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Member Profiles : Mike Blake (Class Of 1990)
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(7 recommendations so far) Message 1 of 30 in Discussion 
From: Mike (Blakey)  (Original Message)Sent: 6/9/2002 10:28 PM
Below is a collection tales recounted from my time spent at Quantock. These stories have been organized by Year spent at Quantock, and I hope that at least a few of these will be worth the read. At the end of each section are a few links to other stories that I have written and posted on the Quantock MSN community. The following is far from perfect but what the hey ....
 
 
Intro:
To my mind, Quantock School was the Wild West / (Wild-Westcountry ?) of education and growing up - an island in the hills, founded in the 70’s and trapped in time.
 
To me, Quany-life was defined by a labyrinth of School Rules (though none were ever posted) which were subject to interpretation and alteration at whim by the arbiters of justice namely Mr. Phil - and the Head to a lesser extent.
 
These rules were essentially a box whose ever shifting sides governed our every movement and actions, defining the outer bounds of our lives. However within these boarders there was a total guidance vacuum, in which all things could happen and frequently did �?this was the space in which the pupils made and maintained their own code, and this ‘flexibility' is what made the school such a great adventure.
 
I think that if you ask most ex-Quantock School inmate they will tell you it was one of best times of there lives (and in places the worst). What ever you think about your time at Quantock, I think what  the late David Peaster said on many occasions - “You simply do not make friends like you do at Quantock�?-  was simply correct. It is impossible to realize how well you really get to know someone when you spend all your waking (and sleeping) hours in the presence of the same people with no other meaningful contact with the "grown people". You learned your values the hard way, if you steal or lie, the people around would find you out in pretty short order - and then you were made to feel your wrong! Any inconsistencies in your character were soon found, and then ironed out.
 
The school in its essence was about character, people tested your mettle, and if they decided that you could take a little well aimed abuse (especially at what they suspected to be your emotional bits) then you were a solid friend - a strange concept - but probably a sound one! On a day-to-day basis there was nowhere to run, no one to turn to apart from your friends, you either stood up for yourself or your perished. It all sounds a little harsh, but in many ways the School was a harsh place �?simply put, you looked after your mates and they you, and hence strong friendships made. There was certainly little or no parental-like guidance and most people just made it up as they went along, frequently following a steep learning curve - especially if your misadventure happened to cross a thin but arbitrary line drawn by Mr Phil.
 
 
First Year (1985-6):
Blue Dorm: Mark Gibbon, Jamie Cummings, Stewart McKinley, Chris White, Robert Alcock, Jamie Brooks, John Jennings, Phil Muir, Myself, Duncan Roger.

Yellow Dorm (3rd Term): Mark Gibbon, Stewart McKinley, Chalky White, Myself, John Harding, Michael Moffett, Mark Ollis, Neil Walsh, Lebanese Guy ?

At Quantock I was mostly know as “Blakey�?given that my last name is Blake, but I was also called (unacceptably) “Nigger�?or “Nigs�?(“Afro�?also figured strongly). This ‘nick-name�?arose under dubious circumstances and stuck.

The reason I bring this up - is that to me - the following tale sums up Quantock School in many ways. At Quantock you were often dealt unfair cards and it all came down to how you played them.

A rather boisterous fellow (people in my Year can probably guess), upon learning that his new bunkmate was from Africa drew the complex conclusion that he (i.e. me) must be black, and exclaimed “what a nigger!�?- Once the confusion was settled my dubious nickname was born.

