Mayfield Magazine 1950, Issue 06
From the Editorial by Ronald Twining: We were all very pleased to hear that Ron Patten was selected to play for the Ilford Boys, when the team visited Holland last Easter, also that Peter Herbert had the honour to be selected from all England to read a lesson from the bible, in the presence of H.R.H. Princess Margaret, at the Central Hall Westminster, at the 1950 Festival of the Shaftesbury Society.
From the Headmaster’s Review by C. F. W. Hicks: Fencing has now been added to our list of School Club Activities, and the members are hoping to demonstrate their progress on Open Evening. Examples of boys’ work in Art and Metalwork have been selected for exhibition at the Essex County Agricultural Show, held this year at Braintree.
Contributor List – Click on items shown as links to view the entries
Jacks Ride by J. Feakin
Our Magazine by E. Carter
“Let’s All Go Down The Strand” by A. Dicks
The Ocean Swell by B. Shaw
A Walk In May by P. Herbert
Annecy by Peter Smith
My Dog Prince by F. Mansfield
A Ride Through Paris by Robin Dickson
The Hedgehog by D. Covell
His Vengeance by E. Carter
The Commando Attack by P. Herbert
A Sailors Life by A. Peer
Unconquered by Peter Smith
“Sightseeing” by A Dicks
The Ships Of Yesterday by D. Evans
Magazine Quizz by Mr. Cutting
Visit To the U.D. by John Holroyd
Homeward Bound by J. Steward
A Book Review by P. Jakes
Faces by N. Brown
A House I Saw by J. Treacher
Hunting Tigers by L. Waters
The Ring Plover by Glen Goodwin
The Ocean Swell by B. Shaw
The Ocean Swell came through at eight,
Tearing through Monkbarn’s Gate,
Climbing up the steep incline,
Flying, flying, along the line.
Past bushes and past trees, she sped,
Only the driver keeping his head.
‘We are there,’ cried the fireman, his mouth open wide,
And on they sped past noble Clyde.
The driver braked and the train slowed down,
Out jumped the mate and began to frown.
‘Yes,’ cried the driver, looking ahead,
‘It’s time I was home and into bed!’
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A Ride Through Paris by Robin Dickson
After our breakfast was over the party settled down in the coach and started off for a ride round Paris.
The time is about half past seven and Paris is just waking up with people going to work. Soon we are in the middle of the traffic. In Paris there are hardly any traffic lights. The gendarmes stand in the middle of the road directing the traffic with their whistles and white batons.
One of the first places we see are the French Houses of Parliament. The building, from the front view, resembles the Bank of England except that the French building has steps leading up to the main entrance. Further along the road is the tall thin grey stone monument where the Bastille had been. Soon we come to the beautiful Noire Dame cathedral with the large flying buttress standing out. The cathedral is situated in the middle of the River Seine. On the opposite side of the river is the famous road where they sell newspapers, books and paintings, etc., on the pavement. Near the cathedral is the New Bridge which was built in the eleventh century and is made of wood and stone. The bridge is still being used by traffic.
A short way from the Notre Dame we come to the Paris residence of the French President, Monsieur Auriol. It is a fairly large mansion situated in a small park with trees round the outside.
Going along the Champs Elysees with trees in full bloom we come to the Arc de Triomphe. The Arc de Triomphe is dedicated to the Unknown Warrior. In the middle of the Arc is a flame which is always burning. From the Arc you can take any one of thirteen roads which go to different parts of Paris.
Soon we arrive at St. Lazare Station where the train takes us to Dieppe. On the outskirts of Paris the Eiffel Tower stands out towering above everything else. You can still see the Tower after about twenty-five minutes’ ride from the station.
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The Hedgehog by D. Covell
The hedgehog is a very interesting little fellow. From head to heel it is covered with sharp strong quills to protect itself from enemies. Underneath is soft warm fur. When it is alarmed and danger is near, it will roll itself up into a ball, and the spikes will hurt the hands of humans and the mouths of animals.
