The scheduled building works were completed in 3 weeks and 2 days and what a welcome transformation!  I have received so many positive comments about the light corridors, high ceilings and new classrooms!

Kindergarten is now fully operational under the watchful eye of the splendid Molly Mills and we are rapidly becoming accustomed to the sound of tiny pattering feet! Louise Hemsley and Reception are ensconced in their new neighbouring classroom;  Marianna Bakewell is delighted with her newly decorated room across the corridor and so are her Y1 children;  Emer Murphy and Year 2 have the biggest room imaginable and are enjoying their working space – and, yes, I promise to increase your cloakroom area!

Year 3 to Year 5 now have their interactive boards, internet and computers and Mrs Stewart, in particular, is revelling in experimenting with her new educational resources.

Mary Pearson, Carolyn Holleyman and all the peripatetic teachers are very impressed with the Performing Arts facility.  This will definitely help to maintain the importance that we attach to Music, Dance and Drama at Skippers.

The rain has severely disrupted our Sports Programme and fingers are crossed that the weather will become more clement next week – thank goodness for the Swimming Pool and Gymnasium!

One of the highlights of this month is the Mayfield May Fair.  As the only really local prep school, we have supported this fine festival from the outset five years ago.  We believe it is very important to play an active role in community projects…hence our choirs sing for local Rest Homes; our children raise money for local charities; our Harvest Festival is open to visitors from the village and food baskets are distributed to senior residents to name but a few things we do locally.

On Saturday 12th May, pupils from Skippers will be assembling just before 11 a.m. just outside The Flower House in Mayfield at the bottom of the High Street.  We shall join a procession led by the Green Giant and the merry troupe will wend its way to Court Meadow to the rousing sound of the Mayfield Silver Band.  This is where the fair is taking place this year.

At Court Meadow we shall all watch the crowning of the May Queen.  Thereafter, our children open proceedings with three Maypole Dances.  After this, one of our performers will ask the May Queen to dance and there is a short twirl around the Maypole and the actual fair begins.

My first duty will be to organise ice creams for our dancers and then they will be free to enjoy the fair and even take part in the various sporting activities (Olympics-style!) that are on offer.
I have been told there is a hog roast, an outside bar and Pimms bar, about 20 trade stands – including our own manned by Fiona who would love it if you stopped by for a chat – and much more besides.  It would be great to see as many friends and supporters there on Saturday egging on our wonderful children.

So what am I going to do with the rest of my Saturday?  Probably resume painting Rowan’s bedroom.  But this time I shall aim to daub more paint on the wall than on me!

Which reminds me of a dreadful joke related to me by a clerical Roman Catholic friend of mine some years ago:

His church had fallen into a state of disrepair.  The paint was flaking and the once beautiful edifice was a shadow of its former self.  The Church Committee put an advert in the local paper requesting local firms to tender for the work.  Almost all of the painters in the area were within a few pounds of each other’s quotes, with the exception of one well-known, well-established, local company which had been in business for years and had an excellent reputation in the community.  This particular painter’s bid was about half of the competing bids.  The committee obviously selected the lowest quote.

On the morning the job began, the painter soon realised that he had grossly underestimated the scale of the project and realised he had underbid by about 50%.  Not wishing to lose the job, he decided to thin the paint out with water so he would be able to complete the job for the price quoted.

One week later, the painter received a call from my friend, the priest, explaining that after the first rain, half of the paint had washed off the church.

The painter returned, looked at the building, and sure enough, the job was ruined.  He went inside to pray about the situation, knowing that his business reputation was on the line.

“What can I possibly do, Lord?” prayed the discouraged businessman with his hands reverently clasped together.

Suddenly, God in a loud voice from the altar replied, “Repaint, and thin no more!”

Heartfelt apologies and hope to see you on Saturday!

Dear Parents, children and friends,

As we race to the end of a busy term, I felt that I had to bring you all up to speed with developments at Skippers and some news from our parent company, Bellevue Education.

It is with great pleasure that I am able to announce the appointment of Mrs Molly Mills as our Head of Kindergarten.  She takes up her post in April.  She is charming, experienced, ebullient and comes with an excellent pedigree!  I shall get her to introduce herself properly at the beginning of the Summer Term by inviting her to write a Guest Blog for our next newsletter!

Over Easter, Gary and Martin are bringing a team of builders to refurbish more areas of the school.

As Kindergarten is moving into the Early Years Block, Year I and Marianna Bakewell will be moving into Emer’s old classroom.  A pneumatic Smartboard has been ordered for Year 1 and the classroom will have new storage space, basin and insulation.

