Cb~ Bacup~ Rawt~nstall GrammarScboolJournal.

VOL.2. JANUARY,1930. No.4.

tHE School Journal, on beginning' its fourth year of life, can now be considered firmly established. Its features are well marked without being too stereotyped. It is not by any means above criticism, and its limitations are recognised. It aims at being a record of School activities, mostly those outside the class- room. It is neither" Tit-Bits" nor" The Rag-Rag." It aims at answering the question" What did happen at School in 1930 besides lessons? " We believe that this in the long run will serve a more useful purpose than devoting many of our pages to original detective stories, facetious comments, conundrums, puzzles, and the like. Last Speech Day witnessed an innovation. Formerly, we believe, we tried to do too much in the short time between 7 p.m. and 10 p.m :-speeches, prize distribution, votes of thanks, concert. "Crush and rush" might almost have been taken as the motto, . crush' for space and' rush' for time. Under the circumstances the arrangements have worked admirably and to the general enjoyment. But to avoid disabilities Speech Day has been divided into two parts, Speech Day proper, held in the School Hall on Monday, November 18th, and Concert to be held in the School Hall on Saturday, February 8th. By using the School Hall, there is a certain elasticity in arranging the date and the day of the week, so that there is a greater facility in accom- modating busy and illustrious persons who come to distribute the prizes. Then, too, where better could the prizes be distri- buted than within the walls where thay have been worked for and won? The School Concert should be a great success. A selection from Gilbert and SuIlivan's comic opera" Ruddigore" is being performed, together with AIlan Monkhouse's one-act play, .. The Grand Cham's Diamond," other playlets, dancesand songs. Much hammering, sawing, fitting and painting are going on in the pre- paration of scenery. There is to be a new and enlarged School platform, though it is doubtful whether this will be ready in time. We congratulate Mr. Owen on his election to the Council of the Incorporated Associationof Assistant Masters in Secondary Schools,.which meets at Bristol from December 31st to January 4th. He is one of five representing the East Lancashire Branch of the Association, and his appointment is the result of service, keen interest, and grasp of policy. The staff and pupils on Armistice Day contributed £3/6/2 to Rawtenstalland £2/5/3 to Bacup, for the British Legion Appeal Funds. We wishto thank the followingfor giftsof booksto the School Library :-Mrs. Beswick, BA, J. Gray (1923-1929);Jenny Grim- shaw (1924-1927); Margaret Hobson (1922-1929); Winston L. Marshall, B.Sc. (1917-1923); Harry Pickup (1922-1929). Easter Term begins Wednesday,January 15th, ends Thurs- day, April 10th. -

THE NOMADS.

tHISintoyearSwitzerland.we went acrossWe thediscardedbattlefieldsthe tentof Northernand stayedFrancein hotels, which was better for mileage but worse for the exchequer. The weather, especially at first, was not up to its usual standard, and the waters of the Mediterranean were neither so blue nor so inviting for swimming as last year. Our most memorable day was the one we spent at Lauter- brunnen, near Interlaken. Lauterbrunnen itself is magnificently situated in a deep valley leading up to the Jungfrau massif, and we stayed two nights in a characteristic wooden chalet near to the foot of the waterfall called Staubbach, which has a sheer drop of nearly a thousand feet. A mountain railway from Interlaken passes through Lauterbrunnen, then starts immediately to climb the steep hillside, first to the village of Wengen, then right on up through tunnels to the station Jungfrau;och, nearly at the summit of the Jungfrau, the highest station and hotel in Europe (11,340 ft.) The fare from Lauterbrunnen to Jungfrau;och is about £2, so economising we went up as far as Little Scheidegg (6770 ft.), where, roped together and accompanied by a guide we traversed the Eiger glacier to the Ice Grotto. There are crevasses in this glacier which, though not wide, seem almost bottomless. Not without difficulty we crossed one of these crevasses, our guid~ cuttin~ steps in the i~e wit!) hi~ axe, '. Even at this heightit was very warm,and the air was so clear that the summit of the Jungfrau (13,670ft.) seemed much nearer than the top of Cribden from Rawtenstall. Other Alps sat round us in a broken semicircle, their snowy summits clean, white and dazzling in the strong sunshine. Everything in Switzerland is clean and wholesome and homely. In the evening we visited the Trummelbach Falls. Do not miss them if ever you go to Interlaken. Unlike the Staub- bach you can see nothing of them as you approach the place where you expect to find them: they are internal falls. In one place the water flashes past an opening in its rocky channel as if it was discharged through the nozzle of a giant's hosepipe. Standing against the rail provided for sightseers we were soaked to the skin in five seconds. After this we were taken up into the bowels of the mountain in a lift. We have a confused recollection of rush- ing, foaming water; of deafening noise; of wild turmoil; of eerie red lights. We stood dazed yet fascinated: a dreadful fascination which would probably impel a person there alone to partake of the frenzy of the waters and to cast himself into the midst of their furious turmoil. What a contrast to emerge into the quiet peacefulness of the darkening valley!

