A happy Exeat to everyone! At this time of year, I always feel that this one is particularly welcome…
Last week, I wrote in part about the importance of strong community and of that being created through strong human (and humane) relationships
On Wednesday, I took the short walk down to the church of The Hospital of St Cross...
First and foremost, a very Happy New Year to everyone!
At the start of our last full week of term before the holidays, I used assembly to remind the boys to consider (just ahead of Christmas jumper day) a key point of reflection regarding where we are with Christmas. It is a rather well-trodden path of thought for those of us of an older generation, but we must remember that for our young boys these messages are often fresh, vital and formative in how they influence the world they inhabit.
Many of you will have noticed that we’re taking what we hope is a more engaging approach to our social media of late. (And for this I must extend huge thanks to Mrs Short and Mr Reynolds who have been instrumental in this.)
It seems that there is an annual ‘day’ to mark pretty much everything. One of the several frustrating effects of this phenomenon is that it creates a type of ‘mental wallpaper’: there are so many of them that they fade into the background in one’s mind.
There has been a crisper bite in the air these last 48 hours, and those of us around Winchester have just witnessed the city Christmas lights come on yesterday evening (and very well done to the Chamber Choir, who put on a fantastic performance at the event!)… but before our minds turn too decidedly towards the festive season, it’s worth us reflecting on two consecutive events in the last week that are always highlights in the Pilgrims’ calendar; or in the case of one, high lights in the Pilgrims’ calendar.
It had been rather a while since I’d managed to do something truly ‘cultural’, and inordinately longer since I’d been to Paris. However, on a long weekend in half term, whilst hopping between a number of venues in the city, I found myself at the Musée d’Orsay.
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This week has seen A Tale of Two Kitties continuing. It has been the best of times, it has been the worst of times. (Actually, it hasn’t been the worst of times: that was simply a cheap excuse to get the reference in.)
There is something very special about our oldest friendships.
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This week, I’ve been having kittens. Not metaphorically, you understand, but literally.
In re-writing the essence of this week’s assembly, I thought, as a history teacher, I would start off above by having a bit of fun deliberately invoking the style of historian Simon Schama:
