Originally Posted by
Pug
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Ok...[yes,I know ozzie 'erbert'll be straight on my back]...but,'nunnery' is a slang term. It refers to a gathering of women. Shakespeare [who even dimmo Gummy will have heard of] used the term in his play 'Hamlet',when he [Hamlet] was yattering about 'nunneries' which,in his profane ravings,actually meant 'brothel'. Whereas 'convent',is a word that derives from Latin and means 'a gathering'. Although today it's used exclusively to refer to a place of nun's,originally,it also referred to what today is called a 'monastery'.
Now,before gummy blows his hat off and the corks all whizz in different directions....when I was butter lad,I was actually allowed to live in a convent,namely New Hall Convent,in Chelmsford,for two reasons. One,was to prevent my father breaking any more of my bones,which he frequently did to get money from my mother's family...and the other was because my mum was the Matron. So I,moi,yer akshal Ugly-Pug,was the ONLY male allowed on the New Hall estate. I'd go swimming with the girls who were resident pupils there,in the convent's own small pool...and I was among princesses,duchesses,REALLY high-falutin' high-profile eminences who later went on to take positions in the upper echelons of society. But,at the age we were,we just splashed each other,'ducked' each other,played silly splashing games-the thought of ''Juno who I am!'' just wasn't important...whereas,''Can you do a length underwater'',was.
Ok,this may seem improbable to you...but I give my oath,it's totally true.