INVISIBLE RAYS. Lecture by Dr. Fairbrother, Wednesday, October 30th, 1929,

(HE Educationfourth ofCommitteea series of inlecturesconjunctionarrangedwithby thethe LancashireUniversity of Manchester was held in the school on Wednesday, October 15th. The lecturer was Dr. Fairbrother, and his subjeect .. Invisible Rays," The primary object of the lecture was to outline the various invisible parts of general radiation which are undetectable by the eye. In a general survey the lecturer showed how all types of wave motion, are members of one family. They range from the extreme wireless waves, of length some thousands of metres, down to the newly discovered cosmic rays, of length three ten-thousand-millionths of a millimetre, passing in turn through the Hertzian waves, extreme infra-red, near infra-red, visible light, ultra-violet, X-rays and gamma rays, differing only in frequency and wave length. The detection of the "invisible .. portions of this scale depends on special methods, some of which the lecturer mentioned, 80

He showed how the various rays play their part in nature, in making the sky red at sunset, the blue sky in daytime, the pene- trating powers of certain lights in fogs; also how in the hands of the scientist they have been utilised in a new kind of burglar alarm and in automatic train-signalling.

With regard to the ultra-violet he indicated its use in thera- peutics, its application to the cure of lupus, and how necessary is an adequate supply of ultra-violet light for health and for im- munity from disease; also the various methods of applying it to the detection of forgeries, the examination of jewels, and for night signalling.

The lecturer showed experimentally the fluorescent action of ultra-violet light on substances such as anthraGene, teeth, and uranium glass.

Realizing at the end of the lecture that it is possible to .. see" in many different ways from the commonly accepted method, one wonders if Milton was anticipating modern developments of science when he speah of the light surrounding Satan and his fallen angels as being" darkness visible."

SPEECH DAY.

NOVEMBER 18TH, 1929. Address and Distribution of Prizes by the Right Honourable Earl of Crawford and Balcarres, P.c., K.T., D.C.L., FR.IBA., FR.S., Chancel/or of the University of Manchester.

SPEECH Day this year was held in the School Hall. Forms and chairs filled the ground floor, a passage being left down the centre. The Hall was well crowded as the girls, in white dresses, filed to their seats, followed shortly afterwards by the Earl of Craw- ford, the Governors, the Mayor and Mayoress of Rawtenstall, the Mayor of Bacup and the Headmaster. The boys were assembled round the balcony.

The Chairman of the Governors congratulated the Head- master, the Staff, and the Scholars on the examination results of the last year, and welcomed the Earl of CrawfQrdto distribut~ the prizes, 81

The Earl offered his congratulations to the prize winners. It was a custom (he said) upon those occasions to congratulate those who had not won prizes, for in nine cases out of ten the person who gave away the prizes never won a prize himself. However, in life. let there be no mistake about it, they were all trying to win prizes, and the prize winners merited congratulation. There were many disadvantages about the examination system but until they could devise a better, it must stand as it was. The parents of the scholars deserved congratulation also. He often wondered who was the most indispensable part of the School-the parent, scholar or teacher. There would be very few scholars without the interest of the parents, and without parents and staff the teachers would be living in Elysium. The School had to be a unity in which the Staff was concerned in the welfare of the children only in one degree less than the parents themselves. The School Library and the pictures round the Hall deserved special mention as showing the trend of education to-day. Too many schools were content merely to have books connected with the subjects of study, and not concerned with the wider outlook of literature to which all the rest of the books must ultimately lead. Then again, it was not expected that the School should possess original and valuable works of art, but the science of reproduction of works of art had progressed so far that relatively cheap productions and a faithful mirror of the originals could be obtained, such as could be seen from the School platform. The scholars had the opportunity now of living with the great painters of the past, of appreciating their wonderful achievements, and of training the eye to a love of the beauty in art. So, no doubt, they had in their School Library a collection of books which, although necessarily small, would give them guid- ance in literature just as the pictures would in Art. Every scholar ought to have his own collection of pictures. For sixpence could be bought a faithful reproduction of an original drawing by some great master, so accurate and so true that only an expert could tell which was the original and which was the copy. For a few shillings could be bought the works of some great writers. That book or that picture would last them to their dying day, and they would have something inspiring in literature, something ennobling in art.

