Harkness – MacGillivray Stories

When the whole trial had ended, everyone went back to their classrooms and continued class as if nothing happened – or at least we tried. Tom Cockfoster and some of the boys were still sniffling, but they tried to carry on. I tried to carry one, but it seems like I got carried towards Alice in Wonderland.

Other than the thought that I somehow didn’t get punished, another thought was nagging my brain, a much louder one:  Alice Lahtiff apparently has a very pretty face, despite being puffed with anger when she emerged from the storming of the girls’ ‘capitol’. This thought distracted me until class ended. Alice epitomised the unnamed girl in the nursery rhyme – ‘what are little girls made of? – ‘sugar and spice and everything nice’. This nagging thought became louder in the break time when we could play in the playground.

Despite the earlier divide between the boys and the girls during break time, some boys and girls actually play together after school. It is allowed, although it has its consequences. This ‘playground’ was no more than a narrow strip of gravel that encircled the school building. Usually, less than 10 children stay behind, so there isn’t much room for group ‘wars’ anymore. Boys and girls just play together harmoniously until one teases the other too much, and then it’s suddenly time to go home.

I don’t always stay behind in the playground, but today I did because I knew that Alice always does. Her looks captivated me, but more so, it was her bravery during the storming of the girls’ ‘capitol’. When I got there, Alice was already running around with some of our classmates.

Oh, Alice, Alice, Alice!!! My Alice! I was a child and she was a child. She was the light of my childish fantasy! Alice was tall, slim with skinny legs, and had thick, glossy, black hair with a fringe across her forehead. She has delightfully cheeky large brown eyes, pale white skin, and delicate features. I noticed that she typically casts off her shoes when playing in the playground, scampering around like some kind of gypsy girl. At this moment, I keep thinking how she’s like my very own ‘Alice in Wonderland’. 

Soon, I joined them and ran around the playground. As soon as I had become ‘it’, I had already set my eyes on Alice. I don’t know what got into my brain, but I suddenly exclaimed, “Alice! Slow down and let me kiss you!” 

It may have been due to the ‘Georgie Porgie’ nursery rhyme that has been ringing in my head all day – to ‘kiss the girls and make them cry’. 

“Georgie Porgie”  

Georgie Porgie, Puddin’ and Pie,
Kissed the girls and made them cry,
When the boys came out to play
Georgie Porgie ran away.

Of course, Alice didn’t slow down. She didn’t seem too enthusiastic about being chased and kissed by a silly boy. She ran away from the playground and went straight to the headmistress to report about my attempt to kiss her. 

The headmistress, Miss Whackalot, called us into a ‘criminal tribunal hearing’. As mentioned, the headmistress was a stern ruddy-faced woman in her 50s. She informed me of the seriousness of my ‘crime’, saying that if I tried to do the ‘chasing and kissing’ again, punishment would fall on me – that is, by smacking my bare bum across her knee! She didn’t need to be more believable, as I had already seen her whack quite a few bare boys’ bottoms at the ‘Storming of the girls ‘capitol’ tribunal and execution.’ 

So I nodded, apologized to Alice, and promised to obey the headmistress. 

I was never able to kiss Alice! Although, in retrospect, I think I kissed her on her sweet cheek. I felt the softness and warmth of her skin and the sweet smell of her thick, black hair. It is a memory I was never able to forget.  

¹⁰⁷  Alice Lahtiff lived down the road in Beechmill Drive on the right hand side – near Hob Hey Lane, where we later moved to.

¹⁰⁸  Apart from listening to this nursery rhyme at school, I also often used to listen to nursery rhymes on the radio with my mother on the ‘Listen with Mother’ programme – a BBC radio programme for children which ran between 16 January 1950 and 10 September 1982.

¹⁰⁹  “Georgie Porgie” is a very popular traditional English nursery rhyme, dating back to the 19th century. The lyrics of “Georgie Porgie” are a reference to the 1st Duke of Buckingham, the courtier George Villiers (1592–1628). The romantic story of George Villiers and Anne of Austria (Queen of France and the wife of King Louis XIII), also mentioned in the “The Three Musketeers” was almost overlooked as a result of his friendship with King James I.

He had a great influence over the King, helping also to arrange the marriage between Charles I (King James’s son) with Princess Henrietta Maria. He attracted the disapproval of the Parliament and finally he couldn’t take advantage of the King’s friendship and influence anymore. Edited from  https://allnurseryrhymes.com/georgie-porgie/ 12.11.2021.