Later that night I earned a second key Quantock character facet. Highly over stimulated with my newfound freedoms, I was playing the tradition game of ‘Prefect Baiting�? However, I had clearly overestimated the tolerance of the ‘Year Bully�?who decided to give me a clout. To the surprise of my dorm mates, the ‘new boy�?didn’t burst into tears and demand to see his mummy. Later that same week the Year Bully, unsatisfied by his earlier efforts, decided to try and intimidate me afresh - and I took more blows without crying out in pain. From this point (and after some more ‘hardman�?displays along these lines) I became know as the “Blakey the boy who could take all pain�? In fact this was not such a bad reputation, as most people thought it a rather mute point to bully someone who could “stand any punishment�?- on the other hand there was always those who were rather keen to test my fabled ability. On one occasion Olu Jinadu and 2 co-conspirators dragged me spread eagle into a metal scaffolding pole, in what was the Little Gym (no euphemism intended)! Overall I received about the same amount of pain and beatings as everyone else, but usually in more concentrated bouts.

Mostly I remember being incredibly cold every night, spending a disproportional amount time huddled on storage heaters against the advice Mrs Proctor who warned us of the plight of piles if we persisted in this practice. Clearly there were the daily dorm inspections by the Prefect on duty and or Mr Phil �?i.e. before being allowed down to breakfast in the order we had attained the required levels of ‘swept floor�?(anyone remember the handy loose floor board in Blue Dorm ?) and of ‘shinny shoes�?�?I’m sure you all know the drill �?

When it came to bathing - I think we had scheduled showers about twice a week and had to run the gauntlet of the Head's liberally applied "bell-flucks" (if you don’t know what I’m talking about �?you’re a better person for not knowing). The Head set himself up as a sort of Robin Hood figure, levying shampoo-tax from bathers that pasted his tub-station, so as to donate to those that were without. Strangely every tenth person or so had to sweep the water into the wholly insufficient drain to avoid the shower area overflowing. Every pupil that took part in the “bender-showers�?must remember the joy (and the jockeying) that occurred so as to get a "good shower" i.e. one with more that three pathetic dribbles of water coming out of it. We were all subject to the �? minute rule�? where the Head ran a conveyer-belt system in the showers, where every 2 minutes a pupil was ejected to make room for the next participant. This resulted in a shower that never lasted more 10 minutes and this was barely enough time to soap-up and rinse �?especially if you got a crap shower! The other thing about showering at this age at Quantock - incredibly - it was all but optional, so many a pupils would go through quite a bathing drought!

Some might remember a Junior Wing wide pillow-fight, between two major factions ‘The Ninjas�?(identifiable by a dressing gown cord tied round the noggin) and ‘The Mercenaries�? However there was a small faction of 20 or so (to which I subscribed) ‘The Neutrals�?who fought the faction present in the least numbers at the time. This bout of pillow pugilism resulted in the confiscation of these pillows, which nearly filled “Playboy Dorm�? The eventual release of the contraband pillows sparked further commotion as people tried to ‘up-grade�?pillows in the confusion - a good bludgeoning pillow was often not the best for sleeping on.

At one point the people in my Year took it upon themselves to climbing up the Junior Wing’s rather lofty corridors by bracing theirs arms and legs against the walls and slowly ascending crab style. Safety precautions were not neglected, with a layer pillows being deployed on the ‘linoleum�?floor below. This caper ended when Mrs Proctor came onto the Junior Wing. Kyle Windsphere, Nick Russell and myself currently aloft watched as Mrs P stopped, examined the curious layer of pillows, paused and then craned her head upward and did not seem too surprised to see 3 of us roosting quietly near the roof. She screamed something along the lines of “get down from there you brainless fools�? resulting in us nearly releasing our grips and hence putting our safely equipment to a threefold test.

I also remember getting �? of the best�?from the Head. Ian Newbold (the year below me) decided to take me (the New Boy) on a covert tour of the school. We ended up in the old abandoned shed, just over the low wall by Matrons fishponds. Newbold then started bashing the dilapidated building with a sizable plank - the ruckus subsequently lead to our capture by Matron. Neil assured me that he would confess to the crime solely, and thus clear my good name. However, at the moment of truth (when confronted by the Head brandishing the stick) Newbold remained silent, and we both received equal strokes, and were ordered to sweep the old drive of it’s bounteous foot high layer of leaves. 4 hours later upon completion of our task, the Head appeared and offered us payment for our post-autumnal work. To add insult to actually physical injury, Ian reminded the Head of “our�?crime and so we remained pained as well as penniless (probably for the best actually).

