Sunday 29th November, 2015

This Saturday we had an away match at Berkhamstead. I'm in the 3rd team and annoyingly quite a few of the team were either away or injured, including our captain. Perhaps fortunately the 4th team match was cancelled and so we gained a few replacements from them. Although this provided us with the numbers we required it also further disrupted our well practised and familiar team. I had looked at the weather and one of the saving graces for this 2 and a bit hour journey with an unfamiliar team was that the weather was going to be better than it was at rugby and it seemed as if it wouldn't rain and the sky's would be clear... well It didn't rain but as we stepped of the bus onto the wet ground and mud splashed up onto our suits I feel we all expected what we were into. As the cutting wind caused our team to bow our heads whilst we forced our way through the chilling air towards the changing room we were certain it was going to be miserable. The match started out as even, I had the feeling that neither team wanted to be there and could not really commit to try and hurt each other! However as the game progressed it became obvious we were the stronger side but still no scores were placed on the board. At halftime we got a waking up from our coach and hit them hard at this start of the second half, scoring two tries and ensuring our lead. Lead in place we lay back and finished the game how we started it, carefully passing the bull from arms to arms as hands and fingers were completely useless! We made it back onto the coach and sat fairly silently, all looking forward to our warm shower and then a drink at the pub.

Sunday 22nd November,2015

I am in a band at school. There are four of us and all though we do love to play and we all love  music we have varying tastes and limited time to practice. We have done a few performances in our time but it has only ever been the one song. We always have to find a song that everyone accepts, one that has enough complicated guitar for John and enough outlandish drumming for Rob whilst having vocals that i can just about get away with! Two weeks ago Rob told us all that in three weeks time (but only two school weeks) we had been asked to play in a charity concert and to fill a 25 minute slot! There was great excitement and discussion as to whether we could do it but the overwhelming opinion was to accept the challenge. Fortunately as we were able to play six songs each member could chose their own song and then we would mutually agree on the last two. We had great diversity with the range being between Song 2 by blur and Pretty green by the jam! Practice started almost immediately and the progress over the next week or so was immense but still with just a few days before the concert we were not where we should have been. I also realised that although we nearly had it, i had been reading the lyrics on my phone the whole time and had not yet learnt them. I replayed the songs over and over with every opportunity and could just about get through one from start to finish in practice but I was sure that with the nerves on the actual night all lyrics would be chased out of my head. The Saturday came and we all went out for supper beforehand and had a few drinks to help steady our nerves. Eventually it was our slot and as we walked onto the stage the crowd erupted in cheers and shouted our names. This was an incredible lift for our confidence and we grew more and more comfortable, our opening song was view of an afternoon by The Arctic Monkeys and the lyrics flowed out of my mouth as if they had always been there. For all of the songs to come it was the same, occasionally I would repeat a verse by accident but no one noticed and it was a great success! I had a great time and as did the rest of the band, now we are just waiting for a next invitation…!

Sunday 15th November, 2015

This week globally has been a terrible and tragic week. The ISIS bombings in Paris have shaken the world and filled the news, the papers and our daily lives. The majority of my friends have altered their profile pictures on Facebook to have a French background supposedly to show that their thoughts are with the victims in France and their families and of those affected collaterally. At first I believed this to be slightly superficial as changing ones profile picture achieved nothing in the grand scheme of things other than possibly gaining the person more likes. However with more and more and more of my friends doing this, the mass scale of this subtle and small gesture has truly shown a solidarity that reflects true human acts of kindness and compassion. Solidarity has been shown all over the world in recent days for example the Saracens singing the French national anthem alongside Toulouse before their game on Saturday or even just the minutes silence demonstrated at school this morning. These small deeds were, I believe a perfect and powerful response to ISIS’ unhuman and disgusting acts demonstrating where the worlds loyalties lie and how they all stand in the situation.

Of course we could not stop there. The active bombing of a capital city is, by most interpretations a declaration of war, However, an immediate retaliation of bombs on the ISIS headquarters I believe is not only foolish but quite frankly immature. Remembrance Sunday brought me a reminder of what the outcome of war is, Death and an unsatisfactory peace. In these ‘civilised’ times I believe there must be a way to solve a dispute or even an unprovoked aggravator  without violence but with democracy and reasoning. I may myself be foolish and I may be immature but I believe that a constant peace will not happen until it is found through peaceful means.

