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CHRONICLE 1979.
This is an interesting chronicle which wryly observes Fr Christophers tenure as acting head master. January - May 1979. Many old traditions were cast off during this time including the hands in pockets privilege...who was the chronicler? Great stuff.
Introduction :
This is a revival of an old
feature from the original Belmont Abbey School Magazines of 1937-1948.
It consists of excerpts
from the day-to-day diary of our Chronicler. Their interest and novelty seem to deepen the older they get.
JANUARY
Mon. 15th: The school returns and prepares for another term. The Abbey Church is still not finished; will the workmen ever leave us? We now have a new geography teacher - Mr. Simpson from Scotland. Of course Father Christopher is Headmaster. C.D. Riches and T. Morgan are the new Deputy Headboys.
Sat. 27th: Father Christopher does a
spot check and finds many unshaven youths! He ensures that this is stopped by ordering them to shave. Mon. 29th: Our reverend Headmaster started turning the screws on us, by cracking down on manners and tidyness.
Wed. 31st: The Wednesday activities
resumed today, with most people in the clubs of their choice. There was a search during prep, in which everything from money to alcoholwas seized, but not the object in question.
FEBRUARY
Thur. 1st: The senior cup squash began
today, and Kindersley beat Kemble. There was a school meeting before lunch, and Fr Christopher revealed that it had been Mr. Myers' stop-watch that had been, "stolen". Apparently it had walked out of the Biology prep room last Tuesday! How Strange!
Fri. 2nd: As today is Candlemass, mass
was celebrated in all Houses with the blessing of candles. In the Senior Cup squash, Vaughan decisively beat Ethelbert. To dismay of many die-hard punkers in the world, the notorious Sid Vicious departed to his eternal rest this morning. May he pogo in peace.........
Sat. 3rd: The feast of St. Blaise is today,
and so our throats were blessed. As usual the rugby matches against King's school Worcester were cancelled. A band of Belmont Welsh men descended upon Cardiff for the International rugby match. God help Cardiff.
Sun. 4th: No film will be shown due to
the. "removal" of one of Fr Dyfrig's catalogues....... Mon. 5th: Fr Christopher went to London for the day, so not only was there no assembly, but also there were no new rules made for a whole day! Tue. 6th. After an exciting performance
Fri. 9th; Father Christopher gave all the upper fifth their sixth form priveleges today. At the same school meeting he announced that "pop music" may now be played after tea on week-ends, and that we may change into casual clothes at that time. The shrewder members of the school saw this as an attempt to regain popularity after a severe drop in his rating in recent Galiup polls that arose due to some sore backsides. In the evening half the servers enjoyed an excellent dinner, courtesy of Fr
Illtud and Mrs. O'Connor.
Sal. 17th: In order for us to enjoy the
House Concert Competition, there was a work period between 2pm. and 4pm.......The validity of the Headmaster's arguements supporting his actions were thoroughly disputed by ardent rugby hooligans (including the Abbot and Mr. Barnsley)! In a til of generosity Fr Christopher let 15 whole boys watch the International rugby match on T.V....swoon. Kindersley won both the House Concert competition cups. Needless to say not everyone thinks they deserved to win.
Sun. 18th: Due to icy conditions a lot of
boys could not go out this Quarter day. Mon. 19th: At a school meeting the ancient custom of hands-in-pockets was casually disposed of. It appears the Headmaster wants everyone to be equal; also the order for going into lunch has been radically altered - supposedly so that juniors may sit with the masters. They are welcome. Thur. 22nd: In an exciting and close game Canlilupe beat Vaughan in the Senior Cup final by 13 points to 9. A last minute try to Simon Petlit secured victory for Cantilupe. During prep Fr Christopher let the whole school watch Top of the Pops because it was Cardinal Newman's 178th birthday yesterday.....
Sat. 24th: Father Christopher gave us,
or rather the sixth form, a tiny privelege that doesn't even show upon this page.
Sun. 25th: Quite a few boys went home
today, taking a Quarter day a week later as they had been unable to go home last Sunday. In the afternoon there was a rugby match against the "Belmont Association". It was a very good game, but age and experience overcame youth, and the Association (Old Boys) won 36 to 3.
Mon. 26lh: At Assembly the
Headmaster announced that the Headboy may own and drive a car at Belmont.
