 My Junior school age 7 to 11 years |  Our cycling Proficiency Test. I'm in the front row. One of little boys behind me was a bully! |
I was 8 years old when I first experienced bullying, probably around the time this photo of the cycling proficiency test was taken! Thats me, in the front row, where the arrow is pointing. I remember that day well, I was so proud that I had passed my cycling test as I hadn't been cycling that long and was so excited to get a certificate!
Thats my little Welsh Junior school, cute isn't it.
One day in Mrs Lloyds class, there were 6 of us to a desk, I was busy coloring away on my paper when I heard a whimper to my left. I looked over and little Pamela was crying. I was alarmed that she was upset and so I asked her what was wrong. She didn't answer and kept sobbing into her handkercheif. The boy beside her was busy doing something under the table and when I looked under to investigate, he was kicking her, viciously, in the shin. I immediatly put my hand up and called "Miss!". He was severly repremanded and never dared lay a finger on little Pamela again! Wait...... there's more!
Thats my little Welsh Junior school, cute isn't it.
One day in Mrs Lloyds class, there were 6 of us to a desk, I was busy coloring away on my paper when I heard a whimper to my left. I looked over and little Pamela was crying. I was alarmed that she was upset and so I asked her what was wrong. She didn't answer and kept sobbing into her handkercheif. The boy beside her was busy doing something under the table and when I looked under to investigate, he was kicking her, viciously, in the shin. I immediatly put my hand up and called "Miss!". He was severly repremanded and never dared lay a finger on little Pamela again! Wait...... there's more!
The next time I experienced bullying, I was the victim! I was 13 years old, I'd discovered boys and us ladies were allowed to wear high heeled shoes to school with our school uniform! I was coming into that awkward stage, unsure of who I was, suddenly becoming self concious and extremly sensitive to any derogatory comments! So when a nice looking guy I fancied started spreading vicious rumours about me I was devastated! I started becoming withdrawn, skipped school and felt really unhappy. One day, I remember putting my make up on (LOL! I used to wear it at the weekend) stared into the mirror and began to cry and the mascara ran down my cheeks and stained my favorite blouse! After a couple of hours at my solo pity party, I made a decision that something must change and the only person that could do it was me!
So the next week I marched into school full of confidence, waiting for an opportunity to face my tormentor. Our first lesson was biology and I remember my teacher, Mr Jones, saying "in tomorrows class we are going to disect a pigs eye" my girlfriends and I squeeled and squirmed, all that could be heard were retorts of "errr gross" "thats discusting" "sick" etc. Mr Jones continued on over our protests
"you will need to go to the butchers and get the pigs eye, put them in the refridgerator over night and make sure you come in to class with them tomorrow.
After much discussion with the girls, we decided to go into town in our lunch break the next day and visit the indoor market to get our pigs eyes from the butcher.
When we got to the butchers stall he didn't seem at all phased by our unusual request and presented us with four fine eye specimens. A lightbulb clicked in my head and I suddenly found myself questioning " what other waste parts of the pig have you got back there?". The other girls were too preoccupied with their stash and started to walk away. I ran to catch up with them, holding a bag full of pig bits, 2 ears, 2 trotters and a tail!
"What's in the bag" asked one. I opened it and showed them, my mischievous friend Jane's eyes lit up! "oh my" she said "we can have some fun with this" "hmm hmm" I replied. "the first victim will be that nasty piece of work the needlework teacher, I'm going to put one of the ears in her desk drawer!". We all fell about laughing and returned to school just in time for the eye dissection biology class!
In our break after the biology class, Jane and I sneaked into the needlework teachers empty class. Jane was on watch, while I stealthily took one of my prize pigs ears out of the plastic bag and placed it on a small piece of gingham fabric in her desk drawer! "Huhh! that'll teach her for being so mean and bullying everyone" I said to Jane as we made our hasty retreat back to the rest of the girls waiting in the playground. (I think the influence of the Godfather must have been deeply rooted inside my psyche somewhere! At least it wasn't a horses head, not sure how I would have smuggled that into my satchel! Sorry Miss, I'd have been mean if I had to deal with us lot! We were terrors!)
Our last lesson for the day was geography, where us 4 girls sat in the row at the back. Half way through the lesson, Jane reached for the plastic bag with the pig bits in and grabbed the pigs tail. The teacher was busy writing something on the rotating plastic blackboard, with his back to the classroom full of pupils furiously copying what he was writing on the board. Out of the corner of my eye I saw Janes hand rise above her head as she took aim and threw the pigs tail at the teachers head, missing him by inches and hitting the blackboard he was writing on with a clap like gunshot, the tail ricoched off and landed limply on the floor. The poor teacher nearly had a heart attack. He spun around to a laughing and cheering class that was out of control.
Going over to the offending object, now on the floor, he picked it up not realising what it was and looked on curiosly until it dawned on him, then he errupted like a volcano. "who threw that" he roared. Well, I was nearly wetting myself laughing in the back seat and was desperatly trying to contain myself. Before we knew it he was onto us and marched up, tail in hand and brandished it in our faces. "If you were boys, I'd box your ears right now" he said, which made us erupt in giggles even more. He eventually turned and walked away, muttering to himself and trying to control the class back into some kind of order. Just then the bell went and everyone made a mad dash for the door, to get home.
