School Song
by Mervyn Brown
On playing fields where now we run
Horses and cattle used to graze
And fruit trees caught the ripening sun
Or drank the rain in earlier days.
:
But now our brave new world is built
Concrete, brick, metal, wood
Fashioned for use and ornament
Made for a thousand people's good.
As fruit trees grow up on the hill ??
And poplars stretch towards the blue
We'll grow in knowledge strength and skill
But may we grow in wisdom, too!
The original "Flash Mob"
17/7/04 from David Wilson
We would while away the train time with singing songs. Like the Sorbent song: (Ian Alwill, the seeds were planted for your advertising career)
"What's the gentlest tissue in the bathroom you can issue, why it Sorbent, Sorbent safest for sure. Sorbent's economical, it's sales are astronomical, buy Sorbent from your favourite store-ore".
Or
"Drink Raleigh's tomato juice it's rich in Vitamin C.
Drink Raleigh's tomato juice it gives you en-er-gee!"
Or
"There once was an oat (There once was an oat)
Of the very best kind (Of the very best kind)
Who met other oats (Who met other oats)
Of the very best kind (Of the very best kind)
Now these are the oats (Now these are the oats)
That beat them all (Beat them all)
Un-cle To-by's Oats
And that's why everybody dotes on Uncle Toby's Oats
Good for you and taste good too!"
We would conspire to spontaneously break into song impacting heavily on the other commuters.We were the original flash mob.
An Ode to Mr Goldstein
with apologies to Jimmy Dean
Every morning at nine you'd see him arrive
He stood four foot six and weighed 995
Kinda narrow at the shoulder, and broad at the hip
And everybody knew you'd give no lip
to Big Goldy
Big Goldy. Big Goldy. Big bad Goldy.
There came the day at the back of the class
When Rory Tuck did a mighty blast
Windows were opened and fans flew fast
And everyone thought they'd breathed their last
'Specially Goldy!
Big Goldy. Big Goldy. Big bad Goldy
Cinderfella Serving suggestion only
Cinderfella (or Sinbad er ella)
From David Wilson
Another choice memory was this version of "Cinderella" staged to commission the new assembly hall. The 1st 15 rugby team were dressed in tutus and put on a creditable can can. ("Tra la la la la la la". "The Prince is gonna give a dance. Are you going by any chance?"" Yes we are, yes we are, tra la la la la la la!") Martin Sotter was a demon with a gin bottle
"One will not go there this time. Cinderella is her nime!" Who was the Fairy Queen, swinging in on a rope looking petrified? Graham Fuller? "She'll go, a spell on her I'll cast. Remember, he who laughs last, laughs last ... er last." "Thou dirty dogess! We shall see, who's more powerful : me or you .. er me, I mean".
In a brilliant bit of casting, the Fuller twins were Cinderella. Cinders (Geoff): "I get no dancin and I get no lovin, I just peel potatoes and black-lead the oven." F.Q (crashing to the floor from her rope, picking up her wand and adjusting her boobs, wig and wings) "What ho! Cinderella, your blubbing must stop. For I shall arrange that you go to the hop. I don't like your sisters, you've rum kith and rum kin. But watch what I do to this bloody big pumpkin. (a Qld. blue gets thrown in from the wings). I'll wave my wand while you sit there and watch, and the pumpkin turns into a lovely co-otch!") (We used a gleaming red scooter). (Geoff) "Still I can't go, don't think me a slacker. But how can I dance in this tattered alpaca?". FQ: "Tsch! I just wave my wand, now could you look finer? You're dressed in pink voile and creep de china." (Middle tabs quickly close/open revealing Quentin gasping in a ball gown) "Thank you so much for what you have done. When I'm at the Prince's I won't 'alf 'ave fun!".
Who was the Handsome Prince - Graham Richardson? George Hills? "This really has been a most wonderful night. Cinderella my dear, you're a bit of all right". "I'm sure I have bored you, it's just sort of shyness, but I am so terribly nervous, your highness!" "Meet me tomorrow dear - we can go hiking." "Oh listen dear prince, I can hear something striking. (11 strikes of the gong), everyone waits for the twelfth) Good gracious! It's twelve, (another strike of the gong) I really must 'op it, coz if my sisters catch me here, by Jove, won't I cop it!" "She's left me alone, she can't have much feeling. Ah! But here is her shoe. (an army boot gets thrown centre stage, Prince picks it up and inspects it) "It needs soling and heeling. Herald! Take thou this shoe and cry forth this greetin' - I'll marry the girl wot get's one of her feet in!"
