Cadena Café, Reading I am so pleased that you have such wonderful memories of your visits to Cadena Cafe. I have the privilege to say that my connections with the Cafe go back to 1951 when my father moved from Richmond to take up the position of head chef, he remained there until its closure. I also worked with my dad during college holidays but remember the times after school and a haircut that my sister and I would climb the back stairs to the kitchen for a milkshake and biscuit before going home with dad on the bus. I still have a set of teapot,hot water jug, sugar bowl and milk jug, pieces of crockery and, even, a China teapot. Thank you for sharing your memories.
By today’s standards I’m pleased someone from the teaching fraternity has admitted and spoken about the perverse and needless punishments issued by teachers on young boys. Even by older children under the guise of a rank in the combined cadet force. I witnessed the horrors and trauma it left on those children subjected to physical and verbal attacks. I have often thought about going to the police. By today’s policing and teaching standards there may be multiple cases to answer for as you have partially detailed in your song. Which seems to glorify condone the brutality that was OSH under potter’s watch and implemented by himself as well.
Kevin Mulqueen asks ... U wrote: "Which seems to glorify condone the brutality that was OSH under potter’s watch and implemented by himself as well." I was there during Potter's first 8 years. I an not aware of "the brutality that was OSH under potter’s watch and implemented by himself as well". I have always thought Potter was the new broom that cleaned up the mess left behind by Sheppard.
Requesting your stories for a book! Hi Kevin. I wanted to thank you for your account of your time at OSH. I'm writing a novel based on an Old Boy who was a boarder between Sep 1964 and July 1971 and I would be very keen to hear from anyone who has any memories of being at the school during this time. I am particularly interested to hear of any recollections anyone has of the day-to-day life of the school, the teachers, the bullying or any of the bizarre, surreal or funny things that happened (particularly in relation to the geography teacher, Derek Steadman/Steedman, who joined around 1967 and left under a cloud in 1970), the activities of the CCF (+ band), what it was like to live in such a place as the world outside changed so radically. Anything really! I had thought that I would only write a few chapters of the early life of this former boarder as my focus is actually on what he did after. However, this has snowballed as I learn more about the weirdness of the school and what he did during his time there.
OSH from 1975 - 1980 Hi Mr Mulqueen, I remember you vividly ad our English teacher, you were very inspiring. Some of that passion for literature must have rubbed off. I am a book worm (mainly non fiction). I am now 59 years old and live in Wolverhampton so stayed near to my roots, though I did live in London from 83 - 89. The old photos you posted are superb and bring memories flooding back.
Take Care,
Tim Doran (Stone House)
A Find I'd forgotten all about this story and I was happy to read it again. Thanks for posting it. It prompted me to find the book it came from - From The Top Deck published by Oxford University Press in 1989. You have given me an idea - perhaps I should collect the various short stories I have written and post them on my website for teachers to use. Kind regards, Nigel Hinton
A Find I'd forgotten all about this story and I was happy to read it again. Thanks for posting it. It prompted me to find the book it came from - From The Top Deck published by Oxford University Press in 1989. You have given me an idea - perhaps I should collect the various short stories I have written and post them on my website for teachers to use. Kind regards, Nigel Hinton
Hatherley Road Have very much enjoyed reading your reminisces of your home in Hatherley Road and the surrounding area. We lived next door at No. 34 for a short time before work took us abroad and we have been based outside the UK for many years. I am very interested in the history of our house and the street and local area. If you have any research tips or background information I would be most grateful. Best regards from a former neighbour.
