SCHOOLTIME SCANDALS PART FIFTEEN: THE LITTLE DRUMMOND BOY...

Me and David in primary school, though it was in
secondary school that the following tale took place

It was in one of the annexed huts at the far
end of the school one day that the following event

occurred.  The subject was music and this particular

hut was used as the 'music hut' on a permanent basis.

As we took our seats, the teacher decided to 'take' the

register, and began calling out each pupil's name and

ticking them off in turn upon receipt of a "here" in

response to the announced appellation.

Jimmy Riddle - "here".  Billy Bigballs - "here".

Johnny Jumpstart - "here".  And so it went, until
she got to DAVID DRUMMOND's name.  Now, I
should mention that David was a quiet, studious boy,
who never got into any kind of trouble as far as I was
aware.  The teacher must have known this, so her
reaction to what happened next was completely
unjustified in regard to poor Davey.

When she called his name - David Drum-
mond - David replied "here", but he wasn't the
only pupil to do so.  As his "here" ended, suddenly
another one sounded from somewhere in the room -
"here" - and then another - and another - until it was
echoing all around the class.  It went like this - David
Drummond - "here", "here", "here", "here", "here",
"here" - about a dozen or more times from various
points of the room in a 'living stereo surround-
sound' effect that was truly impressive.

Teacher was furious.  "Drummond - you're
the ringleader - get out here now!"  Bewildered,
Davey trudged out to her desk, whereupon, if I re-
call correctly, she belted him with the tawse and sent
him back to his seat in abject shame for something he
hadn't done.  Naturally, we felt bad for him - his fate
was utterly undeserved - but it'd been funny to hear
the word "here" bounce around the room and to
see the teacher take an apoplectic fit over it,
even if she had belted an innocent boy.

I thought the result of each individual "here" in
close succession to one another sounded extremely
musical - very King's Singers in effect, so I'm not
sure why Teacher reacted in the way she did.  You'd
think she'd have been proud of our daring initiative
in forming a class 'band' - even if it was only for
a short, one-off performance.

Teachers, eh?!  I just hope David can look
back and laugh about it now.  It was a classic
moment that deserves to be remembered.  (Al-
though I suppose you had to actually be there
  to appreciate it in the same way that I do.) 

Posted in: Cartoons