Sunday 8th November 2015

On a few Saturday nights at school there is a bar. Bar is what some people at school spend their week looking forward too, planning outfits and buying cheap vodka to drink beforehand. It lasts from 9.30 to 11.00 and within the school rules you are allowed two beers. There is usually a DJ employed by the school to play some chart music that really, you wouldn’t even suffer the radio to listen to.  This Saturday was no different a bar themed with classic movies for each house, for example St. Tinian’s for one girls house another went as Mario Cart not that that is a movie… Anyway, this Saturday, now that I am 18, Ella and I and two other friends went out for supper. We went to the pub beforehand for a pint before getting to the restaurant, Café Vin Cinq, we went upstairs to the cocktail lounge and the girls had a cocktail whilst I had a cool Corona with a slice of lime. We were then showed our table which was by the window, ironically looking out towards the OBS. Although all we could see was the old school wall we knew that what was inside was the sweaty and tragic affair that is Bar. Whilst the people in there were attempting to get rowdy and mosh pit with disapproving teachers looking on we ordered a bottle of red and chose our main courses. The two girls ordered lamb ribs whilst Ella and I shared a steak (it was very expensive!) we had a thoroughly enjoyable supper in great company and managed to get back to house without falling into a bush or being pushed over!

Sunday 1st November, 2015

This half-term Ella and I decided to try something new. We are both similar in that we find being at school a struggle and relish our holidays yet we are always left with the feeling that the holidays are too short. Being but teenagers we succumb to the stereotype and are rarely caught out of bed before eleven o’clock however we thought of a brilliant way to nearly extend our half term and that was to wake up early! We started with our feet in the deep end as we agreed to join my older sister for a car boot sale that she was doing, arriving at six thirty in the morning!

             I had never been to a car boot sale before and I absolutely loved it. After arranging all of the bits and bobs that my hoarding sister had collected and had finally decided to let go of we sat and waited. People in all guises wandered over and started handling our goods before deliberately putting them down and moving on. Finally an elderly man with a very retro jacket and a green baseball cap asked me the price of an old unopened science experiment present I had been gifted. I brashly offered a price of around three pounds but rightly so the man shook his head in disgust and walked on. We learnt from our lesson and so when our next customer, an old lady with a fistful of pound coins asked how much the horse shaped post was we were quick to give a price as low as we dared. She handed over her 50p with a smile and we began to make headway with getting rid of all our clutter.

               That evening after a full afternoon of jobs at home and a long walk, Ella and I were talking and we agreed, that waking up early had almost turned the one day into two different ones and so throughout half-term we continued to rise with the sun and waste not the day.

Sunday 17th October, 2015

Recently at Rugby school we lost a great headmaster and a gained an unproven one. Understandably he made many changes in his first term. Things to help achieve his target which was to improve the academic prowess of its pupils and things to stake his claim over the new school. There was much annoyance  over many of these changes however most of this was merely just people finding excuses to dislike the new "imposter"! Yet there was one thing that seemed truly unnecessary and was extremely irritating. 

                Every year for as long as most people can remember there has been a push car race which consists of each house making a vehicle, selecting a driver, preferably someone light but experience is vital, a passenger, the smallest person in the house and finally a team of paired runners who have to run 400m each pushing the cart. It's always a great event and those members of the house who aren't directly involved all crowd together as supporters and the close is filled with the sound of house chants. 

        With the arrival of our new headmaster we noticed the absence of this event in our term calendars. Blatant unrest was displayed as pupils discussed their disappointment and annoyance and a year went  without a pushcart race. He protested that he hadn't banned it but no one really believed him. However he had clearly sensed the disappointment and this year the race was back on. As soon as we heard it was arrangements were made. A boy in my years father was a formula one car designer and so sneakily we chose him and a friend to make the cart! They made it on a leave out and with the close aid of ben's dad and the provision of materials, in particular aluminium frames which meant the cart was extremely light we felt confident that we were in good stead for the race. We had a boy in the year below who was previously a passenger but this year had his debut as a driver and one of the smallest f blockers (1st years) as our passenger. With a strong team of runners, including myself, we were sure we to have a good chance of winning! After some inspirational although comical speeches and enthusiastic chants and everyone running as hard as they could we were sure we must have won the race but our optimism was shattered as we discovered we had been pipped to the post by School House of all people. At least there is always next year... headmaster willing!

