I must have been about fourteen at the time.
The
headmaster (or high school
principal)
convened a regular daily
assembly of the school.
Small excitable children don't always stop talking fast enough for authority
figures. This particular time it must have been too much for him,
because he shouted:
Every time I open my mouth an idiot speaks.
There was no irony here, and he really had no idea what the
joke was. I remember looking at all of the
teachers to
see their reaction. You could tell a lot about school politics
from which people were openly laughing and which ones
were staring at infinity, sucking in their cheeks.
This wasn't an isolated incident either. Another time at assembly
he said:
Boys will NOT play with their balls in the covered area. Otherwise
a member of staff will approach them.
I suppose the fact that this person was directing my
education
really ought to annoy me, but in truth I remember him rather fondly.