Another Day, Another School
On returning from Salzburg in the summer of 1959, my sister, Stella, and I spent some time at Mrs. Harris’s boarding house then started at the new school, Charters Towers, that my mother had selected for us. Our arrival at Bexhill-on-Sea was somewhat less portentous than our arrival in Malvern. It was a sunny day and the school was housed in relatively modern buildings rather than in an old monastery. It was made up of four large brick and wood houses connected to each other by breezeways. The head mistress, Miss McGarry looked chic in her tailored dress and fashionable shoes, as she greeted students at the school. These visuals made me feel more optimistic than I had felt upon arriving at St. James's, hopeful that we were embarking on a less dispiriting future. Appearances aside, the protocols at Charters Towers were not very different than those at St. James’s. We had a strict daily schedule, starting with a 7:00 o’clock bell that rousted us from bed, followed