Winter Snapshots

i remember this poem well
shakespeare danced off the page
in an unheated cold classroom
the little gels wearing fingerless mittens
blazers and a winter uniform

dick the shepherd
blowing his nail
struck a chord
i realised immediately
he was not playing a musical instrument

it has only now occurred to me
(a half a century after the event)
was this expensive education
intentionally character building
or
just cost cutting to line the coffers
of the already very rich board members