Competition was becoming more and more acute, enlarging the obligation on parents, scholars, governing body, and staff. Efficiency of schools in Lancashire was steadily growing. As Chancellor of the University of Manchester the Earl was specially interested in the Secondary Schools, as it was from them that the University drew its recruits. The University was the logical 82 as well as the actual top rung of the educational ladder. Educa- tion began in the elementary school and ended in the research department of the universities. Research represented the highest degree of intensive learning. The whole of humanity was under an obligation to it. He hoped that the Bacup and Rawtenstall Grammar School would continue to send their best pupils to the University, and he congratulated the authorities for having pro- vided such fine facilities for education as the School possessed.

VITH FORM, VISIT TO MANCHESTER UNIVERSITY December 4th, 1929.

CHEUniversityLancashiremakeEducationarrangementsAuthorityeach yearandwherebythe Manchester.the VITH Forms of Lancashire Secondary Schools pay a visit to the University to acclimatise themselves a little to the atmosphere of the University before entering as students. Such a visit our VhH Forms paid on Wednesday, December 4th. We were welcomed by Dr. W. H. Moberly, the Vice-Chancellor of the University, who pointed out that many students in passing from the School to the University felt a considerable break. Instead of the friendly pressure exercised on them by teachers at School to induce them to work, they found themselves left very largely to their own inclinations, so that often a term passed before, rejoicing in their new found liberty, they settled down to serious studies. The Vice-Chancellor introduced Professor Weiss, who lectured to us on .. Plant Communities." He led us gently into the realms of Botany in a most interesting lecture, dealing esp,ecially with the plant community of the woodland. He took the opportunity of pointing out to the boys good opportunities of posts which demanded specialised knowledge of Botany. These posts were frequently commercial in character and connected with tea and rubber plantations, and there were not at present enough well qualified men for such posts. Professor Weiss than dealt with types of tropical for~sts, showing by means of slides the grim struggle which takes place in the plant kingdom for the right to survive. He demonstrated by means of wonderful photographs, the eternal struggle for light-the source of energy necessary to convert the carbon-dioxide of the atmosphere into food. We were shown a few of the different adaptations of the plants of the undergrowth to their environment in their effort to obtain light-different methods of climbing the extremely tall trees, leaving the soil altogether and living in the tops of the trees, but sending out special roots to obtain moisture from the air. 83

From these plants it was easy to trace the development of the parasitic habit where the plant dispenses with roots and the making of food and draws sustenance from its host. The woodlands of the temperate zones are less dense in their vegetation, and under the majority of trees it is possible for a luxuriant undergrowth to exist. Illustrations by photographs were again given to show how this undergrowth depends on the amount of light which can filter through the spaces between the leaves, and the adaptations which our common woodland plants have undergone to obtain their supply of light, flowering early in the spring before the leaves of the trees are fully developed, and once again, though not as fre~ quently as in the dark tropical forests, the development of the parasitic habit as shown in the plant" Toothwort." This brought to the end a lecture delightfully easy to under~ stand, and free from the long Latin names of Systematic Botany which are so often the bugbear of the beginner. After the lecture we made a tour of the University, through endless corridors and laboratories, some attending a demonstra~ tion in the Chemistry department on explosives, others in the Physics department on the Cathode rays. Then on again, through the natural history museum, to the Whitworth Hall, where the Librarian gave us a brief account of the Christie Library, preparatory to our visit to it, where we were permitted to see many interesting exhibits, among them being a First Folio Shakespeare (1623), almost priceless. And so to the Unions or the University Clubs where tea was provided for us. Altogether a most interesting, instructive, and enjoyable afternoon.

