"Mike Lyle" wrote in message
om...
"Franz Heymann" wrote in message
...
[...]
At my old school there was a dual-purpose row of quinces. Real quinces,
not
japonicas. The teachers used them as a source of sticks for caning
purposes
and we used them for the fruit, which we surreptitiously fermented into
a
potable, if sour, alcoholic drink.

My father was an extremely strict teetotaller. That is, except for the
bucket of "mahlo" which was always on the go in the house. (In less
politically correct times, this was known as "kaffir beer"). It was my
father's belief that not only was it very good for the stomach, but also
that it did not contain any alcohol.

Our housemasters beamed benignly when we made ginger beer: as you've
guessed, they weren't biology masters!

Franz