Such an exotic place in dreary Reading So lovely to read your blog. In reply to a fb post on early memories myself and another both independently remembered being taken there as children. For me the smell was a big thing, and maybe the unusual
design and decor. Going there was a real treat
"Cud" Bradley Kevin, your blog was very interesting, thank you for posting it. I didn't take up English after the "O" Levels in 1976 and I left after the "A" Levels two years later, so I'm afraid I don't remember you. Didn't you replace "Dozy" Wood? I would like to go more in depth about my stay at OSH, but wanted first address what you alluded to concerning "Cud" Bradly's sexual perversion. I was molested by him myself when I was in Prospect House (aged 11), and although it was not for want of trying, I am thankful to say he never succeeded in raping me (that didn't stop me being constantly terrified to be alone in the dormitory in case he should walk in). I do know, however, he successfully raped at least one pupil in Prospect House, which was for the stirling prize of 50p, his going rate at the time! I can't, at least for the moment, quote that pupil's name here but I have often wondered about him and whether he recovered from that experience psychologically. I have searched him many times on the Internet but unfortunately he has the same name a famous British actor, so all I get is the actor in the search results. Like me, this pupil never discussed his experience until several years later when we were both in the 5th form. When the upper 6th formers heard about it they held their own investigation and apparently uncovered many more cases. I was just a mere 5h former "grunt", so I never followed it up, but I believe nothing came of it (probably through fear of the repercussions). In any case, "Cud" Bradley died that year, so I guess they decided there was no need to take it further. I happen to disagree with them, because although I survived the incidents without any serious long term psychological effects, I am pretty sure many other of his victims were not so fortunate, and some may have been psychologically scarred for life. If anyone else has had experiences of a similar nature, please let us know. The fact that it is now 50 years later after the incidents took place will not make it any easier for some of the victims of this monster.
I sympathize ... I read with horror your memories of Cud Bradley. He died before I arrived at OSH in 1975. I taught English alongside Bob Wood for several years until he retired. There is nothing we can do about Bradley now that he is dead. I feel very sorry for you and for all the others that Bradley molested. Thank you for sharing.
Caneful memories I wonder if anyone actually went through their time at OSH without a slippering or caning?
Even me, a fairly innocuous student, got slippered twice. Once by Dave Tustin, in a “mass slippering” of everyone in the vicinity of his wooden hut (where he teached “digging”) after a few stray snowballs had bounced off the windows of his classroom. And once, for the first time, by “Poke” Prince; my fellow classmates (bless them) had decided that, as I’d never been slippered by anyone before, to be socially acceptable I just had to get slippered. Mr Prince was quite agreeable to this and with very little persuasion gave me two good strokes (he didn’t hold back, it really hurt!). So, I was actually slippered for the simple reason that I’d never been slippered before! Seems quite reasonable.
One caning incident that always makes me chuckle when I look back (the boy who got caned probably wouldn’t have such fun memories) involved Jeremy Christian Brookes. In an exercise involving the use of the conditional tense in French, a pupil (whose name I do remember, but won’t embarrass him, should he stumble on your blog, as I did) in response to the question “What would you say to the teacher” had replied, in French, with “I would say balls to the teacher!”. He’d thought it funny, but JCB took this as an inexcusable insult and called him out to be suitable punished by a good caning. As JCB didn’t possess his own cane (probably not senior enough to have been issued one) he went next door to borrow Mr Longstaff’s trusty weapon. Along with the cane came Mr Longstaff to offer his wealth of experience in beating young boys and proceeded to flap around and attempt to instruct a very irate JCB in how to position the boy, hold the cane, angle of attack, etc. To which JCB turned to him and said “Mr Longstaff, if you would kindly return to your classroom, please, and let me be. I’m quite capable of beating my own pupils!” A classic line! Brian Gouldney OSH 1972-79
Stanza for Mr Mulqueen Hi Kevin, Listened to it on Youtube today and it really made me laugh. I see there is a stanza for you above, but I couldn't resist having a go myself:
"Young Paddy Mulqueen enthralled us with Roald Dahl and Graham Green,
Yes, young Paddy Mulqueen enthralled us with Roald Dahl and Graham Green,
And his old brown corduroy trousers
That had never had a clean!"
I'm sure you can retaliate if you want. I had unwieldly hair, which you one commented looked like a brillo pad (mentally scarred me for life!) so you can work with that maybe.
