Mr. Lawrence by J Carter
Mr. Lawrence started teaching at Alfred Street School on 1st January 1949. He first started teaching in 1925 at Stanwick, going to Westminster College in London the following year. Before becoming a teacher he had done no other job. He became a headmaster in 1947, in charge of the first batch of fifteen year olds, housed in the Rushden Boot and Shoe School. He has not lived in Rushden all his life, but was in Ilford, Essex before the war. He went to India during the second World War with the R.A.F. He is very happy in teaching and also happy at Alfred Street. His hobbies are music, watching football and cricket and he used to like dancing.

By God's grace we so evenly were paired,
As that in sexes equally we shared;
We had eight children to augment our joys,
For her four daughters and for me four boys.

Robert Pemberton died in 1616. The statue was erected by Sir Lewis Pemberton, a nephew of Sir Goddard.

Opposite St. Mary's stands a War Memorial and it has over 400 names on it. It was erected in commemoration of those who were killed in the First World War.

If you are short and plump, do not wear heavy knitted jumpers or cardigans, otherwise you will emphasise your plumpness. If you are short do not wear wide belts. They will cut you in two in the middle. Do not wear dresses too long. Wear them about one inch above the knee.

Some ways to make a plain dress into a pretty one. A skirt or dress will look pretty if you cut out a few odd pieces of bright material. Cut them into squares and stitch them evenly round the skirt. When it is finished it will look new. Narrow ribbons in several colours look nice on a white background.

Spain. The Spanish dolls wear long frilly dresses. They have a shawl around their shoulders which is black and has black tassels all round the edge. The head-dress is called a Mantilla. It has a metal frame and is covered with lovely black lace. The dolls with straight hair have large buns, but those with curly hair wear roses in their hair.

Japan. In the hot country of Japan, the dolls wear tight dresses called Kimonos. The dolls from China are almost identical to those of Japan. The Japanese women have fans and hold parasols (which are sun shades) in their hands.

Holland. The Dutch dolls wear white hats which curl up just below their ears. The shoes are called clogs and are made of wood. Certain dolls have baskets on their arm with tiny plastic tulips in them.

Ireland. The Irish dolls wear brightly coloured shawls over their heads. They have black skirts, white blouses and black shoes, the same as any English child.

DO NOT TRESPASS ON THE RAILWAY.

The World has had great Heroes,
As History Books have showed,
But never a name to go down to fame,
Compares with that of Toad.

There is a great deal more of the same sort.

I also like Alice in Wonderland very much. She has a very decided nature, but in spite of this, she is buffeted about by the creatures Through the Looking Glass is also very nice. (Another book about Alice). There is rather an amusing story about Lewis Carroll, the author of these two books. His real name was Charles Dodgeson. Queen Victoria, having read his book on Alice, asked him to send her any other books he may have written. He sent her “Plane Trigonometry”, a book on Science. The Queen was not amused.

Thirdly, The Water Babies. The adventures of Tom, whilst hard to follow, seem to have a fragment of truth somewhere, although it always eludes you. That sort of thing always appeals to me. The author of that book is Charles Kingsley.

Fourth comes Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson. I like the way Jim Hawkins, triumphing over Long John Silver, is always just escaping with his skin. Both The Water Babies and Treasure Island I like mainly for the story.

Fifth is Heidi, the delightful story of a little Swiss girl, by Johanna Spyri.

Lastly, Black Beauty by Anna Sewell. Although it shows the horses' side of things, it does not appeal to me much.

Goodbye, and happy reading!

Dear Martin,

I promised to write to you again about the possible changeover to a decimal system and the present position is as follows:-

The Government has set up a Committee to look into the whole question. The Committee will advise on the most convenient and practical form which a decimal currency might take, including the major and minor units to be adopted. It will also advise on the timing and phasing of the changeover and will estimate the probable cost. The Committee held its first meeting on January 19th. Evidence will be heard in private, but a summary of the evidence will be included in the published report. I know that this all sounds rather complicated, but it is a complicated subject and could affect so many things in your day-to-day life and mine.

I think the advantages of changing over will probably out-weigh the disadvantages, but I do not believe that any change will come until you are some years older. Meanwhile, we seem to mange fairly well with pounds, shillings and pence.

I hope you are having a happy term,

Yours,
Michael Hamilton.

It might be 10 ozs. = 1 lb. and 10 lbs. a stone. Therefore, quarters, cwts. and tons will be abolished. Temperature will be changed, as it already has done in the weather forecast. 26 in the shade? Cold, you might say, but jolly hot in Centigrade. South Africa changed over to the Decimal System last year and is reporting success. England will benefit by it, perhaps by exporting cars at a lower tariff, providing they sell them in the Common Market. I think we should not go into the Common Market because it has its disadvantages as well. For instance, we might lose our friendship with America and the Commonwealth. Money problems with old and young people will be greater. Changing stamps, money, price tags too. England ought to be able to stand on her own feet without help from other countries. No! I still say No!

