Health and Safety (Sparta Branch)
Mr Pawsey was awesome. Had we known, at the age of about eleven, the meaning of the term we'd've probably nick-named him 'Cerebral'. In that classic eleven-year-old-using-words-you-don't-really-understand kind of way.

Mr P was a PE teacher. He also taught other subjects, such as maths, but only because that's the sort of thing that PE teachers (used to) have to do back then. I don't know if it's different these days, but it certainly should be. Mr P's grasp of maths didn't go much beyond writing down the algebraic equation for a five-nil thrashing at hockey. This did seem to involve a lot of thrashing and not much algebra, and as a consequence I've since always whinced at the term "sports science".

His one major contribution to the up-bringing of both myself and my contemporaries, however, was his selfless demonstration of how dangerous it is to stand down-wind of an 11-year-old javelin thrower whilst not paying attention to where the javelins are going. There were, he said, many things that could distract you but that you should always be careful and watch where the javelin was going. He was very adamant about this, and we were very attentive.

Well, you can probably guess the rest. Fortunately for Mr P he was standing side-on so the javelin only passed through the bridge of his nose from right to left, rather than him getting it in the eyeball front-to-back HaroldKing1066_LOL-style. As far as I'm aware none of the class present that day has since had any similar type of incident involving rogue javelins piercing, or even merely grazing, any part of their skull. Or anywhere else on their body.

Thanks Mr P, for taking it in the face for the young boys :)
(Wilton Mitrowserz, Thu 17 Mar 2011, 19:24, 1 reply)

Aye
A classmate of mine decided to demonstrate the human-javelin permeability theory using his calf instead of his face. The teacher on duty at the time was a former professional hammer-thrower, so he may have had his standards a little too high for our own brand of cack-handedness.
( .Yeti. El amor en los tiempos del cólera, Thu 17 Mar 2011, 19:31, closed)