the wrong! worst scene - feast of St Nicholas - not sure why, but don't think it was well thought out - far too much scope for accidents - witness ML on the cupboard! Views on the Gang being dispersed as Mary-Lou & Co become Seniors As most of the Gang are the same age it always seemed unfair that certain members would be placed so far ahead of others -actually feltmore sorry for Jo Scott - she was always left far behind! That said though, people do tend to grow out of gangs as they get older. Thoughts on her losing the Kenwigses Not that bothered about them other than that they serve to show that she is growing up -and it sparks a revolution among the new Seniors! Being tasked with Jessica - is this fair or not? Being Mary Lou - it's possible that, left to herself, she'd have seen Jessica's misery and done something about it herself.But Joey telling her all about the problem and tasking her with fixing it? No,very unfair,and,as has been said before, a terrible breach of confidentiality on Joey's part. Why couldn't Mary Lou been allowed to grieve normally for her grandmother? It was as though this normal process was repressed as 'not nice!' Another case of Joey interfering in School business - she does so again with Ted later in the series. Should Emerence have had a harsher punishment? She made her own punishment in that she had a broken collar bone and was obviously very upset/remorseful - would have liked to see the scene with Miss A - she was with Emmy before Jack appeared - but EBD didn't write as many of them as we'd like! One thing that always puzzled me - why was it left to Jack Maynard to wash Emmy and change her jacket and feed her? Quite apart from the fact I can't see any doctor of the time doing basic nursing care -what about Matey? She'd been there and would obviously have seen what was needed! What do you think of Margot's role in "the accident"? I feel that, in this book, Margot shows signs of finally growing up, I wonder though if EBD thought it was too good a story line as the worst episodes with Margot happen later - incident with Ted - blackmail, and the bookend.

#35: Author: Nicci, Location: UK

Posted: Sat May 01, 2004 8:10 am

This is probably the hardest of the book reviews, because it ML was my first, and as a result, favourite CS book for quite a while. And then I read the earlier books and realised how good they could really be... Fave scene has to be the jumping on the wardrobe scene. I was interested in the whole st Nicholas thing (and I normally skip bits like that). Could someone tell me if this really is/was a french tradition? And am I going mad or did the staff do the St Nick stunt with Bill as St Nick in an earlier book?? ML and her hair: I liked the portrayal of the grieving ML growing up, and all the obvious methods EBD used to present this. Despite this book largely being about ML, I thought she was still the nice ML, just changed and more grown-up than in Three, which I think was the only previous big stylee ML book (could be wrong there!). The accident: I can't actually remember what happened with Emmy after - could someone fill me in please? As for Margot, I think she was treated rather harshly. Or rather, she treated herself rather harshly about it. Poor kid. I liked the scene between her and Jack.

#36: Author: claire, Location: South Wales

Posted: Sat May 01, 2004 6:26 pm

When I lived in Germany and went to school there we had St Nicholas and Black Peter come to the school - St Nicholas to give you a little present (and chocs) if you'd been good and Black Peter to take you away in his sack if you had been too bad - presumably it's just the french version of the same legend

#37: Author: Nicci, Location: UK

Posted: Sat May 01, 2004 7:18 pm

thanks Claire!

#38: Author: claire, Location: South Wales

Posted: Sat May 01, 2004 8:17 pm

No problem (but please bear in mind at one of my schools, not the same one I think Santa came to visit on a tank (covered in snow camaflague) so it may not have been that accurate a portrayal

#39: Author: Rosie, Location: Huntingdonshire/Bangor

Posted: Sun May 02, 2004 2:30 pm

What exactly would have been Emmy's punishment if she hadn't hurt herself? Or nowadays I suppose?

#40: Author: Chelsea, Location: Your Imagination

Posted: Sun May 02, 2004 8:11 pm

Something that struck me while reading this again last night. What was Jessica doing in the common room when ML first runs into her??? ML is very surprised to see her there, but it is never revealed why she is there. At least not in the PB. Oh, and when ML first asks for her sister-by-marriage, she asks "Where is Verity-Anne?" - so much for dropping the Verity (I know it is just a slip of the tongue, but I found it funny).

