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Bridget Jones: The Gornetz Platz updated 31 Mar
http://www.the-cbb.co.uk/viewtopic.php?f=13&t=7508
Author:  Joey [ Tue Mar 16, 2010 9:25 am ]
Post subject:  Bridget Jones: The Gornetz Platz updated 31 Mar
Hmm. I fully intended that when I started posting fan fic again, it would be a continuation of my Harry Potter crossover. I do still intend to go back to that, but in the meantime, I dreamed about this for thre consecutive nights and decided to take the hint. I'm not sure how long this will be. There's no mention of the CS in this first section, but I promise it's not far behind!

August 31st

Weight: Who cares! Mark doesn’t, so I don’t. Ciggies: None. Have given up (yes I have) as Mark dislikes habit, though is far too nice to say so.

8.00 am

Hmm. Post came early. Mark has clearly received worrying missive and doesn’t know how to tell me about it. Should I remind him that I am never going back to Thailand again? Think he already knows. Text Magda surreptitiously under table. Gah!

8.15

Was Mark saying, “It’s no good, you know. I’m taking the letter with me and neither you nor Magda will ever guess what it says if you try with both hands till your ears fall off. I’ll tell you later.” Then he kissed me goodbye (mmm) and went to work.

How did he know was Magda I was texting? Could have been Jude or Shazzer or Tom.

Of course Jude and Vile Richard and baby Daniel (why did Jude name her baby Daniel? Why?? Why??? Even if Daniel was the name of Vile Richard’s brother who died) are on holiday in Marrakesh, Shazzer is working in Edinburgh at the moment and Tom is still living in LA with hotel porter.

Still, could in theory have been texting Tom or Shazzer or Jude.

Magda arrived at 9.30 with Laura, Lily and baby Toby in tow. Can still hardly believe Constance and Harry are at school now.

“God,” said Magda the instant she arrived, “I’m glad I made Jeremy have his tubes chopped after Tobes. I could see myself popping them out at two-year intervals for eternity.” Then she glared at me. “I hope Mark is taking care of you.”

Flapped hands at her to signal there was something much more important to discuss. Quickly helped her unpack children and made large pot of tea. Told her about the letter.

“Bridge, why are you worried?” asks Magda. This is not the reaction I expect from supportive friend and I tell her so. “Oh, don’t be so melodramatic, Bridget,” she says. “Mark wouldn’t dream of asking you to go to Thailand again. Or anywhere as bad,” she cuts me off. “Is there anywhere as bad as Thailand, from your point of view?” she asks interestedly.

“Well, no,” I concede reluctantly. “But that’s hardly the point.”

“The point is that Mark Darcy utterly adores you and all your friends are madly jealous, even Jude and I, who are happily married, and Tom, who is happily co-habiting with a hotel porter.”

Doorbell rang at that point. When I answered it was bouquet of roses and stargazer lilies so huge that the delivery girl was almost lost beneath them.

“He apologises for being mysterious and he’ll explain later,” she says when I have relieved her of them. She is a nice girl. She never bothers writing Mark’s messages down any more since he told her I always lost the miniature cards.

When I get back to the kitchen Magda has already filled two vases with water. How did she know? I relay Mark’s message and point out that there clearly is something going on. Magda shakes her head in disbelief.

“If it wasn’t that you’re always this mad and suspicious I’d suspect you of Hormones,” she says ominously. So I am forced to tell her that that there is still no news. This is hard as she was pregnant with Constance practically before she and Jeremy cut the wedding cake. But she is sympathetic and it is good to talk to someone other than Mark.

Just as Magda decides it is time to start trying to capture the children to take them home for lunch, Mark rings.

“Is Magda still there?” he asks.

“Yes, why?”

“Because I’m about to say something that will make you very suspicious and it might help if you take Magda and the children out for lunch so that you can continue discussing my iniquitous crimes.”

“What?” I asked suspiciously.

“I have taken tomorrow off work and we’re driving down to Grafton Underwood to see my parents.”

I sit down heavily on the stairs.

“So you see, you now have proof that I’m up to something and I still won’t tell you,” said Mark.

“You’re not going to tell my mother that we’re going to Grafton Underwood, are you?” I managed to choke out.

“No, no,” says Mark reassuringly. That’s good. I love Mark’s mum and dad, and they love me. Well, that’s probably true of my mother too, but she’s much harder to appreciate, due to the fact that she is genuinely and completely stark staring bonkers.

“What? What?” I said suddenly, as I realised that Mark had carried on talking.

