Burnley Grammar School

Comment by: Nathan Hind on 16th December 2023 at 12:54

Nathan, now that the forum is back to something approaching normal, I'd be interested to have your response to part of your message. This piece:


"This contrasts completely with doing PE indoors where I have autonomy to choose that option and on occasions some of the PE class or the whole class do some PE in a shirtless capacity largely without any incidents about it."

May I ask if you implement this in winter, and when you do it, is it just for younger pupils or older ones as well. I would also be interested to know why you implement it - just on very warm days, or for what reason. You say "largely without any concerns" which suggests there are some.

I would have thought it would be more difficult to implement when it is not a normal day to day happening, so the lads can't be expecting it. Is it a form of punishment?.

No ulterior motive in the questions, I assure you. I am just interested to understand the reasoning behind it.

Comment by: Toby on 18th December 2023 at 22:13


When you think about it, Toby, all those feet, or plimsoles that had been on those mats, it is no wonder they smelt disgusting, and of course the weight of the pupils over time would compress the fibres (or whatever they are) in the mats. I remember ours were a grey colour and had the dirt of years on them.

As regards the ropes, as we are back in the "one size fits all" routine, I think PE teachers forgot (and probably still do) that there are some people who have a genuine fear of heights. - we had one lad who was terrified of them, and some people laughed, but everyone has some kind of hang-up about something. My only problem with them was that I knew our Mr R was standing underneath them, looking up to make sure nobody was breaking his "no underpants rule". I suppose my hang-up was , and is , being humiliated. Still, I musn' t go on about that as our Rumpole will think I am being negative again!

Did anyone ever fall onto the mat? I'm not totally convinced they were much better than the floor!

Had a very particular rubbery, powdery smell too.

And I hated climbing the ropes. I was no good at it and kept burning my palms.

PC Pleb must go down as one of the mildest insults I've ever had and I've faced names even a grown man would blush at. The trouble with people like you is you think you are cleverer than you actually are. I've seen it so many times. I started out as a PC but was a detective for many years too. You pull people in and ask questions and they think they have all bases covered and have all the answers and we know they're just digging ever deeper, even with legal advice on hand. The arrogance of thinking you are cleverer than you really are is always the downfall. Criminals always think like that, and clearly so do online forum jokers and pests. The insulting comments are just like water off a ducks back to me, been there heard a hundred times worse in the real world before.

I'd also like to point out that a check through will show I've been a regular but not frequent contributor to this history section going back some considerable time and have even taken issue directly with Alan on occasion.

There is a charge on statute that is known as a 'Section 90' of impersonating a police officer. If there was a charge of impersonating anybody else, PC Pleb here would feel quite confident in pressing them against you. If nothing else you've caused a breach of the online peace for all to witness.

Original Andy - 17th December 2023 at 18.41

-Tomorrow morning, we are off for our winter break in Finland so I will be away for a couple of weeks. May I suggest that everyone starts to play nicely while I’m away-



Almost sounds like the moderator talking to his thread this bit.

I'm sure we are all very pleased you're off on holiday.

Well, well, what a weekend.

I first see that PC Pleb who would appear to be Alan’s best mate and who made an abusive post about me on Thursday afternoon, rapidly supported by Alan has absented himself from further discussion. After all, a new poster must immediately have more credibility and knowledge than someone who has posted here on and off for years when they agree with Alan and disagree with me.

Then over the weekend I see a number of posts pointing out the error of the criticisms people have been subject to, with quotes of what they originally said demonstrating that but we see a barrage of responses accusing them of saying what those complaining maintain they said even in the wake of evidence. I hate situations like this, it’s so easy to see who is lying, I much prefer to pull it apart more slowly and let the lies be exposed one by one, making the author of them ever more confident that they are right but letting the jury see that they are building one lie on top of another. It’s fun to watch, barristers like a laugh just like anyone else.

Then we have the usual round of protests that Alan is not using multiple names but the regime of posting does suggest something different. At the same time, he maintains that others are posting under multiple names to the point of being obsessed by it. You do have to wonder why this obsession. Is it simply that there can only be one person on the entire planet who doesn’t agree with his thinking? Or is it possible that multiple people disagree with his view of the world? I’d put my money on the latter. I’ve lost count of the number of people I’m supposed to have been over the years and I am none of them.

