Children’s previous Xmas times?
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The first part of the poem on The Nutcracker – together with chocolate
During the current pandemic, attention is being paid to apparently “normal” interests in families at Christmas time. This doesn’t completely grip with my own thinking as an adult. But I recently recalled earlier times as a child. These came from two earlier sorts of writing from both my last year at Millfields primary school in Clapton and then the first year with my English exercise book at John Howard School. They were written around the age of 11 and seemed to note different things in a somewhat Christmas setting. The first was a poem about a family trip to the Royal Festival Hall and The Nutcracker Suite.
The continuing poetry on The Nutcracker for my primary school
It seem I was keenly interested in dance but then I focussed on trying to get to a weekly ballet class which finally I achieved, perhaps as a reward for passing the 11+? Yet after three years even I realised I wasn’t up to it and gave up.Not until decades later, when I took early retirement, I finally returned to do ballet classes . So some generally positive times have now passed happily- until c-v – at the CIty Lit near Covent Garden, in beginners’ ballet classes of the wonderful Martin Wimpress. I even moved up into intermediate ballet class but the pandemic has been impossible. Let’s hope this excellent teaching can continue in the college.
The second writing is a short piece from my first year at the local John Howard girls’ grammar school with the teacher’s comment.
An untitled first part of a secondary school exercise book
End of the short story and the teacher’s comment that seems to have interpreted it differently…
Perhaps I had thought this might relate to some people’s Xmas focus on buying turkeys and chickens? At first I wasn’t a vegetarian , only reaching it decades later and a vegan later still. I guessed I was critical of the position of dead animals and even noted their poor treatment then ; though it seems that the teacher read it in another way !
Instead of such writing no doubt an online ballet and vegan nut roast may be something positive in 2020….
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