RECESS IN THE BUSHES

My primary school days were filled with many interesting events and adventures. They are very memorable and unforgettable. I practically enjoyed every day in school.

            Our classroom was beside a little hill slope and beyond that was a piece of land filled with bushes, shrubs and trees. It was actually a secondary jungle and it provided us a place to play during the recess.

            There were two reasons why I did not have food in the canteen at that time. Firstly the canteen was small and sold very limited amount of food. Secondly I did not have the money to spend then, as my parents could not afford to give me pocket money. Often I would just drink cold water straight from the tap whenever hunger pangs were felt. I did not carry water bottles then as there were no such things as plastic tumblers. We had to slug glass bottles if we had to but they were bulky and could break easily.

            Anyway the changing of classes and time for recess were announced by the ringing if the school bell. Recess was the most awaited moment each day. Although it lasted twenty minutes we enjoyed every minute of it.

            Once the bell was rung, we rushed out of the class after the teacher had left. Then we would climb up the hill slope and dash into the bushes, we hid among the shrubs and bushes and waited for the others to enter.

            Usually my friends and I would be the first to hide there. We would pull and stretch the vines of the shrubs across the paths and waited for the ‘victims’. Whenever anyone rushed along the path, we would pull the vines stout and the poor guy would land or fall into the bushes. In all the incidences no one was actually seriously injured. There were scratches and cuts and bruises but being boys, we endured every bit of the pain.

            The other sign of the tumble was the stain on the school uniform. There were stains of mud, twigs and leaves. Our hair was a mess but all that were part of the thrills and spills. I also had the experience several times because I entered the ‘playground’ later than the others. They had already set the snare and I ran straight into it. I tripped and fell into the bushes. It was all part of the game.

            Of course you would expect that we would know the spots where the trap was set. The odd thing was we never set the traps at the same place. Often we set them at unexpected places.