Blackmores Old Boys will, I'm sure, remember with some affection those phantom bell-ringers who would alleviate the hours of ennui, referred to by some, as Strict Prep, by ringing the school bell; the very substantial bell suspended between two brick columns adjacent to the War Memorial. The ringing of the bell, was a signal to all of Blackmores that we could join the stampede in search of the offenders, thus ignoring all the rules pertaining to Strict Prep. The wild chase would inevitably fail to apprehend the offenders, and we would return reluctantly to the constraints imposed by the Prefects. To our astonishment on one occasion, we had just resumed prep, when the bell sounded again, followed by  another frantic but futile chase. On the walk back across the oval, I happened to note that Punch Chapman and a few friends were in hysterics, and in response to my query, Punch explained that after the first chase he had not returned to the study room but taken up a position, where he assumed he could not be seen. And allowing enough time for boys to just get settled had rung the bell himself, and when the boys emerged from the building he had led the charge in various directions across the oval towards Essenwood Road - I think that was the road that ran alongside the oval. One of the housemasters, Dani Pienaar, I think it was, had witnessed the entire performance from the a masters' common room which had an excellent view of the bell. The denouement of Punch's prank, was that he had to account in detail as to why he had failed in the pursuit, given that he was something of a sprinter and was leading the charge. At the end of a much-exaggerated attempt to persuade the sceptical housemaster that no-one could have made a greater effort, he was given the opportunity to choose a cane for the last act in this little drama. In my experience, Punch was the only bell-ringer ever apprehended.

But I did wonder if this might not be an appropriate moment for those day boys who interrupted our Strict Prep to fess up!