Rightly I see a number of people questioning the integrity of comments on the site and I agree, no login is most unusual these days and it comes from a time when I think, people on line were more trustworthy. Sadly, that has changed.

What I don’t think that many know is that when you post on line, you leave a trail. It’s quite a specific trail and unique to you. The odds on it being confused with anyone else are about the same as a DNA match with another person. You will have similarities to family members but the actual trail will be unique to you. There are ways of seeing this trail and indeed some members of the legal profession have access to it, not that I am one of them.

I mentioned my wife in recent days. She was very interested to find that she was supposed to be married to an eighty three year old, retired school master and living in France. She wasn’t aware of it and believed she lived in Hertfordshire with a barrister who is a long way short of eighty three and the father of her children. She was quite offended by what she termed the ‘Alangations’ made about her husband. Anyway, my wife is a solicitor and she practices with a firm in Waltham Abbey (which I’m not going to name and I’m not naming her either), that specialises in looking at harassment on the internet and which brings cases where appropriate in both the criminal and civil court. The firm does have access to search tools that reveal lots of information.

Over this weekend, she showed me the detail on my posts here, the time I had taken to make them, the browser I was using, the OS of the device, the means of connection i.e. wi-fi and if so the location of the connection, on mobile network and there even if it was 4G or 5G and of course the mobile service provider along with more information that I didn’t understand and too much of it to recount.

I found it all fascinating and of course the download didn’t just demonstrate things about me and it covered the last three months. A longer search could cover more time, this was a small snapshot. This data is around for years or some I’m told by experts. A very small number of posts stood out on the list immediately, the best and clearest example was from the Finisterre region of France, indeed a small town in the west of Finisterre, all made from the same computer, all using the same internet service provider which I will not name for obvious reasons. No surprises there and I hope you don’t mind me pointing this out Sir, it was the most obvious unique example of the data.

Others stood out because they were made between midnight and 06.00 but of course they were not as unique as the ones cited above but the job of matching up the DNA of the posts to what is appearing on the site is time consuming but also quite easy to do. Everyone who posts here can be traced and multiple posts using different names can be matched, if you like, your name is a minor detail in the endgame of your ID. If the abuse here continues, I will ask that the data starts to be matched and there may be some people who might find a genuine version of PC Plod calling because systematic abuse is an offence and some of what has been said so far is defamation.

Tomorrow morning, we are off for our winter break in Finland so I will be away for a couple of weeks. May I suggest that everyone starts to play nicely while I’m away and if you are posting under multiple names, I really do suggest you stop because you will be found out very quickly and deceit always has consequences as figures in public life in the UK are finding out at the moment. There are plenty of positive things that can be discussed here and a wealth of information looking backwards.

May I suggest that EVERYONE now takes a few days break from posting here and lets things cool down a bit and then comes back with something pleasant and positive to say?

Happy Christmas to everyone and I mean you too Alan, perhaps lead by example from here on?

Alan
It wasn't 'Gerry' - it was 'Gerald' ...

Gerry - 0350 Sunday is not Saturday night, and Roy has already told you he is not me..

It seems to me some people are very confused - it is a bit like "Mr Chips" yesterday evening -who we are given to believe is a school teacher of 42 years standing twice accusing me of "slander:" when he mean libel.

The owner/moderator of this site could put a stop to all this nonsense today, if he so wished, by doing what I have now asked him twice to do, and confirm my unique web address is not that of the other six to eight people some like you think I am. I even wrote privately to his email address and failed to get the courtesy of a reply. I have given my email address, what more can I do to prove I am who I say I am.

A ;roper system of registration is needed to put a stop to all these fantasies. The sooner the better.

On the question of 'Moderators' ... FWIW - I'm an 'Admin' on one Facebook group and a 'senior member' on another. These are 'specialist' groups - not groups you can 'just walk into'. New members are welcomed and treated 'with respect', but the same 'respect' is required in return. Anyone who gets 'stroppy' or thinks they 'know everything' (or 'timewasters') with be gently 'sat upon', but help is 'freely given'.

I'm also a 'senior member' on another (same subject) groups which is a 'free-for-all' - the same rules apply - we have no problems with 'human' trolls (if we did - they would, I suggest, be shown the door). We have had trouble in recent time with 'troll-bots', which are obvious to all - we tell the site owner and he deletes the posts. We have discussed making the site 'password-protected' the owner hasn't gone down that line yet because we want to be 'welcoming' - in a specialist hobby with an ageing membership we are mindful over these things.