Thanks, Brian! Loved your stanza, Brian. Great that you remember my brown corduroys (which, as you say, were rarely washed) and my love of Roald Dahl and Graham Greene. I hope you are well. I am still teaching full-time at the age of 70 - at the Australian International School in HCMC. Look me up if u ever come to Vietnam. I apologize for my brillo pad comments and will buy you a beer when you come! .
Memories of maths class Old Kreuk was famous for his “pull”, which involved twisting and pulling your sideburns if you couldn’t understand anything or misbehaved. Great maths teacher though, who did generally treat most pupils with respect (as long as you understood everything the first time!). I remember when pocket calculators first appeared, he used to impress us by doing calculations faster in his head than we could input them in the calculator. When Dennis Haggett used to teach us and he couldn’t solve the maths problem he’d written on the blackboard (he was never that great at maths) he’d either get me or Nick Mansell to finish it or say, “let’s get the Baron in” as he used to refer to Kreuk, “and have a laugh”. He’d then proceed to change one key parameter on the blackboard, so that the answer in the textbook was unobtainable, and let Kreuk get more and more frustrated (the veins in his head used to pulse alarmingly!) as he struggled to solve the unsolvable problem! Old Kreuk fell for it every time, much to our amusement, while Haggett just took the opportunity to fall asleep in his chair. Great blog Mr Mulqueen! Brian Gouldney OSH 1973-79
I learned this evening that Steve had died. We had exchanged emails for the last eight or so years but he had not mentioned his health issues. We attended college together in the seventies. Him more so than me. We had had some great times with a number of like minded students all being up for a good time. I reconnected with Steve after I suffered an XL heart attack and had a defib put in my chest. I’m not into social media etc but found him via Facebook and my first message tentatively enquired if he was the Steve Clayton ex resident of Clee spur A, Worcester college. He replied by saying who else did you think it was you welsh c***. I knew l had found my man. Over the years many emails were exchanged but l had no clue of his deteriorating health. Your post above is excellent and l would echo all of your sentiments and observations. I now know from you his cause of death and tip my hat to his attitude. The last email he sent me simply said, “Just back home mate after a shite experience!” My condolences to his family. RIP Steve Clayton.
I learned this evening that Steve had died. We had exchanged emails for the last eight or so years but he had not mentioned his health issues. We attended college together in the seventies. Him more so than me. We had had some great times with a number of like minded students all being up for a good time. I reconnected with Steve after I suffered an XL heart attack and had a defib put in my chest. I’m not into social media etc but found him via Facebook and my first message tentatively enquired if he was the Steve Clayton ex resident of Clee spur A, Worcester college. He replied by saying who else did you think it was you welsh c***. I knew l had found my man. Over the years many emails were exchanged but l had no clue of his deteriorating health. Your post above is excellent and l would echo all of your sentiments and observations. I now know from you his cause of death and tip my hat to his attitude. The last email he sent me simply said, “Just back home mate after a shite experience!” My condolences to his family. RIP Steve Clayton.
I've been teaching English for 48 years - in England, Egypt, Tanzania, Argentina, Venezuela, Ghana and now Vietnam. At 71, I'm still going strong and have no wish to retire. I enjoy my job, which gives me plenty of time to relax and travel. In toto, I've visited 66 countries. I'm married to a Vietnamese woman and have been living in Ho Chi Minh City since 2001.
Outside of work I am a chess fanatic (Tanzanian National Champion in 1991), devotee of blues and jazz music, imbiber of fine malt whiskies (especially from Islay), bibliophile (Shakespeare, Thomas Hardy, Brian Moore, Philip Larkin, Di... full info
Heather Winter
non-member comment
Cadena Café, Reading
I am so pleased that you have such wonderful memories of your visits to Cadena Cafe. I have the privilege to say that my connections with the Cafe go back to 1951 when my father moved from Richmond to take up the position of head chef, he remained there until its closure. I also worked with my dad during college holidays but remember the times after school and a haircut that my sister and I would climb the back stairs to the kitchen for a milkshake and biscuit before going home with dad on the bus. I still have a set of teapot,hot water jug, sugar bowl and milk jug, pieces of crockery and, even, a China teapot. Thank you for sharing your memories.