THE HISTORICAL SOCIETY.

(HISwithtermthe theBuryschoolHistoricalHistoricalSociety.SocietyThishas meansbeen affiliatedthat the members of the School society will be able to attend the lectures at Bury which are given by eminent University men.

LOCAL PLACES OF HISTORICAL INTEREST. Paper given by Mary Tay[or, October 1st, 1929. Probably the most famous historical monument in this district is Towneley Hall, near which is Ormerod Hall, dating from 1595, and treasuring some fine old panelling. The inn" The Fighting Cocks," at Mereclough is a reminder of the time when the families of Ormerod and Towneley settled their old feud by a cock~fight, in which the Ormerod bird won. The village of Hurstwood in 84 " the vicinity is a rare treasure, having scarcely changed since the days of Elizabeth. The companion village of Worst horn had a fine Hall which unfortunately was allowed to fall into ruin. Associated with Worsthorn is the barbarous custom-bull~baiting-when the bull was fastened to an iron ring which was embedded in a huge stone. The bull was then exasperated by dogs, and sometimes it managed to escape and wrought havoc among the spectators. Extwistle Hall, a mile north of Worsthorn, is a good example of 16th century architecture. Barcroft Manor, on the Cliviger side of T owneley, is typical of the smaller Elizabethan manors. There is an interesting legend of the" Boggart of Barcroft .. who was willing to do the menial duties of the house, provided he was not watched whilst at work. These characteristics are practically the same as those ascribed to the" lubber fiend" by Milton in .. L'Allegro." The village of Holme lies nearby. The famous chapel, almost overshadowed by chestnut trees, has a remarkable history. The original building was a small chantry and a minister was not appointed to it until 1742. The chapel was a massive building and was celebrated for the huge .. three~decker" pulpit in the interior. The pulpit has now been demolished. The bleak moorlands around this district have yielded many traces of their primitive inhabitants, arrow and spear heads, urns containing ashes and the like. Thus our district is of some importance historically. Members of the Historical Society, accompanied by Miss Wrigley, paid a visit to Ormerod Hall and Hurstwood, on Saturday, October 5th, and thus had the opportunity of making more definite and practical the knowledge of the place they had already received.

SOME AsPECTS OF THE GREAT WAR. Paper given by H. Hopwood, November 8th, 1929. An attempt was made to assign the responsibility for the War. Repeatedly peace conferences were held but were unsuccess~ fu!' Finally on August 4th, 1914, Great Britain declared war. She had now entered the greatest war the world has ever known. Here followed an interesting resume of the main events of the war. Something was learnt of the battles of the Marne and the Somme, Ypres, Verdun, the Hindenburg lines and Gallipoli. It seemed strange that though our elders refer to these in a casual 85 manner, the present generation has little knowledge of them. The- meeting discussed the Marne and Gallipoli at some length. Then the topic of international brotherhood was introduced. The view that our native land should be loved no more nor less than all other lands of the world was put forward. This was hotly contested on the grounds that people whom we have never seen. cannot be loved. It was stated that everybody is not big enough to love everybody else. The view that patriotism and international~ ism can be reconciled was upheld by many present. To prove the case the example of an individual loving his family first and his friends after, was quoted. The discussion was very lively and all agreed that this was one of the most successful meetings we havehad. Our thanks are given to Hopwood for his extremely- interesting paper which had undoubtedly meant much trouble, for him.

THE HISTORICAL SOCIETY.

The last meeting of the above Society took the novel form of an old~fashioned tea~party. Most of the members of forms Upper and Lower VI Arts (and two lady members of the staff)- assembled in costumes dating from 1760 to modern times, and partook of an old~fashioned tea, consisting of such forms of food as sad cake, treacle, fruit and preserve pies, oatcake and parkin. After the meal, the candles which had provided illumination were snuffed, and Miss Wrigley proceeded to tell us a ghost story. At the very moment when the story became thrilling a white~robed apparition opened the door, entered, and stirred those present to a high pitch of excitement before disappearing. Subsequently about twenty quaint figures endeavoured with much laughter, to dance a polka, a barn dance, and Sir Roger. de Coverley, and to play old~fashioned games. Though hampered by the unusual styles of dress we succeeded in imitating our ancestors and the affair was voted a great success. Among the dresses was a long, trailingpre French~revol~ utionary one of blue satin with which a powdered wig was worn.. Then there were two plainer ones with shorter and narrower skirts, which were followed by a series of early~Victorian dresses. The chief features of these were the large bonnets adorned with feathers, little shawls worn around the shoulders and fastened with heirloom brooches of large size. The dresses of the mid~Victorian periods were still long but with them were worn large patterned shawls ~ 86

Three dresses of the late 19th century caused much amusement, '

A VISIT TO BOLTON.