Sunday 25th October, 2015

The last time I hosted any sort of party must have been at least five years ago. It’s not that I am anti-social. I am perfectly happy to go to other people’s parties, in fact I love parties. But I just get stressed over the prospect of people coming over to my house. I worry over everything, people not having a good time, people behaving inappropriately, people breaking things. And by the time I have gotten over all this stress it just really doesn’t seem worth it.

Long before we reached my birthday my mum started trying to persuade me to have a party. My friends think I’m crazy, as they can never get their parents to let them have a party as much as they try and I am the opposite with mine. I reached a decision that I wasn’t going to do anything, yet again, despite this being my 18^th birthday.

 Just a day before my birthday I agreed on the spur of the moment to let some friends stay for what started off as maybe five people going out and just sleeping at our place but ended up as eight or so people coming round before heading to Bury St Edmunds for my first legal visit to a pub and nightclub, all then heading back to Gazeley and staying for a big cooked breakfast in the morning. However despite my reservations I had such a great time, everyone enjoyed themselves and I reckon you could even call it a party! It just shows that you can’t know you don’t like something until you try it. 

Sunday 11th October 2015

On Tuesday evening we had our first wine society meeting of the year. I am proud to have been elected one of four secretaries of the Rugby School Wine Society.  We were at the venue an hour early in order to help set up rows and rows of glasses, jugs of water and plates of wafer biscuits.  Then we were introduced to our guest speakers, James Naylor, the father of one of our secretaries and, Nicola Arcedeckne-Butler. James is director of Private Cellar, a successful wine merchant, and for whom Nicola is director of buying. These are big names within the wine industry and Nicola is one of only 340 Masters of Wine in the world.  I must admit my first impressions of them were not the best.  They made fun of the shape of the ‘goblet’ wine glasses we had painstakingly set out.  I suppose they were making the point that to fully appreciate fine wine you need the right glass, but it set the evening off with a slightly sour taste in the mouth!

After that though we had a great evening drinking six different French wines, my favourite being the Pouilly Fume, Domaine Thibault, Andre Dezat 2014 which had a fruity taste with a smooth smokiness over the top of it.  Surprisingly, and a good reminder that the things that cost the most aren’t necessarily the best, my least favourite was one of the more expensive wines, the Vosne Romanee Domaine Machard de Gramont 2008.  This struck me as unusually pale and translucent in colour and, compared to the others, tasted rather bland at the outset and slightly boorish when the flavour eventually hit you. Wine is such an interesting subject though.  Everyone can have their own views and your views can change.  Just like with people come to think of it.  Despite my initially impressions, when I was put out by their reaction to the glasses we had provided, both the speakers were very gracious and knowledgeable and we were privileged to have them come and talk to us.

Sunday 4th October, 2015

Racial conflict and stereo types have been the subject of the news for decades now. The recent case of Amed and the clock has now resurfaced, indicating that despite the uproar for racial targeting it was in fact not down to the boys skin colour or religion that he was apprehended but due to his obvious, suspicious behaviour which, turned out to be intentional. 

           This is a very controversial topic and one that I feel strongly against as even now racism is seen in day to day life with subtle racist jokes and references. I am strongly against racism and do whatever I can to stop it when the opportunity arises. However I do believe that too often people are wrongly blamed for racism particularly within the justice system. I believe that it is not that they are targeting races because of religion and skin colour but it is that they are attempting to make a situation as safe as possible and unfortunately, mistakes are made, granted more often than not the victim is not Caucasian but, in most cases I do not believe there is actual racist intent. 