About this time I got the reputation for being willing to eat anything, from whole bars of soap to boot polish and for drinking shampoo to tadpoles! Certainly makes me kinda worry nowadays I must admit!

Also about this time Mark Gibbon started training Starsky (the Head’s current large German Shepard) to hunt Jubs. Yes you can all blame Mark Gibbon for Starksky’s malicious nature �?you heard it here! Mark’s training regime consisted of slapping Starsky on the nose, running off yelping and faining a limp (the only thing missing was a pork-chop attached to Mark’s arse). It doesn’t take an expert to realize that this stimulated Starsky intrinsic wolfin instincts �?resulting in Starsky chasing after him nipping at his heels. From this point onward Starsky became ever more vicious!!! All must remember queuing outside the Head’s office for paper, knowing that you were gonna have to face a hound baying 3 inches from your face - yep I say it again it is all Mark Gibbon’s Fault!

One of the most enjoyable things that I participated in at Quantock was drama with Mr Yates. We had to devise plays in about 10 minutes and then each group presented their work to the class - Duncan Roger, Paul Galley and myself were a tight unit in this department. Anyone remember Mr Yates�?“Nail Game�?where 6 inch iron nails were used as currency - you bough and sold clues written on paper, with the aim of deducing a well known phrase - you could try and guess the answer at any time, but it cost you 3 nails a guess - the prize was 20 nails for a correct answer. The group with the most nails at the end of the session won the whole game. In typical Quantock fashion, people started to make forgery clues which were sold to the opposition.

 

Link to Stories on QS-MSN Site:

Cross-Country B-trail (from QT)<?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" /><o:p></o:p>

Slug Bug Beatings (from QC1)



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Reply
 Message 16 of 30 in Discussion 
From: Mike (Blakey)Sent: 6/11/2002 12:31 PM
 
 
Lee - thanks, and I'm not sure we've heard the full "Ninja" story from the horses mouth yet !!!
 
Brett - Rick asked me nearly a year ago to write a profile for his "Alumni Site" - I've been dithering with 'my profile' on and off since. I would probably dither with it for ever, so i decided to just to post it ....  And yes I do sort of have a job (work in a University), but I sometimes I feel like I have two - espically when people forget how to log into the site. I think we were allowed kettles but most of us just didn't have them - not sure why !! As for making tea from an old boiler -  really sounds like a bad idea - god knows what was in the old rusty, algae filled bastard !!!!!!!! Mind you the food probably was little better so, nothing to worry about i guess !!
 
Laurie - I remeber the Head used to be fixated with the pupils sleeping with the window open - he used to comwe into blue dorm and open all the windows - mind you the place couldn't get colder so we might as well have some fresh air at the same time!! Quantock used to be an old TB farm, so maybe the Head was worried the place was still infested so liked to keep the freash air comming.
 
Marcus - I think the nutter 'Ben' you mention has been talked about else where ...  

Reply
 Message 17 of 30 in Discussion 
From: MSN NicknameLaurieBoothSent: 6/11/2002 3:24 PM
My Dear Mike,
TB farm ? I think you mean TB sanatoriuum (Don't think they grew TB there unless it was a chemical warfare establishment !!!). The taps in my room had handles about a foot long so they could me turned on/off using your elbows. Life in my room was very good until Matron came to the school, unmade bed, no washing in the morning, all the things to make a boy happy.
One thing that happened before Matron came was we found an Xray machine in a room to the left of the kitchen and Mr. Peaster managed to sell it to a private hospital before the NHS came back to Quantock to collect it. One day a load of men turned up to claim it, Mr. Peaster and us lads denighed ever seeing it. I told this story to Matron in March this year, and she said "I could have done with that machine, trust David to have sold it." She wasn't worried he had stolen it !!!
One boy used to sleep outside in the winter on the back verander, his name was Tony Budget (a real nutter).
As for hot water from the boiler:-
When I was there a pupil called Carl was in the same class as me, when I returned on a visit years later, Carl was in charge of the heating for the school. Does anyone remember Carl or has my brain gone wrong.
Be Seeing You
Laurie
Work 01453-764475
Home 01453-750395
Mobile 0771-3343-534