“I was just reminding you that you hid the cigarettes in the aspidistra, darling,” he said. “And I have to go now. I love you, Bridget Darcy. See you soon.”

He put the phone down before I could even say Gah!
Author:  JB [ Tue Mar 16, 2010 9:28 am ]
Post subject:  Re: Bridget Jones: The Gornetz Platz
This Bridget is much better than Helen Fielding's. I became rather bored of her version. Thanks Joey.
Author:  Mona [ Tue Mar 16, 2010 9:36 am ]
Post subject:  Re: Bridget Jones: The Gornetz Platz
Excellent start, thank you!
Author:  abbeybufo [ Tue Mar 16, 2010 10:25 am ]
Post subject:  Re: Bridget Jones: The Gornetz Platz
Love it! :lol:

Thanks Joey :D
Author:  ammonite [ Tue Mar 16, 2010 12:06 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Bridget Jones: The Gornetz Platz
This looks like being fun :D Thanks Joey.
Author:  ChubbyMonkey [ Tue Mar 16, 2010 12:33 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Bridget Jones: The Gornetz Platz
They wouldn't happen to be going to Switzerland, would they? :lol: Thankyou for an interesting new drabble!
Author:  cal562301 [ Tue Mar 16, 2010 12:51 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Bridget Jones: The Gornetz Platz
This looks like fun. More please.
Author:  Rob [ Tue Mar 16, 2010 1:12 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Bridget Jones: The Gornetz Platz
What an interesting start Joey, looking forward to more of this!
Author:  Loryat [ Tue Mar 16, 2010 1:46 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Bridget Jones: The Gornetz Platz
You've captured HF's style perfectly. Great! Though I can't believe how many children you've saddled poor Magda with. :D
Author:  Abi [ Tue Mar 16, 2010 9:43 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Bridget Jones: The Gornetz Platz
I am shamed to say that I have never read Bridget Jones, though I have seen the film. I feel it may be worth a try!
Author:  JS [ Wed Mar 17, 2010 8:03 am ]
Post subject:  Re: Bridget Jones: The Gornetz Platz
So why is a top human rights lawyer needed on the Platz?? Too many possibilities.

Nice to see Bridget more relaxed, although still paranoid!

Thanks Joey, really looking forward to more of this.
Author:  Eilidh [ Wed Mar 17, 2010 9:01 am ]
Post subject:  Re: Bridget Jones: The Gornetz Platz
This looks great, thanks Joey!
Author:  Joey [ Wed Mar 17, 2010 11:10 am ]
Post subject:  Re: Bridget Jones: The Gornetz Platz
Thanks, I'm glad you like it. Here's the next bit...

September 1st

Weight: Don’t care! Ciggies: 3. All smoked in car on way to Grafton Underwood. Mark doesn’t protest or even look askance. He’d better tell me what’s going on. Soon. Or else.

10.30.

Arrive at Malcolm and Elaine’s house. Elaine greets me with a big hug and Malcolm puts a cup of tea in my hand. Oh god. They know it’s serious.

When we are all assembled in conservatory, Mark leans forward and takes my free hand in both his.

“Bridget, my darling, please forgive me for being so mysterious and for worrying you. It’s just that what I have to tell you is a bit complicated. My mum and dad will be able to help me explain.”

“Mark, do you mean you haven’t told Bridget anything?” exclaims Elaine. She looks annoyed, and Malcolm tuts loudly. I am relieved. If they’re cross with Mark and not worried, it can’t be that bad.

“Who was your letter from?” I ask. He wouldn’t even tell me that last night.

“Actually I had two letters,” says Mark. “The one you saw me read at home, which was from Dad’s cousin Barney Lucy, and one I received at work from Anne Lambert, the headmistress of the Chalet School.”

“Barney Lucy?” I say indignantly. “Even I’ve heard of him, even before I knew you! Why didn’t you tell me you were related?” Then my brain catches up with my ears. “The Chalet School? Isn’t that that weird girl’s public school that’s in Switzerland instead of Scotland or Cheltenham like normal ones? Why should the headmistress be writing to you? You don’t know her!”

“No, but I do,” says Elaine, as Mark scratches his ear nervously. “We were at school together, though she’s a couple of years older than me. I was in the same form as her sister, Jack.”

“Jack’s a boy’s name,” I say.

“Yes, well, Jack was a bit of a tomboy at school. She refused to answer to Jacynth. She made up for it after leaving school, though,” she said thoughtfully. “She was the first of our form to get married, and she had three children before she was twenty-two.”

“I didn’t know you went to school in Switzerland, Elaine,” I say.

