dinchat

In the late 50's (maybe always?) school dinner was served in the NAAFI building which was
located in Block 11. Us kids used to queue in (more or less) single file down the hill from the
bus parking area , between Block 12 and the Toilet Block and turn right between Block 12
and the Admin Block. We entered in double green doors just before what is now the Tuck
Shop (see other photos).

The dinner queue was a time for chatting to your friends and trading bubble gum cards and
dinner tickets (more of this later). For me the dinner queue was a social event in itself as it
was one of the few occasions (other than morning assembly) when the school mingled as a
whole and you got to talk to kids from other classes/years.

School dinner used to cost 1/- and you could either pay with cash or with a (blue?) dinner
voucher. It was generally better if your parents gave you cash as there were always a few
boys who would sell their dinner tickets for (depending on your negotiating skills) 9d or 10d
each. This meant you could make enough profit on a week to buy a couple of bottles of
pop at the tuck shop.

As to school dinners... Well I particularly remember the NAAFI tomato soup (non cream of).
I loved it and would usually go back for seconds - in fact I've never tasted a tomato soup
since that I liked as much! Don't remember much else - but I think I must have quite liked
the food as I'm sure I'd remember otherwise.