Monthly Archives: May 2021

Unwanted memories

Posted on 31st May 2021 by Ian

Widows were a constant feature of village life as a child. Sometimes they were war widows, one lady had survived a Japanese prison camp, her husband had not survived. Others seemed to have husbands who had returned, but who did … Continue reading →

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Divorced, beheaded, died

Posted on 30th May 2021 by Ian

It was on this day in 1536 that Henry VIII married Jane Seymour, the third of his six wives. On Friday, a song about Henry’s wives came down the corridor from one of the history classrooms, “Divorced, beheaded, died. Divorced, … Continue reading →

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Would that there were a second chance to make the journey

Posted on 29th May 2021 by Ian

It is odd to imagine it will be forty years ago, each detail retains a fresh intensity Catching the District Line train from Kew Gardens to Waterloo, I carried a case that could only be moved in fifty yard bursts, … Continue reading →

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I am what I do

Posted on 28th May 2021 by Ian

Half-term. After it school returns to almost a semblance of normality. I have my classroom back. Room 14 with its view of Leckhampton Hill. After the last of the students had left this afternoon, I rearranged the classroom furniture and … Continue reading →

Posted in The stuff of daily life | 1 Comment

The spiritless school

Posted on 27th May 2021 by Ian

It is more than twenty years since David Hay and Rebecca Nye published their book The Spirit of the School. The book argued that spirituality was something other than religion and was a matter too important to be left to those who … Continue reading →

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