Arthurian League

A few weeks ago I was up at Haileybury to watch no 1 son putting his life on the line for the school in goal for the Yearlings B hockey side when I bumped into the General Secretary who sent me off to Quitchells to watch some football. There was a small notice on the post at the field entrance which read 'parking for OH Football." The OH Football team was playing in the Athurian League. This is a football league for alumni teams. At the match I saw, Haileybury were winning. The team is now sitting at the top of division 1 and must hope for promotion to the premier league at the end of the season.

Streets Called Haileybury

This one is in Nottingham NG2. Once again the neighbouring streets are named after schools.

I know this is a bit of a cop - out after a long time without much posting. My excuse is that we are still waiting for the phone lines and the internet to be fixed up in our new house.

Haileybury, Magdalen, Staggers

The dinner at S Stephen's House (aka Staggers) was a happy event. Thanks to Mark Blandford Baker (K 1974) we forgathered at Magdalen for Evensong followed by drinks in the newly refurbished Oscar Wilde Room. This function room was once the set used by Wilde. Mark told us that Wilde was as tough as nails and mixed aestheticism with athleticism, once throwing to hearty chaps who came to beat him up down the rather steep flight of stairs we had just climbed. I had hoped to have with me a friend who - like Wilde - is an Old Potoran who has often invited me to dinners of the Old Potora Union, but alas, he is away at the moment.

Following drinks we made our way up the Cowley Road to S Stephen's House and to dinner. The Master spoke about the life of the school and told a rather good joke about railway tickets and Harrovians which went down well, and then Canon Robin Ward, the Principal of S Stephen's House spoke about the great man who links Haileybury, Magdalen and Staggers, Basil Jellicoe, of whom I have written on this blog before. An alumnus of all three institutions his dedication to the poor and his self sacrifice in seeking not himself but the benefit of others was, said Dr Ward, a challenge to us in our tendency to commodify education, and see education as something to pay for and then use to our own benefit. He spoke in the context of university fees starting to rise but his challenge to those educated at independent schools is clear: we must add to our privilege the determination to serve others.

Fr Robin then revealed that he had been shown by my sons some of the pictures I had gathered on my camera of some corners of Haileybury which I have for a series of blog posts on 'nooks and corners.' To general hilarity he revealed that I have some shots of modern white cities on the school site. You may get to see those if we ever get the internet working in our new home.

Wot no Internet

I have been without Internet at home since moving thanks to the slowness of BT in fixing up the telephone lines. Apologies for the lack of posts. I have had a Haileybury week. On Monday I met up with Jim for whom I fagged. We had a happy evening of reminiscences and developed a plot for a Hailey reunion.

Tonight I am in Oxford for the reunion dinner. We are off to Magdalene for evensong and drinks shortly and then off to S Stephen's House for dinner.

I shall endeavour to report tomorrow.

Lift Up Your Hearts

When I was at S Stephen's House, the seminary in Oxford, at the end of the '80s Val and Mary Rogers were members of the congregation. I knew Val through university friends who had been at Potora where he was headmaster, but he and I had Haileybury in common, he having been on the staff from the end of the war until 1954. He had been told by Canon Bonhote to offer for Holy Orders. I took Val back to Haileybury for what I guess must have been the last time. He was convinced he knew the route from Oxford, but all the roads had changed and we got very lost. Val was a great fan of C S Lewis, whom he had known, and it was he who was driving us one afternoon up to visit Lewis's house just outside Oxford when he misjudged the speed of an approaching van as we were crossing the dual carriageway Oxford Ring Road and we were struck on the side of the car and thrown to the side of the road. Amazingly neither of us was hurt badly, though Val was badly bruised, and gave up driving after that.

Mary was delightful, a gentle scholarly woman, who was a great expert on her native Eniskillen.

As old age came upon them Val sought to prune his library, and one afternoon I went round to choose what I would like. Having spent some hours this week trying to get the quart of books I have into the pint pot of my new study and facing the reality that I shall have to let some go, I admire his courage. Of course the books I have shed are those which I hardly ever (or never in some cases) have down from the shelf, but it is still hard. I remember the old man's genuine delight that he well loved (and often annotated) volumes were going to what he thought of as a good home. He was very eclectic in his interests and there were some ideas which I did not think proper - he was more deeply read in Swedenborg than I thought safe for a Priest.

I have on my desk as a type a little book on the General Confession inscribed 'To Mary with "Many Happy Returns" from Val 12 Oct 46' which would have been when they were at Haileybury. I hope that the memory of the generous and open handed way in which it was given away - both times - will help me to let go a bit more of the things I cling on to. For we brought nothing into the world and we take nothing out. The Lord gives and the Lord takes away. Blessed be the name of the Lord.

Boxes Trunks and Packages

We are in the throes of moving to our new house. This is why blogging has not been happening. As yet we have no phone and no internet and everything seems to be hidden behind and in pikes of cardboard boxes. In the days when I packed up all my chattels at the end of each year to move to a new study it seemed a lot in that it filled the boot of the car. Now it has been a huge organisation. We will all be glad when everything is straight. Please bear with me. Normal service will be resumed soon.

The answer to the New Guvs' Test question was, of course, that there are no tiles on the food of Edmonstone because Lawrence is on top. In these more expansive days Edmonstond has a fine new building with many tiles on the roof. Lawrence still has the same number of tiles on it's roof but hiw many that is I do not know as that question was not on the test.

New Guv's Test 5

Blogging is a bit dificult at the moment as we are in the throes of moving house and the internet connection is not sorted. Here though is another question. It may be the last as my memory is running out.

How many tiles are there on the roof of Edmonstone?

Now this, of course, is an out of date question, but I am looking for the pre 1999 answer.