Reply
The number of members that recommended this message. 0 recommendations  Message 18 of 30 in Discussion 
Sent: 7/15/2002 1:55 AM
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 Message 19 of 30 in Discussion 
From: OverlordSent: 10/15/2002 11:04 PM
The 'boilers' were mini boilers - just a heating element of the kettle kind and plug.  They were designed to be put in a standard mug and boil the water there-in.  I still have one somewhere - though I haven't seen any in the shops for donkeys.
 
I think the Ben was Ben Jewel - in my bro's year (Class of 89).

Reply
 Message 20 of 30 in Discussion 
From: NathanSent: 10/16/2002 8:12 AM

Might have something to do with the fire hazard they represent when used my
children. The carpet in History dorm left of the door bears testiment to
that !!!!





"Overlord" <[email protected]> on 15/10/2002 23:04:57

Please respond to "Quantock School old Boyz and Girls"
<[email protected]>
To: "Quantock School old Boyz and Girls"
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Subject: Re: Mike Blake (Class Of 1990)

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New Message on Quantock School old Boyz and Girls

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From: Overlord
Message 19 in Discussion

The 'boilers' were mini boilers - just a heating element of the kettle kind
and plug. They were designed to be put in a standard mug and boil the
water there-in. I still have one somewhere - though I haven't seen any in
the shops for donkeys. I think the Ben was Ben Jewel - in my bro's year
(Class of 89).

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Reply
 Message 21 of 30 in Discussion 
From: OverlordSent: 1/29/2003 8:22 PM
In the very late 80s or early 90s the little gym was converted into a dining room.  The asbestosy building (sounds like where the snooker room with the fire was many moons before) that was adjacent to it was demolished and a side extension added to the little gym for the kitchens.  Prior to that the kitchens were off the corridor which ran past the laundry.
 
Above those kitchens was a room which IIRC was known as Kitchen dorm - accessed by a very steep set of wooden stairs.  This seems to have become a later snooker room. It was quite big but only briefly used as a dorm during the 80s - mostly being empty but was used for a period as a train club room and later a computer club room.
 
I think you are confused about numbers of pupils Jools.  When I started in 80 there were about 250.  That number dwindled gradually over the following 7 years, until it was about 200 in 87 when I left.  It levelled briefly then as the numbers of girls increased so was about the same when my brother, and you, left in 89.  Over the following 4 years until my sister left numbers declined further until it was about 150, maybe less by the time she left.  The largest dorm was Big dorm which housed 40 before the partition was converted into a proper wall and the dorm made into two seperate rooms.
 
The middle corridor was known as Wariners corridor as thats where his flat was until he had a stroke in the mid 80s and eventually moved into the flats below the stable block accomodation.  Some of these dorms and some of the ones on the top corridor had bar heaters - which were used as toasters by some in the 80s as well !!

Reply
 Message 22 of 30 in Discussion 
From: Mike (Blakey)Sent: 1/20/2006 9:30 PM
Well as I live and breath - James "Oddie" O'Halloran  has turned up!!!!!!!!!!!!
 
The people from my year 1990 will remember him well !!
 
Since has turned up, I have to re-tell this story as it always makes me laugh - yes it is about Oddies, however he's probably being trying to forget it .... and could only happen at Quantock ....
 
(There are a few more stories like this from my days a QS please see: Mike Blake (Class Of 1990) you might have to select :Message 1  go back to the start the start of the thread. Stories go from my first year till the 5th ...
 
Some of you may remember the famous O'Halloran head bashing episode... as mentioned by Damian Eyre in the "Anyone Bald Yet' message board �?