“The Chalet School hardly counts as Switzerland,” says Elaine. “Though I think it’s more international in outlook these days. Anne’s dragged it kicking and screaming into the twenty-first century. Mind you, she couldn’t have done that if it weren’t for the previous head, Nancy Wilmott. Chalet School heads tend to serve for a long time,” she says thoughtfully. “It was eighty years old last year, and there have only been six heads.”

I pull myself together.

“I’m sure this is all very interesting, but what has it got to do with Mark?” I ask plaintively. “Mark?”

“Well, you see...” says Mark, scratching his ear again. I’ve never seen Mark at a loss for words before. He loos at his parents for support, and they look back at him and say nothing. At last he shakes himself all over and says, in a hurry, “One of the developments instituted by Anne Lambert is that every two years, various professionals attend the Gornetz Platz for six weeks in the Christmas term to discuss their education and careers with the Fifth Form girls, so that they can decide what they need to study in the sixth form.”

“That’s not that unusual,” I say. “We had talks when I was in the fifth, and…” for the second time that morning my brain catches up with my ears. “How can that take six weeks?” I demand. “And - Oh. My. God. Mark, why on earth do they want you to go? You’re not thinking of saying yes, are you? You’re not going anywhere without me for six whole weeks! Not ever! Never! But especially not ever right now!”
Author:  JennieP [ Wed Mar 17, 2010 11:37 am ]
Post subject:  Re: Bridget Jones: The Gornetz Platz updated 17 Mar
*warns one and all that Bridget will be shoved down a crevassse and I will run off with Mr Darcy who will miraculously have become a doctor on the trip over.*

This is great, thanks Jo!
Author:  cal562301 [ Wed Mar 17, 2010 11:58 am ]
Post subject:  Re: Bridget Jones: The Gornetz Platz updated 17 Mar
Woohoo! Looks like a trip to CS is on the cards for Bridget. Will be interesting to see how Anne Lambert has dragged 'kicking and screaming' CS into the 21st century too.
:shock: At the thought of Jack Lambert with 3 kids!

Thanks for the update and looking forward to more.
Author:  JB [ Wed Mar 17, 2010 12:36 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Bridget Jones: The Gornetz Platz updated 17 Mar
Joey, I can't begin to tell you how many ways I love this drabble.

:rofl: at Jack Lambert.
Author:  abbeybufo [ Wed Mar 17, 2010 12:54 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Bridget Jones: The Gornetz Platz updated 17 Mar
Thanks Joey - this continues to be great :lol:
Author:  Loryat [ Wed Mar 17, 2010 2:21 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Bridget Jones: The Gornetz Platz updated 17 Mar
Nice to see Anne Lambert getting a chance to shine! I always felt sorry for her being nothing more than 'Jack's rather colourless older sister'.
Author:  sealpuppy [ Wed Mar 17, 2010 2:32 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Bridget Jones: The Gornetz Platz updated 17 Mar
This is fun! :D Am swooning at the idea of Colin Firth at the CS. Could this idea be extended to invite Major Richard Sharpe to talk to the girls about the Napoleonic Wars? And Alan Rickman to talk about anything he likes as long as he keeps talking? And possibly DCI Gene Hunt to discuss sensitive policing?
:oops: Off for a lie down in a darkened room now. :oops:
Author:  ChubbyMonkey [ Wed Mar 17, 2010 2:48 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Bridget Jones: The Gornetz Platz updated 17 Mar
JennieP wrote:
*warns one and all that Bridget will be shoved down a crevassse and I will run off with Mr Darcy who will miraculously have become a doctor on the trip over.*

This is great, thanks Jo!


Not if I get him first! :twisted:

Thankyou for the update.
Author:  shesings [ Wed Mar 17, 2010 5:11 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Bridget Jones: The Gornetz Platz updated 17 Mar
I've just found this,Joey, and it is brill, brill, brill!!! :D :D
Author:  ammonite [ Wed Mar 17, 2010 5:51 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Bridget Jones: The Gornetz Platz updated 17 Mar
ChubbyMonkey wrote:
JennieP wrote:
*warns one and all that Bridget will be shoved down a crevassse and I will run off with Mr Darcy who will miraculously have become a doctor on the trip over.*

This is great, thanks Jo!


Not if I get him first! :twisted:

Thankyou for the update.