Dick Coates was the Herald with the army boot "The girl was so sweet, the prince couldn't resist 'er. It couldn't be you, but it might be your sister."
Who were the ugly sisters? I think one was Trevor Remington? "She never went out to gavotte at the Prince's." "Nah, she stayed at home making jam outa quinces!" "I''ll try it on, what a future is painted. Oh look, sister darling, the herald has fainted" Of course, it finished happily "It fits like a glove, not bullied or cramped on. And a nice British shoe, too, Made in Northampton." "So you are the girl. I'll ask begging pardon,- do you love me or did you lead me up the garden?" "Of course I adore you. You're sweeter than toffees. Do we wed in a church or a registry offees?"
The devil, smelling suspiciously of gin, admits defeat: "My mind is pained, my heart has smarted. All my beastly plans are thwarted!" The fairy queen with wand re-enters swinging on the rope, crashing to the floor and dusting off her wings: "Hoping we've pleased each girl and each fella. Thus ends our pantomime, Sinbad. er.. Ella."
The running time was only 10 minutes but all involved, including the dressers, costume makers, makeup (girlfriends helped), sound (Adriaan Loosjes), curtains, lighting (Greg Baxter) - had a "ball".
20/7/04 from David Wilson
Re Meter, Maul and Pairy (performed to the school)
"How many years will this structure exist, before they can call it a school?
How many times ...............
Yes and how many .............
...............................when the Blue Gum was only a tree?
The poplars, my friends are groaning in the wind
The poplars are groaning in the wind."
(That wasn’t very good … too many blanks).
:20/7/04 from Peter Ryall
But I'm amazed that you can remember that much! I'll never forget how much I laughed at that performance.
20/7/04 from Allan Whitehouse
What a memory you have David, or was it all secretly recorded?
20/7/04 from Jeremy Cahill
How many years will this structure exist,
before they can call it a school?
How many times can you have a school shower?
When they all say you call that a tool?
Yes and how many times could you get really pissed?
When the Blue Gum was only a tree?
The poplars, my friends are groaning in the wind
The poplars are groaning in the wind."
Anon
(Sorry, not enough blanks)
20/7/04 from David Wilson (to Jeremy Cahill)
You bastard! You made that up! Who sang it?
21/7/04 from Andy Royal
My God! Where are my brain cells when I need them? I think I had a hand in writing this, and I can hear it ... but can't fill those blanks ... YET! Will keep trying on this. I seem to think there is some memento hanging about and will try to unearth it.
26/7/04 from Stig Falster
a) How many Houses were there? 4
b) What were their colours? Red, Green, Yellow, Blue
c) What were their names? Cooba, Kurrajong, Myall, Wandoo
d) What was your House's war cry?
Cooba, Cooba we will win
For the house of red we're in.
C-O-O-B-A.
Cooba!
David, weren't you the captain of Wandoo? And, wasn't the war cry something different, more like:
Wee-Wa, Wee-Wa Wee-Wa-Woo:
We're the house that is true blue;
Wicky-wacky, Wicky-wacky, Willa-walla-woo;
You will find us fighting through
W-A-N-D-O-O - WANDOO!!
26/7/04 from David Wilson
I was capitan of the mighty Myall House. - Myall, Myall, rah rah rah!
26/7/04 from Stig Falster
Oops, sorry. Wasn't your war cry something like:
Myall, Myall, yes we are
We're the House that's gonna star
Cherawokka, Cherawocka, 'ee go yah
M-Y-A-L-L Myall!
How did I score???
(Update: It seems you are right, Stig, according the the School Magazine 1964)
26/7/04 from Gary McKay
I think there were four Houses, Myall and Kurrajong spring to mind (they were all Australian native trees), I was in Kurrajong. The house colour was green. I wrote the war cry (and shamed for the rest of my life for it). Here goes: [updated by DW from the School Magazine 1964]
Kurajong Kurrajong, rah rah rah.
Ishkaboom ishkaboom, Rah rah rah.
Frongledingle frongledingle, Oom pah pah.
We're the House that is the best
With the team that beats the rest
K - U - R - R - A - J - O - N - G
Kurrajong !! (screamed at top of voice)
26/7/04 from Allan Whitehouse and I thought Aussie Aussie Aussie, Oy Oy Oy was bad!!!