 

Sunday 28th September, 2015

With the reinstatement of David Cameron and the Conservative Party we have been promised an open vote for an amendment of the hunting act. Of course there are hundreds of points for and against the act and most have been nigh on exhausted, however I agree with the common opinion that prejudice is the main fuel for the ban. Despite huntsman in red coats with a pack of healthy hounds tearing through the county side being to me a beautiful and heart warming site, I can see how to some people it is seen as both pompous and unempathetic. Yet hunting with dogs is not always raucous, loud and upper class. Should your average anti accompany a lone country man with his one dog on a walk. Watch as the two look together and spot a hare, give the hare fair law and watch the most natural pursuit of game there is to be found. If the anti was to see the mans joy as the dog and hare twist and spin across a field only for the hare to make safe it's escape he would, i believe, be left with a different opinion of hunting with dogs.

Sunday 20th September, 2015

A while ago, when I was just 10 years old, we went on a family holiday, sailing in the Caribbean.  The turquoise seas and white sand beaches were just as we had been told, however, this paradise was not all pink flamingos and  fresh coconuts. We anchored off the shore of an idyllic looking island and took a dinghy to the beach for a picnic. My friend Tom and I then decided to go exploring. We climbed up a short cliff face and headed into the depths of the island. We scrambled over more rocks and followed a trail into the shrubby wood. After about an hour we saw that it was nearing 6 and decided we should head back as it very quickly gets very dark in the Caribbean at Easter. I turned to where I thought we had come from and Tom thought we had come from somewhere completely differently. We finally came to an agreement but our uncertainty had caused us to become anxious and we frantically tore through the encaging undergrowth. We finally got to the sea but we were at the top of a steep cliff with the waves crashing aggressively on the rocky shore. We didn’t recognise any of the land and so realised we were at the wrong side of the island. The sun was getting very low now and we were worried. With tears in our eyes we headed back to the centre, screaming for anyone to help us. Finally we heard the voices of our fathers looking for us and immediately ran towards them. We failed to notice the steep gradient of the dirt slope however and I tripped and began to slide down it. I reached out to grab hold of anything that would stop me falling and gripped on to what I presumed would be a tree. However I cried out in agony as I stopped falling and looked at my hand which was full of cactus spines. Our fathers found us and took as back to the boat. As I lay on my back, covered in dirt and with tears streaming down my cheeks, with my Mummy picking cactus spines out of my hands, paradise was the furthest thought from my mind.

Sunday 13th September, 2015

This first week of school has coincided with the start of the Rugby World Cup 2015. This has brought a lot of attention to the schools claim that the sport, rugby, was invented here. This Sunday we had our morning service broadcast live by the BBC which, unfortunately, meant that on the day we usually have our only lie in of the week, we had to get up even earlier than a normal day! There were many rehearsals and we were under strict instructions to behave impeccably due to the fact that the broadcast was live to over a million people! The service went slickly and was, I believe, a great success however, in the headmasters opening speech something he said annoyed me.

After retelling the story of William Webb Ellis and how he disregarded the rules, he finished, “Today’s Rugbeians could do a lot worse than follow his example”. Now, at a school where if you were to wear a jumper with a round neck rather than a V-neck you run the risk of being given a Sunday detention I find it very difficult to believe that the headmaster truly is an advocate for stretching the rules or for  inventing new ways to do a traditional activity. Should I decide, quite logically, that it would make sense for me to cycle to lessons rather than walk as we are supposed to, I am quite sure that he would not offer a second of his time to ponder on whether I might have come up with a “game changing” idea.

An essay in response to a random title....

If the question is why, what is the answer? 

 

  If the question is why, there is always an answer, so far as I have seen; however there is no guarantee that this ‘answer’ has any substance whatsoever.  

It was after a long hard day of trekking across an arid plain. I had been concentrating on putting one dry, cracked foot in front of the other and watching the sand and dust erupt around them like a halo from hell. My mind wandering first from my feet, then to the my companion and then all around me until focusing on our target destination which was a small bare tree with a dusting of grey green leaves. There was a shimmer behind it and although looking around, it seemed to be one of many glassy looking surfaces of water we had been assured that this one was not a mirage. 

