Mrs Lashley RIP

I heard today that one of my favourite teachers died yesterday. In the course of a school life you have lots of teachers and only a few will stand out, Mrs Lashley was one of those that did¹.

Mrs Lashley taught history, a subject that in truth I wasn't really that interested in, but she really taught it very well and did engage my attention. We did Tudors and Stuarts for O level and one of her favourite tricks has doing a chunk of history and then ending the lesson by reading what Sellers and Yeatman had to say about the same period in "1066 And All That" - a book that's a lot funnier when you know all the "in jokes" that Sellers and Yeatman are slipping in. She also played us the recording of Bob Newhart as Walter Raleigh's agent (hunt it out, it's very funny).

But Mrs Lashley was also my form tutor, so it was in her class we all assembled every morning while she took the register for the five years I was at Calthorpe Park and I remember that as a happy time too.

And when we were in the 5th year she negotiated for us to be able to use her classroom as a 5th form common room where we could lurk at lunchtime rather than been banished to the playground with the younger children.

I know I disappointed her when I only got a C in history².

I've always felt vaguely guilty about that.

1. For the record others include Mrs Povey, the young pure maths teacher at Farnborough College who encouraged me to apply to Cambridge, Mr Mackian(sp?) my mad maths teacher from Calthorpe Park, Mr Welch the equally mad chemistry teacher and (now Professor but then just Dr) Martin Hyland, whose brain is vast.
2. One of two, the other being in English Literature, do we see a pattern here boys and girls, I think we do.