Figure 1.--
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Figure 1.-- |
I attended two very ordinary suburban state primary schools in the late 1970s and early 1980s. I was rather a solemn dresser as a boy, and I remember my sister constantly having a go at me to wear more cheerful clothes! I often wore a dark blue or green jumper with a shirt. Once I'd started wearing shorts for school I usually stuck with shorts at other times, except on the very coldest days. I have very clear memories of my first day at Primary School. The uniform was a grey v-neck jumper, white shirt, red and yellow tie, grey short trousers, knee-length grey socks and black shoes. I absolutely hated the shorts. My own views, however, were changing. At the age of 9 I remember walking to school with my mother and arguing with her because I wanted to be allowed to wear shorts for school again. She was clearly exasperated that this child who had complained so bitterly about having his knees on display had now done a complete u-turn. On Sunday I sang in our church choir. There was no perscribed choir uniform like a cathedral choir. We wore cassocks over our regular clothes. I was a Cub - from the age of 8 until I joined the Scouts at 10 and a half. I loved it!
I was rather a solemn dresser as a boy, and I remember my sister constantly having a go at me to wear more cheerful clothes! I often wore a dark blue or green jumper with a shirt.
I was a really unimaginative dresser as a boy, not least because my dad left home and we never had alot of money. Once I'd started wearing shorts for school I usually stuck with shorts at other times, except on the very coldest days. I pretty much gave up on long trousers, and I seem to remember wearing grey shorts most days - certainly on Sundays. (Old school shorts became play shorts after a bit with my spendthrift mum!) Then it was just a plain jumper or a shirt. Actually I rarely changed out of uniform when I got back home simply because I couldn't be bothered. I didn't usually get back till after 5pm so,
other than throwing off the blazer, there was very little point. I remember as a teenager amazing my sister by buying a really bright blue, striped jumper and after that I became a bit more adventurous. I must have been about 13 or 14 then.
Except in the very depths of winter I usually stuck with shorts during my leisure time even when I'd started wearing long trousers for
school. I carried on wearing my old school shorts on Sunday for quite a time (it's almost impossible to grow out of grey shorts!) Other
times I wore khaki or navy blue cotton shorts, usually with a knitted jumper and a shirt or teeshirt.
I alway preferred knee length socks, especially in the winter. I remember when I was about 14 walking across the local shopping area with my mum wearing dark blue PE shorts and plain knee-length grey socks and arguing with her because she thought I was too old to
wear long socks with shorts and should be in ankle socks. We had the same argument later that year when we went away for our summer holiday. We were staying in quite a nice hotel at my grandparents' expense and we had to dress up for dinner. My mum wanted me to wear my school trousers, but I insisted on shorts with long socks.
I have very clear memories of my first day at Primary School. The uniform was a grey v-neck jumper, white shirt, red and yellow tie, grey short trousers, knee-length grey socks and black shoes. I absolutely hated the shorts. Even at 5 years old I felt so embarrassed and I remember hiding behind the curtains hoping that I wouldn't be found and taken off to school. We had to stay in shorts all through the infants and long trousers were not allowed until we were 7 years old.
My own views, however, were changing. At the age of 9 I remember walking to school with my mother and arguing with her because I wanted to be allowed to wear shorts for school again. She was clearly exasperated that this child who had complained so bitterly about
having his knees on display had now done a complete u-turn. She said I was now too old for shorts, and the weather was too cold. But I argued and argued and in the end she gave way. I once again became the proud owner of a pair of grey Trutex shorts with smart white lining. I remember wearing brown sandals at one stage, though when I was quite young and not beyond the age of 9 or 10.
I have such clear memories of that first day. I particularly remember the amount of time I spent putting my socks on, making sure that the rubber bands I used as garters were in just the right place, that the turnovers were as neat as possible and that the lines of the weave ran straight down my calves. I was the oldest boy in the school in shorts by 2 years, and my friends didn't know whether to tease me, laugh at me or just pretend I wasn't there. They soon got used to it though. And they had to because I spent the next 3 years in shorts. They became my trade mark. 'Thomas Holmes? He's the boy in the short trousers!' I got very well used to the teasing, but the comfort and freedom of shorts more than made up for it. In fact I've never really got used to long trousers since!
I wore grey school shorts wearing them all the way through my first year in seconday school. My secondary school was a very pleasant middle class grammar school and there was little of the rough and tumble of a London comprehensive. Looking back I can't believe I had the nerve to turn up in shorts on the first day. I think that was probably the bravest thing I have ever done, and I have no idea what motivated me. It was partly that I'm just a born attention seeker and there's no quicker way of being noticed in a crowd of schoolchildren than having bare legs! It was partly that my sister had dared me 10 weeks pocket money. But mainly I suppose it was that I just liked wearing shorts.
The school uniform was pretty ordinary - a navy blue blazer, a dark and light blue striped tie worn with a white or light blue shirt. I wore long
socks and black shoes with my shorts. Predictably all the other boys were in long trousers. Of course there was some teasing, by far the worst of it I seem to remember coming from the girls. However there was very little bullying in that school. And anyway I was very sporty as a boy and a very quick runner, so I was not the easiest person to bully! And even if from time to time I was being teased by some of the pupils, I got spoilt rotten by the teachers! After a bit the teasing stopped - people get bored quite quickly when they get no response to teasing.
I remember constantly being asked why I wore shorts. For a bit I claimed that it was my mum's fault. 'She makes me!' But my closer friends who used to come round to our house soon worked out that this was a lie. After that I gave a variety of answers. Sometimes I just admitted that I preferred them, but that usually provoked a scornful response. Quite often I tried to turn the tables on the questioner and claim that they weren't tough enough to wear shorts. Often I just didn't answer at all and hoped that the questioner would get bored.
The most embarrassing times were when I came across pupils from other schools for example at Saturday morning rugby matches. At least then I could get my own back on the sports field! The teasing was pretty predictable really. The usual name calling with 'poof' being the favourite (though why one's choice of school
uniform indicates one's preferences still defeats me!) Laughter was much harder to counter, and straightforward questionning was harder still.
On Sunday I sang in our church choir. There was no perscribed choir uniform like a cathedral choir. We wore cassocks over our regular clothes. We wore a red cassock, white surplice and ruff. Of course no one could see what we wore under that, so it could be just about anything. As long as we wore black shoes and socks, it didn't really matter. I usually wore long grey socks with grey shorts and a shirt or teeshirt. When I was still wearing shorts I had to wear knee-length socks and black shoes because the choir master would complain bitterly if anyone had trainers sticking out from under their cassock!
I was a Cub - from the age of 8 until I joined the Scouts at 10 and a half. I loved it! The uniform there was a dark green cap with yellow stripes, a green jersey covered in badges. (I'll never forget that jersey - it was really itchy!) Then we wore a green and yellow scarf with a woggle in the colour of our six. About half the boys wore grey shorts, the others trousers, and those of us who were in shorts wore knee-length turnover socks held in place with garters with a smart green flashing. I don't remember much conversation about shorts at Cubs. The Akela really wanted all the boys to wear shorts and would show quite obvious favouritism to those that did and he would certainly jump down the throat of anyone who had a go at a boy for wearing shorts! But
those of us who wore shorts (especially after our tenth birthday) gained all sorts of privileges that other boys didn't get. 3. There were some boys who wore shorts in the summer and trousers in the winter at Cubs, usually the boys who did the same for school. I remember feeling deeply scornful towards them - fair weather shorts wearers who couldn't cope with bare knees on a cold day!
They were usually the weedy boys with fussy mothers! And yes, I did go onto Scouts at the age of 10 and a half, and then later onto Venture Scouts.