Ariel, you already have all the doctors - leave some for the rest of us. Thanks Joey, it will be great to see how the CS has updated itself.
Author:  Abi [ Wed Mar 17, 2010 9:22 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Bridget Jones: The Gornetz Platz updated 17 Mar
:lol: :lol: :lol: This looks like a highly fun situation.... :D
Author:  Rob [ Wed Mar 17, 2010 11:41 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Bridget Jones: The Gornetz Platz updated 17 Mar
Thanks Joey!
Author:  JS [ Thu Mar 18, 2010 9:13 am ]
Post subject:  Re: Bridget Jones: The Gornetz Platz updated 17 Mar
Glad that Anne Lambert is head. Why is Bridget so alarmed at being left 'right now' - she can't be busy if she's smoking all these cigs.

Thanks Jo, another who's enjoying this very much :D
Author:  Joey [ Thu Mar 18, 2010 1:25 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Bridget Jones: The Gornetz Platz updated 17 Mar
Glad you're all enjoying this!

Bridget finds out that one of her more unexpected friends is an old Chalet girl...

September 3rd

Weight: Don’t know. Ciggies: one and a half. Trying to be good.

11.00

Everyone but Mark thinks am odd to be friends with a middle-aged nun, until I say it’s Sister Julian. Everyone has read the article on the Times website: it’s my best so far. Knew she would understand why I feel so odd about this whole Chalet School thing.

Sister Julian looks peculiar when I say the words “Gornetz Platz”.

“Why, have you heard of it? Do you know about the Chalet School?” I ask.

“You could say that,” says Sister Julian. “How much has Mark told you? Do you know where you will be staying?”

“Apparently there’s a huge house next door to the school that’s used partly as a kind of hostel, I think,” I say. “At least, the people who live there are involved with the school, and when couples need somewhere to stay, they put them up. It’s got a weird name.”

“Freudesheim,” says Sister Julian, then looks cross with herself. Then she sighs and says, “It’s not that odd really. It just means “Happy Home.”

“Have you been to the Gornetz Platz?” I ask eagerly. “Is it really like an outpost of middle England? That’s how Elaine Darcy described it.”

“It certainly used to be,” says Sister Julian cautiously. Then she sighs and seems to pull herself together. “I might as well tell you,” she says. “The Chalet School and its old girls get everywhere. It’s worse than the worst of the Old Boys’ networks.”

“Is that a bad thing?” I ask tentatively.

“I’ve never been able to work out what it is,” she says wryly. “Not only am I an old pupil, but my aunt founded the school and my family lived in Freudesheim. My parents handed it over to my eldest sister when she had her triplets – she already had ten children so they reckoned they needed the space more.” She sighs again. “And you might as well know the worst – that same sister is Helena Maynard, although her married name is Entwistle. Our middle triplet is Constance Richardson. My name used to be Margaret.”

My mouth drops open.

“But – but – Helena Maynard won the Nobel Peace Prize! And Constance Richardson won the Nobel Prize for Literature!” Brain does the catching-up thing. “Did you say triplets? You’re one of triplets and you and your sisters have all won Nobel Prizes?”
Author:  PaulineS [ Thu Mar 18, 2010 1:57 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Bridget Jones: The Gornetz Platz updated 18 Mar
Love Bridget response to Margot/Sister Julian information.
Quote:
“But – but – Helena Maynard won the Nobel Peace Prize! And Constance Richardson won the Nobel Prize for Literature!” Brain does the catching-up thing. “Did you say triplets? You’re one of triplets and you and your sisters have all won Nobel Prizes?”

Thanks for letting us catch up with the triplets. But Len with thirteen children and a Noble Prize for Peace how did she fit it all in!
Author:  Mona [ Thu Mar 18, 2010 2:11 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Bridget Jones: The Gornetz Platz updated 18 Mar
Really enjoying this - thanks!
Author:  JB [ Thu Mar 18, 2010 2:38 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Bridget Jones: The Gornetz Platz updated 18 Mar
13 children? Len deserves a Nobel prize. :shock:

Thanks Joey.
Author:  Artemis [ Thu Mar 18, 2010 2:58 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Bridget Jones: The Gornetz Platz updated 18 Mar
What's Margot got hers for? That's what you said, isn't it - they ALL have them?