Being a moderator is not an easy thing - I agree with Chris G's comment of 09.07 this morning.

Unfortunately there now seem to be so many people posting now, and most of what they seem to be doing is trading insults that its impossible to keep up with them. Sad to say, some of these seem to be 'fantasies' - I say no more on this.

Its a pity and I dislike saying it, but this site is 'broken'.

TH

Thank you, Roy, for coming forward to confirm that you are not me (and you wouldn't want to be, let me assure you!). I invite anybody on this board to go back through my posts - you will note that I NEVER post between 9 p.m. and round about 3 in the morning. As I have previously mentioned I am an insomniac, and I switch off my computer by 9 p.m. to get some shut eye. I know you have only my word for that, and as I am so "vile" I could be lying, but I am not.

I think we have now all had more than enough of "Chips" and his bare-backside caning's, but I just want to make it clear why I take exception to his attitude. This is part of a VERY long post on 12th August, and the offending remarks come in his response to James (there had been a previous, somewhat approving, reference to one posters father using a strap on the poor lad)

Comment by: Mr Chips on 12th December 2023 at 20:58





"James on 12th December 2023 at 17:38



In answer to your question to me, four was normal but as I've said previously, the power of my arm may have varied. As a star pupil, you would certainly have felt my wrath translated into sting. The ultimate sanction, 'next time it will be on your bare bottom'. It was much more of a threat than something ever carried out indeed the only time I did it consistently was if a sixth former had been caught bullying a younger boy and that might have happened once a year if that.

Remember the Victorians replaced the birch with the cane and one of the reasons why was that Victorians were very socially conservative, the birch did not work through trousers but the cane was very effective so the birch lost favour and the cane replaced it. You could make the cane sting sufficiently so the whole thing about bare was just to add a threat and a different dimension to the punishment.

Very occasionally I would do it to a younger boy who had done the same thing persistently like not do homework, I would issue the threat and if a further occasion occurred then I would carry it out and deliver two quite light but absolutely stinging strokes which would fade in about half an hour. He would forget that but not having to drop his trousers and underpants which would act as an equal deterrent to the cane."




As I am not that old, I do not know whether bare backside caning's was a norm, certainly not in the sort of school I attended, where there was a restraint placed on schools actions by local authorities, I dare say private schools had their own methods, given the number of masochists still around, but just consider those last few lines: "I would carry it out and deliver two quite light but absolutely stinging strokes which would fade in about half an hour. He would forget that but not having to drop his trousers and underpants which would act as an equal deterrent to the cane."

Are you surprised that somebody, like myself, who are against violence and humiliation should take offence at such a brazen admission of cruelty and attempts to humiliate - and can it just be me who sees the pleasure the writer gets i recounting it. Ad the "crime" for which this extreme measure was applied? - forgetting homework.


Despite "Chips" suggesting I am distorting his words, this is what he chose to write, and I frankly find it disgusting. I am just glad he is retired so he can inflict no more of his damage on boys.

Tell me - I am REALLY that vile for deploring humiliation and un-necessary violence from an adult to a kid?. In what way am I sick or obsessed?.

I had a rotten time at school - as did many of my fellow pupils. It would be nice in middle age to think that some of those teachers who applied it might regret their behaviour, but it is clear from some individuals on here they are not, and I suspect they never did.

Steve on 16th December 2023 at 23:11
Roy on 16th December 2023 at 23:35
Alan on 17th December 2023 at 03:50

All waiting around on a Saturday night with nothing better to do than respond to Barney's post and you want us to believe that you are not all the same person?

Dream on.

Mike, Will and anyone else interested:

At the foot of each page, after a lot of scrolling, you will find half a dozen links leading to a background to the site, rules of behaviour , copyright policy etc, including one giving the email address of the site owner. Basically, this not a free-for-all discussion forum in the currently accepted sense of the term, but a lovingly curated archive of nostalgic photographs related to life in England in years gone by.

Comment by: Barney on 16th December 2023 at 21:44


Well, if nothing else, "Mr. Chis" is certainly prescient - he suggested you would have more to so say and boy - was he right!. You have an enormous amount to say.

