My Room with a View

Have to say the photo is "borrowed" and probably not from that date but the scene hasn't changed nearly 50 years later when posting it.

Downside Roman Catholic Boys Public School with the Benedictine Abbey in the background. Run by the monks and supported by a number of lay teachers. The Headmaster and the seven Housemasters were all monks.It was the place I spent most of my time from 1968 to July 1972.

I was sent there as it was the "done thing" in those days for the colonials . I can't say I enjoyed it, it was though good to me, I never witnessed any of the brutalities of the boys or monks that have emerged over the years. I didn't make good enough use of it, but it was at a time when everything was getting a bit too liberal. Frankly, looking back I don't think the Headmaster or senior monks were particularly interested in improving things, simply protecting the status quo.

Still, it was a privileged life in the eyes of most. I wish I hadn't had it but a relatively normal family life where I saw my parents daily rather than for 6 weeks in the summer holidays.

My Housemaster considered me a bit of a harmless troublemaker. He stuck me in a room (bedroom/study) marked in red right next to his daytime study marked in yellow. Had to be careful when having a smoke that the wind was in the right direction.