Being seated adjacent to James when it happened, this is how I remember it....

For some reason - and I never know why - Doc Peters had given us some prep to do and rather amazingly no one in the whole class had done it!!!!!!

I believe that Martin Plimmer who sat in the front row on the left (poll position as it were) was asked where his chemistry prep was, and he replied, rather wisely and meekly �?

"Sorry Sir I didn't do it�?"

Whilst Psycho was not best pleased, he seemed to rather begrudgingly accept this rather flimsy excuse. Psycho then moved on the next person (Phil Muir ?) and ask of him the same question �?Phil Muir having been at the school nearly 5 years by this stage, had a keen eye for survival (and this certainly was a survival situation), decided to play safe and plumbed for the excuse selected by Plimmer�?

"Sorry Sir I didn't do it�?"

As each succeeding pupil was confronted by Peters, they too decided to Parrot the words of Plimmer, with�?

"Sorry Sir I didn't do it�?"

Clearly as Psycho moved from pupil to pupil, the situation became increasingly more critical, as the Peters Volcano was truly ready to blow�?(ie that big black vein on the side of his head was well out and pulsing, his knuckles had gone that dreaded white colour�?and he might be described as looking tense...)

However with about 4 people to go in the class, Psycho confront the rather eccentric self named "Oddie" O'Halloran, who not being a keen observer of human nature, opted to chance his hand on an alternative excuse - presumably to curry some sort of favor with enraged maniac science teacher, by putting some distance between himself and the seemingly discredited 'crowd' and plumbed instead for�?

"Sorry Sir I didn't have enough TIME to do your work�?."

You could have heard a pin drop - Psycho of course, immediately helped himself to a healthy tussock of O'Halloran's hair and proceeded to pound his head repeatedly on the desk.

Psycho's view on 'prep' was rather his own, in that he though - 'if you had time to sleep you had time to my work'. Whilst pounding, Psycho took time to point out to James that he had spent about two hours only the night before kicking a Coke can around just below Psycho window �? Clearly a mistake!

Anyway after finishing with O'Halloran - the next in line for the 'Psycho Inquisition', was a certain Nick Russell who looked rather like a man on the Gallows - hoping that maybe Psycho insanity was merely temporary he wisely opted for the default Plimmer settings�?

"Sorry sir I didn't do it�?"

However O'Halloran's remarks had the same effect on Psycho as blood has on a shark, and so the luckless Nick Russell also had his head pounded as did all the rest in the remaining queue, including I believe Richard Martin (AKA Jaba / Fat-head) and maybe Robert Alcock.

What makes the whole story incredible was the first lesson we had with Psycho in the 2nd year (?), he told us (and it all seems rather surreal now) 'that he would rather that we told him that a flock of buggies came in to our room and stole our prep, rather than trying to give some feeble excuse�? I would have paid a pretty penny to see someone actually try this on the 'Doc' - provided I wasn't in the que just after them !!!!!!
 
(There are a few more stories like this from my days a QS please see: Mike Blake (Class Of 1990) you might have to select :Message 1  go back to the start the start of the thread. Stories go from my first year till the 5th ...
 
all the best,
 
Mike

Reply
 Message 23 of 30 in Discussion 
From: NathanSent: 1/23/2006 8:59 AM
Excellent story Mike.....your recollection is impressive !  I had no troubles imagining that feeling you had when you were next in line to one of Docs questions and I am sure there are situations similar to that that each class can remember !
 
I remember the time we were all doing that very repetitive Copper Sulphate and Zinc reaction in the palstic beakers.  The idea was to measure the temperature increase we obtained a number of time to calculate the reaction of the temperature.  As Doc went round the class asking us what temperature increments we had recorded and at the same time reading our thermometers to gague how accurate we were being.  I think Justin was in 'poll position' at the time and made a comment along the lines of "3.8°C sir.......... perfect"  This arrogance sent him to the boil in an instant and I think Justin received the 'slingshot head wack' !(Justin, please feel free to step in if I have recounted the event incorrectly).
 
