Loddiswell School Dinners

I was fortunate to be at Loddiswell Primary school in the last few years of the reign of Ms Christian Michell and Ms Margaret Common, in the late 60s. In these days the summers were always very hot, and winters very cold with plenty of snow to have fun in.

These ladies were formidable, and I still shudder a little thinking of them. There were other teachers I vaguely remember, but these two left an impression on me.
Ms Michell would love to tell us the same old joke about some foreigner who came to paint her house. Something about him being an "Artiste" not an "Artist". I still don't get it. I think she just wanted the walls painting.

One of the most odd things that sticks in my memory is that there were 4 sizes of school dinners. One had to book the size of the dinners for the week early on Monday morning, and it would be the same size all week.

You could choose one of : Small. Very Small. Extra Small. Or Large!
This would roughly mean 3,2,1, or 4 chips, for example. Chips were about 3/4" wide in those days.

Now, it sounds great to have the choice. BUT, you had to eat all that was put in front of you, AND NO EXCEPTIONS. No one could have their pudding until the main course was consumed by everyone.

This is fine if the meal was something you liked, but if it contained something you hated, then woe betide you if you had chosen large portions. Miss Michell would hover over a culprit until everything was gone. For me, the worst possible meal was sardines. I utterly hated them and still do. I never picked a LARGE portion because of the fear of sardines. I do remember Miss Mitchell forcing me to eat every last bit of fish and bone and some horrible tomato sauce.

Well over 40 years later I still cannot leave food on the plate. I would feel too guilty. So I do not take more than I can eat. If I accidentally get something like sardines or tuna in my mouth, it feels like my mouth or throat is on fire. Whether this is a psychological problem or an allergy I don't know!