Mayfield Magazine 1951, Issue 09
From the Editorial by David Cracknell: The past months have been important for all of us, mainly because of the Festival of Britain. Mr Hicks and our form masters arranged for us to visit both main London exhibitions, at the South Bank and South Kensington museum. Then there were various other activities in Ilford, in which Mayfield took part.
From the Headmaster’s Review by C. F. W. Hicks: Congratulations to A. Poultney on having one of his pictures hung in the Sunday Pictorial children’s art exhibition, to R. Goulden on gaining a Star cricket bat during the past season and on being selected to play for the London Boys’ football team against Brighton, and the Garden Club on winning the Ilford Horticultural Society’s school shield.
Contributor List – Click on items shown as links to view the entries
At Home On A Winter Evening by William Walden
Youth Hostelling by Peter Clarke
The School Journey To Switzerland, May 1951 by Derek W. Evans
The Return Of The Knight by Victor Dodsworth
My Weekend At Cunningham Hall by R. Key
Rex The Police Dog by H. Valentine
The Back Parlour by A. Poultney
Man Dreams Of Conquest by T. Turnber
My First Days Work In A Factory by John Bailey
Sea Battle by Frank Tebbs
The Night Tide by Derek Evans
Kings College Chapel by A. Poultney
Revenge In Blood by F. Mansfield
Christmas Decorations by Derek Chambers
A Visit To A Sweet Factory by K. Waller
Weather, One Of Mans Enemies by Geoffrey Gower
Wrecked On A Desert Island by Malcolm Delahay
Flight To Mars by Derek Chambers
The Country In Autumn by Frank Tebbs
How To Grow Dahlias by K. Waller
A Football Match by Peter Welch
Jim Delivers The Milk by Arthur Poultney
“Ambushed” by J. Males
Night by David Cracknell
The Back Dive by D. Gillings
Butterflies by T. Gocke
A Form Project by E. Sampson
Midnight by David Cracknell
The Cross-Country Run, 1951 by A Poultney
Youth Hostelling by Peter Clarke
The Youth Hostels’ Association was formed in order to help to encourage both young and old people alike to enjoy travelling about the countryside in a healthy but cheap manner.
There are about three hundred Youth Hostels in the whole of Great Britain and they are roughly sixty to eighty miles apart They range from small Nissen huts to large country mansions, and they accommodate anything from eight to one hundred persons. People of either sex, providing they are over five and under seventy-five years of age may join the association.
Inside a hostel there is usually a common room where all kinds of activities take place, such as table tennis, darts, and so on. There is also a special kitchen where members may cook their own meals if they wish to, or if they prefer, they can have a meal cooked by the hostel. Hostel meals are very cheap and are well-worth the prices, which usually range from one and sixpence to one and ninepence. For a hostel dinner one may have soup, potatoes, peas, and meat, pudding and custard, bread and a cup of tea.
In all hostels there are good facilities for cyclists as well as hikers, but whether you are a cyclist or a hiker the Y.H.A. is an association well-worth joining.
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The School Journey To Switzerland, 1951 by D. Evans
Friday, 11th May and Saturday, 12th May:
At about 9.30 a.m. we left Victoria Station on the first hop, to Dover. Here we went quickly through the Customs with the minimum of fuss and without, I noticed, to the disappointment of one ‘first former,’ being questioned. From the Customs we walked across the quay on to the small Belgian ship Prins Albert, stowed our luggage, and awaited departure, killing time by watching the cars being lifted onto the quayside. We left Dover at 12.10 p.m. and arrived at Ostend, Belgium, four and a half hours later. At Ostend there were the happy-go-lucky Customs, and once through we boarded a rather uncomfortable wooden-seated train which left at 6 p.m. (Continental time), and sped through the night to the first lot of Customs on the Luxembourg border. We came to France early next morning. At about 5.20 a.m. our train pulled in at Basle in Switzerland where we enjoyed the usual Continental breakfast of hot creamy coffee and luscious rolls and cherry jam. At about 9.20 a.m. our party left for Interlaken. From here we went on to Wilderswil, and arrived at 1 p.m. At last our long journey was over. As soon as we arrived at Wilderswil we had a very pleasing meal at our hotel, the Alpenblick. During the rest of that day we found that this is a sort of ‘fairytale’ place. All about are beautiful snow-capped mountains. Scattered around like over-sized dolls’ houses are lovely wooden chalets, where every morning peace-loving, pipe-smoking people go out to milk the goats or cows, or do their wood-carving. They are a peaceful, kind, and patriotic people.
