I may have been because of this sweet being found, or some other reason, but the headmistress came into the classroom, armed with her cane, and commenced to give the mixed class a lecture. She then raised the cane high above her shoulder and whisked it down through the air, announcing: Listen to the sound of my cane cutting through the air, children.
Canes seemed to play an important part in the Chillington family. Her husband was a teacher at Denbigh Road Junior School. Apart from the headmaster, who was a sad sadist, he was the only teacher to have a cane. His favorite saying was: Do you want trouble boy? Well, I have got a yard of trouble here
There’s no doubt that just the idea of the cane was sufficient in my schooldays to instill obedience but we often wondered what it looked like and, indeed, felt like.