Stories we heard from our tour guide (who reminded me very much of the housekeeper in Sound of Music):
Kitchen and dining hall: Functioning since 1314. The boys used to eat "square meals" on plates made of square wooden slabs. Seating is picnic-table style tables and benches against the walls. The boys sitting against the wall frequently clamber over top the tables to get in or out.
Stained glass in the chapel: Several centuries old...or ought to be. It was taken out to be cleaned at one point, but the cleaners sold it and replaced it with a fake. The giveaway? The replacement included Australia in a section portraying a world map -- but Australia didn't make it on the maps till long after the original window was crafted. (Why weren't they careful to match the fake with the original?)
Stone bench in the chapel - embedded with clearly-visible fossils from Jurassic Park
Dorm rooms: No central heating till recently. In 1987 (I am quite certain that's the year she said), some boys made a snowman and moved it into their bedroom -- where it lasted three days.
The boys' term for homework: "Toys"
The school mascot: Literally speaking, a pigheaded servant, with a padlock on his mouth. (There was a lot of symbolism behind everything in this peculiar painting, which unfortunately I can't remember.)
No comments:
Post a Comment