Why didn't you go the whole hog and suggest I am "bile" o as "Dr. Hugh" (Dr Who?) suggests that I am certifiably mentaly ill.

If you seriously believe I am everybody who has difficulty beleiving some of what you have said, than I feel very sorry for you.

You can say anything you like about me - I don't care. The rantings of somebody who is unknown and completely anonymous to me, is like water off a ducks back.

My ONLY objection is to the frequent use of the word "cancer". I lost most of my family and several friends to that terrible illness. It is an entirely inappropriate word to use.

Strangely enough, your pal "Mr. Chips" used EXACTLY the same word yesterday.

Odd that.....

Comment by: Cliff on 16th December 2023
Question - when did you last see an 83 year old man jogging, never mind doing so in just his shorts and trainers with a bare chest, and in the winter time as well?


Comment by: Daz1970 on 4th December 2023
Is that post that was left here on Sunday lunchtime meant to be some kind of gigantic P take out of the comments Craig leaves on here about his bareskin running whatsapp group, because it somehow reads and feels like it to me.



Just what I was thinking. I'm sure there is a sophisticated and far too clever by half wind up going on. Just call it a hunch.

I have a diary entry from Monday 16th December 1985, this very date 38 years ago when I was in the lower sixth form at school at 16. I did a barechested cross country that morning along with many of the other boys of the lower sixth first thing that day. It was quite a mild but cloudy and damp day so I say. Although lower sixth we got told to run that way and went out of school to do so, mostly off road but some nearby roads briefly. Diaries kept from your schooldays bring so much back to life.

If I was to see the same thing today 38 years later I'd certainly make me open my eyes in some surprise.

I'm can confirm I'm not Alan as that has been alleged in the lengthy post earlier based on the timings of two of my comments which are supposed to match the other poster who writes in the very early morning.

Just accept and understand the scepticism you have attracted and grasp why you have faced it.

You can probably search back and find other comments of mine that should prove a very different viewpoint to Alan somewhere. I am not he.

It's quite possible that there are two separate people on either end of this argument who are both playing games with multi names to make their points and back ups. Then again it might all be genuine. I no longer know or care because I'll not be wasting much more time or energy over this and go and find better reading elsewhere that I can trust.

You protest too much Barney, and no I do not believe you saw that large class of boys out like that with not a stitch of clothing above any of their waists in full public view a couple of weeks before Christmas.

Barney - 'On 12th December, I made a post recounting my morning walk home, a walk I take Monday – Friday after OGG. I pass the boundary of the school field where I am governor. In that post, I recounted seeing TWO classes of lads and TWO PE masters out running, a total of about fifty lads or twenty five for each class. I also recounted that I walked across and spoke to ONE of the PE masters and there I asked him about the policy on shirts as no one was wearing one and I gave HIS response. Given the interest in bare skin running, I thought it was a valid post to make.'



I think this paragraph was basically seen as your undoing wasn't it. I've seen your previous comments and never had any problem with what you have said and taken it at face value without hesitation. Then came the day you described what you have repeated in the paragraph above and my own instinct was disbelief and doubt.

So in the interests of fairness could I ask you some non-identifying questions around that encounter please? I am not seeking to trip you up.

What type of school is this?

What age did the boys appear to be?

Was that the teacher or boys decision do you know?

Was every single pupil shirtless including all teachers present?

What were the weather conditions like at the time?

Did they leave school grounds?

Was that the first time you had ever seen that situation? If so, why do you think it happened now?

How long have you been a governor and what type of governor are you?

Thanks.

Comment by: Will on 16th December 2023 at 17:58

To add to your very valid points Will, most forums allow their users to start new thread discussions. You do not appear to be able to do that on here, so who exactly did start these threads in the first place then? Normally you can also see who began a specific thread discussion on forums.

Why is this website forum moderator/administrator hiding? There were issues with this site a few months back where it wasn't working and someone actively sorted it out, it wasn't left to wither on the vine unloved, neglected and forgotten.

One other personal observation is that the three fully named former and current teachers who have been posting here for a while on and off have never between any of them resorted to any kind of insulting or unkind language towards anyone else at any point that I have seen even with disagreements, which is what I would largely expect infact from such people.