I am so enjoying this - it is hilarious . . . please keep updating regularly!
Author:  Loryat [ Thu Mar 18, 2010 3:00 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Bridget Jones: The Gornetz Platz updated 18 Mar
Does this mean Margot has won a prize too? Wouldn't want her to be left out! :D
Author:  Tor [ Thu Mar 18, 2010 3:00 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Bridget Jones: The Gornetz Platz updated 18 Mar
I hope Sister Julian got the prize for medicine, Joey.
Author:  ChubbyMonkey [ Thu Mar 18, 2010 3:27 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Bridget Jones: The Gornetz Platz updated 18 Mar
*splutters* I do like the triplets! Thanks for the update.
Author:  cal562301 [ Thu Mar 18, 2010 3:29 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Bridget Jones: The Gornetz Platz updated 18 Mar
Absolutely wonderful. More please! :D
Author:  JS [ Thu Mar 18, 2010 5:44 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Bridget Jones: The Gornetz Platz updated 18 Mar
You'd need to be a Nobel Peace Prize-holder to cope with 13 children! And for coping with the fury of Joey at being beaten by her daughter in the 'large family' stakes.

Thanks Jo.
Author:  Abi [ Thu Mar 18, 2010 10:27 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Bridget Jones: The Gornetz Platz updated 18 Mar
:shock: :shock: :shock: Well, the triplets have certainly gone places.......
Author:  Lesley [ Fri Mar 19, 2010 6:06 am ]
Post subject:  Re: Bridget Jones: The Gornetz Platz updated 18 Mar
Well done triplets!

Sorry to have missed an update - thanks Joey
Author:  Joey [ Fri Mar 19, 2010 12:03 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Bridget Jones: The Gornetz Platz updated 18 Mar
Bridget doesn't give any details because it's not part of her current story, but Sister Julian won the Nobel Prize for Medicine in the seventies, for her reasearch into the causes of TB. Although she is over seventy she only retired three years ago when she was found to have contraced TB. She now lives in one of her Order's houses in London. Bridget wrote a prize-winning article about her life as one of the most inspiring women of the twntieth century. It made Bridget's name as a serious journalist and made Sister Julian famous all over again. For reasons of her own she chose not to talk about her family or schooldays for the interview.

Helen stopped being called Len when she went to Oxford. She studied Miranian and Belsornian and became fascinated by the literature. After graduating from Oxford she spend four years studying in Belsornia and one in Mirania. Because of her connection to the Royal Families of both countries, when they wanted to secede from the USSR she was appointed by Russia to mediate between them. (She had to brush up on her Russian in order to do so.) It was the only time during the Cold War that two countries were able to come out from behind the Iron Curtain with absolutely no bloodshed. For a few months afterwards things looked dodgy between Mirania and Belsornia, but Helen persuaded them that it would be a much better idea to share their history and culture with the world than to fight amongst themselves. She was only twenty-eight when she was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. The following year she went back to the Platz and married Reg, who had proved his worth by waiting for her to have a career.

And, for completeness: Connie also changed what she was called when she started at Oxford. She and Roger Richardson had fallen in love practically as soon as they met, although they were only kids. (This may be one of the reasons why Con was so "moony" at school.) They didn't want to get engaged because they thought they were so young one of them was bound to meet someone else, but neither of them did. So Roger became a founder member of the Gornetz Engineering Works and Con went back to the Platz and got married when she was twenty-two. Despite the fact that at one point she had five children under four (triplets and two singletons) she quickly became a prolific and very popular writer, and her books are regarded as modern classics. She was nominated for the Nobel Prize for Literature in the late seventies, but actually won it twenty years later.

(Why, yes, I have spent far too much time thinking about all this. I also have careers for the rest of the Maynard children and the wards.)

On with Bridget's story...

3.00

Sister Julian is lovely. She is going to write to her sister, Mrs Entwistle, about me. Never thought I would find it reassuring that someone in her seventies is looking out for me.

Met Jude and Baby Daniel for lunch. Jude all solicitous and says she doesn’t want to lose me for six weeks. Will be odd without urban family, but am beginning to think the Chalet School may be an adventure. Was shocked to hear from Sister Julian about how many famous Old Girls there are. Even the former Prime Minister of Australia! And not just flashily famous people, but people who have made a difference. Look at how much difference Mrs Entwistle made, and Sister Julian. And Joan Baker, who used to be head of the UN Security Council. Had never thought there could be anything good about a boarding school, but can’t help being interested in a place that has produced so many of the good and the great.

Sister Julian told me that many of her extended family have squads of kids, and they seem to go in for multiples. Was kind of her to warn me. She herself was one of seventeen, although six of them were adopted. Mrs Entwistle had triplets and quads, two sets of twins, and two “singletons”.

One thing is odd though. Sister Julian says she would have been at school with Elaine but she doesn’t remember anyone with that name. Asked me whether she used another name at school. Also asked me to remember her to Elaine, which seems odd when she doesn’t know who she is. Decide to ring Elaine. If there is a mystery am sure she can clear it up.

She seems pleased to hear from me.

