Shawnigan Lake School - Yearbook (Shawnigan Lake, British Columbia Canada)

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Shawnigan Lake School Magazine « Prisoners of War » THE lives of prisoners of war in various parts of the world are little known. Whether they are badly treated or not, we can- not say, but in Japan I know that some prisoners have gone through a pretty harsh time. From civilians interned in Japan, and recently returned under an exchange agreement, I have received a full account of their live3 in a Japanese prison. The cells in which they were confined were eight feet by five feet in size, with a bed, table, and seat. The cells were clean and light but for warmth depended on the sun. A basin with a cold water tap was provided for the cleanliness of the pris- oners. Some pots and pans, mattresses and buckets were also pro- vided, but the rest of the necessary utensils and bedding had to be supplied from the internees ' homes. The prisoners were responsible for the housework in their own cells. Many, like my father, were fortunate in having faithful servants who supplied them with fresh food. These vegetables and fruits helped to supplement the prison fare of bread and one hard-boiled egg per day. The only entertainment allowed was reading and books arrived about January, 1942. Sometimes a Buddhist priest would play symphonies on a gramophone but this was discontinued in January. The prisoners were not allowed any exercise until January. This exercise consisted of a short solitary walk three times a week. All prisoners were in solitary confinement and were forbidden under penalty of slapping to talk to others. Baths were to be had once a week and bed-clothes were changed about once a month. Haircuts and shaves were very rare indeed. The jailers were harsh in their manner towards the prisoners because of their intense hatred of the foreign races. But a few were as friendly as they dared be. The treatment of individual prisoners can be well shown by the fact that so many men suffered physical injury and disease in these prisons. Some have been known to com- mit suicide. At times when the prisoners were brought together, they were forced to disguise themselves and were forbidden to recog- nize each other. The obvious plan of the Japanese was so to bully and annoy their captives as to give them no peace. These, as I have been told, are the conditions of the civilian prisoners in Japan. Whether the conditions are worse or better in other parts of the world, we cannot tell. We do know, however, that the life of a Japanese prisoner in Canada or the United States is luxurious in comparison with that of an English prisoner in Japan. — E. C. M. E. [ 16 ]

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Shawnigan Lake School Magazine Trumpet Tune Purcell F. Stainsby The Spanish Main Tatton Wi ' a Hundred Pipers Old Scottish Song Jerusalem ( Blake ) Parry o « The Rag Concert » 111 Annual Laugh has come and gone! Not that we get no other laughs during the year — far from it — but only once do we engage in hectic efforts to keep the School and its friends in laughing mood for one whole evening. Yet, Ave must confess, it was no laughing matter that proved most worthy of our applause. The Juniors and Mrs. Manson must be congratulated for an excellent presentation of The Pied Piper. ' The lines were well and clearly spoken, and the costuming was appropriate and pleasing. The Tall, Tall Castle ' a mime produced by the Lower Fifth, was notable for skillful musical effects which most clearly depicted the said castle ' s enormous height, and for a very satisfactory ending, in which the timely deaths of all the other characters, including his beloved, left the hero with greatly enhanced material prospects. Lochinvar, by the Sixth, was intended to contain digs at the staff, but at least one eminent authority appreciated it as a most effective satire on the staff of a neighbouring girls ' school! For a few minute ' s before the appearance of the next item, Cap- tain Palin and Mr. Tgnatieff, for no apparent reason, shivered on the stage in nightshirts, and tried to keep warm by strangely inade- quate P.T., together with lamentations about the loss of their pyjamas. They were followed by Lake ' s House in Jumping Jupi- ter, a comment on the — alas ! — often reprehensible behaviour of the more notorious Roman deities. Ripley ' s House then proceeded to demonstrate that Roman deities were not the only people inter- ested in beer and skittles. That taste, according to Mice and Men, had spread as far even as a certain Ripington ' s House in a school, intriguingly left unnamed. Groves ' House ended the programme on a note perhaps unusually serious for a Rag Concert. Their play Mateo Falcone was a pic- ture of Corsica n family life. [ 15 ]

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Shawnigan Lake School Magazine « A Bullfight » IT IS a glorious day, a bright summer Sunday afternoon in the middle of January, and the grandstands at the Plaza del Toros bull arena are jammed with thousands of spectators. The band is playing a medley of tunes as we settle into our seats and survey the motley crowd on all sides. But we have only a few seconds for such diversion as the main gate swings open to admit the initial parade of bull fighters. In this parade we» can distinguish mata- dors, banderilleros, picadores, chulos and the triple mule team used to drag the carcasses of slain bulls and horses from the arena. The main body of men soon depart leaving only the picadores in charge. The latter wear yellow jackets and their legs are enclosed in leather-covered steel armour for protection against the bull ' s horns. They are armed with stout garroehas or pikes and their horses are obviously in poor condition. A high official now throws the keys of the toril or bull cell to a man in the arena, the picadores mount their horses, the door of the toril opens and the bull charges into the centre of the arena. The first suerte is on ! The bull, enraged by an iron pin which has been stuck in its shoulders and which bears the breeder ' s colours in long streamers, charges the first picador. This man hurls his garrocha to hit the back of the bull, hoping to divert its attention from. himself to another picador. But his plan fails and he ' ll need all his luck as he and his horse have been overthrown by the bull ' s mad rush. Chulos now quickly enter and succeed in diverting the bull ' s attention from the fallen picador, who escapes. The remaining picadores enter into the fray and the bull has repeated his initial success a number of times when a trumpet blast announces the finish of the first suerte. The pica- dores now retire, leaving the mule team to drag dead and wounded horses from the arena. The bull, temporarily alone in the ring, paws the ground until the banderilleros (footmen) enter. Each man carries two bander- illas or barbed darts eighteen inches long and gaily ornamented with coloured paper. The first man takes up his position about twenty yards from the bull. The animal charges but the man waits until it is within reach, then stepping quickly aside to avoid the horns he plants his banderillas in the bull ' s neck. Other banderilleros take up the task in turn until four pairs of darts are fixed in the bull ' s neck. By this time the bull appears greatly maddened and con- siderably weakened in preparation for the third and last suerte. A blast of the trumpet marks the end of the second suerte, and the banderilleros retire without mishap. A tense air of expectancy is evident in the onlookers as the matador enters the ring. His dress is somewhat like that of the banderilleros ; he wears a short jacket and small clothes richly embroidered in silver and gold. Silk stockings cover his legs and [ IT ]