Ahhhh.......happy days !
Cheers,
Nathan

Reply
 Message 24 of 30 in Discussion 
From: Mike (Blakey)Sent: 1/23/2006 11:37 PM
Yep pretty strange days - it would never happen now-a-days, but not a bad thing either ...!!

Reply
 Message 25 of 30 in Discussion 
From: MSN Nickname_J-U-S-T-Y_Sent: 1/24/2006 11:38 AM
To the letter I recall Nathan.........I think it didn't help that I had finished the experiment 1st (which was my first mistake) as that earned me sudden ejection from the classroom as he had said that " I had rushed the experiment". I hadn't though!!!! It was just that for the 1st time ever, I knew what I was doing.....lol I think after that incident nobody dared to finish any subsequent experiments 1st knowing what may follow.......
Mind you, I expect I deserved everything that was coming to me, like in Biology lessons.......opening the GCSE Biology book up.....and the lads flicking rapidly through to the reproduction pages, having a chuckle, whilst the teacher was summerising the contents. When I was asked a question which I didn't know the answer to.....I think I would answer "orgasmic plasma" every time which, as outrageously incorrect I was, brought some laughter to the room......  :o)

Reply
 Message 26 of 30 in Discussion 
From: MSN NicknameLaurieBoothSent: 1/27/2006 2:24 PM
The sad thing is that, I believe these stories.
Teachers today wouldn't believe them.
I think it is very important that these memories are saved for future generations. And thanks Mike for doing such a good job with this site.
If anyone ever wanted to make a film/doc on public schools between 1960-2000 it's all here.The fun, drama, love, hopes, grief.
Laurie

Reply
 Message 27 of 30 in Discussion 
From: MSN Nickname_J-U-S-T-Y_Sent: 1/27/2006 8:28 PM
It says it all especially when someone asks me if I enjoyed my time at school. A large majority of others say they hated their time at school and cannot understand, no matter how much I try to explain it all, when I say I loved all 7 years of it!
When I look back on it all, the good times, the great times, the bad times etc....I will always answer that my time at Q was the best time of my life (even after all these years). It had it all......fun, excitement, pressure, disclipline, laughter etc.....everything really. Nothing has come even close to this and I don't believe it ever will again. I must have known over 300 people during my time, had 50 close friends which you would have time for and 3 best mates that you would spend most of your spare time with....!!!!
Quantock School was a "community", you could almost say a "family" which I think was great.  I would have sent any children I would have to QS without hesitation......(if I could have afforded it).
All the excercise we had doing the circuit training, swimming, X-country running, sports training, walks in the hills, interhouse events.........I could go on with this but I think everyone gets the picture.
Looking back on it all, I didn't want it to end as after I left the courtyard for the final time at the end of term, it was like starting life again......

Reply
 Message 28 of 30 in Discussion 
From: MSN NicknameLaurieBoothSent: 1/29/2006 11:11 AM
Well put Justy.
Plus we must never forget those that gave their lives for Quantock.
Laurie

Reply
 Message 29 of 30 in Discussion 
From: MSN Nickname_J-U-S-T-Y_Sent: 1/30/2006 7:52 AM
You could even say that after doing my time at QS for my country I have suffered Quantock School Syndrome as a result........my doctor says that my medication should be healthy doses of reunions, topped off with several beers! Well I fought the war against Mr Phil, Doc Peters and Mike Donnan's wit & humour though they did get me on several occassions......lol 

Reply
 Message 30 of 30 in Discussion 
From: Mike (Blakey)Sent: 2/6/2006 12:01 PM
Well I'm glad you liked the stories .... actually it would be a great idea to pool some of the stories on this web site and write a book ...  however I'm not too sure the Peaster would like the resulting work too much ........ !!!!
 
Sorry that I've not been on the site too much recently ... been very very very very busy ...
 
Mike

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