“Hello, Bridget. Are you becoming reconciled to Switzerland?”

“Possibly,” I reply cautiously. “Elaine, did you know that Sister Julian was at school with you?”

“Of course I did,” she said. “When the article came out, she chose to only mention that she had been educated in Switzerland, no details about her school or family or anything. I felt I should respect her privacy. But when I knew her, she was called Margot Maynard and she was very bright, pretty and clever.”

“She said something odd.”

Elaine sighs. “I suppose she told you she couldn’t remember anyone called Elaine. Look, one thing you’ll realise before you’re much older is that the Chalet School is extraordinary in every possible way, and that includes its memory. When my parents entered me as a pupil, they were told that a girl called Elaine Smithers had once been expelled for blackmail. They were afraid I might be bullied if people thought I was in some way connected with her, so I used my middle name at school. Your friend Sister Julian would have known me as Victoria Wood.”

Am stunned: a feeling which is not lessened when Elaine goes on to say that although Elaine Smithers attended a school which was later amalgamated with the Chalet School, she was not actually a pupil there herself. I mean, there’s having a good memory and there is being a set of utter crackpots. Am more intrigued than ever.
Author:  judithR [ Fri Mar 19, 2010 12:14 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Bridget Jones: The Gornetz Platz updated 19 Mar
Yippee & a crossover with your "Hogwarts" story!
Author:  Loryat [ Fri Mar 19, 2010 2:05 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Bridget Jones: The Gornetz Platz updated 19 Mar
Love your details about the Maynards and old CS girls. :)
Author:  PaulineS [ Fri Mar 19, 2010 2:29 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Bridget Jones: The Gornetz Platz updated 19 Mar
Quote:
Even the former Prime Minister of Australia! And not just flashily famous people, but people who have made a difference. Look at how much difference Mrs Entwistle made, and Sister Julian. And Joan Baker, who used to be head of the UN Security Council.


Em Hope I take it. Well done to her and Joan on their achievements.
Thanks for the update.
Author:  Tor [ Fri Mar 19, 2010 2:38 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Bridget Jones: The Gornetz Platz updated 19 Mar
Joey, I like this alternate universe. Please write about Joan Baker at the UN. Pretty please.
Author:  JS [ Fri Mar 19, 2010 4:48 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Bridget Jones: The Gornetz Platz updated 19 Mar
Good for Emerence - shows that she wasn't held back even if she apparently wouldn't have managed to get to the sixth form while at school :lol:

Also love the triplets' back-stories and very much looking forward to Bridget and Mark getting to the Platz.
Author:  JB [ Fri Mar 19, 2010 6:17 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Bridget Jones: The Gornetz Platz updated 19 Mar
Thanks, Joey. Please do tell us what happened to the other Maynards and the wards.
Author:  Joey [ Fri Mar 19, 2010 7:16 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Bridget Jones: The Gornetz Platz updated 19 Mar
The other Maynards' careers, including wards (and Bettanys and Russells) are in Chapters 2 & 3 ("Ancient History" and "Joanna's Family") of Joanna Creates a Sensation. Because I am insane, I've just started re-posting from Chapter 8. You will find Part i & Part II in the archives, or PM me you email address for a yibble-free version.
Author:  ChubbyMonkey [ Fri Mar 19, 2010 8:41 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Bridget Jones: The Gornetz Platz updated 19 Mar
Is there anything that the Chalet School can't do?

Thanks for the update!
Author:  Abi [ Fri Mar 19, 2010 10:25 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Bridget Jones: The Gornetz Platz updated 19 Mar
Love the enormous number of great and good that the CS has produced. Not to mention the number of children the Maynards have produced... :shock:
Author:  marni [ Sat Mar 20, 2010 11:05 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Bridget Jones: The Gornetz Platz updated 19 Mar
This is brilliant. I'm really enjoying this and looking forward to the next instalment. Thank you
Author:  2nd Gen Fan [ Mon Mar 22, 2010 11:32 am ]
Post subject:  Re: Bridget Jones: The Gornetz Platz updated 19 Mar
This is fantastic, I think I have enjoyed it even more than the original Bridget Jones! Looking forward to the next bit.
Author:  Joey [ Mon Mar 22, 2010 12:23 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Bridget Jones: The Gornetz Platz updated 19 Mar
I realised I'd got the month wrong, so I've edited previous posts to reflect that it's actually September now. (I really decided I didn't want to hang around in London for another month, but get to the CS as soon as possible.)

September 6th

Weight: no idea. Ciggies: none. They don’t really help.