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Unconquered by Peter Smith
We set out loaded up with our climbing gear, tents and rope on a beautiful, clear morning for the short train journey through the hills, to our destination. We climbed into the train and settled ourselves comfortably in its plush red seats and we were soon racing on our way. Soon we disappeared in the tunnel which was to bring us to the giant Mount Rosa, nearly twenty-two thousand feet high.
Our train burst magnificently out of the tunnel and unfolded before us a beautiful panorama of glittering snow-capped peaks which stretched far along the horizon. The splendour of these mountains is unequalled anywhere else in the world. Before we had got over the shock of such exquisite scenery we were in the station and busy tumbling our equipment out of the coach. Soon the train was rumbling into the tunnel and we were on our way to the hotel.
Next day, we set out to establish our first camp nearly ten thousand feet up the mountainside. At this camp our porters toiled up the mountain with great big tents which are specially built to withstand the winds which rage round the mountain, whirling up long plumes of snow which disappear as they are blown about by the whistling, shrieking winds that threaten to tear you from the mountain. When the wind stopped the unparalleled splendour of the gleaming, glittering snow-scape dazzled you and also the tremendous height, especially when dangling a few thousand feet above the nearest ground.
Camp number two was made up of small bivouac tents which stored most of the food and climbing gear. From this camp one of the most obvious advantages of camping was the wonderful scenery. The tiny tents could at a stretch sleep three. That night we had a substantial fall of dazzling white snow which greatly accentuated the difficulty of climbing the steep mountainside. Our first job was to find a suitable site for the camp from which the final attempt was to be made. When we selected the chosen spot there was a slight drizzle which boded ill for the two men who were to make the final attempt at the cloud .shrouded peak. By nightfall the chosen climbers and porters had bedded down in the freezing cold tents. Here was a dangerous disadvantage of camping, for the height at which we were camping was capable of producing temperatures far below those experienced in the Arctic.
Next morning arrived fine, and the clear air made the mountain peaks stand out sharply against the cloudless blue sky. By nine o’clock the two selected climbers set out and before they had climbed a thousand feet yellowy-black clouds had covered the sky with an unbroken carpet of foreboding storm clouds. Whistling and shrieking, the wind rushed through the gulleys and blew our tents into the air and with them our only provisions. An hour later one snow covered climber appeared from the ever increasing gloom and told us the sad tale of how the other climber was blown from a precarious perch only fifty feet from that fateful summit. Mount Rosa was still unconquered and had added yet another life to her ever increasing toll of brave mountaineers.
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Visit To The U.D. by J. Holroyd
On our visit to the U.D. we learnt quite a lot. First we went to the railway siding where we saw some milk tankers. A milk tanker is similar in appearance to an oil tanker except inside a milk tanker there is a coating of vitreous enamel and underneath that there is at least six inches of cork. When the milk is all out of the tanker it goes along pipes to the refrigerating plant. In the refrigerating plant they use ammonia under high pressure to keep the temperature down.
After that we went to see the churns sterilized. The churns are sterilized with caustic soda and steam. Then we saw how the bottles were washed automatically in steam for about thirty minutes. After being washed the bottles go along a belt to the filling and capping machine.
In the pasteurization plant the milk is heated to one hundred and sixty five degrees for fifteen seconds. If the temperature drops half a degree a bell will ring and all the milk is returned to the tanks to be repasteurized. The milk is pasteurized to kill all germs. Last of all we went to the laboratory to see some tests to see if the milk is pure and of good quality. The class liked it very much and thought it very interesting.
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Faces by N. Brown
I like to stand and stare at faces,
Although one says, ‘Tis rude,’
But one can often gain impression
Of character and of mood.
The jovial, plump and rosy face,
Gives one a pleasant thought;
But, how one changes when one sees
A scowl of any sort.
There’s always an-in-between with things,
And so there is with faces,
But now-a-days the serious one,
Is common in many cases.
But with the slightest twitch of lip,
Or twinkle of the eye,
A smile breaks o’er the countenance,
Which is comforting to the eye.
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Ronald Twining mentioned me in his editorial for being selected to play for the Ilford Boys Football Team visit to Holland. This picture was cut from a Dutch local newspaper and sent to me by the family I was staying with in Oosterbeck. The photo, which shows the team at a training session, was not very good so they had pointed me out.