The Wardman Wire

I’ve been clearing out the archives - a salutary experience. I’m trying to cull around 75% of a library which goes back to school exercise books. Among artefacts from the past, I have found - in addition to a set of university books that I would have sold had I had more sense - some interesting items.

Some Old Nottinghamians

A tranche of “Old Nottinghamian” school magazines and photos from the 1950s and 1970s - which means that in there somewhere there may be the odd photo of the likes of Ed “The Campaigner” Davey, Ken ” Smokin’ ” Clarke, Ed “The Enforcer” Balls, and Geoff “The Commuter” Hoon in their youth.

Apparently in 1955, the school mock-election gave more votes to a Communist than to the Labour candidate:

“The 794th meeting of the debating society (May 20th 1955) took the form of a Mock Election. The voting was as follows:

And there was a dizzying amount of networking going on:

“We should like to thank our fellow-editors from other Schools who have sent us copies of their magazines. These are:-

The Loughburian; the Elizabethan; the West Bridgefordian; the Mountaineer; the King Edward VII School Magazine; the Stonyhurst Magazine; the Wheatleyan; the Cottonian; the Derbeian; the Alumnus; the Centaur.”

And a pink Anthology

I also discovered an excellent germoline pink (I kid you not - the colour is right) poetry anthology from 1991 called “Blooming Women” by Rowena Edlin-White and Susan Aldridge (for whom I can’t find a link).

Here’s “Things about me” from 1987, which I enjoyed at the time, and I still like now.

There are things about me
That you don’t know any more
Because you don’t ask,
Because you’re not there,
Things germinating, out of sight,
Things you’d never suspect.
For instance, you don’t know
That I’m writing all this down,
ABout you, about us,
Weaving the sorrow with the positives,
The good bits and the negatives
Onto a loom of understanding,
Something bright and shaded,
Colourful, but coarse to handle.

Unlike Penelope, I don’t unravel
You each night, I go on adding
To the picture, the design, in hope
To see the whole eventually.
Occupational therapy,
These days I go around
With a little smile on my face,
Because now I know something
You don’t know.

Copyright acknowledged Rowena Edlin-White.

Wrapping-up

I may pen a few eclectic articles as further things emerge.