On Saturday, October 12th, several members of the Vth forms paid a visit to Hall-i'th'-Wood, Bolton, kindly accompanied by Miss Wrigley. As we have been studying this term the In- dustrial Revolution, and as the old house is reminiscent of Samuel Crompton, inventor of the spinning mule, we found everything very interesting and helpful. When we arrived in Bolton we went first to Hall-i'th'-Wood. The house is very picturesque and is painted in black, and white, the timber throughout being of stout oak. The typical 'Hwattle-and-daub .. is used for a cement.

We were taken first. into the hall. This was the general living room of the family. Here were the domestic articles and beautifully carved oak furniture. One of the most interesting -of these was the table used for the game of .. push penny:' We saw the cooking utensils arranged over the hugefireplace. These consist of a big cauldron, a large spit worked by a wheel, and several forks and smaller spits used for cooking small pieces of meat. - On the walls of this room hung splendid oil paintings, some of which were Van Oyck's.

After the hall, we visited eight more rooms, equally interesting and of equal historical value. We saw the room where Samuel Crompton invented. his mule, and the priest-hole where he is sup- I". posed_to have hidden it, the secret panel in the withdrawing room, the great four-poster bed upstairs, the warming pans on the walls, the 'old cradle, and a hundred 'and one gadgets of these earlier days~ One very interesting article was the contrivance for re- ", moving' Wellington boots. It was suggested that this machine' -;, should be brought into use again. 87

In the dairy we saw the churn, butter and cheese moulds, and the wooden curd dishes. One of the most interesting objects in this room is the ducking~stool, used for the punishment of scolding wives. This also was suggested as suitable for modern use.

We went from Hall-i'th'~wood to the Parish Church. We were kindly -conducted by the Vicar, who showed to us the ancient documents and beautiful silver goblets belonging to the church. But the best was yet to come. We were led up the spiral stair- case to the top of the tower. As we had to climb up about two hundred and ninety steps, one will not be surprised that we felt rather exhausted when we reached our destination. However, we were rewarded by a fine view of the surrounding country, and after rescuing our adventurous youths from falling over the edge, we retraced our steps and made for the Co~operative Cafe, a grimy yet happy crew.

Lucy THOMAS,Form V ALPHA

VISITS. ,

Various Mills'have) been visited during the term. By T~., the kindness.of Mr. W. Shaw, VR went through Atherton Holme j." Cotton Mill;] :Mr. Thomas, conducted VA through Meaaows Mill,~VR went through the Baltic Felt Works by kind permission. of the Manager..,and three visits have beenmadento Trick-ett's slipper works by the courtesy of Mr. Worswicb

We are obliged.toEvelyn Parkedorher account of the villit to the. Atherton,Holme Mill ;to j. N. Holt for that to,the Baltic, Felt WorI

THE CHRISTMAS PARTY.

SATURDAY,DECEMBER 14TH, 1929.

On the afternoon of Friday, December 13th the School began to show signs of an unusual activity. There was a dancing practice for the Juniors. On Saturday morning there was a busy time in the dining room preparing food, and in the Hall putting up decorations. At 4-30 p.m. the Junior contingent was to arrive, at 6 p.m. the Senior, all told numbering over two hundred and seventy. What to do with them all was the question.