Online by 22:45! So, just over an hour

Mr Chips on 16th December 2023 at 11:17

I’m relieved to read your post. I had noted that you, like me, was on the end of an intentional and systematic character assassination but I hadn’t realised how developed it had become.


My earlier posts were about growing up in the 1960s in a two up, two down terrace house where I was the first in family to win a grammar school scholarship and indeed, though I don’t think I said this at the time, the only lad in the street to be at grammar school. The whole street was proud of me and when I went on to university, there was a street party and a bigger one when I graduated. It opened doors for me that no one else in the street could even imagine and I’ve never forgotten how fortunate I am.

I made a couple of posts about watching lads rugby training on my way home from my Monday to Friday gym sessions with my retired mates – OGG we call it, old gits gym. It’s at the school I attended as a boy and where I’m now a governor. Within the day, I was accused of ‘unsavoury loitering’ on the school boundary and told to stop immediately and who was the source of this accusation other than Alan on 25th October 2023 at 03:29 also insisting I was lying because it was half term week. Others corrected the half term lie on Alan’s part but of course there was no word of an apology for his maybe deliberate error and insult.

Alan on 25th October 2023 at 16:25 followed up the same day with further insults.

Alan on 26th October 2023 at 03:28 more insults.

At the same time there were numerous other posts appreciating what I had written about my youth.

I was then left alone for a while but there were posts attacking Nathan Hind, Original Andy, Hugh, Graham Butterfield and others.

I gave the site a wide berth for a few weeks, sickened by Alan’s behaviour but of course that’s what he would seem to want to happen. It’s typical bully behaviour and cyber bullies are no different to the ones that used to steal dinner money.

On 12th December, I made a post recounting my morning walk home, a walk I take Monday – Friday after OGG. I pass the boundary of the school field where I am governor. In that post, I recounted seeing TWO classes of lads and TWO PE masters out running, a total of about fifty lads or twenty five for each class. I also recounted that I walked across and spoke to ONE of the PE masters and there I asked him about the policy on shirts as no one was wearing one and I gave HIS response. Given the interest in bare skin running, I thought it was a valid post to make.

What followed here from that post has been abuse of me of the most revolting kind and this in the midst of anther discussion about the age of majority which is eighteen in the UK and Alan refusing to accept the reality of the law and insisting on something different but I don’t know what.

Roy on 13th December 2023 at 02:40 – (note the time, Alan posts about then quite often)

“Usually a couple of classes are out doing PE and this morning was no exception. Two classes of lads running circuits of the field and over about fifty lads and two PE masters running with them, there wasn't a shirt between them.' Name the school or I'll consider this fiction.”

Ian on 13th December 2023 at 15:43

“Of course you're not Barney are you, because it only happened in your imagination.

A theme has developed here recently with this kind of outlandish stuff being written and then flat refusals to add a bit of perfectly reasonable information when asked by other forum members. It leads me to think this is all penned under the same hand because the replies always end up so similarly belligerent.”


Jon on 13th December 2023 at 17:42

“FIFTY lads at school PE going out bare chested along with a couple of shirtless teachers with them, this very week, outside in December. Yeah right. Nice try Barney. Don't take readers on here for complete fools please.”

Peter on 13th December 2023 at 20:13

“Just like the others, I don't believe a word of the above timed comment that was trying to be passed off as a real observation and then encounter either.”

Roy on 14th December 2023 at 02:34 (Again in the middle of the night)
More of the same.
Vic on 14th December 2023 at 12:34

“As a retired school teacher if I had been approached by a random gentleman at the school fence making enquiries about the way pupils were dressed and their changing room arrangements in respect of doing the lesson without a shirt or taking a shower then my suspicions would be raised to very concerned levels about that. I would consider that a very unhealthy obsession for anyone unconnected directly to a school to be having, whether a former pupil or not. In my case I would have immediately asked who the person was and why they wanted such information and been unlikely to give anything.”

Of course the ultra-ignorant Vic like so many more had clearly not even read my post but was jumping on the bandwagon of condemn. A random gentleman means a school governor. He’s a retired school teacher? I think he needs to learn to read and comprehend but he probably isn’t intelligent enough. He would have asked who I was even though the PE master concerned and I know each other. Another demonstration of his intelligence.

