Miss Barnes

By Trisha Hayes

1952 to 1956 Miss Barnes, my teacher at Northview Infants School, prior to her becoming Headmistress Chillingham Road Infants School.

I was lead away from my mother, like a lamb to the slaughter, hearing my Headmistress, Miss Hudson say, "come along Pat! " I continued to answer to that "nome du plume" throughout my education, despite knowing that my real name was Tricia !

It was September 1952 and I was delivered into the care of the wonderful Miss Beryl Barnes. Gilroy's Guinness adverts were everywhere and the little man, who kept losing his hat, was the letter "i" Miss Barnes pointed out, as she patiently taught us to print.

A classroom full of five year olds, each in our seats, following her instructions to the letter!

Sitting on exercise mats in the hall, we listened to the radio about the ascent of Mount Everest by Hilary ( a girl ?) and Sherpa Tensing ! (Oh, how I wanted to be called that, instead of Pat! )

It poured with rain the day of the Street Party, so we herded into someone's house, jammed together having our "special tea " and handed a Coronation mug full of orange squash.

And Sheila Starr, dressed in tartan taffeta and patent leather shoes, in winter, while we sat in our sensible corduroy pinafores and liberty bodices, writing in our daily diaries!

Wet play times, the older girls looked after us, sang "how much is that Doggy in the window? " unless, like some of us, who were still at the dining table NOT eating the stewed figs and tapioca in front of us!

In a gang aged six playing "Charge a Beulah", top enders against bottom enders in the back lane armed with bricks and sticks with nails – little hooligans, let loose on the bombed sites!

By the time I left the caring Miss Barnes, when I was eight, I was the best printer in the class! I moved to a village school in Sussex, with my family. They had already leaned "joined up writing" and did gardening and "1066 and all that"

But best of all was the puppy I got shortly after arriving there and also winning the 1st prize in the Assorted Wild Flower display at the village fete!