As we came into the yard on the way to the school exit, I saw my goodlooking bully, standing chatting with his friend. Turning to Jane, I pushed my bag into her hand, grabbed the other pigs ear out of the other bag and said "wait here". I ran towards the bully, waving the pigs ear at him, l must have looked like a women possesed. He turned on his heels and started running away across the field, with me in hot pursuit, pigs ear in hand, high heels tearing up the turf beneath me. Then he could run no further, the creek was stopping him, so he took a heroic leap, only to miss the bank by inches, the other side and slip into the inch deep water below, trapped. As he scrambled up the bank to get out, I'd caught up. I threw the pigs ear at him, hitting him on the head, I turned and ran back to where the girls were waiting for me and cheering their new heroin on! I had defeated him and it made me feel so good.
The next day, I saw him in the yard and he came up to me and apologised for being so mean and spreading all those nasty untrue rumors. In the scramble up the bank, he'd grazed his hand and showed me the wound. I nervously giggled. Then, just like that, he said "would you like to go out with me?" We ended up dating for 7 years later on and he told me he really liked me and didn't know how to get my attention and thought that being nasty was the only way. Well it certainly got my attention. I took a stand and it worked in my favor. STAND UP, pigs may fly, but the strength you have within is much more magical. I had a happy ending, but others aren't so fortunate.
So the next week I marched into school full of confidence, waiting for an opportunity to face my tormentor. Our first lesson was biology and I remember my teacher, Mr Jones, saying "in tomorrows class we are going to disect a pigs eye" my girlfriends and I squeeled and squirmed, all that could be heard were retorts of "errr gross" "thats discusting" "sick" etc. Mr Jones continued on over our protests
"you will need to go to the butchers and get the pigs eye, put them in the refridgerator over night and make sure you come in to class with them tomorrow.
After much discussion with the girls, we decided to go into town in our lunch break the next day and visit the indoor market to get our pigs eyes from the butcher.
When we got to the butchers stall he didn't seem at all phased by our unusual request and presented us with four fine eye specimens. A lightbulb clicked in my head and I suddenly found myself questioning " what other waste parts of the pig have you got back there?". The other girls were too preoccupied with their stash and started to walk away. I ran to catch up with them, holding a bag full of pig bits, 2 ears, 2 trotters and a tail!
"What's in the bag" asked one. I opened it and showed them, my mischievous friend Jane's eyes lit up! "oh my" she said "we can have some fun with this" "hmm hmm" I replied. "the first victim will be that nasty piece of work the needlework teacher, I'm going to put one of the ears in her desk drawer!". We all fell about laughing and returned to school just in time for the eye dissection biology class!
In our break after the biology class, Jane and I sneaked into the needlework teachers empty class. Jane was on watch, while I stealthily took one of my prize pigs ears out of the plastic bag and placed it on a small piece of gingham fabric in her desk drawer! "Huhh! that'll teach her for being so mean and bullying everyone" I said to Jane as we made our hasty retreat back to the rest of the girls waiting in the playground. (I think the influence of the Godfather must have been deeply rooted inside my psyche somewhere! At least it wasn't a horses head, not sure how I would have smuggled that into my satchel! Sorry Miss, I'd have been mean if I had to deal with us lot! We were terrors!)
Our last lesson for the day was geography, where us 4 girls sat in the row at the back. Half way through the lesson, Jane reached for the plastic bag with the pig bits in and grabbed the pigs tail. The teacher was busy writing something on the rotating plastic blackboard, with his back to the classroom full of pupils furiously copying what he was writing on the board. Out of the corner of my eye I saw Janes hand rise above her head as she took aim and threw the pigs tail at the teachers head, missing him by inches and hitting the blackboard he was writing on with a clap like gunshot, the tail ricoched off and landed limply on the floor. The poor teacher nearly had a heart attack. He spun around to a laughing and cheering class that was out of control.
Going over to the offending object, now on the floor, he picked it up not realising what it was and looked on curiosly until it dawned on him, then he errupted like a volcano. "who threw that" he roared. Well, I was nearly wetting myself laughing in the back seat and was desperatly trying to contain myself. Before we knew it he was onto us and marched up, tail in hand and brandished it in our faces. "If you were boys, I'd box your ears right now" he said, which made us erupt in giggles even more. He eventually turned and walked away, muttering to himself and trying to control the class back into some kind of order. Just then the bell went and everyone made a mad dash for the door, to get home.
As we came into the yard on the way to the school exit, I saw my goodlooking bully, standing chatting with his friend. Turning to Jane, I pushed my bag into her hand, grabbed the other pigs ear out of the other bag and said "wait here". I ran towards the bully, waving the pigs ear at him, l must have looked like a women possesed. He turned on his heels and started running away across the field, with me in hot pursuit, pigs ear in hand, high heels tearing up the turf beneath me. Then he could run no further, the creek was stopping him, so he took a heroic leap, only to miss the bank by inches, the other side and slip into the inch deep water below, trapped. As he scrambled up the bank to get out, I'd caught up. I threw the pigs ear at him, hitting him on the head, I turned and ran back to where the girls were waiting for me and cheering their new heroin on! I had defeated him and it made me feel so good.
The next day, I saw him in the yard and he came up to me and apologised for being so mean and spreading all those nasty untrue rumors. In the scramble up the bank, he'd grazed his hand and showed me the wound. I nervously giggled. Then, just like that, he said "would you like to go out with me?" We ended up dating for 7 years later on and he told me he really liked me and didn't know how to get my attention and thought that being nasty was the only way. Well it certainly got my attention. I took a stand and it worked in my favor. STAND UP, pigs may fly, but the strength you have within is much more magical. I had a happy ending, but others aren't so fortunate.
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