Lynn's Comments: Mrs. Hardacre, as I've said, was a teacher in my elementary school. Kids said she was "hard as nails and gave us acres of work" but I liked her. The teachers who were both strict and fair had my attention and I worked hard for them.
Walnut trees grew all around the school and "conkers" was a game we all played with walnuts tied to strings. The object of the game was to whack your opponent's walnut and try to break it. This resulted in everything from bruised knuckles to chipped teeth. I'm sure it's outlawed today - or played with heavy gloves and face shields, but in the 1950s we took risks. To compare Mrs. Hardacre to a walnut would have been reasonable, I think...but inside, she was very good stuff!