Our second choice is Dag Hamajkold, who was tragically killed when his plane crashed over a remote part of the Belgian Congo. Before this incident though he was one of the key men in the U.N. and in fact helped to keep them united during their troubles.

Our next is Cliff Richard, who reached the top of the Hit Parade with a record not previously in at all. The record was "The Young Ones" from the film of the same name, which was released at the end of 1961. The film has broken the record in attendances.

We have decided to give the honour of being the personality of 1961/1962 to Dag Hamerjkold, because he died on a mission for the United Nations.

In 1066 the Normans invade,
And William the Conqueror King was made.

In 1482, Columbus sailed the ocean blue.

What a black year was 1535,
Sir Thomas More is no longer alive.

Also was the year 1553,
Now on the throne was Queen Marie.

Again in the year 1508,
Armada smashed by Sir Francis Drake.

In the next Century in 1605
A King's present of gunpowder did arrive.

In the year 1628,
Buckingham was killed by an officer he did hate.

In 1666, everything was ruined, including St. Paul's,
And London was a mass of crime, plague and brawls.

In the year of 1745,
The Jacobite army was cured of its tricks.

And so we come to the present time,
But still not free from death or crime.

Chapter 1. Clothes which rich men wore.
They wore short knee breeches, a cap which had a plume of feathers in it and wore a jacket which is made of silk and a ruffle round his neck.

Chapter 2. Queen Elizabeth 1.
Queen Elizabeth was born at Greenwich Palace on 7th September, 1533, and was the only child of the second wife of Henry VIII (whose name was Anne Boleyn). Queen Elizabeth was made Queen in November 1558. As she grew older, Elizabeth seldom lived in one place. When her father died in 1547, and Edward VI became King, Elizabeth went to live with her stepmother, whose name was Catherine of Chelsea. Elizabeth was twenty when her young half brother, Edward VI, died in 1553.

Chapter 3. Sir Francis Drake
Sir Francis Drake was born in Tavistock, in Devonshire, about the year, 1545, or perhaps earlier, and he was educated under the care of another famous mariner, Sir John Hawkins. At 18, he was serving in a ship going to the Bay of Biscay and at 20, went on a voyage to Guinea. In 1577 he sailed round the world - the first to be accomplished by an Englishman.

Preparing to Cook.
These are a few small things you need to do before you start to cook. First, pin back your hair, therefore it will not dangle in the mixture. Secondly, put on a clean apron and tie it securely. Thirdly, wash your hands with soap and warm water. After this is done, get all of your utensils, together with the ingredients and then check to see that they are all there.

Recipes.
Here are some simple recipes.

Butterscotch Sauce.
Ingredients - any ice cream, 2 oz, butter, 8 oz. Demerara Sugar,
1 dessertspoonful of Cornflour, ½pt. Creamy milk,
6 drops vanilla essence and 6 oz. chopped walnuts.

Utensils - A teacup, teaspoon, saucepan, wooden spoon, glass dropper or a drinking straw.

Method - Mix the cornflour in the teacup together with a little milk until you have a smooth cream. Melt together the butter and sugar in the saucepan and add the rest of the milk. Continue to heat gently until you are sure the sugar has dissolved. Now pour in the cornflour & cream, stir in, then bring to the boil. Simmer slowly for a minute or two, stirring all the time. Remove from heat and quickly drop in your chopped walnuts. Pour the sauce over the ice cream and eat quickly before the sauce cools.

Lemon Cheese Cakes.
Ingredients - Pastry, 2 eggs, ½lb. Loaf sugar, 2 lemons, 4 oz. Margarine.

Utensils - 1 saucepan, patty tins, 1 small basin, 1 fork, 1 grater.

Method - Grate the lemons and put them into the saucepan with the juice of lemons, sugar and margarine. Melt and leave to cool. Meanwhile, beat the eggs and add them to the cooling mixture. Stir over heat - do not allow to boil. Line patty tins with pastry and pour in mixture. Bake for 20 minutes on a high regulo.

Date Loaf.
Ingredients ½lb. Dates, small cup of sugar, 1½oz. Butter, 1 teaspoon

Bi-carbonate of soda, small cup of boiling water, 2 cups Self Raising

Flour, 1 beaten egg, 1 teaspoon Vanilla essence.

Utensils - 1 large basin, 1 sheet greaseproof paper, 1 baking tin, 1 small cup.

Method - Put into the basin the dates, butter, sugar and bi-carbonate of soda. Pour over these a cup of boiling water. Stir until the butter has dissolved, then add the flour, the beaten egg and vanilla essence. Put the greaseproof paper in the tin, then pour in the mixture. Bake slowly for 1½ to 2 hours.