Foresight, i.e. the Staff, had arranged various games and competitions. There were nine tables for ping-pong for those dexterous of eye or hand. A smelling competition tested the olfactory organs; there were bags containing tangarine peel, cheese, coffee, cocoa, nutmeg, pepper, soap, cinnamon, etc. There were pic- torial advertisements minus the names, the names having to be supplied. There was an assortment of articles on a tray, sight of which was granted for a couple of minutes. Then a list of the articles was to be made from the following suggestions: an emblem of luck (horseshoe), We part to meet again (scissors), a drive through the wood (nail), a place for reflection (mirror), an easy way of raising the wind (fan), a beautiful girl (bell), the head of a country (ruler), sowers of tares (needles), the Black Friar (frying pan), Columns of Greece (candles); sightseers (binoculars), the birthplace of Burns (electric iron), a home for little wanderers (mouse trap), Charge of the Light Brigade (box of matches), mem- orials of the great (ashes). There was the" butterfly" competi- tion for who could get the best representation of a butterfly with three blobs of paint "and a judicious folding of the paper. There were jumbled names of fruit and vegetables, the proper names to be deciphered, not so easy as one might think. For instance, what are' nagumier,' , cutlete,' , green pomata ' ? Then treasure hunts from clues like the following :-find a blue lady who will refer you to a boy in black coat and short trousers, who will send you to a green girl, who will mention a fat boy, who will in turn send you to somebody else, until the holder of the treasure is finally tracked. Such games with musical mats, musical arms, funny lantern slides, passed the time quickly along till tea. 89

In the meantime the seniors had arrived for whist or dancing and games. Here let us pause to praise the band. There are members of UVR who fill up their moments of relaxation from strenuous study by coaxing piano, fiddle, ukeleles and drums into that strange form of syncopated disharmony known as jazz. These public spirited youths offered their services and provided dance music which would have set the feet of the lame a-twinkling. It is believed that it is their first public appearance, but certainly it should not be their last.

The VIth Form Charade (all out of their own heads) was happily conceived. The first scene showed Christmas shoppers examining goods on the counter of a Iarge store, all the purchasers seeming to have found the wrong department. The second scene shifts into a dentist's waiting room and surgery, where we witness an exceedingly painless extraction. Last scene of all is Christmas Eve, the child ready for bed, with preparations for fill- ing the stocking, interrupted by the inopportune arrival of visitors. The answer, which nobody guessed, was' Counterpane: The time was now turned nine, and the Juniors had sorrow- fully to leave. Did they all go? Was not one small youth found in the dining-room at JO p.m. plaintively pleading for trifle?

Those remaining watched the clock relentlessly moving on. Strange that about half-past nine it should have decided not to go-a remarkable example of the power of mind over matter. It is as yet undecided whether to send details to the Society of Psych- ical Research to help them in their examinations into the occult. Some two hundred people all willing the same thing, i.e. that the clock would stop, and lo! it stopped.

Those Old Students who helped so willingly in the dining- room we thank very heartily indeed. 90

!~OD~S~E8?s.~1

tHE ticketsSchoolwhichLibraryhas,hasso nowfar, workedadopted verya systemwellofindeed.pocketsTheand scholars can now go to the cupboards and choose their books from the shelves. Thanks are due to the members of the VIth Form who have labelled the pockets and compiled the new catalogue.

An addition of some fifty books has been made to the fiction sectionofthe Library this Term, the pound~fund having provided most of the money for them. The history books from the general library are now in the hands of the history teachers, as that will provide a more efficient circulation of them.

In the Reference Library a new book~case has been installed, and now it is almost replete with French books.

Towards the end of Term the members of the School were privileged to attend a very enjoyable function to which they had been looking forward with unconcealed anticipation-the Term Examinations. For weeks before the nature of the festivities had been discussed, questions were asked of Masters and Mistresses, and the mystic word" revise" began to echo through the corridors. It is rumoured that one boy, caught by the general enthusiasm, broke his own record and did all his homework two nights running. Another boy, when arranging his programme for the great event, had by looking at his book~bill discovered he possessed a history book, though where exactly it was, unless acting as a .. tree .. for one of his football boots, he was not altogether sure. One boy, who said he was' surprised' at the number of' unsatisfactories ' on his Report Book unwittingly gave rise to the rumour that prizes were to be awarded for the greatest number of unsatisfactories obtained-a rumour quite without foundation. 91

The morning of the event dawned bright and fair. A record number of listeners~in the previous night had awaited the B.B.C's. weather report, fearing that earthquakes or floods or hur- ricanes or fog might interfere with the proceedings; but the only storms and the only fogs were in their minds. How beautiful the desks in order stood, how white the paper, how clear the ink, how fascinating the string! no wonder there were whoops of delight. How quickly the time passed! But it was consoling to know that when one morning was finished, the next would bring a renewal of joy, and so on for a whole week. It was like an Epicurean banquet long drawn out, each course achieving a greater delight than the last.

