Thursday 21 October 1952
Will boys never learn? You would have thought that Bagshaw would have thought twice about breaking school rules after his last visit to my study, less than a week ago. I gave him a good hiding with my heaviest strap and you would have thought he would have learnt his lesson. Not a bit of it! There he was again in the Friday afternoon queue of boys waiting to feel the wrath of their headmistress. ëBagshaw, remind me what I said to you after our last interview,í I said, icy calm. ëíThat next time it would be the c‑cane,í he stammered. ëAnd?í I said. ëAnd on the b‑bare b‑bottom,í he said, in a nervous whisper. †ëThen what are you waiting for, your stupid boy?í I snapped, indicating the chair over which it was customary for boys to bend. As he lowered his pants, I was glad to see that the marks of his strapping were still there. I like to leave a mark. No point in thrashing boys otherwise. And I was about to leave six more…