PART TWELVE OF SCHOOLTIME SCANDALS: TEACHERS & TEARS...

A poor photo, but the incident happened here

When I was at primary school, there was a boy in

my class called Euan (maybe Ewan) Shepard, who

giggled like a girl and was slightly effete.  I never realised

it back then, but looking back many years later, it struck

me that such was the case.  Euan may well be a big manly

man now, but it would come as no great surprise to me

to learn that he made the journey to Denmark at the

earliest opportunity after leaving school.

But Euan isn't the star of this post - his is nothing

more than a cameo role in this true tale from the dim

and distant days of my childhood, when I was only about

8 years old.  Euan and myself were part of the double line

of pupils waiting at the foot of the stairs, ready to ascend to

the rooms above.  One of us accidentally tripped as the line

started to move, rendering us slightly out-of-sync with our

fellows, and Euan emitted a giggle.  Suddenly, Mr. Hal-
liburton, the depute head, descended upon us and

violently yanked us from the ranks.

Pushing us against a wall, he started to shout at

us, and was either going to belt us or give us 'lines'.

(Can't recall with certainty after so many years - it was

one or the other.)  I'd had an encounter with Halliburton

once before (see here) and was determined not to be intim-

idated.  "I'm going to tell my father about you!" I declared,

and started to moved towards the door leading to the play-

ground.  (I lived at the top of the road, so my house was

nearby.)  He grabbed me by the lapels and pushed me

back against the wall, glaring at me menacingly.

  At this point Euan burst into tears, eliciting a look

of contempt from Mr. Halliburton, who then eyed us
while he deliberated his next move.  An internal struggle

seemed to be taking place - then he ordered "Get to your
class!"  As Euan moved off, Halliburton pulled me back,
lowered his voice and muttered "Don't ever threaten me
with your father again."  Yeah, that'd be right - adults
wouldn't put up with his p*sh, but kids could be
easily intimidated.  Except for me that is.

I caught up with Euan as he dabbed his tears
away with the back of his hands.  He forced out a
giggle - "Hee hee - that always works" he whimpered,
sheepishly and unconvincingly.  Yeah, sure - but even
 so it was no excuse to abandon dignity and self-respect.
However, Mr. Halliburton never tried to bully me or
lay his hands on me again in all my remaining time
at primary.  That's what I call a result!

Next:  Another tale about the tears of Euan.

Posted in: Cartoons