         As we drew nearer, the idyllic image became clearer, you could distinguish many different shrubs surrounding the spring and one or two looked like they might possibly provide some shade. The mirages we had seen had faded away leaving this solitary patch to become even clearer and persuaded us to start believing it was real. My mouth was so dry it felt as though the sand on the floor would run off my tongue just as it did our hands. Alif’s strides quickened and I struggled to keep up with him. I had come across him in a town near the port and after talking for a night he had decided that he too was to attempt crossing the desert and so we had come to an agreement. If I were to share my belongings with him then he would carry the majority of them. It had seemed a fair bargain and I could use the company. I had tried to impress upon him the importance of particular items for example the tarpaulin for our shade and the gallon water container, which now hung empty on his rucksack swinging leisurely two and fro. He assured me that he would show particular care to these valuable items and so we had carried on. 

       We were now so close to the oasis that I could taste the moisture in the air. I could smell the freshness emitted from the green leaves and hear the sound of something splashing in the water. I froze, my mind racing as to what could be there. I signalled to Alif as I readied the rifle, knowing that this could be our only chance of fresh meet for over a weak. We headed quietly and carefully closer, Alif gingerly holding the firearm I had lent him. At the first bush I crouched down and Alif followed suit. We got closer and I could make out the form of an animal at the springs edge. We were close enough now, not even 40 yards and I readied my rifle waiting patiently for the animal to lift its head and give an opportunity for a shot.  My stare was so constant that I thought I might bore holes into the animals hide or at the very least that it would sense my hunger and it’s imminent danger. It didn’t, indeed it did not really do anything.  It must have been at least 5 minutes and it hadn’t taken a step. But I knew patience would pay off and I didn’t risk moving, just waited longer, staring, waiting, expecting. It was so quiet that I could hear the animal drink; I could hear the splashes of water dripping from its muzzle and back into the spring. It still hadn’t moved, barely a muscle had twitched and now it must have been nearing an hour. The animal’s tail swished and the sound cut through the air and then again quiet.  The silence was not deafening, merely irritating I waited tirelessly for it to take just a step forward to make the shot but no footstep was heard.  From my right a crack splintered the silence, and shattered the tranquillity and with it my hopes of food. As I came back to my senses I saw the back end of a large oryx as it disappeared into the desert.  I turned to Alif in disbelief and he stood, still holding the gun, staring at his trigger as smoke swirledmaliciously out of the end of the barrel.

       We both just stood there in silence, neither knowing what was going through the others mind or believing what had happened, the concoction of hunger, thirst, weariness and disappointment had become too much for us and so we stood half in a nightmare, half deaddeliriously trying to comprehend our situation. Finally, after an age I turned to Alif and asked, “why?”

I had told him previously that he was, under no circumstances, to fire until I had fired at least two shots. Alif slowly lifted his head and looked at my with seeping eyes, “It was an accident”, he said avoiding my stare. “My finger slipped” he exclaimed but there was no real meaning in what he said. He barely seemed to want to disguise his falseness but gave me this answer anyway. I shook my head, looked at him again and repeated myself, “why?” He took a breath and again faced me, “it had moved a bit and I had a clear shot at the chest”, he said but barely finished his sentence, the word, ‘chest’, was almost a whisper.  These interactions had wakened me enough from my stupor to remind me of my thirst and I dived towards the water taking great gulps like a grouper swimming in a reef. Alif cautiously followed and squatted tentatively on the edge, cupping his hands and sipping at the dripping water. He was still ashamed and anxious of his interrogation to come.  After I had drunk my fill and Alif had slowed down and become more relaxed I told him, for a third time, “why?” I said it very slowly and very deliberately and the look on my face showed clearly that I wanted the real answer.  

           Alif looked down and then up, he stared straight at me and then away again. He breathed in, as if to say something but breathed out again slowly. Finally he spoke, very quietly. I leant forward to assure that I heard everything. His English, which was previously, almost flawless become infused with a rich African accent. He added in words that I had never heard before which must have been from his native tongue. “It wos when I wos a vury little boy, I had left my village in search of food for my kijiji but became lost. I had ventured too far in to the jangwa and wherever I looked, looked the same”, he leant back on his heels and carried on. “I fell asleep alongside a small rock and dreamt wild dreams. I was awoken by the howls of a pack of mbwa mwitu and sat up. I could see nothing, but through the cloak of darkness I saw movement and a flash of white teeth. Then I saw another, and another until I could see mwitu in every direction. I shouted and clapped my hands but they would not leave. They crept closer and closer until I could look no more and closed my eyes and wailed. I braced myself for teeth but heard thundering footprints instead, I looked up and saw an Oryx charge into the pack of dogs, kicking one with its front hoof and another with its back. The dogs fled and the Oryx chased after them without looking back once.” Alif stood up again and looked embarrassed he said, “I have been indebted to them ever since and now I have returned the favour.”  

          I was feeling somber at the thought of the anger I had against him and was ready to apologise and agree that he was just in his actions but just as I looked up I saw him hide a smile… 

         I had asked him the question, “why?” and had been given three answers, all of which were relevant but none of them could be counted upon.

photography editor - Compass magazine

Letter of application- June 2015

Dear Mr Dhanda,

Many people have wondered why, despite being named Oliver I am referred to as Bob. The answer to this is that, for my christening I was given by some generous godparents a case of Bollinger 97 Champagne. And so my name, Olly was altered to Bolly. Bobby and Bob shortly followed but it is the Bolly that I would like to focus on!

                My father is a wine enthusiast and from an early age, far before I was old enough to appreciate the subtleties of a fine wine, he encouraged me to taste and comment on the wine that he was drinking. My comments and appreciation for wine has come a long way since  ten year old me would say, tongue in cheek, “yummy” and then drink a glass of water!

              I believe that I would be an appropriate candidate for a Secretary of the Wine Society because I have a real enthusiasm for wine. I would love the opportunity to be able to encourage others to enjoy and relish the delicious  and varying qualities of wines. Furthermore, I am a sociable person and I understand the social aspect of drinking and tasting wines.  Wine Society provides a place for people with a common interest to meet and talk and enjoy new wines. It would be an utter privilege to help organise and invite people to such events. Finally I believe I would be a good secretary because, as I am interested in wine I would be very pleased to try and find guest speakers to help improve mine and any others present’s knowledge of wine.

I hope that you will consider me as a future Secretary and I thank you very much for the opportunity.

Kind Regards,

Bob/Bolly Sandison

Friday 27th March, 2015

MThis week, following my encounter with the optimistic, excited 7 year olds, I had a leaveout. My dad proposed a trip to the golf course which I willingly accepted on the condition that I could take Weasel, my dog. My dad just had to check the club calendar at Worlington to be sure the the course would be clear, but unfortunately and unusually the course had been booked. Even more unusual was that it had been booked by none other than the Old Rugbeian Golf Society a strange coincidence and one that made me less inclined to go the golf course for I had no wish to spend my break from Rugby with Old Rugbieans! However a quick ring confirmed that they were in for lunch and with Dad assuring me that we wouldn't meet them we nipped over for a few holes. I played my usual sporadic game, perhaps slightly better than usual! Weasel however behaved impeccably. Finally we got to the ninth hole.  The ball must travel over a river to get to the fairway and with a bold angle and some distance it is possible to drive both over the river and a small country road that separates the fairway and the green. Throughout the club house there is much competition over who can drive over the road. My dad, to his frustration cannot! This day was no different and all though he hit a beautiful drive his ball landed virtually on the verge of the road. I however, miraculously made it both over the road and over the green! We made our way into the club house for a celebratory pint of IPA with my head spinning with triumphant thoughts of golf, completely forgetting about the ORs! However shortly after sitting down there was the distinct sound of chairs being moved and the excitable chatter of many people heading out of lunch. Predictably one of the first men out recognised my  Dad and after an introduction he let slip that I was currently at rugby. Within seconds the gentleman had told his friends and we were soon surrounded by a noisy group of 70 year olds excitedly asking about the school and telling me what houses they were in. On hearing that I had driven the green on the ninth they declared that not only must I join their society but I would also be invited to play in the very prestigious Halford Hewitt competition ... If only they knew how my game actually was! But as a final comment there is a strange and clear parallel between the 7 year olds I looked after that Thursday and to the gentlemen I met on leave-out. Both groups of people were cheerful and bubbly and not nearly as scary as I thought they were going to be!