Only three weeks till we go to Switzerland. Am still not sure what to expect. Relieved that Mark had no intention of abandoning me. There will be opportunities for sight-seeing (and have been assured that no-one will expect me to ski, and not just because it will be too early for snow). But Mark will be at the school for at least four hours, three days a week, and have no idea what I will do then.

Sister Julian tells me that both Mrs Entwistle and Mrs Richardson will be happy to be interviewed by me. This will be a coup as both are known for being reclusive and quiet about their lives. Am sure that very few people know that Helena Maynard got married two weeks before collecting the Nobel Peace Prize, and went on to have an unholy number of children. So it will not be a dead loss as far as work is concerned. I would dearly love to interview Joan Baker. I wonder if she lives up there? Sister Julian says it isn’t really an outpost of Middle England any more, but there are a remarkable number of English-speaking families. Would be great to meet Maeve Bettany, too. Would be interesting to hear about the process of changing a general hospital into one specialising in rare infectious diseases. Sister Julian tells me that before it was a general hospital, the Achensee Sanatorium was a TB hospital, and that’s why the Maynards moved out there. Not sure whether any British papers will be interested in a Swiss hospital, even if a lot of the staff have always been British by birth.

For that matter, am becoming increasingly intrigued by the prospect of interviewing Anne Lambert. Apparently her predecessor, Miss Wilmott, still lives on the Platz too. Is beginning to be apparent that the Chalet School really isn’t like other public schools for girls, though am uncertain whether it sounds amazing or demented.

There will be babies – one of Mrs Entwistle’s daughters lives in Freudesheim with her four brats, and there are others scattered around the shelf, as well as one of Mrs Richardson’s sons and a few nieces and nephews. Maybe seeing other babies instead of Magda’s and Baby Richard will loosen something up! Better not say that to Mark. Do not want to be accused of hysteria. Gah!

Wish Mark would not always text or ring when I am thinking of something I do not want him to know. Am sure the shock makes me sound more mad than really am.

I do love my husband, though. “I just wanted to remind you that whatever happens, and even if we stay a family of two for the rest of our lives, I still love you more every day.”
Author:  Lyanne [ Mon Mar 22, 2010 7:57 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Bridget Jones: The Gornetz Platz updated 22 Mar
Ah, how sweet! (I take it they're having problems conceiving then?)
Author:  ChubbyMonkey [ Mon Mar 22, 2010 9:02 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Bridget Jones: The Gornetz Platz updated 22 Mar
She seems to have really landed on her feet here! Thanks for the update.
Author:  Abi [ Mon Mar 22, 2010 10:51 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Bridget Jones: The Gornetz Platz updated 19 Mar
Joey wrote:
Is beginning to be apparent that the Chalet School really isn’t like other public schools for girls, though am uncertain whether it sounds amazing or demented.


:lol: :lol: Yes, from what she ways I'm not sure either!

This is great - thanks Joey!
Author:  sealpuppy [ Tue Mar 23, 2010 5:32 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Bridget Jones: The Gornetz Platz updated 22 Mar
I think the fertile air of the Platz will be just what Bridget needs. Wouldn't like to hear her language if she ends up with quads though! This is fun, thank you!
Author:  Joey [ Sat Mar 27, 2010 3:27 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Bridget Jones: The Gornetz Platz updated 22 Mar
Sorry for not updating this. I'm writing it as I'm posting, and this has been a crazy week. I hope to update on Monday.
Author:  Joey [ Wed Mar 31, 2010 1:29 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Bridget Jones: The Gornetz Platz updated 22 Mar
Eek, sorry for so long between updates. Life has been real and earnest for the last week or so - hope I'll have time to update regularly for a while now.

September 8th
Weight: Seem to be slightly thinner. Winter clothes a bit loose. Ciggies: None. Have even thrown away the packet that was in the aspidistra. Still kept the packet under my side of the mattress, though, in case of real emergency.

Had to try winter clothes on to find out how much I need to buy before going to Switzerland. Apparently real winter doesn’t get going till December, and there is not much snow / winter sport till January. This is a good thing as it seems unlikely anyone will expect me to ski when there is no snow. However, Sister Julian recommended I should take warm clothes as even in October / November it will be colder than it is here.

