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Today's Featured Biography

Shirley Conlin Park

Hi to all the old girls from St Pius Convent.
I am so excited to find this site. I tried over the years but failed and beleive it or not I have never made contact with any of my friends since leaving all thoses hundreds of years ago. i tell a lie I did go visit my very best buddie Jenny Guiness once just shortly after we left school she was just newly married and lived in Mazoe somewhere.
How I would love to catch up with her after all these years.

I went to St Pius to do my Matric. We were living in Zambia and when they did away with A levels the parents shot me off to the nearest school available (that would have me)
Dad was a prodestant Northern Island man and was reluctant for me to go but my mother won the battle . The day I got dropped into school was a day before the boarders returned so the place was virtually empty. Sister Bride met us showed us around and fell in love with my father. He charmed her and she charmed him and any hope of escape was lost for me. For the two years I spent there she constantly talked about him with a secret smile dancing in her eyes, however that never extended to me. My first morning I got such a massive shock as she marched in and blew that damn whistle she had always hanging around her neck. I fell out of bed and followed what the few others were doing in the dorm. Kneeling and saying morning prayers. Non of which I was familiar with. After we had finished she went into overdrive shouting about non beleivers coming to the school and mocking the ways of the Catholic church. I stood opened mouthed not knowing it was me she was refering to. After she spun onher heels and left the other girls explained that in future I needed to face the cross on the wall and not the exit door where Sister bride had been standing. Day one set the standard for the rest of my stay. I hated the Sunday walks to nowhere. I hated the sharing of cold baths on cold winter mornings and the food was gaggingly awful.
But I made such good friends and we became a close knit community which was then so surprising when we left that we didn't keep in touch. I am now off to rummage through the garage to see if I can find my album that we were presented on leaving. Our Matric ball photos always bring on a smile,did we really look that young?
I had forgotten about the state of the libary books, maybe that is why I hate touching old dirty books even now.
Walking around the dry old hockey pitch talking about boys and holidays and getting our hair cut by a tallented class mate are just some of the many memories combined with David Copperfield and the weekly hair washing at he outside sinks.
Brown Bread peanut butter and banana sandwiches, yummy,....I lived on them instead of the meals.
Love to hear from any one who remembers me.
Shirley

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