Sunday 15th March, 2015

This week, on Thursday, we had what is called, ‘first schools day’. It entails a selection of local primary schools coming to Rugby. Some 300 seven year olds come for the day with activities and a quiz type treasure hunt provided by the school. Each child is assigned a Rugby School student from one of the top three years who is then with the child for the rest of the day. Nervously the Rugby students sat, wondering what ‘their’ child was going to be like. Some students were scared, their imagination conjured terrifying images of how their young 7 year old would be. Eventually the first load of kids arrived.  The previously hushed TSR was filled with excitable hubbub of the children. Happily  they looked around at what to them was an absolute novel experience whilst, although some students shoulders visibly lifted (their terrifying images had clearly been very scary indeed!) some still shrank into their chairs.

The contrasting behaviour of the two ages is strange and interesting.  The 7 year olds were utterly fearless and tremendously optimistic whereas the 17 year olds were anxious and feared the worst. The first activity was to take the child you had been assigned around some of the school in order to help them answer questions from the quiz.  Questions included testers such as, “How many paintings are there in the OBS” or “there is a white rabbit in the chapel” or “who wrote the book ‘Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland’?”.  Everyone had a different experience with the child they were however, all of the children seemed very eager to participate in the quiz.

The boy I was looking after was called Oliver and he got the answer to every question very easily. There was even a riddle in the quiz, “What has hands but no arms and a face but no head”.  On hearing it he took barely a second to burst out the answer, “A CLOCK!” I was so surprised by this that I asked him how he knew the answers.  He replied that his older brother had come to first schools day a few years ago and told him the answers to the questions he would probably be asked!  I am not sure what I was more impressed about; his knowledge or his memory!  Or, indeed, his brothers memory!!

Sunday 1st March 2015 - the timetable

At the beginning of this year my school, Rugby decided to change the complete school timetable. The man who was in charge of academics at this point changed it into a fair more complicated one than what we had previously. As opposed to a sheet with a list of lessons on that we followed each week it was altered into a two week timetable and the lessons were lengthened from 45 minutes to 55 minutes. On first hearing about this change the majority of pupils were annoyed, resentful and very apprehensive as to their own ability to get to the right lessons and as to whether they would be able to concentrate for such an extended period of time.

       However, term came and the new timetable was put into place. A few people turned up late or in the wrong place in the first week however very quickly people adapted and got used to this novel routine. The two week time table meant there was greater variety in the weeks which made the time at school less monotonous. The longer lessons meant that there were less lessons! Which helped days pass quicker as swell as allowing more detail to be taught on specific topics. It was particularly beneficial for creative subjects where previously by the time you got all your paint and brushes out you needed to start clearing up again. Whereas as the extra 10 minutes made the preparation worthwhile.

          Despite this seemingly successful outcome to what was originally a resented decision the new academics head has decided to again change round the timetable. Far greater changes to what were previously made have been suggested for example having our chapel services mid-afternoon and starting the days earliar. As you can imagine this has yet again set the pupils in uproar however should it go ahead I am sure that we will adjust and adapt.

Free writing contest - 250 words on 20 mins - Saturday 21st Feb 2015

Spring had come, the bright green leaves were on the trees and the sun was giving off a warm and friendly glow.  The stream was glistening in the light and shadows from the trees caused a dappling, flickering effect.  This movement of light on the water meant that it was very hard to see.  If one was to glance across the stream then nothing would seem amiss.  However, if you know what you were looking for then you could see the small patch of snowdrops.  Nothing unusual you might have thought, remember this is spring!  The snow drops formed an arrow pointing towards the wood.  If you were to follow the sign, you would come across more; a silver birch tree had fallen and if you followed its direction then you soon came across more signs.  There were signs of the softest kind and signs that were brash, but they all lead to some thing, a wonderful thing.  At first it looked like nothing or at most another sign.  The tree must once have been huge, but many years had caused it to crumble and break and now it was just a hollow trunk.  At close inspection there were signs on the tree, tiny delicate lines wriggled their way up the trunk.  None to the side, all going up and so up you must go to find what there is to find.

At first the climbing is easy, the knobbly trunk provides foot holds and grip, but higher is harder.  One must reach and stretch to get to the next grip.  Eventually your hands can reach the top and you can pull yourself up and inside…..inside is the most staggering apparition ever to darken your eyes.

 

December 2014

This Christmas holiday has been a great, varied break with all sorts of different things happening. To start with I was collected early from school, missing the last chapel, which I must admit was a great bonus in order to go, with my parents and my little sister, Lottie, to Bosworth. Bosworth is a country house and small estate in Leicestershire, the C-M’s own it and they are great family friends of ours, Tom is a really close friend of mine and they have a small syndicate shoot  of which my dad has a gun at, what a way to kick of the holidays! From waking up and changing into my suit for breakfast to being out in the Leicestershire country-side in plus 4s in about an hour! I had a great day, catching up with Tom and Felix, who is a long-time friend of mine. Tommy, Felix and I used to beat at the shoot from a very young age and so it is a very familiar, comfortable atmosphere. Daddy had brought Weasel and so I got to see her and already I felt as though I had always been on holiday, we had a great day and I shot well!  Sunday, was uncreatively a day of rest but a well-deserved one after a busy term at school. I then had a party at a friend’s house and had a great time although  some of the stories leaked from it may, I fear never leave the parents gossip! The very next evening I went to my close friend, Mamie’s house with Ed and Laura, we are all really good friends and although we had seen each other the night before it was great to be able to have a proper catch-up.  There were a few other pre-Christmas drinks party’s that we went to, the Wrights party was dress coded as Christmas jumpers, however,  being the boring people we are we turned up without any sartorial garments, but as we arrived I saw my friend, Patrick, wearing a Christmas hat and tie but by the time we walked through the door of the party, Patrick was there but minus his hat and tie, he had walked in realised no one was dressed up and hastily ditched his attire! Granny and Papa, came to stay soon after this and it was lovely to have them round, we went on a few dog walks and ate some delicious food, Granny had brought a gigantic Christmas cake and we had slices of cake with tea whenever we felt like it, yet even though we were regular chipping away at it, we still only managed to finish it in late January!  On Christmas day, for the first time in 17 years I wasn’t waken up before light by Lottie, my sister! I was still up early, around 8 but just not compared to previous Christmas’s! We went to church, without much argument again contrary to most Christmas’s where we would always try to get out of church however I don’t know why we try considering that there is such a great social hubbub. After church we started are marathon of food and drink and, for the rest of the day, apart from a brief respite where we went for a dog walk we kept it up until later into the evening where we crashed in the sitting room next to a  blazing fire, here, to my annoyance Daddy decided to face time the cousins! I usually find it irritating when he does this as it results in a loss of connection and a buffering image or, if not that then the camera is pushed around, usually breeching personal space and it results in chaotic leaning over each other to get a look at the image. However, this time it was incredible, the connection went through and the cousins answered, from a chairlift  whilst they were skiing in America, whilst we had finished are busy day and had a warm fire and a black night, they were having a mid-morning ski with snow falling around them and the whole day ahead, moments like that really make you appreciate the magic of technology. Later on in the holiday, Daddy and I went beagleing  It was my first time and it was something that I had wanted to do for a bit and, the Eton beagle pack just so happened to have meet of the Thurlow hunt land! So, excitedly we got ready for a long day out and we quizzed Mummy as to what we should were and with so many proposals, it was clear that it really didn’t matter! We got to the with, seven or eight other members of the field and arriving soon after us a beautiful pack of beagles, they were really sweet little hounds and it was a pleasure to see them milling around at the meet, after a glass of port and a sausage roll we headed off with slight apprehension and absolute confusion. We were vaguely instructed by what may or may not of been a field master as to what we should do and headed of in a line along the set-aside however with Daddy running trainers itching on his feet we soon found ourselves jogging ahead and away from the rest of them, we had a great day out and by the end of it I feel we must have seemed professionals, practically sprinting up tram lines and pushing our way through the thickest of hedges, we went home exhausted yet we were both still up for appearing the next day where they had a second nearby meet. Soon enough I was by the back door, bags packed and taxi waiting but mingled with the sick feeling of leaving home was the warm feeling of a busy, varied and satisfying Holiday.

 

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        

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