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Welcome to the Guestbook
Feel free to add messages relating to the site and the school. The only rules are: real names only, no personal attacks and no unrelated messages (inappropriate messages may be edited/withdrawn without warning).

It would be appreciated if you gave an email address, where you now live and said when you were at the school, but you don't have to.

Plase note that if you click on an email address below you will need to replace ~DOT~ with . and ~AT~ with @ in your email program. The Guestbook presents these this way to avoid email address harvesters collecting your email addresses from the page. I know it's a pain, but it's very much better than the alternative.

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There are 500 messages in the guestbook
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Viewing messages 111 to 120

Neale

Is that "READY TO RUMBLE" OR "ROYAL TANK REGIMENT", Alan?

Sat 2-Apr-2022 19:54

alan wightman | aconlan111~AT~gmail~DOT~com

Good Morning, Mike & Everyone,

`Diversity is the Spice of Life´.

`Jack Knives´ `Spork´ `Irons´. (RTR).

`Sandancer´ - `Geordieland´.

Sat 2-Apr-2022 07:26 - south Shields

Alex Patterson VUA 1946-1951 | ad1935ap~AT~gmail~DOT~com

Hello Mike and O.B’s and O.G’s,
Google is a wonderful service !! Since Sapper Backhouse, in his reply, forgot to clarify the meaning of the expression “Subject Normal”, I resorted to Google again to see if I could find out anything about it. After a bit of digging, I came across that well known Italian web-site ‘idanat-studiosclavi-com’ and, sure enough, there was the definition in all its Italian glory. It read thus, “Subject Normal - Le scolite sconcezze”. My fluency in the Italian language is woefully lacking and I needed an English version of this mystery phrase.
So this time I used Google Translation which came up with “Subject Normal - The usual filth.” !!! The Usual Filth?!?!?! I ask you, how could anyone put Sapper Backhouse and Subject Normal in the same sentence? Or in fact any of the Old Boys who contribute to our wonderful site.
By the way, Neale, I used to eat my RAF meals with a Spork, a combined spoon and fork with the two outer tines having serrated edges. I also loved the RAF meals, my friends couldn’t understand it…but at that time my Mum was a terrible cook. Furthermore, I was a Brylcream Boy since my days in High School. You may remember going to Derby Street Baths where on the way out after a swim, there was a Brylcream dispenser, that emitted a great dollop of Brylcream for a penny ( or maybe it was a threepenny bit) but when one applied the complete dollop we all ended up going back to school looking like Rudolph Valentino, while eating our pork fat dip from the butcher shop in Derby Street.
WRT Bruce’s latest reference to Sanddancer, I googled ‘Sanddancer Clothing’ which specializes in casual clothing, t-shirts, hoodies, denims, baseball caps, all having some graphic reference to South Shields such as the Groyne, the Grotto, Coat of Arms etc. The company name is spelled correctly with 2 d’s.
Finally WRT Alan Wightman’s latest epistle, quoting Keats, is exactly the opposite of my view of the world, which is,”Pain is oft a visitant, but pleasure clings happily to me (and I hope the rest of us)“
Today is April Fools Day and of course I’ve been caught off guard…’Twas ever thus,
Take care,
Alex

Fri 1-Apr-2022 20:11 - North York, Ontario, Canada

Bruce Graham | bsgraham~AT~btinternet~DOT~com

To continue the "Sandancer" conundrum, last weekend on the BBC's Football Focus" TV programme it was a non-league special and was hosted by South Shields Football Club. Apparently they're doing quite well this season.

In one of the interviews with some of the supporters (who were tucking in to some chips covered in curry sauce)one of the lads referred to himself as a Sandancer (should there be two 'd's) so the term is obviously in current use.

As for "subject normal" - no, I never came across it, but I think I can work out what it means!!

Fri 1-Apr-2022 15:39

alan wightman | aconlan111~AT~gmail~DOT~com

Good Morning, Mike & Everyone

John Keats: "Pleasure is oft a visitant, but pain clings cruelly to us".

`Sandancer´ - `Geordieland´.

Fri 1-Apr-2022 08:38

Neale Backhouse | nealebackh~AT~gmail~DOT~com

Inspector Alex is after me again.
Dear Alex, of course I don't expect you brylcream boys in the RAF to have heard of such a low class term as Subject Normal, but in the ranks of Her Majesty's Royal Corps of Engineers it was common chatter, along with all the other disgusting epithets that were bandied about. In my private life I have tried terribly hard, even using terms like terribly hard, to live down the ghastly stigma of having rubbed shoulders with common soldiers. It was only when I was on my Para course at Abingdon that I was able to appreciate the superior manners and hauteur of the Air Force personnel. They even allowed us to eat alongside them, provided of course that we used our knives and forks. And that was hard on us as we usually used our jack knives and spoons. But I must say they were really kind to us, took us for nice rides in aeroplanes, provided that we jumped out of them. Yes that experience with the RAF boys probably changed my life for the better and made me appreciate the finer things in life. So Alex , by all means pick out any other malaprops that I might utter. It's all part of the "Went in a boy and came out a man" syndrome that I'm still working on.
Cheers, Neale (Sapper, that is )

Thu 31-Mar-2022 02:19 - Victoria BC

Alex Patterson VUA 1946-1951 | ad1935ap~AT~gmail~DOT~com

Hello Mike and O.B's.,
This one's for Neale. I have never heard the term "Subject Normal" Perhaps it is exclusive to the army, I certainly don't remember it in RAF slang and I couldn't find it anywhere on the internet. Please elucidate.
Thanks,
Alex.

Wed 30-Mar-2022 17:09 - North York, Ontario, Canada

Bruce Graham | bsgraham~AT~btinternet~DOT~com

I knew I shouln't have mentioned that short gymslip, but at least it got you going if not salivating!!

Vivienne's growth to the age of 14 sort of parallels my own experience when I left the school after 'O' levels to begin my RAF Apprenticeship.

I was a very immature not quite 16 year old - voice not fully broken and all of the other things that go on at that time with teenagers.

In the next 2 years I grew from my induction height of 5 feet 7 inches to 6 feet 2 inches. Result - none of my RAF uniforms fitted properly and it took me a long while to get everything sorted out.

Mon 28-Mar-2022 19:51 - ruskington lincolnshie

Neale Backhouse | nealebackh~AT~gmail~DOT~com

My goodness,
"She walks in beauty , like the night
Of cloudless climes and starry skies"

Our venerable Guestbook has erupted in Byronesque rapture over what we would call in the army, "Subject Normal."
Even our esteemed leader, who rarely comments on our ramblings, has joined the search for the elusive Ms Gelson.
I'm sure she would be flattered(or would she) that a bunch of old codgers were salivating over her abbreviated gym slip. She must soon join the ranks of other great femmes fatale, like Cleopatra and Anna Karenina. Little did she know that she would stir up such a storm!
Mind it's great to know that Subject Normal is alive and well among my fellow octogenarians. After all that's what keeps us going, right.

Sun 27-Mar-2022 17:30 - Victoria BC

Mike Todd | m~DOT~todd~AT~miketodd~DOT~net

Thanks for all the kind comments, especially from Bruce & Alex. Yes, it's a shame that the girls' school doesn't have a site - but (and I really don't want to be sexist!) I'm not sure how many Old Girls would have had the technical interest, but also had the access to school archives like I did.

More than once I've been asked if I could do the same for them, but I've never had the time - indeed, just look at how rarely the site gets updated!

As for Gelson, public records show someone of the same name born in South Shields in 1939, and married in 1961 in Yorkshire, so would have surname of Tarver.

Fri 25-Mar-2022 10:20 - Rothbury

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