Tuesday 19 January
Will boys never learn? I had put up a large notice on the board, entitled SOCKS, warning boys that anyone who didn’t wear the school socks in the prescribed fashion, pulled right up, could expect ‘serious consequences’. Did I have to spell out what I meant? Not twenty-four hours after I posted the notice, I caught Ross Junior – one of the dimmer boys in the Remove, which is saying something – with his socks around his ankles, summoned him to my study, flexed my cane, told him to take down his trousers and he had the cheek to look surprised, even indignant! I gave him six of the best for not wearing his socks properly and four ‘extras’ for being a total moron. Harsh, but effective, I fancy, judging from the tears welling up in his eyes.