Have had a lovely letter from Mrs Entwistle. Started by hoping I would call her Helen instead of trying to be polite. She is sure the Chalet School looks completely bonkers from the outside, and she’s fascinated to see what a state-educated journalist will make of it. Was surprised by her language and also by the lack of snobbery. I mean, a boarding school is Switzerland of all places must cost a fortune. Sister Julian tells me that they have a lot of scholarships, and that once a girl is in the CS system, she will be provided for. Only last year a girl in the third form (I think that’s about year seven) was left without anyone to look after her when her parents were involved in a horrible accident. She has been taken in by Grace Lucy, Mrs Entwistle’s daughter (who married Barney Lucy’s youngest son, so she is connected to Mark and me by marriage – weird thought!) So she has a home in the holidays, and she is coping well with her loss. Sister Julian says it has always been like that. By the time the school was in its second term, her aunt, who was only 24 and was already guardian to her twelve-year-old sister, had two wards.

I don’t doubt that the school looks after people, including financially, once they are in the inner circle. They seem to genuinely care, and judging by the number of alumni who have gone on to make a difference, they teach compassion very well. It’s how people get into that inner circle that is bothering me at the moment. Surely only stinking rich people go to boarding school? If I do write about the school, surely they will dismiss anything negative I say, because of my unprivileged background? And after all, am not so very unprivileged myself. Grew up in a nice house with middle-class (demented) parents. We were never on the breadline and I never really needed anything.

Will be interesting to see how this turns out. For now, am off into town. Magda is going to help me spend some of Mark’s hard-earned cash.
Author:  PaulineS [ Wed Mar 31, 2010 3:19 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Bridget Jones: The Gornetz Platz updated 31 Mar
Pleased you have had time to update this. I think Bridget may be in for a surprise.
Author:  Abi [ Wed Mar 31, 2010 6:41 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Bridget Jones: The Gornetz Platz updated 31 Mar
Love her thoughts about the CS Inner Circle - it does sound a little weird put like that! Thanks for the update Joey. :D
Author:  JB [ Wed Mar 31, 2010 6:44 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Bridget Jones: The Gornetz Platz updated 31 Mar
Thanks, Joey. Looking forward to Bridget meeting them all.
Author:  ChubbyMonkey [ Wed Mar 31, 2010 7:23 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Bridget Jones: The Gornetz Platz updated 31 Mar
I can't wait until she gets there! Thanks for the update.
Author:  Rob [ Wed Mar 31, 2010 8:59 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Bridget Jones: The Gornetz Platz updated 31 Mar
Thanks Joey! Looking forward to Bridget's reaction to the School/Platz.
Author:  JS [ Thu Apr 01, 2010 7:31 am ]
Post subject:  Re: Bridget Jones: The Gornetz Platz updated 31 Mar
Oh dear, related by marriage already - I think that means she'll have lots of people calling her Auntie Bridget.

Thanks Joey.
Author:  Emma A [ Thu Apr 01, 2010 12:48 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Bridget Jones: The Gornetz Platz updated 31 Mar
Am finding this rather touching, Joey, as well as amusing (not having read any of Fielding's Bridget Jones stuff). More, please.
Author:  La Petite Em [ Sun Apr 04, 2010 1:19 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Bridget Jones: The Gornetz Platz updated 31 Mar
You've got 'Bridget' down to a tee! Thanks Joey.
Author:  Miss Di [ Mon Apr 05, 2010 7:23 am ]
Post subject:  Re: Bridget Jones: The Gornetz Platz updated 31 Mar
Very funny Joey, thanks. Hope RL quitens down soon so you can write some more.
Author:  Loryat [ Thu Aug 19, 2010 4:08 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Bridget Jones: The Gornetz Platz updated 31 Mar
More :?:

Though I have to say I was under the impression that BJ was privately educated.
Author:  Cesca [ Wed Aug 25, 2010 6:42 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Bridget Jones: The Gornetz Platz updated 31 Mar
Loryat wrote:
More :?:
.


Half an hour ago I didn't know what a drabble was and I hated Margot Maynard; now I am pestering you for more and I'm beginning to think I may have been too harsh on the Triplet Most Likely to End up in Holloway!
Author:  ivohenry [ Tue Oct 12, 2010 10:05 am ]
Post subject:  Re: Bridget Jones: The Gornetz Platz updated 31 Mar
Would be nice to have some more of this one - any chance soon? And the one about Joanna at Hogwarts set in the same universe - please!
Author:  Cesca [ Tue Oct 12, 2010 11:17 am ]
Post subject:  Re: Bridget Jones: The Gornetz Platz updated 31 Mar
ivohenry wrote:
Would be nice to have some more of this one - any chance soon? And the one about Joanna at Hogwarts set in the same universe - please!


Boo hoo! I've solemnly gone through each page looking for the new bit and there isn't one. Please, Miss, I want some more.
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