Bunking
Another gorgeous day, and we're going to wag kindy and drive up the coast.
When I was a young 'un wagging was called bunking. I suspect that is a Christchurch-we-wish-we-were-a-small-english-town thing.
Thursday, August 17, 2006
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Strangely enough, when I was a small kid, wagging was called "wagging". Then I moved to Christchurch from the North Island and had to get used to calling it "bunking"...
I got asked by a Canadian what wagging was when I blogged about it.
I was a proficient wagger in 4th form.
hope you have a great day, good on you for wagging kindy.
I've never heard the term 'bunking'. Wagging, though, was used often in my vocabulary all through school..
I have a brilliant story about that. My friend Scott's mother was ringing the school to tell them that he was sick and wouldn't be attending high school that day.
She was from Christchurch and knew the word "bunking" but she knew that in the North Island (where they were living) they caled it "wagging".
Hence, she ended the conversation with Scott's teacher by saying: "I just thought I'd call so you knew he wasn't at home wanking"
Dies this mean I can wag/bunk work and go play in the sunshine too?
Please?
I think you should.
I think we all should.
Go on everyone - wag.
I laughed out loud at Haydn :) Reminded me of a not-unrelated story involving a cup of tea (go on, ask me)
As the sole English person here (am I?) I feel it a duty to point out that the English phrase is "bunking OFF."
Can't answer for what is said in ChCh but in England "bunking" is an obscure old term something to do with sharing beds, or at least bedrooms. "Can I bunk in with you?" or somesuch, or worse, much worse, "We bunked together." No self-respecting English person would say they were bunking, unless they were explicitly talking about sex
Back to Haydn again :)
Hmmm, further south, in Otago, it wasn't a word we had heard of as kids either. Our primary school teacher once read us a kids novel called "Smitty does a bunk". We had to have the title explained to us.
Ah, the linguistics of New Zealand language.... So if you bunked (off) did you also go to a crib in summer or was it a bach? Did you eat luncheon sausage or belgium?
(Oh - and I went to school in Christchurch and we were too scared to bunk or wag in case the sisters caught us)
We had (and still have) a crib, and had Belgium in our lunches. And had beer in a flagon, but sometimes also a Peter.
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