It's got all the ingredients of a good Chalet School book - but there's something about the way they're combined, that I really don't like! My thoughts will probably crystallize properly in about 6 months' time (that's usually what happens) but here's what I made of Summer Term at the Chalet School to be going on with.

Transcript available at https://topholepodcast.wordpress.com/2026/07/28/s3e20-my-least-favourite-chalet-school-book/

You can find Tophole on Facebook or email us at Topholepodcast@gmail.com.

See you in September!

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

EBD wrote an adventure for boys - and Kit told me (after editing the episode) that it sounds far more brutal than any of the boys' stories he read as a kid. Time for a bit of international espionage as we travel with shipwrecked Hawk Chudleigh to an unnamed island somewhere near New Zealand.

Transcript available at https://topholepodcast.wordpress.com/2026/07/14/s3e19-ebd-licensed-to-thrill/

You can find Tophole on Facebook or email us at topholepodcast@gmail.com.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

An account of our recent holiday in Guernsey - where I was, of course, constantly thinking about the CS and EBD. Kit, not so much.

Transcript available at https://topholepodcast.wordpress.com/2026/06/30/s3e18-to-guernsey/.

You can find Tophole on Facebook or email us at topholepodcast@gmail.com.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

A pivotal summer term book this time, as we look at the Chalet School's final term on St Briavel's - a book which might well have inspired Roald Dahl, given that it could be subtitled "The Chalet School and the Chocolate Factory". Subjects I had to google while researching this episode included how much milk a goat produces, 1950s university entrance requirements, the Allied occupation of Austria, and the actual definition of a step-sister.

Please don't panic if the next episode is late - we are about to go on holiday a podcast research trip to Guernsey.

Transcript available at https://topholepodcast.wordpress.com/2026/06/02/s3e17-so-long-farewell-auf-wiedersehen-good-bye/

You can find Tophole on Facebook, or email us at topholepodcast@gmail.com.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The 50th book in the Chalet School series was specially written by EBD to mark the occasion, and she dedicated it to fans - so this is OUR book. It's more of a romance than a school story, but mostly we, the readers, are reunited with characters we love, in situations which we recognise from earlier tales in the series. Cliff-dangling rescue? Check. Torrent of water blocking the way? Check. Marriage to a doctor? Check. But this isn't recycling. It's referencing, and that makes all the difference.

Transcript available at https://topholepodcast.wordpress.com/2026/05/19/s3e16-fat-shaming-drug-pushing-and-an-ornate-belt-buckle/.

You can find Tophole on Facebook or email us at topholepodcast@gmail.com.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Hayley and Deborah discuss fan fiction, particularly about Chalet School. Audio warning: we recorded this using Teams, and you can tell Kit was not there supervising!

Transcript available at https://topholepodcast.wordpress.com/2026/05/05/s3e15-comfort-and-joy/

You can find Tophole on Facebook, or email us at topholepodcast@gmail.com.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

It's a Wendy week and we're discussing how a talented producer might go about making a documentary about the Chalet School, just in case any talented producers listen to the podcast.

Please substitute 'Paul Ozanne' where I said 'Julian Lucy'.

Episode transcript available at https://topholepodcast.wordpress.com/2026/04/21/s3e14-girls-on-film/.

You can find Tophole on Facebook or email us at topholepodcast@gmail.com.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Back at last with an episode answering a question posed by Kit.

Transcript available at https://topholepodcast.wordpress.com/2026/04/07/s3e13-saved-by-the-medium-of-fashion/

You can find Tophole on Facebook or email us at topholepodcast@gmail.com.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.