London South Collegiate Institute - Oracle Yearbook (London, Ontario Canada)

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20 L. S. C. I. ORACLE SHORT STORY CLUB In the past it has been felt that The Oracle has been perhaps, a trifle weak in Short Story material. To overcome this we interested a group of students in forming a Short Story Club, whose object was to provide more and better short story material. The first meeting was on September 24, and for seven weeks the budding scribes met every Thursday. The meetings were informal, but we were all glad to have Miss McCamus as our adviser. The first two sessions were used to discuss plots and to criticise those which we had written ourselves. On October 8, we were fortunate in having Miss May Clendenan as guest speaker. Her thorough knowledge of writing and welcome criticisms were in- valuable. In the next few meetings, the value of Miss Clendenan's talk was evident in the improved material submitted for discussion. On November 6, we were favored by a visit from Miss Beatrice Taylor. This was the best attended meeting for an invitation had been extended to any students who intended writing in The Oracle contest on November 7. Betty Porter, Margaret McCall, Bob Ford and Norman Farrow were the most consistent in attendance, being present at every meeting for seven weeks. On behalf of The Oracle Staff I wish to thank Miss Clendenan and Miss Taylor for their kind assistance and for acting as judges, along with Mrs. Carr- Harris, of the Oracle Short Story contest, and Trustee Mrs. john A. Rose, the donor of the cash prize. I -HUG11 THOMPSON, VA. HIGH SCHOOL EDITORS' CONVENTION On November 13 and 14 the sixth annual High School Editors' Convention, sponsored by the Sigma Phi Women's journalistic Fraternity of the University of Toronto, was held in Convocation Hall. After Sir Robert Falconer opened the convention, we heard interesting and instructive talks by prominent Canadian journalists, including Mr. Ted Reeve, of the Toronto Telegram, Miss Byrne Hope Sanders, editor of Chatelaine on Short-Story Writing, and Mr. Elton johnson, on Modern Advertising. On Friday morning we broke up into informal dis- cussion groups, this was, in my opinion, the most beneficial part of the conven- tion, for there we heard the difficulties of all the editors, and solutions offered by other members of the group. In the afternoon we toured the Toronto Star building. On Saturday morning there were more .interesting talks, including one by A. E. F. Allan, last year's editor of The Varsity, and a talk on magazine editing by Mr. J. F. White, editor of the Canadian Forum. Members of the groups then reported on the discussions of the various groups. This was followed by a talk on Dramatic Reviewing, by Miss Pearl McCarthy, Professor Sissons then delivered the closing address. Saturday afternoon we attended a performance of The Barretts of Wimpole Street, at the Royal Alexandra theatre. We congratulate London Central Collegiate, our friendly enemy, on winning the shield for the best cover design, which was presented at the banquet held Friday evening in the Arts and Letters Club. The members of the Sigma Phi Fraternity merit much praise for the smooth and business-like mann-er in which the convention was carried on. -N . D. F. gf ,.. 'Q-1, zz.: -'-'l' ' ' - --4- -- Y - - '-----fx.. 6 '11 u' , ....... - 1 - - 0 I L... , 4..- unqqa. 1 x

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22 L. S. C. I. ORACLE 44 if 37 9 By H. B. NoRToN Perhaps joseph Conrad had in mind such people as I when he wrote: They would be labelled as having passed through this and that place and so would be their luggage. My suit- case had just received another gaudy label in yellow and black. It bore the well-known likeness, bald and bearded, and also the legend, Paddington to Stratford-on-Avon, Great Western Rail- way, Shakespeare Express. They say that motor-buses are taking away the business from rail- ways in England no less than in Can- ada. One would never suspect it from the appearance of an English station on a Saturday morning, say Victoria or Paddington. London is being de- populated for the week-end. Queues are formed at all the booking-offices. Porters are plowing through the throng, loaded with valises, shawl-straps and what-have-you. One does not check baggage in England, one bribes a porter to stow it, either in the com- partment with the passengers, or in the guard's van, some distance up the train. Shunting engines are placing trains on adjacent tracks, and occasionally emitting the most ear- splitting shrieks yet devised by the ingenuity of man. But, Heaven be praised, it is 9:10, and we are moving. In England the 9:10 train leaves at 9:10. In two hours we are at Stratford, interviewing more porters, handing out more half-crowns. It is raining here, too--and yet-and how! Our bus goes along Henley Street past the birthplace. It is now a broad, tidy street-in decided contrast with those days when the elder Shakes- peare was fined for accumulating a garbage heap at his front door. The house is surrounded by a lawn and flower-garden. At the foot of the street 'is the river Avon,from whose Saxon Street ford the town is named. It is spanned by the sturdy Clopton stone bridge, built of many arches, and barely wide enough for vehicles to meet. . No Overtakingn says a warning sign. . . 1 Of course, Shakespeare is Stratfordls greatest industry. Much patient and persistent effort has been employed in authenticating relics and associations of the poet. For example, we are ad- jured to visit the Weir Brake. It is a pleasant walk through the mead- ows and along the river bank past the mill, under the railway embankment and up the hill. Expecting to find the original bank where the wild thyme blows, we find instead a luxuriant flora of broken pop-bottles and other debris. Another objective of all pilgrims is the New Place Museum. Everyone knows that Shakespeare purchased a somewhat pretentious property here when he retired to his native town in 1611, where he might rest from labor before his little life is rounded with a sleep. But nothing remains of New Place except a few grass-covered foun- dation stones, and the flower garden containing many varieties mentioned in the plays. The adjacent building, Nash's house, contains a museum of archaeological and other relics, some of which relate to the poet. The muni- cipal gardens adjoining at the rear are well worth a visit. 1 More relics are exhibited at the birthplace in Henley Street, among them some rare books and manu- scripts. The old rooms are an excellent re- construction, with their low ceilings, broad-planked flooring, diamond-paned easements and cosy ingle-nooks. Tradi- tion says the poet was born in one of the upper rooms. Yet the only six- teenth-century portion of the place is the cellar, according to a candid old janitress. Nevertheless, time has spared much. Few English towns can boast so many well-preserved, half-timbered houses as Stratford. First among them I should place the grammar school and adjoining row of alms houses. The boys had just left for lunch when I arrived, for in England july is, not a vacation month. The archway leads from the street to an inner 'quadrangle I