We were happy to hear from lames Nolan, now in the Mer- chant Service, as well as pleased to receive the postcards of places of interest in Montreal. These postcards have been handed to Miss Niness who is displaying them in the geography room. This is his second visit to Canada, and he was, at the time of writing, about to leave for Italy.

Mr. Feyt writes to us from Corsica where he is a professor of English language, and we append excerpts from his letter.

.. The country is really wonderful. It is rough and mountainous, very wild, with some dark pine forests, and with miles and miles of hillside. Corte is just in the centre of the island, right at the foot of the highest peaks, which tower above it at 8,000 feet.

In the mountains are plenty of wild goats and wild boars, and partridges and hares, the torrents swarming with trout.

In Corsica, if a man considers himself wounded in his honour, or more generally slighted in any way, he will go right to the offender and kill him. It happens once or twice a year. Then the murderer goes away into the" maquis," which is the forest here, and holds out against the police that are sent against him. So thick is the" maquis" and so reckless the character of the desperados that very seldom do the gendarmes 92

capture any of them. More often they are killed by relatives of their victims, whose death breeds a vendetta, which obliges every relative of a murdered man to take part in it. Moreover, you may in your rambles come across one of the bandits, but they would never dream of holding you up for your purse or anything else. A woman could cross the marquis more safely than any town of England or the Continent. These men will kill anybody who is suspect of sullying their honour, but they will never do anything base or low:'

The Christ~as Cakes made by the girls at Cookery were arranged on the tables of the dining room for inspection. All were neatly designed, completely iced, and ornamented with cherries, cachous, roses, violets, etc. .

We congratulate Lucy Thomas on winning one of tbcprizes offered by the Manchester Guardian in their competition for drawings of fathers or mothers. This is the second time she has been suc- cessful in these Manchester Guardian competitions.

On November 20th the Lower Thirds had a League of Nations Tea Party. Each boy and girl was dressed in the costume of some country in the League, and when France, South Africa, India, Norway, China, Great Britain, Persia and some twenty others, blacks, whites and yellows, all sat down to tea together it was a rather picturesque sight, symbolical let us hope, of international friendship. After tea we played League of Nations Family Coach, straightened out muddled countries and finally ended an enjoyable time with a few English games. 93

THE OLD ROSSENDALIANS' ASSOCIATION.

We are now entering upon another year in the life of the Association and it is a splendid opportunity to make a determined effort to increase our membership. This stands about lOO,which is a very low figure to represent all the people who have passed through the School. If each member would interest and enrol another old student the Association would soon be in a position to more than justify its existence.

DRAMATICSoCIETY. In our last article we announced that this branch was giving a play entitled-" The Whole Town's Talking:' This was produced on December 3rd and 4th, in the Bacup Theatre and proved to be a great success. Many patrons voted it to be the best show we have yet given. We expect to produce another show early this year, preparafions for which are already being made.

LITERARYANDDEBATINGSOCIETY. A good Syllabus has been arranged and some excellent and interesting meetings held. These take place in the School but the support and attendance is very disappointing. It is very discouraging for both the Secretaries, who have done their best to organise this branch this year, and also very awkward for the speakers and everyone else when there are only about six people present. Unless we can get better support during the next half of the session we shall have to definitely disband this Society. The following meetings have been arranged for this session :-

Jan. 31-Paper-" The' Social Dram!isof Ibsen .. A. Baker, Esq. Feb. J4-Paper-" Valentines.. T. E. Jackson, Esq., M.A, ,. 28-Play Reading. Mar. J4-Paper-" Bernard Shaw .. W. Hirst, Esq. .. 28-Impromptu Speeches

We hope that we shall have a good attendance at these meetings.

THE DANCE CLUB has organised two very successful Dances which were held on Xmas Eve, at Bacup, and New Year's Eve, at Waterfoot. These were very well attended and we think everyone present had an enjoyable time. It is our intention to run one or two more dances before th« end of the seasoQ. 94

THE HocKEY ANDFOOTBALLCLUBSare running teams this winter but the girls have ha:d rn:1DYgames cancelled lately on account of the bad weather conditions, and the boys suffer from lack of sufficient members to make up a full team each week.

