tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2508563923634392703.post576858723274132325..comments2023-12-28T13:11:06.666+00:00Comments on Pics and Poems: Mr McTavishDave Kinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08430484174826768488noreply@blogger.comBlogger18125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2508563923634392703.post-5100317956011892622008-10-06T14:41:00.000+01:002008-10-06T14:41:00.000+01:00Sweet Talking GuyThanks for that - you say the nic...Sweet Talking Guy<BR/>Thanks for that - you say the nicest things!Dave Kinghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08430484174826768488noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2508563923634392703.post-18680834251470014042008-10-06T00:19:00.000+01:002008-10-06T00:19:00.000+01:00Bang on Dave! I loved reading this, the cake, the ...Bang on Dave! I loved reading this, the cake, the sick note and the scottish accent brilliant!Andy Sewinahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10023449074796269533noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2508563923634392703.post-15742348798934608882008-10-05T09:06:00.000+01:002008-10-05T09:06:00.000+01:00AcornmoonThanks for calling by, and welcome.And th...Acornmoon<BR/><BR/>Thanks for calling by, and welcome.<BR/>And that is a wonderful image. I would never have thought of it, but yes, I do see what you mean.Dave Kinghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08430484174826768488noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2508563923634392703.post-46013104950022890052008-10-05T09:04:00.000+01:002008-10-05T09:04:00.000+01:00Jim,Thanks for that. No, I can assure you that the...Jim,<BR/>Thanks for that. No, I can assure you that they are not. Those that could be, are not allowed to be.Dave Kinghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08430484174826768488noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2508563923634392703.post-75234805947937193332008-10-04T21:38:00.000+01:002008-10-04T21:38:00.000+01:00A wonderful poem, your teacher suggests a cross be...A wonderful poem, your teacher suggests a cross between a Scottish version of Seamus Heaney and Father Ted!Acornmoonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14982884920388966786noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2508563923634392703.post-56569972944351018562008-10-04T20:16:00.000+01:002008-10-04T20:16:00.000+01:00A great character study and a good sense of place....A great character study and a good sense of place. I wonder if the teachers the youngsters have these days are half as colourful as the ones we grew up with?Jim Murdochhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12786388638146471193noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2508563923634392703.post-48429272556318039512008-10-04T09:29:00.000+01:002008-10-04T09:29:00.000+01:00DickThanks for that.Dick<BR/><BR/>Thanks for that.Dave Kinghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08430484174826768488noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2508563923634392703.post-28024230064636505642008-10-04T09:08:00.000+01:002008-10-04T09:08:00.000+01:00This works its way towards the punchline wonderful...This works its way towards the punchline wonderfully well, Dave. A beguiling memoir.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2508563923634392703.post-60219300711198168062008-10-04T09:03:00.000+01:002008-10-04T09:03:00.000+01:00Condayes, it was fun to write. I do enjoy writing ...Conda<BR/><BR/>yes, it was fun to write. I do enjoy writing about aspects of my childhood. I tend not to see them as autobiography - which they are, for I stick as faithfully to my memories as I can - but more as social comment, an implied comparison of then with now. Writing the <A HREF="http://picsandpoems.blogspot.com/2008/05/spin-didnt-begin-with-tony-blair.html" REL="nofollow">poem</A> about being ill at the age of five,for instance, I was interested in the fact that a doctor not only made house calls (!) but had the time to sit on a child's bed for ages swapping stamps with him.Dave Kinghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08430484174826768488noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2508563923634392703.post-12548148929005139462008-10-03T20:03:00.000+01:002008-10-03T20:03:00.000+01:00This is a fun poem, fun to read--was it fun to wri...This is a fun poem, fun to read--was it fun to write? <BR/><BR/>Loved the teacher--evoked so many memories of my grade school teachers--mostly good, for the ones with passion were good teachers, whatever they taught us!Conda Douglashttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12972790965426924941noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2508563923634392703.post-65809420896406670262008-10-03T11:01:00.000+01:002008-10-03T11:01:00.000+01:00Weaver of GrassYes, we had a rare assortment of te...Weaver of Grass<BR/><BR/>Yes, we had a rare assortment of teachers back then, some a bit <I>dodgy</I>, even by war time standards, but most had something real and vital to offer. Thanks for the feedback.Dave Kinghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08430484174826768488noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2508563923634392703.post-23373309206385089842008-10-03T10:12:00.000+01:002008-10-03T10:12:00.000+01:00Dave. I absolutely love this poem - you have capt...Dave. I absolutely love this poem - you have captured the spirit of one of the old school of teachers who really inspired and who one remembers in such detail. If there was any good to come out of the war it was the number of crusty old teachers who were called back - I had one toom Miss Kirkbride - so you've also achieved making me recall her. I just love every word of it!The Weaver of Grasshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13947971556343746883noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2508563923634392703.post-66040050565074271542008-10-03T09:07:00.000+01:002008-10-03T09:07:00.000+01:00Carol,Welcome and many thanks for that. Yes I do c...Carol,<BR/>Welcome and many thanks for that. Yes I do check back - though I have been known to overlook the odd one for some time!<BR/>I shall certainly check themDave Kinghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08430484174826768488noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2508563923634392703.post-20554968216543918572008-10-03T09:04:00.000+01:002008-10-03T09:04:00.000+01:00Lucy,Yes there was such a teacher. I can't actuall...Lucy,<BR/><BR/>Yes there was such a teacher. I can't actually recall his name, but he was a Scottish gentleman and McTavish seemed to me to fit him very well. The majority of the regular teachers had been called up for the war effort. Mr McTavish, I think, did a passable job, mainly on the strength of his great passion for everything, though I don't know how he would have survived today's <A HREF="http://www.ofsted.gov.uk/" REL="nofollow">Ofsted</A> inspectors - or perhaps they would not have survived him! To the best of my memory he was liked by the pupils - I certainly liked him.<BR/><BR/>I had not heard the remark about existentialism being more a matter of style, but I certainly think I can see what it is driving at. Thanks for that.Dave Kinghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08430484174826768488noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2508563923634392703.post-53122292100986077152008-10-03T08:52:00.000+01:002008-10-03T08:52:00.000+01:00SorlilTa!Sorlil<BR/>Ta!Dave Kinghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08430484174826768488noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2508563923634392703.post-32005646688551814092008-10-02T21:26:00.000+01:002008-10-02T21:26:00.000+01:00I enjoyed reading this and loved the ending. I don...I enjoyed reading this and loved the ending. I don't know whether you check comments that are posted late, but I've also responded to your previous two postings.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2508563923634392703.post-74443360199970738512008-10-02T19:47:00.000+01:002008-10-02T19:47:00.000+01:00Did you really have such a teacher?! The blue pate...Did you really have such a teacher?! The blue patent shoes and plus-fours sound astonishing, what an amazing place your childhood was!<BR/><BR/>The last post was interesting too; I often think of the period you speak of as one quite preoccupied with style; it's been said for example that existentialism was more of a style than a serious philosophy for most of its followers - but I suppose they would have denied this as seeming to belittle their earnestness...Lucyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09764296105901909328noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2508563923634392703.post-34349763125965216922008-10-02T19:23:00.000+01:002008-10-02T19:23:00.000+01:00Lol! I like your Scottish accent.Lol! I like your Scottish accent.Marion McCreadyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04657757253873577465noreply@blogger.com