None of the buildings was air-conditioned; the de-mountables (aka "pre-fabs") were hottest of all. Ceiling fans would shwp shwp uselessly above us. We girls, in our very short skirts, left embarrassing sweaty thigh-marks on our chairs whenever we stood up.
Lunchtime offered no respite. "Play on the oval" teachers would say, pointing to the shadeless expanse. A mere sprinkle of gum trees was eked along the perimeter. Gums? You might as well stand under an empty clothes line. Were Gums cheaper than exotics, or were schools - even then - being botanically correct?
To intensify the heat experience, schools provided acres of asphalt.
Hardly any students came or went by car: we walked or cycled home when the sun was at its most fierce.
No events were ever cancelled due to heat. During sport, one or two heatstroke victims was pretty much obligatory. Excursions went ahead even when the road was a sweltering mirage and the packed bus felt like a furnace. You did as you were told. Your parents didn't intervene. These were the days when students and parents feared teachers, not the other way around.
I went to high school in rural Pennsylvania. It can be stifling hot and humid even in May. I remember sitting in study hall and being so warm I'd thought I'd pass out. As I did not want to collapse in a heap in front of half our football team I did the only sensible thing. In study hall, while furtively hoping no one was looking, I pulled up my skirt and wiggled out of my tights. Seriously. I balled them up and stuffed them in my book bag. Such a relief.
ReplyDeleteHahaha! So they made you wear tights even in the hot weather? I can remember doing the old 'remove the bra via the sleeves' trick when it got too sweaty (fortunately at an all-girls school at that stage), but that wasn't so hard back in the days of an A or B cup, as long as those pesky hooks didn't catch on something while you were sliding it out. Your sleight-of-hand sounds much more impressive though :D
ReplyDeleteI had a vynil dress in the 70's. It was french blue with a zip up the front & a big silver ring on the zip. Im sure it was totally groovy for the day but I hated it! I swealtered in it. I hid it under my matress & there it remained until I had grown too big for it. I always kept a straight 'poker face' every time I watched my Mother search the house high & low for it!!!
ReplyDeleteI most definately remember the heat we endured at school in summer in Adelaide during the 1970's & how wonderful it was to jump in the pool after we got home.
Ugh. Vinyl. Oh how I remember.
ReplyDeleteUntil I was at least 10yrs old, parents had that whole 'long white socks' (a la Marcia Brady) mentality. Wearing sandals without socks was kinda 'rude' ... I'm ashamed to say I even remember wearing hotpants (aged about 10) with long white socks and patent leather shoes. In my defence, so did everyone else. What dags!!
ReplyDeleteYes I remember those days, sitting at school on the Gold Coast, Qld, in searing heat without even a fan. Sure if it got over 41 degrees, we were sent home, but like you, we were expected to lunch in open areas shaded by the odd tree. I always remember assembly time, where everyone is to stand while the Principal makes his little dumb speech for the week, whilst pupils pass out of the heat. Including me! Ah they were the days. But we survived it :))
ReplyDeleteOh ASSEMBLIES - whole other subject! Yes, they always made us stand for ages, as if sitting was somehow rude. And not even in a school hall like today's kids ... assemblies were always outside, on the (hot/cold) quadrangle. We had to march in double file ... later they relaxed it to walking in double file, but still no talking allowed. pfft.
ReplyDeleteIsn't it funny how we didn't even know what air conditioning was? We couldn't miss what we didn't know existed. The schools were built for letting in the breezes, when there was one . . . giant window frames that went down, almost to the floor in some rooms. If the power goes out in one of today's schools, and the air conditioner gets knocked out with it, there's no way to get a breeze in.
ReplyDeleteAll of this talk about short skirts and the removing of girls' underwear is having an effect on me. More stories, please :)
hahahaha Mike, new subject noted :-)
ReplyDeleteYou're right about modern schools - they're hermetically sealed these days. Even primary schools have classroom doors that are locked during lessons in some schools (for security purposes) ... what a sad sign of the times.
...and the little bottles of almost warm milk waiting for us at every recess. Of course lunch boxes weren't kept cool either and sandwiches ranged from vegemite, tomato (ugh warm tomatoe sangers!) sausages or sometimes on a Monday, left over roast lamb from Sunday....it's a wonder we didn't die of food poisoning! lol Janet
ReplyDeleteEncore! Well written, it has brought a flush of memories of my schools days... or shold it be daze?
ReplyDeleteThank you Di :-)
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