RAMBLINGCLUB. The activities of this Club commence at Easter. Will all persons who wish to join and be notified' each week of the ramble, please communicate with Mr. P. Bottomley, The Greens. Bacup. The weather prophets forecast a fine summer and we hope that this year our membership will be the highest we have ever had.

The Annual General Meeting will'be held during the next few weeks. The date has not been definitely fixed but we extend a hearty invitation to all students of the School to attend. This is the Re-union which everyone should make a special effort to attend as it is the only time when the affairs and position of the Association are discussed. We are always pleased to receive suggestions and new ideas which will benefit the Association. and ask members to bring these forward at the General Meeting. Annual Subscriptions for 1930are now due and arrangements for receiving same will be made at the Re-union.

RENNIE LAw. H. A. HoWARD.

~~ ~~ 95

./

FOOTBALL-1sT XI. MATCHES.

The usual team in the following matches has been: Chamberlain, goal; R. H. Hardman and F. Birtwistle, backs; 1. Trickett, M. Tann and 1. Roberts, half.backs; R. Whittaker, F. Ridehalgh, 1. Whittaker, H. Howarth, H. Pilling, forwards. v. Bolton Secondary School, September 28th-Away-Lost 6-5. v. Burnley Grammar School, October 5th,-Away-Lost 9-{). v. Blackburn Grammar School, October 12th-Home-Lost 3-2. v. Hebden Bridge Secondary School, October 19th-Away-Won 5-1. v. Nelson Secondary School, November 2nd-Homc-Draw 4-4. v. Accrington Grammar School, November 9th-Away-Lost 12-1. v. Haslingden Grammar School, November 16th-Homc-Won 11-{). v. Todmorden Secondary School, November 23rd-Away-Won 9-2. v. Rochdale Grammar School, December 7th-Away-Won 3-1.

The following have also played: C. Yates, 1. R. Pickup, Chadwick and 1. Hartley.

The 1st XI. began the season rather badly, but is now pick- ing up somewhat. Of the defeats, those inflicted by Burnley and Accrington are most prominent. In each of these matches the School was easily out-classed by a superior team. A heavy defeat was also expected from Blackburn, but the game was very close and was one of the best matches of the season. A successful ven- ture was made against a new team in Hebden Bridge. The Has- lingden and T odmorden matches helped up the goal average con- siderably, but were rather too one-sided to be called good games. It is several seasons since the school played Rochdale, and the win came as a pleasaQt surprise, %

FOOTBALL-2ND XI. MATCHES.

The usual team in the following matches has been: Chadwick, goal; Carmal t and Bolton, backs; ]ackson, Taylor and Stansfield, half-backs; Brown, Lewis Pickup, ]. Trickett and Graham, forwards. v. Bolton Secondary School, September 28th-Home-Lost 5-2. v. Heywood Grammar School, October 5th-Away-Lost 7-1. v. Blackburn Grammar School, October 12th-Away-Lost 12-{). v. Burnley Grammar School, October 26th-Home-Draw 4-4. v. Accrington Grammar School, November 9th-Home-Lost 14-2.

The following have also played: J. Whittaker, G. Clegg, C. Yates, Musk and Read.

HOCKEY.

The usual team in the following matches has been: Jennie Stocks, goal; Marian Ormerod and Kathleen Read, backs; Mary Hitchen, May Chadwick and Lucy I-litchen, lialf-backs; Bessie Pilling, Marion TayJor, Kathleen Smith, Mary T aylor and Alice Alston, forwards. Ethel Hartley, Mary Parkinson and Mabel Watts have also played. v. Accrington Grammar School. October 5th-Home-Won 5-3. v. Haslingden Grammar School, October 16th-Home-Won I-{). v. Rochdale Secondary School, October 19th-Home-Won 6-2. v. Heywood Grammar School. November 2nd-Away-Draw I-I. v. Todmorden Secondary School. November 16th,-Home-Won 2-1. v. Accrington Grammar School, November 23rd-Away-Lost 4-2.

From the above results it is obvious that the school team has improved since last season. The two matches against Accring~ ton Grammar School proved to be the hardest yet played. but each was marred by rain. The result of the match with Rochdale Secondary School came rather as a surprise. as it is several years since Rochdale have been beaten by us before. Owing to wet weather several matches have been cancelled. including the one ~gainst the Old Students. which generally arouses great enthus- Iasm.