Trafalgar School - Echoes Yearbook (Montreal, Quebec Canada)

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TO THE PEOPLE OVER THERE Oh, to be in England Now that April ' s there. So wrote the poet Browning About that land so fair. And English hearts are longing To glimpse old England ' s shore, And English voices pray now To see their land once more. And so do France ' s children, And bonny Scotland ' s pray. Theirs not this day of conflict, But theirs tomorrow ' s day. So, till the war is over And they can cross the foam They ' ll stay with us in Canada And make this land their home. We know not all the hardships That happen over there. That they will soon be over Is each Canadian ' s prayer. Their race will make no difference. From Alp to Pyrenee, From England or from Scotland, From islets of the sea. We ' ll welcome all these children. We ' ll do whate ' ver we may To fit them for to-morrow ' s task By helping them to-day. For Freedom ' s candle flickers. Snuffed at by cruel hand; Their task is to rekindle That flame in every land. Joyce Rankin, IIIb Fairley House. MY IMPRESSIONS OF CANADA LITTLE did I know, when I sailed from England last August, what a wonderful time I would have when I reached Canada. I think the thing that will remain most deeply impressed on us English people, is the wonderful kindness everyone showed to us. This meant so much, when we had had to leave our parents in England and to face a new and different life. In some ways Canada is so similar to England that occasionally I forget and imagine myself back again in my native country. This happens particularly when the weather is typically English — what you Canadians would call a nasty damp day! A number of people think that Canadian girls differ very much from those of England, but I disagree, although I must admit that Canadian girls seem to grow up sooner and become more independent at an earlier age than we do. But I am not at all sure that they gain anything by it. I think that Canadian schools on the whole are stricter and more rigid than those [20]

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GUESTS FROM OVERSEAS JANE BEEMAN ] MARCIA BEEMAN f MARGARET BOURNE ANTHEA CADBURY | VERONICA CADBURY ( MARIGOLD CHARLESWORTH DENISE CRAIG 1 SHIRLEY CRAIG | ELIZABETH ELDER JILL FITZCLARENCE MAEVE FOGT ) SONIA FOGT f SHELAGH FORBES DOREEN HARVEY JESSICA HORNIMAN PAMELA IRVINE ELIZABETH MAXWELL TATIANA ORLOFF ALICE PATON | MARLEIGH PATON | PEGGY PEGRAM FRANCOISE PLEVEN ) NICOLE PLEVEN } LYA POPPER EMMANUELE SALEM HAZEL SCOTT-ELLIS ARLENE WINTER FRANCES YOUNG NORAH YOUNG The Manor House, Limpsfield, Surrey. Berkhampstead Grammar School, Berkhampstead Herts. Edgbaston High School, Birmingham. St. James ' s School, West Malvern, Worcestershire. Sutton High School Sutton Surrey. Wellington School, Hatch End, Middlesex. Queen ' s College chool, Harley Street, London W.l. Bedgebury Park, Gouldhurst, Surrey. Belstead School, Aldeburgh, Suffolk. Queen Elizabeth ' s Grammar School, Barnet, Hertfordshire. Moira House, Eastbourne, Sussex. St. Helen ' s School, Northwood, Middlesex. Malvern Girls ' College, Great Malvern, Worcestershire. The Convent, Taunton, Somerset. Buchan School, Castletown, Isle of Man. The French Institute, London S.W.5. Birklands, St. Alban ' s, Hertfordshire. Cours Fenelon, Paris. Heathfield School, Ascot, Berkshire. St. Katherine ' s School, St. Andrew ' s, Scotland. St. Leonard ' s School, St. Andrew ' s, Scotland. [19]

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of England. The boarding school I was at allowed us more freedom, but we certainly did not work as hard ! I feel sure this will not be the opinion of all other English girls. The boys ' schools out here seem to be run on very much the same system as our Public Schools, but they still seem to stick to the old fagging system which has become much less severe in England and in some cases ceased during the last few years. Owing to the different types of climate, sports in the two countries are different. Ground Hockey and Lacrosse are played in girls ' schools at home during the winter terms; these two games are far more fun than Basketball, which is very similar to our game of Netball. But above all English sports I prefer the ski-ing in Canada. To me it is the best of all winter sports and I only wish we could transplant the Laurentians and the snow to England! The Canadian climate on the whole seems to me to be very pleasant, except for spring which is dreadful, just wet slush and no life anywhere. In England, however, it is the best time of year, the trees begin to bud, the birds to nest, in fact the countryside wakes up. I was amused to discover that the northern lights, seen practically every night over here, are exactly the same as the aurora borealis so rare in England. The camps which are run in the summer out here to enable children to get out of the cities in the hot weather are an excellent plan and I only wish that the idea would be taken up in England and so give the children living in the large cities healthy surroundings for a portion of the summer at any rate. I was horrified to discover that there was only one playhouse in Montreal; in London there are about as many theatres as there are movie houses. This is perhaps one of the things I miss most. And as for the Quebec law forbidding children under the age of sixteen to enter movie theatres, I think it is simply ridiculous. In England the films are graded into three classes, universal, which anyone may see, adult, to which children accompanied by an adult may go and horrific to which no children under sixteen may go. This system works very well and is a great deal more sensible than the Quebec system. The French Canadian houses, with the steps going up the outside of the houses., were something quite new to me; not even in France have I seen anything like it. The popular drink Coca-Cola has not become a wellknown drink in England and is very difficult to obtain; I amazed people when I came out, by drinking it and, what is more, liking it! On the whole my impressions of Canada are excellent, and I am enjoying my visit here immensely. But no one can blame me for preferring my own country! Jessica Horniman, Matric. II, Ross House. [21]