School Rugby 1964 - 65

I remember this picture well. Apart from the fact that it was the only one I was ever in, I had had my knee caps ripped off by sliding over red ash on the rugby ground.

I was a bit disadvantaged on the rugby field, in a Woody Allen kinda way because I was unable to wear my very necessary spectacles whilst playing. Apparently it's a 'dangerous' thing to do but I have to say that running around partly blind amongst a bunch of crazed teenagers is also not recommended.

Our coach was always very enthisiastic or drunk. He was also our Chemsitry teacher and when he was not trying to exhaust us on the rugby field he made 2 aborted attempts to kill us off in the chemistry classroom.

One attempt was death by the excess production of chlorine gas in a confined space and the second was a more simple death by burning when he threw a beaker of petrol into a flame to demonstrate combustion and set fire to the entire bench. I think he later went back into industry after the enquiry.