I have been trying to marshall some memories of that first year of teaching. I recall some of the faces of students and staff but few of the names. I remember my bedsit quite well. I was on the top floor and remember that when it rained, a large water filled blister used to appear on the ceiling. I remember that the kitchen was on a turn in the stairs and had to be shared with two other residents, but they rarely cooked. I remember that the bathroom was two flights down and that there were a couple who always went in there together.

I remember an incident when i was on playground duty. The building plan was quite complex and it was impossible to be or see everywhere. One day I became aware of a lot of kids running in the same direction. Oddly towards me! It became clear that they were running away from something or someone. I continued against the stream and before long came face to face with the cause!

The resident loony was after them, only this time, someone had gone too far. He had a piece of wood with a nail through it, and wanted very much to maim someone. Now some people would have reacted to this, but I didn't. Somehow everything seemed to slow down and I just stood in his pathway, holding my thin plastic cup of tea. He stopped, and when i asked him for the weapon, he obliged and simply walked away. I think it is what I expected him to do, but I could also have been very lucky.

Another outstanding incident was the day that there was a delivery of metal rods for the metalwork shop. My experienced colleague decided that he'd use this as an opportunity for some real maths. He got his group of lads to check the delivery against the invoice. So armed with measuring tapes the lads set to. When they were done, they excitedly told the teacher that they were short. There was a good metre missing. So he told the lads to take each of the rods in turn, to pull and stretch them and then to measure again. So these burly misfits were seen to take hold of these 1/4 inch steel rods and one on each end, give each one a hard pull.

This took them a good half hour and when they had finished, they remeasured, and of course this time their measurements agreed with the invoice. To this day those lads probably believe that they stretched that metal.

While i was there, i took a job as a Census Enumerator and that involved the issuing of census forms and their collection and checking. Never before had i realised the degree of inbreeding or the levels of illiteracy in the population. Such an eye opener.

I did enjoy my time at the school, but after a while the bedsit became intolerable, and as i could afford nothing else there, i decided it would be best to move on, so when a job came up on the Island, I took it and really I guess that was a big turning point in my life.