The we have Geoff on 14th December 2023 at 15:46 I’ll cite this because it refers to me even though it’s addressed to Original Andy.

“I'd also suggest that anyone spending too much time near school gates or fencing without due cause should expect to be asked a question. I remember a case of a school calling us because the same two elderly men were often to be found watching a girls PE lesson through the fence. and it was making them very uncomfortable because nobody knew who they were. A PC from the station made regular patrols in the area and eventually saw these gentlemen and having questioned them both then gave them some sound advice about the effect their behaviour was having. If they had been seen again they would have been brought to the station but that never arose.”

Lots of insults, lots of assumptions, none of them in any way valid, just ignorant. I think the response to this of Original Andy on 15th December 2023 at 09:22 sums it up perfectly, I need add no more.

Alan on 14th December 2023 at 18:22 – another insult.

David W on 14th December 2023 at 21:03

Yet another insult written by someone who hasn’t read anything I said.
Alan on 15th December 2023 at 03:56

Another insults written in the same sort of posting slot as Roy.

A change here from Matthew S on 15th December 2023 at 23:11 stating that perhaps I’m recounting the truth, thank you Matthew S.

Of course that was not allowed to be considered because here again we have Alan on 16th December 2023 at 08:31 immediately putting down Matthew S, heaven forbid any other view than the Alan sponsored one, built on lies and half truths should be allowed to see the light of day.

Nathan Hind on 16th December 2023 at 12:54

Thank you, you make strong points and an intelligent post. Of course every school has polices and rules. I should know, I’ve spent enough hours pouring over them in my capacity as a governor and though now retired, as my career was in HR you can believe I get more than my fair share of those to look at.

So, like Mr Chips, (wait for a further allegation that he, Original Andy, Hugh, me and Uncle Tom Cobbley and all are the same person) I will say the cancer here is Alan. There’s lots of it and it needs to be cut out. It’s called cyber bullying and there are ways of dealing with it.

Mr Chips -

I have no wish to get embroiled in the vitriol, sadly now yours as well, currently engulfing this valuable site, but I do want to make two points, after which I propose to leave for good.

1 - Please go back and read my two last posts. I did not make any suggestions to the owner of the site as to how it should be run. I merely pointed out a few very obvious shortcomings.

2 - I am not Andy, never have been, and have never communicated with him privately. It does not always take four hours for posts to get published here. It is now 20:32 on 16th December. Let's see the time stamp when this appears on line.

Goodbye Mr Chips!

Comment by: Hugh on 14th December 2023 at 21:57

Alan on 14th December 2023 at 18:22
Either you still haven't seen the psychiatrist as I recommended or you have stopped taking your medication, which is it because your level of delusion is back and severe and you are posting under all your troll names in short order.
Please seek help or I really can see you being detained under the Mental Health Act again.





A man who a few weeks ago on here told us he was a medical doctor actually said this unkind comment to a complete stranger and thought it was appropriate use of his time to do so.

No wonder the NHS is up the creek and nobody can actually see these people anymore.

Just found this post thought this may be of interest to the group. These are my experiences only. When I left school in 1995 bare top indoors PE/Games was very much the preferred teaching method. We were introduced to going bare chest at middle school and at the time It wasn't unusual for boys to wear vests under their games shirt. I did and quite a few others did too though I chose to stop wearing one the following year..At the start of one lesson we were sat in the gym as he pointed and said skin or shirt As we started peeling off he saw our vests and told us to drop them too and go bare chest. If we'd forgotten kit there was always lost property and you were given a pair of shorts.
High school was slightly different in that you were expected to change into a vest initially and take it off as soon we made the sports hall. We had one outdoor lesson a month that we all had to do bare chests and it was usually press ups and other things if the field was swamped we'd be on the yard to exercise. For cross country we'd be split into vests vs skins to run. The school vests were really thin and offered little warmth so most boys preferred to run as skins. I fully appreciate I maybe in the minority here but I was happy to be bare chests during my time at school..

"Of course, as I’ve seen with others, what happens then is a number of names with no identifiable posting history jump on the bandwagon to condemn and despise."


I've looked back through the thread into this claim that was made this morning and it is not correct. Many of those who have added further comments have been regular contributors over the past year or two and are familiar returning names and the comments appear consistent with previous views and attitudes from most of them.

