— Nona Parks ~ 1957-1964

We arrived back from leave on October 27, 1957, so I would have been back at Quarry Bay School in November; however I went to the Matilda Hospital in December to have my appendix out as it flared up when we were on leave ?

Me with Sashka Smirnoff on the lawn of Matilda Hospital, with an unseen Aberdeen in the background

I  felt fine after my operation and happy to run up and down the hundred or so steps to QBS, I partook in all sports events and plays and whatever else was on the curriculum  ?

Before our summer holidays in 1958 we had exams and they decided which stream we would end up in when we got to KGV in September.  I ended up in the B stream all the way through secondary school.

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During the mid-1950s I was instructed by my mother to accept any invitation I got to go and spend a weekend with Chucha when they lived in Shatin, Their house, owned by the PWD, was lovely and had a great view of the valley.

As you can see from the photo below, it was extremely rural at that time …

Playing ball with Chucha & her friend in the Yatskins’ garden in Shatin

Uncle Michael used to take us down to the inlet of the Shing Mun River to go snorkelling and that was something I absolutely HATED ?  I’d ask if I could stay home with Auntie Jenny but my request was always refused. Boo!

We had to put T-shirts over our bathing suits and pull on white string gloves before walking onto the squelchy, muddy inlet and getting our snorkelling gear on. I could feel little creatures wriggling under my foot.  When I had to put my face into that water I almost had a panic attack every time!

There wasn’t much to see in that muddy environment but Michael would find something to pick up and put into our hands; I remember one time he picked up a really fat squishy sea cucumber for us to handle and when he put it into my hand, I was so disgusted by it that I dropped it back into the water. He was not pleased with me ?

I never warmed to him, his mother (who lived with them) nor to my cousin.  A sad state of affairs ?

This video shows my family and Sasha when we went to their house a couple of years earlier. My mother had given my 3-wheeler to Chucha when I grew out of it and we kids were all fooling around on it, while Sasha was busy flying a kite. It looks like the oldies were also happy to fool around as well!! ?

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Ballet Lessons

I hated my body when I was 11 through 13 – I shot up like a weed, seemed to put on weight and was awkward and gawky.  My hair also wouldn’t be tamed so looked horrible!  You can take adolescence and shove it IMHO ?

I know I used to kerlunk from left to right when I walked, and I felt like a swaying elephant. My mother used to put a book on my head and make me walk up and down the corridor to try and stop me from walking so badly but it didn’t really help, so she decided I needed deportment lessons to become graceful! ?

Mrs Cohen was a Russian lady who taught ballet and had a studio in Causeway Bay, near the Hoover Theatre, so mom booked me in for Sunday mornings and Lindy had to take me there for my lessons.

I can’t remember why Lindy also joined me in the lessons as she definitely didn’t need deportment lessons but I must say it was fun to have her there with me.

We had to stand with our hands on the bar around the room and Mrs Cohen would give us instructions as to what to do.  Lindy and I had to bite our lips when Mrs Cohen would order us to point our “finigers” when she meant toes!!

The girl on the right would have been me!! ?

It was especially difficult for Lindy and me to keep a straight face when we stood at opposite ends of the middle bar and had to walk towards each other “pointing our finigers” ?  I’m sure Mrs Cohen could see us shaking as we were trying so hard not to laugh!

I can’t remember how long I had to go to these lessons – it seems like it was an eternity but I think mom finally caved in to my begging and stopped making me go there after 4, or maybe 6, Sunday mornings!

Can’t say I felt I was less of a poombah after my deportment lessons but perhaps they helped when I was older ?

Even though Lindy and I had little in common when I was a kid, it was great to have an older sister as I was pretty au fait with the latest pop songs and movie actors of that time.  Lindy would buy the latest 78s and play them at home, so I was always up-to-date with the latest songs, etc!

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Outings with School Friends

Was friends with Valerie Knight during the first and second forms and she was very nice but she was very, very short!!  Of course it wasn’t her fault that she was a shrimp but nor was it my fault for being a giant ?

On her birthday, she had a boat picnic – she’s sitting on the left hand side with me next to her – and some of the other friends who were invited were (L-R) Rosie Bunton, two little kids, Ingrid van Schultz and Bonny Robbins.  No idea who those little boys were though ?

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Autograph Books

During those years everyone had an autograph book and one would be asked to write in the book.

Autograph books had a long history. They were very popular throughout the 19th century, and were usually filled with standard verse. In true Victorian style, many of these little poems are maudlin, the author already anticipating how poignant her little verse will be for her friends when she was gone or they were separated as adults: “Forget me not, forget me never/Till yonder sun shall set forever.” or “When you get old and cannot see/Put on your specks and think of me.” Other verses were just silly, as in, “Remember me and my gray eyes/When you’re at home and making pies.”
[Source: Henry Sheldon Museum]

I had one in 1956 and then another one in 1961, before our leave.  One would go around and ask friends to write in the book. Those kids would either just put their signature on a page, compose a silly ditty, add wise words, or put down memories of time spent with that person.

I scanned all the pages and put them in a pdf for fun!  You can download it HERE.

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King George V School ~ 1958-1964

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1961 Leave

We were away from Hong Kong from April to November in 1961 so more studying on ships and in hotel rooms!! ?

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