Sunday, 13th May:
To-day we visited the small and sleepy town of Lauterbrunnen. Once out of the train we walked about four miles through a very green and fertile valley which was walled each side by the stern steep cliffs, some nearly 2,000 feet high. On our slow walk along the valley we saw the famous Staubach falls thundering down the rock face for over a thousand feet before its powerful descent was lost in a cloud of spray. Once across the River Lutchine we came to the famous Trummelbach falls. Here we entered a lift that took us up and up, 150 feet inside the mountain to come out at the falls which, through the rocks, formed a grotesque gorge. The falls are inside the mountain and one views them from galleries built high up on the rock face.
Tuesday, 15th May:
So far the weather has been wet. and to-day we had a welcome change – it snowed! The morning was, however, bright and sunny but clouds still hung around very low. We set off early for Grindelwald and made our way up to the foot of the chair railway (Firstbahn), and started to ascend, two in a chair. Most of the boys seemed to be lost in huge warm coats that had been supplied by the company. At about 5,000 feet we ran into a snowstorm and by the time we disembarked at over 7,000 feet the snow was fifteen feet thick, and visibility down to about ten yards. This was very different from the scene in 1949 at almost the same time of the year, when there wasn’t a trace of snow, and it was too hot to wear a coat!
Wednesday, l6th May:
One of our main intentions on this visit to the Bernese Oberland was to ascend the Jungfrau to a height of nearly 12,000 feet, but because of weather conditions this had to be abandoned, and the highlight of the trip this year turned out to be the all-day coach tour. The first interesting part of the day came when we went along the edge of Lake Thun. About thirty miles of Still, green water brimmed by the towering mountains, and two famous castles, Spiez and Oberhoffen. The next stop was Blausee, with its famous blue lake. I don’t think anyone could ever describe it by pen or paint brush. Its waters are blue and have to be seen to be believed, for there is hardly anything like it in the whole world. Here we saw the Swiss National Trout Nurseries where the fish are born, bred, and reared into big, fine trout. In some places the pools are so tightly packed that you can hardly see the bottom. There are huge St. Bernard and Alsatian dogs as the fish have to be protected from enemies like the pole cat. Our next stop was the gorge, through which we walked from Kandersteg. We returned by a different route and spent an hour at the delightful town of Thun before continuing the journey homewards along the other side of the lake. That evening the clouds lifted to reveal the Eiger, Monch, and the Jungfrau in all their awe-inspiring beauty.
Friday, I8fh May (last full day in Switzerland):
To-day a short walk took us to the famous holiday and health resort of Interlaken, and from the small stone jetty on the edge of Lake Thun, we were conveyed by a motor launch, which took us on a twenty-minute trip to the other side of the lake. Here we climbed slowly up a gentle slope and on the way more and more of the lake and mountains unfolded before us until we were looking down about 300 feet to the lake. After this slow (and warm!) climb, we came to our reward, the caves and grottoes known as ‘Beatus Hoelus.’ We were led into them by a guide who explained everything to us. We passed through the dark tunnels and caverns in which were formations of rock, millions of years old. There were some which were like bears and snakes in shape, and over some were wire cases to prevent people from taking a piece as a souvenir with them. We also saw some caves where criminals and hermits used to live to escape paying taxes, and so on, hundreds of years ago.
Saturday, l9th May and Sunday, 20th May:
We left Wilderswil at 1.10 p.m. and got our last glimpse of the village as the little train went downhill to Interlaken. Here we boarded a very powerful train on a three-hour journey to Basle. The train sped along the Lutchine valley and along to the end of Lake Thun, and past the still green waters, past a steel foundry and coal barges. On past the ancient town of Spietz and the busy town of Thun, and through mountains which were once white with snow, but now green and fresh. On to Berne the capital of Switzerland. Then on to Basle, which is a busy frontier town. We arrived at 4.30 p.m. We left the station with its soldiers and frontier guards, Customs and interpreters, and walked into the wide streets. There were large American cars and large exclusive London-like shops and slow, rattling trams. We looked across the slow dirty Rhine river, and soon were over the other side and in Germany. We went back to the station after watching the Customs search other people. As we walked back we walked along streets which looked very much like those in the British film ‘The Third Man.’ At the station we had a meal and got our train. The train for Belgium left at one o’clock on Sunday morning and exactly 12 hours 20 minutes later we arrived at Ostend again, after passing through four countries. Our next move was on to the ship Konig Albert at 1.20 p.m. to leave three-quarters of an hour later. The crossing was, fortunately, very calm. We reached Dover at 6.40 p.m. and passed through our Customs, who were dealing mainly with early visitors to the Festival of Britain. We left the harbour at 7 p.m. and as we passed through Kent it began to rain. As we neared London the atmosphere began to get rather dull but nearer and nearer came the places, the life, and the people we had left behind eleven days before. None of us wanted to leave Switzerland, but as we drew into Victoria Station at 9 p.m. we were all glad to be back in England. Although we had all loved Switzerland, land of peace and beauty, we found there is no place on earth for us quite like.
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Jim Delivers The Milk by A. Poultney
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