Proper Respect for the Dead
For those who'd opted for GCSE history, the annual ritual was a trip to Flanders. We'd pile into coaches, and for a few days wander around an autumnal Belgium.

Now, A was a little - um - strange. I could list his manifest oddities here, but I'd cause the internet to overflow. There were many. For the moment, suffice it to say that he had an intense fear of women, and carried a rape alarm just in case.

Part of the trip involved going to the Menin Gate at Ypres, where, every night, the local fire brigate plays the last post. We were expected to look solemn and not too cold during the ceremony.

We tried to keep our composure. Oh, how we tried. But it's not easy to stay serious when a small smelly boy drops his rape alarm exactly halfway through a two-minute silence and it goes off...
( Enzyme is powered by sunlight, Tue 3 Feb 2009, 14:11, Reply)