| Martin writes: "Phyllis Lapthorn (Marris) attended Bedales nearly a century ago. I remember her taking me to visit The Chief (J.H. Badley himself) in 1967 and being given a pink sugar mouse - I'm afraid the only thing I remember is the mouse (yummy!). Phyl was a Fabian, a socialist, a suffragette (I wonder whether she chained herself to the railings?), and an unforgettable person.
"Twenty-nine years ago (Nigel?) Kershaw (son of a TORY MP!) played the slow movement of Mozart's clarinet concerto at a memorial service for Phyl in Lupton Hall. I still can't listen to this piece without dwelling on Phyl. "A mild regret. I am a Third Generation Bedalian. But it is now clear that this is the end of the line. I cannot afford to send my kids to Bedales, and even if I had the wherewithal, I cannot conceive of sending my children to boarding school and neither can Jane. Sorry!" |
