Poor Julia has been feeling a bit rough and her prompt this week is very apt. GREY, simply one word. Now what to do with it?

Blue and Grey

I was headless for years, until that Smith cast me a new one. I must say, without a head it was more fun scaring people. What’s a ghost boy to do? They looked at my statue and I would spring forth. A grey version of the Blue Boy, they’d jump out of their skin. That’s when they decided to exorcise me. So we had a spirit party, surrounded them we did, all the dead orphan boys from St John’s. They won’t try that again in a hurry.

Now there are several in the city, handsome, shiny and blue, statues of me.

A little background for you. When I was little I used to see this statue of the Blue Boy in the old Princesshay and always loved it. 

It disappeared for a few years when the shopping centre was rebuilt but now its back in almost the same spot as before.

It’s said that the Blue Boy was created on the site of St John’s Hospital School which dates back to 1633. They weren’t orphans though, it was a school for the privileged. The boys wore a uniform of blue caps and gowns and were nicknamed Blue Boys. The original statue was made of stone and by 1830 it was actually headless! It’s head was replaced and it now resides in Exeter School grounds. Four cast iron Blue boys were made in the 1850’s, the one above and three more are in the Exeter area.

Come and join in at Julia’s place