Anita Roddick

[madwitch]

It was quite odd reading the news about Anita Roddick today, as I was at the same school as Sam and Justine Roddick. Frensham's a tiny school and everyone knew everyone, pretty much. Justine was several years above me, Sam just one, teenage girls with their Mums hair. Popular, friendly girls who weren't all 'I'm a Roddick' if you see what I mean, unlike Crispin tosshead and his 'but I'm a MILLS' attitude. At least as far as I recall (about the Roddicks. C Mills was always a tosser). :-)

I remember Sam getting expelled, which was quite a tricky thing to achieve at Frensham. Being ordinary rebellious just wasn't enough, it famously took almost a full school year to get two truly vile bullies expelled even after their preferred victim had to take half a term off because he was in such a state over it. The school would just say repeatedly that it 'recommended that X should not come back next term'. Sam going was a bit of a shock.

So I appear to be struck with odd nostalgia, and am feeling sad for Sam and Justine. They loved their Mum a lot.

Comments

[silver-blue.livejournal.com]

I hadn't heard. :( Don't think my dad has either today and he worked pretty closely with Gordon and Anita on a lot of projects, so hope he's OK.

Met her a few years ago at a Body Shop human rights awards ceremony. She seemed lovely, very flirtatious! I liked her, very sad news.

[madwitch.livejournal.com]

It is. I don't remember ever meeting her, Sam and Justine were boarders and there wasn't a culture of parent-teacher evenings at Frensham.

Poor Sam and Justine. :(

[failing-angel.livejournal.com]

Was that Crispin as in Crispin "I didn't know Swastikas had associations with the Nazis - who it turns out were actually real and not just baddies in Grandad's films" Mills from Kula Shaka Zulu?



Anita Roddick - listening to R4 this morning, I didn't realise she did so much. An extraordinary woman. Rest in Peace.

[madwitch.livejournal.com]

Yes, that Crispin Mills. He used to go on in interviews about how he 'only went to public school for a year, he's not posh.' People loathed him, if he was caught in the smoking areas by teachers he'd slip his fags (or whatever else he may have been smoking) into his friends pockets so that he wouldn't get in trouble/suspended/expelled, he tried to steal every single piece of poetry ever written for English class so that he could make it into songs for his 'band', as he was incapable of writing anything good ever, and OH MY GOD we hated him with all the fire of 14/15 year olds. Teachers didn't like him much either, we had plenty of rich/famous people's kids there, he was only one who tried to make a fuss about it.

Years later, I met someone who worked for him. He's still as much of a tosspot as he always was.

[failing-angel.livejournal.com]

In that case, you'd best avoid the lightly obsequieous wiki page about him.

Having said all that, I did quite like Kula Shaker (although the Shirehorses's Peela Tater was rather amusing too).

[madwitch.livejournal.com]

I must never go near it, I will only edit it with tales of his annoyingness.

I couldn't like Kula Shaker, he just put me off.

[failing-angel.livejournal.com]

I will only edit it with tales of his annoyingness
and then get plagued with "Citation needed" tags.

Strangely things seem to jump about 10 years:

"Crispian commenced his education at Highgate School in north London. His background meant that 'family friends' were people like Richard Attenborough and Laurence Olivier, although Crispian has often remarked that he was rarely star-struck as they were "just people," to one accustomed to the company of famous actors. As a result of this, and his mother's experiences as a child actress, the young Mills believed that once he reached the age of 12, he would have to start making films. On turning 12, he realised that this was not the case. Instead, he was sent to Stowe School, Buckinghamshire, to continue his education."

[madwitch.livejournal.com]

And then kicked out of there, proabably, and sent to PLAGUE US at Frensham.

Bastards.

[failing-angel.livejournal.com]

Yeah sorry, I shouldn't have put it up, but couldn't resist...

[madwitch.livejournal.com]

I still remember the group of 15 year olds, sitting on one of the sports fields, just after we'd done our GCSEs. Some of us were leaving, some of us staying, but our 'us against the insanity of the Headmaster' year was breaking up and it just wouldn't be the same. So we made mad plots to invent stories about Crispin and sell them to the tabloids.

Not for the cash so much (though a bit). Mainly because he was a wanker.

[mark13.livejournal.com]

Crispin Mills was a total fuckwad in my brief experience of him around when Kula Shaker were starting to get noticed.

[madwitch.livejournal.com]

He never changes. His step (possibly half, but I think step) brother was so different, lovely and funny and not a tosser. He was a complete star and we loved him. Brought up together, yet you could not tell.