Wed 28th: Ash Wednesday. Lent began
with the whole school going to Mass in the gym. Nicholas Ashford enjoyed his feast day very much.
MARCH
Thur. 1st: The Welsh members of the
school went around wearing leaks and daffodils, because in was Sl Davids day. How strange!
Fri 2nd: The handbook informs me
that John Wesley was born today. WOW! I've always wanted to know such startling things. Fr Simon this is a Catholic school isn't it? Some people ask if even Elvis Presley will qualify tor an entry! Wed. 7th: In honour of Michael Littlewood's selection to play for England - today is a whole Holiday. In fact my sources claim that as rowing and rugby are taking lots of people away from school it would make it pointless to teach anyway. In the evening a party of boys went to Tewkesbury to watch our Dark Advent". The splendid production was praised by the adjudicator, but he Fudged a prep school's "Wizard of Oz to be better. Damn cheek! (Jenks is in a Sat 17th: In today's final of the Drama Festival, despite a very good performance, we tailed to win overall. As a consolation prize Fr Christopher won the Producer's cup, and Mr Alick Rowe the cup for the author of the Best Original Play. You guessed it, Jenks isn't in the best of moods. Sun. 18th: Fr Dyfrig showed a really bloody film call "Blazing Magnum". No wonder we're such a violent generation Jenks. Unbelievably British Summer Time began today; but the weather proves that it cannot be spring, it must be mid- winter.
Mon. 19th: Surprise, surprise, no silly
rules today
Wed. 21st: Today is the feast of St
Benedict, and so we had a whole holiday.
Fri. 23rd: Who's Jimmy Edward?
Sat. 24th: Some boys starred in a Young
Farmers Entertainment Competition. They came first in the Western Region round, held in Malvern. They were James Duncan, Frank Kovaks, D. H. Morgan and Andrew Morris.
Sun. 28th: Mr. Barnsley set an excellent
example for the teaching staff by inviting his Latin class to tea in his house. Advice: take note teachers and follow suit.
Mon. 26th: To the dismay of many, we
all have 30 minutes extra prep every Sunday. Someone had better tell Jenks to think again; we might have to take action to protect our rights.
Tue. 27th: Fr Christopher fell badly ill
and Fr Simon seized control of the school. Later Fr Christopher recovered and his regime was re-established.
Fri. 30th: We broke up; everybody was
more than ready to go home! CHRONICLE NEW TERM APRIL Tue. 17th: The school returned after only 17 days holiday. The Headboy now has his car. Whoosh!
Thur. 19th: The Headmaster gave a
massive quantity of new rules, dates and other such "interesting things", in a school meeting. Included is a weekly School Singing Practice, and, even worse, late night work periods every week-day. (It is generally realised that Fr Christopher is campaigning to be Headmaster in September!) Political indoctrination also began today, (well, what's wrong with that?) we are to get a whole holiday in the Conservatives win. They will......
Sun. 22nd: The Observer claims the
Conservatives have a 20 per cent lead over Labour in the Election campaign. Mon. 23rd: Today Belmont saw the rise of its first truly great political party - The British Democratic Party. David Aldrich is the leader, and there is a "Shadow Cabinet" of 13 members. It is slightly right-wing, and an improvement on the Conservative party.
Fri. 27th: Canlilupe confidently beat
Kindersley in the Senior Cup football. Cantilupe's Conservative style easily triumphed over Kindersley's more Liberal play!
Sat. 28th: A group of boys went to
Hereford to collect money (or the blind. Sun. 29lh; The play was performed in a disused church a (Llanellieu near Talgarth. The cast of "Dark Advent" gave a special performance to an audience of only a few dozen. MAY
Wed. 2nd: Winter descended upon
Belmoni for a second time! It snowed intermittently throughout the whole day.
Thur. 3rd: Today is the day of the
General Election! Opinion polls predict a Conservative victory of between 4 and 8 per cent. The results are due Friday lunchlime.
Fri. 4th: We have our Holiday! By the
early hours of the morning it became obvious that the Conservatives have won. At lunchtime we got the full result; the Conservatives have a safe majority of 43 seats.
Sat. 5th: The 1st XI drew today against
Cathedral School. It was a very close match, and we deserved to win. However, it had snowed before the match, and as a result the wicket was useless.
Mon. 14th: The British Democratic
Party today shot to fame, appearing in both the Hereford Evening News and the Hereford Times. |