Teachers from Kenton Bar School old days – Mrs. Blacklock

imageI remember Mrs. Blacklock as quite a strict teacher although she was not vindictive with it like Mrs. Brown was. In fact I would categorize her as firm but fair. She was quite old I reckon at the time I was at Kenton Bar Primary School. She had a cut glass accent I seem to remember. As pointed out by one commenter her name does not have the additional C as in the Blackclock beetle.

Factoids about Mrs. Blacklock:

  • She spoke French very well. I found out why later in life when I used to go and see the Newcastle Diamonds speedway team over at Brough Park on the Fossway in Byker. Sometimes on the return journey home with my Mother I would bump into Mrs. Blacklock on the bus accompanied by a man wearing a beret – an obvious French trait. So she was either married to a Frenchman or was having an affair with an onion salesman, hence the familiarity with the lingo.
  • Her name, Blacklock, was deliberately misspelled by her to hide the fact that she actually discovered the blackclock beetle. On a trip up the Amazon river with a French onion salesman she discovered a delightful, small, greyish beetle. She did not like the shade of grey and proceeded to paint the specimens in her possession a nice shiny black colour. These were then released on her return to the UK – on breeding of course the offspring were once again grey to her dismay. She and her French husband would spend the weekends catching the grey specimens and painting them black. THAT is why you only ever see blacklock beetles in ones and twos.

Comments

  1. A brilliant description of a much beloved teacher EP. I too remember her to be old (earliy 50s say) but very good in the job she did. She made me milk monitor at school and that put me in good stead as my first ever job was delivering milk at the age of 14. So I do have Mrs B to thank for making me rich at the age of 14 and having girls flock round me.

    A toast to Mrs Blacklock

    ReplyDelete
  2. I didnt like her...all I remember doing the bloody times tables all the bloody time...she used to slowly walk towards you with a stick and menacingly smash it down on your desk inches from your hands if you got it wrong/couldnt answer...and yeah, she looked like that wooden owl thing...

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Don't be shy - let it fly

Popular posts from this blog

Kenton Bar Pyramid - The Icon of Kenton Bar Estate

kenton bar football team 1974-75