birdance
Our beautiful village school. Fossilized in green time. 1992
Years active, from 1900-1984. Destruction: 1995. In the beginning the original building was a work of high craftsmenship. Funded by the village council, eaves were of floral design and end ridges festooned in animals. There are no photos of the orginal school. But I hear it was sumptuous. This building was a government funded replacement and built in the 60s. It was basic, with two playgrounds. The other, further in, was erected later in the 70s. Fully furnished I recall watching the installation unfold. Swings, monkey bars, a merry go round and a giant slide. The slide was probably my favourite. We were too excited and couldnt wait. We climbed the stairs as workmen busied themselves around us and planted down our bottoms. We all slid down and landed at the bottom on our bottoms on raw, chunky earth that was far from finished. My memories of sleepy singing afternoons are of this school. My first return here was 1992. There, she lay, fossilized. I found it open and walked in. Inside, what greeted me were dwarfed desks and chairs laid thrown about as if the aftermath of a storm. But it was beautiful. The woodsy feel of the place oozed enchantment. For behind the school were the rice fields and extempore streams which were sanded and in the sand were freshwater clams...
Our beautiful village school. Fossilized in green time. 1992
Years active, from 1900-1984. Destruction: 1995. In the beginning the original building was a work of high craftsmenship. Funded by the village council, eaves were of floral design and end ridges festooned in animals. There are no photos of the orginal school. But I hear it was sumptuous. This building was a government funded replacement and built in the 60s. It was basic, with two playgrounds. The other, further in, was erected later in the 70s. Fully furnished I recall watching the installation unfold. Swings, monkey bars, a merry go round and a giant slide. The slide was probably my favourite. We were too excited and couldnt wait. We climbed the stairs as workmen busied themselves around us and planted down our bottoms. We all slid down and landed at the bottom on our bottoms on raw, chunky earth that was far from finished. My memories of sleepy singing afternoons are of this school. My first return here was 1992. There, she lay, fossilized. I found it open and walked in. Inside, what greeted me were dwarfed desks and chairs laid thrown about as if the aftermath of a storm. But it was beautiful. The woodsy feel of the place oozed enchantment. For behind the school were the rice fields and extempore streams which were sanded and in the sand were freshwater clams...