#41: Author: Catriona, Location: South Yorkshire

Posted: Sat May 22, 2004 7:26 pm

On re-reading this recently, much was made of Jessica's temper - do you think she might have been pre-menstrual???

#42: Author: Steph, Location: Blackpool, Lancashire

Posted: Sat Jun 05, 2004 8:50 pm

Having just got this book, I found it interesting and was able to see ML before she became annoying Laughing

One thing that annoyed me was so much fuss was made about the party the prefect's were going to hold and a whole chapter devoted to the discussion of what they would do, then the actual event was reduced to just a mention of how fun it had been. I don't know if this was just because it was in PB, but would have liked more info about the party since so much fuss was made before hand. Apart from that, I enjoyed it Laughing

#43: Author: Lisa_T, Location: Belfast

Posted: Sun Jul 11, 2004 12:01 am

*off to check my hb* *gloat* OK then. No explanations given for Jessica's whereabouts. Re the party, quite a lot more is made of it- let's see. Nope no further details on the actual party that i can see, but quite a lot about the preps. Matey is asked about the original sheets and pillowcase party and tells them about Therese Lepattre- which was cut. More bits and bobs like that. I always quite liked this book- partly cos it had to be ordered in which was a big deal for me at fifteen! It's much better in HB though there are no major cuts really, but the book is constantly slashed throughout whicjh is annoying. I was never too bothered about the Jessica thing in one way- it wasn't a lapse of confidentiality on the school's part, but I don't see how early pregnancy could have made it impossible for Jo to take Jess on herself. Then again, as she said, Jessica would have resented an adult interfering in her affairs, but it was unfair on ML, and, realistically, ML feels this and only agrees reluctantly. Anyone think there's a tinge of blackmail in the way Jo gets her to agree? OK, maybe this does bother me after all! Kenswiges- no real thoughts on way or other. But it paves the way for ML's development post accident. I've often thought that a radical hair change can alter (or be the result of such change) personality. Accident- What the heck was Jack doing undressing and redressing a girl of fifteen?! Emerence, remember, was close to ML's own age and nearly 3 years older than Margot. At least well into puberty. Now, Jack would probably get into all sorts of trouble, and the school with him! I always wanted to see the Heads with both Margot and Emerence at this time. Fill in drabbling possibilities perhaps?

#44: Author: Lulie, Location: Middlesbrough

Posted: Sun Jul 11, 2004 4:13 pm

Lisa_T wrote:

Accident- What the heck was Jack doing undressing and redressing a girl of fifteen?! Emerence, remember, was close to ML's own age and nearly 3 years older than Margot. At least well into puberty. Now, Jack would probably get into all sorts of trouble, and the school with him! I always wanted to see the Heads with both Margot and Emerence at this time. Fill in drabbling possibilities perhaps?

When I was in my mid-teens a couple of friends and I would read the books and giggle over various "amusing" parts (don't ask what, I can't remember!) That was one thing that really concerned us - the way the doctors would undress and sometimes apparently bathe girls who were well into puberty. It always seemed a bit suspect to us - as one said "It's no wonder they all marry older doctors!"

#45: Author: Lesley, Location: Allhallows, Kent

Posted: Sun Jul 11, 2004 4:46 pm

That bit always annoys me too! Especially as it begs the question what the hell Matron and the Nurses were doing? Also, as Headmistress, I think Miss Annersley would/should have objected.

#46: Author: Ally, Location: Jack Maynard's Dressing Room!!

Posted: Sun Jul 11, 2004 5:20 pm

In Jo Returns, Jo has her chest and back rubbed by Matey, after she ventures into the cold without much clothing. Yes, Matey is female, but Jo is 18 at this time, and I would not have been happy about this happening when I was 18.

#47: Author: Kathy_S, Location: midwestern US

Posted: Sun Jul 11, 2004 9:07 pm

On the dressing-undressing question, I think that, in the EBD world, medical personnel were exempt from the taboo while in pursuit of their vocations. The clinical eye would have been considered detached and impersonal, making the doctor/nurse/matron a most appropriate and well-trained caregiver. This was still part of the doctor mystique during my childhood, though it's clear I never really assimilated it properly, since I still favor women when choosing a GP/gyn type.

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