seven
o'clock
It was in charge of a matron , who directed the canteen , and was responsible for the comfort and order of the camp . In each tent hung a list of rules respecting hours of rising and going to bed , meals , and general conduct . As there was no servant except the cook , the task of washing up must be shared by all in rotation , the matron having authority to apportion the work . No lights or talking were to be allowed after 10.30 p.m. By the time the girls had settled all their possessions it was seven o'clock , and the rest of the camp returned from the strawberry fields . Supper was served in the marquee , everybody sitting on benches round wooden tables without cloths . The company proved pleasant and congenial ; there were fifty in all , including some students from Ludminster University , and eight girls and two teachers from a secondary school at Tadbury . The slum party , it seemed , were lodged in the big barns behind the farm , while some caravans of gipsy pickers had possession of a corner of a field some distance away .