Merry Days (not)

posted by Dianne on 01 May 2020 at 5:20 am

For no reason at all I stumbled on this site and had an immediate flashback to "Merry Days" on Cantelupe Road. It was run by Mrs. Auer and Miss Warner whose love for their terriers,Toby and Towzer, definitely did not extend to their primary students. I was there in the late 1960s - one of very few children of color or other ethnicity (my sister was Hazel and there was a Jamaican group of sisters for a short while whose surname was Myrie, and then Italian sisters Sonia and Sara Biagioni) and they made life for us a living hell. I vividly remember as a 7-year-old the unpalatable food, being given fresh underwear only once a week, the disproportionate punishments, being yelled at and publicly humiliated. It was a nightmare of Dickensian proportions.

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I Loved Merrydays

posted by Lesley Beverley on 26 Jun 2020 at 12:54 pm

So sorry to see your post- I was at Merrydays from age 3-6 and 9-11. I accept rules were strict but I loved the daily walks in the countryside and by the sea. I also have fond memories of the food- porridge with your initial in sugar, old fashioned fried bread & bacon, cold meat with mash & lettuce! The tuition was far above that in offer at my local primary - as I found out during age 6-8.
My times there were with the background of family breakdown and mum with mental health problems so, for me, it was wonderful.

Merrydays.A Complete Misnomer.

posted by Alan Brewster on 07 May 2021 at 9:48 am

Hi I was there about 1955/56.Uniform was purple hat and blazer with a silver embroidered M and S.Not much learning when I was there.Mrs Auer was very aloof and strict.Luckily Ms Warner was a warmer person with golden orange hair,a bit like her spaniel Meekus.I guess I was lucky to escape the slipper beating,Gaye Powell.The sweetie cupboard was my downfall.I helped myself and got caught.I had to confess to the terrier Miss Tammy in the piano room and was threatened with the police station across the road.
The best memories were the spoonfuls of malt,the nightly soup in a beaker with a finger of bred and butter.

Early 60’s Merrydays

posted by Pauline Fuller on 13 Jun 2021 at 6:46 am

I was at Merrydays with my sister Sally. Yes the uniform was purple and we wore a beret. Yes they were strict but I remember the summers on the beach. Our mid morning dip in the sea. Collecting shells and making shell dolls. We had a music and French teacher. I did go back to the school long after it had closed and it was sad to see the builders in and renovating the property into luxury flats. I loved the garden and the orchard.

Early 60’s Merrydays

posted by Pauline Fuller on 14 Jun 2021 at 7:39 am

I was at Merrydays with my sister Sally. Yes the uniform was purple and we wore a beret. Yes they were strict but I remember the summers on the beach. Our mid morning dip in the sea. Collecting shells and making shell dolls. We had a music and French teacher. I did go back to the school long after it had closed and it was sad to see the builders in and renovating the property into luxury flats. I loved the garden and the orchard.

Merrydays 1960's

posted by GAYE POWELL on 14 Jan 2022 at 5:19 am

my brother and I were at Merrydays (not merry). We are Nick Jenner and Gaye Jenner, for several years from 1965. I can remember Julia Spragg, Shirley Squibb, Andrew Yakavu (bad spelling), my brother can remember Nick Burrows. it really was Dickensian, yes Miss Auer and Miss Warner loved the two little dogs but not so much the students ! I remember the freezing winters with one thin blanket, endless walks in the howling rain, awful food and hardly ever seeing our parents . We did pass 11+ with excellent grades though ! would LOVE to hear from any one else !