Alan needs to stop making insinuations towards individuals in a provocative manner (they also need to stop doing it back at him) and anyone is free to defend themselves against personal slurs on their character but Mr Chips if you wish to be regarded as authentic I'd urge you to desist from the troublesome trivia of tit for tat character assassinating, your words, that is going on.

Question - when did you last see an 83 year old man jogging, never mind doing so in just his shorts and trainers with a bare chest, and in the winter time as well?

Comment by: Phil on 16th December 2023 at 16:15

Penned from the same keyboard in all probability. Claire nailed the problem with this forum perfectly.

Most of this whole forum attracts very little traffic at all actually, hardly anything infact. Yet this particular thread has gained almost six thousand comments. Some subjects on here have none at all, even the other school PE ones go quiet for weeks with no input. But this one is different. Why is that?

I'm a member of a well known media forum as well where the moderators often appear within discussions to say things, give advice and bring off topic discussion back on track and are able to ban offensive users and posting rights.

The admin of this site are reading the comments daily. It's not automated I'm sure about that. In that case how about the administrator adds his own comment for once on here like most forum admin would do from time to time. Why is this not happening here? It's so easy to stick comments on here so just where is admin and why the silence?

I can understand the response earlier today of Mr Chips, if I was called a 'dirty old man' by another poster here who was choosing to misrepresent to the point of lies my original post, I would also have something pretty strong to say back.

So I would ask, before you comment, know what you are commenting about because a lot of people here just seem to hit the keyboard and insult others or more to the point, bully them.

Comment by: Mr Chips on 16th December 2023 at 11:17


For an erudite teacher of 42 years standing you overuse the word "vile" quite a bit. S you think I am "vile" Fine - I can live with that.

There are certain things in your posts which are open to question: Why the need to make the point that you caned a boy minus trousers and underpants?. Our Mr Boreham, years ago, loved using the cane (he was quite proud of his reputation of being hated and feared, it has to be said) but even he, perverted as he was, would not have got away with a bare arse caning. Perhaps London is different. In the same way when "Barney" suggests he stops to look at boys in their outside games lessons, if you did that in London - even when I was at school, and most certainly today, a member of staff would come out and see what you wanted, if it was suspected that it wasn't a parent dawdling there. One has to wonder why elderly gents wants to look at them?

One other point that confuses me - you said in an earlier post that some of your old pupils are in their 70s now - excusez-moi!

You have jumped on the Andy/Barney bandwagon suggesting that I am every one of the people who disagree with you. I am as transparent as I can be, I post my email address. I repeat I am neither "Mr Dando", or any of the other people who have questioned them and you in certain posts. I have never professed to be a barrister, a policeman, a teacher and certainly not a woman ("Claire"). I've given up the drag act!. If you really believe it to be true, I can't mollify you, but it makes you look frankly paranoid. I am not going to justify myself any further to you or anybody else.

I don't agree with a lot of Alan's obsessive's on here and I think I might have said this once before. But I'm not going to personally attack the man for his views.

I've now read the latest comment from Chips here, why are you now going off topic into personal attack dog mode as well Chips? It all looks horribly familiar to the others and you are beginning to lose credibility. Stick to the subject and not personal jibes or lose it completely.

What initially caught my eye about this site which looked at first glance like an inoffensive history archive site for mainly the older generation was the discovery around about a year and a half ago that someone had written something about the school I work at and condemned it for its PE policies, mainly the continuation of showering. That was written by the person styling themselves Mr Dando at that time. I gave a very robust defence.

I am not going to condemn anybody as a liar because I wasn't there and don't know the details as those that were provided have been very sparse. But there is a lot of truth in what Matthew says although rules on healthy and safety at school are down to each school to interpret and some places I'm sure are more zealous than others. In my school I would not be allowed to take a double or triple sized class of boys for PE outside at this time of year and either ask or tell them to do PE without upper body coverage of any kind. I suppose if I wished to do so I could do so myself but that would not be a choice I would make so would not happen. This contrasts completely with doing PE indoors where I have autonomy to choose that option and on occasions some of the PE class or the whole class do some PE in a shirtless capacity largely without any incidents about it.

I think shirtless PE can be considered a reasonable thing, as can running like that, like the bareskin runner has mentioned, it is a healthy option but not if you might be giving your class hypothermia or other health related issues.