No . 131 The Trusty Servant
Timetable
Professor Richard Green ( Coll , 79-84 ) writes :
Dr Baxter ’ s Vox Senum ( TS 130 ) reminded me that , 30 years ago , not only the chronological timetable but also the underlying block structure was pinned up outside Dons ’ Common Room . This allowed a one-year man to discover that something called ‘ Introduction to Economics ’ ( for Senior Part ) was a feasible , hopefully Second Master-acceptable , alternative to post-O-level French . Fortunately , most of the Economics PhD theses I ’ ve examined for French universities have been written in English .
Readers can write to the Editor , Tim Giddings , at trustyservant @ wincoll . ac . uk or the Director of Win Coll Soc , Christopher Normand , at wincollsoc @ wincoll . ac . uk .
First Woman ? Or Saltatores and Saltatrices
Richard Gliddon ’ s article Teaching at Win Coll , 65-69 in TS 130 together with recent announcements prompted some further reflection from John Roskill ( D , 48-53 ):
Having read and listened to the Warden ’ s hopes for our Alma Mater in the 21 st century and the introduction of girls into VI Book , I like to think that , some 69 years ago , I may just , perhaps , have sown the seed of an idea into the Headman ’ s , and hence Go Bo ’ s thoughts .
In those days , the young men of Win Coll had absolutely no contact with the St Swithun girls , one of whom was a ‘ holiday girlfriend ’ of mine . This separation was amplified at the Gilbert and Sullivan performances in Guildhall , where the girls were seated upstairs , and we young men wistfully below them ! Such unnatural behaviour my ‘ girlfriend ’ and I considered ridiculous and we agreed that a dance for the blades in the valley and the girls on the hilltop was an excellent way of breaking this apparent taboo .
Headmaster Walter Oakeshott ’ s wife , Noel , was my mother ’ s first cousin . Through Noel , I was able to convince Walter that this idea was worth pursuing , and before too long I had organised some 10 -15 of us young men who , bedecked in dinner jackets , hired the Rolls Royce taxis from the firm then in St Swithun Street , arrived in style at St Swithun ’ s School and thoroughly enjoyed the subsequent evening - the girls of course being heavily chaperoned , so no hanky-panky in the greenhouse !
There is no photographic record of this ( possibly ) first dance . However , not to be outdone and to the delight of The Trusty Servant , Fiona Smith has supplied evidence of two dances that took place in 1960 .
Organised by the Headmaster ’ s daughter Polly Lee a dance took place in the Headmaster ’ s Ballroom ( now the Blackwell Room ) in January 1960 . As a precaution against the ceiling collapsing in the HM ’ s Dining Room ( now the office of the Headman ’ s Secretary ), several stanchions were installed . The dancers do not appear to have taken offence at this measure .
The same year , reels were danced in Old Gymnā , now the QEII Theatre . The picture below shows an eightsome made up of four Philites and four St Swithun ’ s girls .
L-R Polly Lee ( Headmaster ’ s Daughter ); Fiona Williams ( later Smith ); Christopher Snell ( A , 55-60 ); Christine Panton ; Maeve Cowan ( Daughter of Master of Music )
Andrew Ford ( 56-61 ), Sam Gordon-Clark ( 57-61 ), Philip Halford-Macleod ( 55-60 ), Andrew Baines ( 57-61 ) ( all G )
Josephine Wheatley , Fiona Williams , Polly Lee , Alison Wilson ( all St Swithun ’ s )
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