This is a true story but the names have been changed if you recognise yourself then it’s probably you 🙂 Every school has a bully, ours was called Mr Trudd he was around forty five, we were twelve-years-old. He had a size ten plimsoll, we had our backsides. This was the 70’s so it was OK to beat us or cane us, it kept us in line 🙂
This wasn’t the problem, we were from a Bradford council estate so we spent a fair bit of time beating each other. No, the problem was his intolerance of the weak and the ‘different.’ He was our P.E teacher and my personal battle began on a sunny afternoon in the Gym. Mr Trudd loved circuit training and there appeared to be a hold up at the rope climbing exercise. I took a wander over and there was George, he was a rotund kid who obviously had some form of affliction, I mean this wasn’t overeating he was literally round. Mr Trudd was beating him with a wooden wedge because George wouldn’t climb the rope, as if he could, I mean he could hardly get out of a chair. But, he was holding up the circuit (a ‘Mr Trudd’ mortal sin). There was something about this poor little fat kid with red face, red eyes and tears streaming down his face that made Jack very angry, remember Jack 🙂
I have no idea what was in my head at the time, but I said. “I’ll climb it Sir, he’s holding up the line!” Trudd turned, George ran off and I climbed. When I got to the top I pulled myself over the beam and shouted down that I was stuck. OMG! Two hold ups in a matter of minutes. Trudds head became quite red and he began to shout. “What do you mean your stuck, lad?” “Don’t know Sir, I’m stuck.” “Un-bloody-stick yourself and get down here!” “Can’t Sir, I’m stuck.” This continued for about five minutes until he sent his star climber to help me down. Trudd had a quandary, he couldn’t beat me as it appeared to be some sort of emergency, so he announced the emergency was over and we resumed.
Now this episode gave me ideas. It wasn’t a conscious thing it was done on impulse, but I began to wage a war of non-conformity. Mr Trudd was like the P.E teacher in ‘Kes.’ but with an evil streak. When we played cricket in the school yard I hit the ball over the wall, a crime that got you sent off, but held up the game. In circuit training the line was held up constantly due to my mishaps 🙂 I got stuck on the bar, I fell off the horse, I tripped when we ran up and down the hall bringing everyone down behind me and on the high jump after knocking off the bar I lay motionless until Mr Trudd helped me to my feet. George had become insignificant 🙂 Then I made a fatal error, I was by far the best distance runner in the class. One day as I entered the home straight a hundred yards in front of everyone else and Trudd shouting encouragement I slowed down to cross the finish line 5th or 6th. That was too obvious; that deserved a beating 🙂 I began to think that maybe I couldn’t win so I told my Dad about his treatment of us all and he promptly wrote to the Headmaster, who showed the letter to Trudd. The next P.E lesson Trudd hauled me out in front of the class and said that I wouldn’t be doing P.E anymore until he had a letter of apology from my Dad. So that was the end of my athletic career.
But, in spite of Mr Trudd I came back eventually 🙂
You initiated flashbacks to high school PE class. Not athletic, not coordinated…and bullied.
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Yes PE was very stressful for some, luckily for me I was pretending 😀
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An authentic example of civil disobedience with an eventual happy ending. Thanks, Charlie.
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I had a history of civil disobedience even now some call me ‘monkey boy’ 😜 Thank you 😀
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Quite something for a 12yo to do. Well done Charlie 🙂
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Thanks Ralph I often wonder what happened to him 😀
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Too funny! Reblogging to sister site “Timeless Wisdoms”
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Awww bless you and thank you very much 😀
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Ooh, a countryboy blessing! I’ll take it! 😊
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Great post Charlie. I relate to you thoughts. Our rugby teacher used to play for Wasps and had to have another job in the school so was nominally a Maths teacher. Every summer he’d give reams of Maths holiday work without fail. And every September he’d say that he had been on a tube train with the holiday work, but had forgotten his bag on the platform. Every summer, it had been blown up by the Bomb Squad on the platform in a controlled explosion. This was the 1970’s when the IRA were the Islamic state of the time. I am totally with you here, Charlie. I think I am of a similar age to you, and that is exactly what PE teachers were like at that time. Complete nasty bastards. But like you, we got our own back on those sadistic bastards. When he bawled us out because there was not enough aggression in the maul on the rugby field and went in himself to show us how to do it, he came out with a bleeding and broken nose. They may have been nasty bastards but we sure took our chance to give some back when we could.
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Excellent and I just remembered he was a Maths teacher too but not mine thank god 😀
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You brought me back to my abject failures in rope climbing 20 years ago!
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It was a tricky thing to master, I hope the memories weren’t all bad 😀😀
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Sitting here with many thoughts of ‘kudos to you’ running through my head. Every little bullied boy would have loved you by their side! You may have only been a boy, Charlie, but, boy oh boy; what a great kid you were.
Well, you made it through. And it seems you haven’t really changed.
Seems Equality & Diversity, Charlie, has been in your blood – always! 🙂
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Thank you Carolyn, poor old George never realised he thought I had metamorphosed into a bumbling oaf lol.
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Nice story. Yes, but we do learn from such bullying
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Yes, don’t go to bad schools 😜
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I’d never climb..u r kinda brave lol
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Thank you, but like everything there’s knack to it, always appreciate your comments 😀
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I was bullied
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It can have quite devastating affects 😔
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Yes it does
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You made me recall an overzealous gym teaching shouting to the boys not to let us girls get away with anything – then one fellow knocked a girl out with the dodge ball, direct hit to the head. Great article 🙂
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Thank you, that’s terrible, lucky for girls mine was a boys school I dread to think what he would have been like if he had girls in his class 😜
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Charlie, you are hereby nominated for The Liebster Award! Check out my link for more details.
https://wordpress.com/post/siebelinkjohn.wordpress.com/261
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Reblogged this on The Silver Pen.
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Here in the US it seems bullying is just a right of passage…one I’m not very fond of.
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Yes it’s a detestable trait and with Facebook and Twitter etc it’s even easier to do.
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I know bullying is a serious topic and should not be taken lightly. But I couldn’t help chuckling at your campaign against this twit. Good for you well done!🤣🤣🤣
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Thank you for the comment, as you say it’s a serious subject, but nothing wrong with a little irony or humour sometimes 😀😀
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