BRING BACK NITTY NORA!

It's interesting that when we recall our memories of Nitty Nora the nit nurse, we remember feelings of dread and shame.

YET WE CALL FOR HER RETURN?

Why is this? Could it be that Nitty Nora embodies a return to the good, old fashioned, no nonsense approach to head lice? Despite not one particularly positive memory of having head lice in former times (other than the fleeting tickly feeling of her riffling our hair!) we tell ourselves that despite all, she at least, had the situation under control. George Flannery, a 75 year old Liverpudlian, who wrote in saying that he learned of Nitty Nora at his mothers knee, has written a poem about his memories of the nit nurses visits, that we can all relate to. It is reproduced here with his kind permission.

NITTY NORA (The Bug Explorer)

There's a hush in the Classroom this morning,
Children sitting as quietly as Mice,
For today's the day for Nitty Nora,
To root amongst curls for Nits and Lice.

"Come out little Sara Jones,
Come, and kneel upon this chair,
Don't be fright, I won't bite,
I'm just going to look through your hair".

"Okay! That's fine little Sara Jones,
You can go back to your place,
I'll have a note for your mother later".
Oh dear! Oh dear! The digrace.

"Can we have you next Tommy Green?
Hurry now! Don't walk on your tiptoes,
Come now kneel here on the chair,
But first do please blow your nose".

"I can't abide a little child,
With a nose forever dripping,
Give it a good blow Tommy,
I can't put up with children sniffing".

So it went on all morning long,
Poor kids living in desperate hope,
That they would get a clean bill of health,
Instead of shame, and the dreaded note.

I apologise for the fact that my subject,
Is shudder inducing, and not very nice,
But, it's the only way they will ever,
Get control of the nits and the lice.

So, it's homewards for the clean heads,
And home for the kids with the notes,
The latter giving them to Mothers,
Who get busy with the Derbac Soap.

George Flannery 18/11/03

Familiar? So what, as parents, do we really want? Are we asking to 'Bring Back Nitty Nora' the nit nurse (and possibly the shame and dread) OR Do we call for the systematic co-ordinated approach of Nitty Nora the nit nurse? I think it is probably the latter but what do you think is the answer to getting the head lice situation in schools under control. Give me your comments and I will pass them on to the people who might listen. You can write to me by email Lucy@nitworks.co.uk or send by post to:

'Comment' Nitty Nora,
PO Box 166
Colwyn Bay
LL29 0BZ

A Note from the author:

'Nitty Nora' was the nick name commonly given to the school 'nit nurse'. In playground chant of my day, we sang about her, 'Nitty Nora the biddy explorer'. Perhaps you sang a different song, e.g. 'Nitty Nora the bug explorer', 'Nitty Nora the head explorer'. The Biddy, or the Bug was, of course the nit/headlice.