It was the summer term of 1966, and we were in the Fourth Form -- too old to be children and too young to be taken seriously.
Pigbin Wilson, Marc Cristofoli, Mike Runyard and Gerry Newman shared a refectory table right beside the Tuck Box Room. Pigbin told us he had this great idea. If he could borrow 6d from each of us, and an old pair of jeans, then he would run away, and then everyone would have to sit up and take notice. His own contribuution was only 3d (that was all he had at the time), but then he was the guy that was actually doing it.
That night, he went over the wall, and managed to stay free for all of four days. His parents lived somewhere in Poole, and he got the bus to the end of his road, where there was a little copse of trees in a park. Here he dug a hole and hid himself during the day, only coming out at night to show how brave he was. Those were the days when milk was delivered in bottles, and Pigbin quickly figured out that he could get a free pint by following the Milkman early in the morning and pinching a bottle from a neighbours house. Unfortunately, after three days of the missing milk, the neighbour lay in wait and collared Pigbin just as he was about to pinch another bottle. (Why he took the milk from the same house every day is one of life's great mysteries). Anyhow, the police were called, as were Pigbin's frantic parents, and after a further day of being taken notice of, he was returned to the school in a police car, and was welcomed to great applause as he strolled in to supper. We never got our 6d back, but no matter -- it was worth every penny !!
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