Year 2 and Emer Murphy are taking over the old Studio which will have its own cloakroom area, new storage and interactive board.  The beautiful wooden floor will be retained and sanded to bring it back to its former glory! The keyboards will be relocated to the Music Room.

The lobby outside the Dining Room will have its floor sanded and the whole area will be redecorated and the walls clad in keeping with the theme of the entrance hallway.  Many of the other corridors will be refurbished over the holidays.

Rooms 1 and 2 will be knocked through and redecorated to provide more accommodation for Performing Arts.  An upright piano has been purchased for Room 3 to be available for peripatetic lessons and as a practice venue for children at break times.

We have now installed an internet connection to Top Block and Years 3, 4 and 5 will come back to school after Easter to interactive whiteboards and projectors in their classrooms.  This means that each class in the school has its own quality ICT facility which I am sure the teachers and pupils will enjoy!  We are also installing an ebeam in to the Science Room which will add to the experience of all our students.

So much change in such a short time – fingers crossed we achieve this all in time for the first day of Summer Term!

A few items from Bellevue Education:

On Tuesday and Wednesday of last week all the heads in the Bellevue Education Group met up at Hampton Court at Head Office.  We spent the time getting to know each other better and also to link up with the rest of the Bellevue support team.

Our group now consists of seven UK schools:  Skippers; Norfolk House; Brabyns; Edenhurst; Wandsworth Prep; Weston Green; and Gateway.  Each school is individual and full of character but it is fantastic to be able to use each other as sounding boards and to share resources and good practice.  Each head will be visiting the other schools over the next two terms.  We will also have termly Heads’ Management Meetings at Hampton Court as well as Governance Meetings at one selected school which is designed to ensure we are all up to the mark!

I should also mention that we have branched out into the international market and the group has recently acquired the Gstaad International School in Switzerland which might mean cheaper skiing holidays!

As a group, we are organising a number of events to bring us all closer together:

1. Teachers are being invited to spend the day at another school to experience the teaching and learning taking place.  Our very own David Pollard is booked in for the day at Norfolk House to see their Maths Department in action, exchange views and probably (knowing him) pinch ideas! His visit is on 1st May.

2. There will be a programme of central training for teachers and management at the Hampton Court Office

3. A Bellevue Conference for teachers – a synchronised Inset day – for all staff in all schools to come together for training and exchange of ideas and best practice

4. A Bellevue Art and Music festival for our schools.  Chris Sanderson, our Education Director, is looking into this proposal

5. And, finally, on June 11th, Skippers is acting as host to Year 6 pupils from Brabyns, Edenhurst and Gateway schools as we stage the first ever Bellevue Olympics!  The children will be camping overnight, building fires to toast marshmallows, eat a hog roast and, of course, compete in many different athletic events.  They will also swim, play wide games and generally have fun!  It will be a feat of organisation but we all very excited about this venture!

Back to a snippet of news:

• Congratulations to William Arnold on being awarded an All Rounder Scholarship to Hurstpierpoint College!

• Our VIP Day in the Juniors was a fantastic event

• I thought Y3 and 4’s production of Treasure Island was stunning. I was only sorry that I could only see the show once!

• I am looking forward to our first Performing Arts Evening on Tuesday.  With so many performers involved, it will be fun squeezing you all in!

• Summer Uniform please for the rest of the academic year

• The Swimming Pool has donned its Skippers’ colours and is ready for action so make sure you bring your swimming gear from Day One of the Summer Term

Fiona and I wish you all a Happy Easter!

Fondest regards,

Yours ever,

Tim Lewis

However, one aspect of the day that irked me somewhat was the fact that an equally important Rugby event was taking place at Esher RFC and that there was no coverage accorded to the match taking place there.  Another vital battle was being staged between the England Women’s Rugby Team and a plucky, hungry Irish side.

Many sporting aficionados have absolutely no idea how women’s Rugby has developed in the last decade and few people have the chance to view the fine performances of these dedicated players on television.  Moreover, our world class lady cricketers (including Skippers very own Laura Marsh) and our fantastic Netball and Hockey teams hardly get a mention in the Press, let alone on TV.  I think that sports’ coverage is out of kilter and the balance should be redressed.

Yesterday, England Women’s dominance of European rugby continued with England securing a record breaking seventh successive Six Nations crown and a sixth Grand Slam in seven years despite Ireland producing one of their best performances ever against the reigning champions.  England emerged winners 23-6.  Surely this was worth broadcasting? Are we not an Equal Opportunities’ Society?

But why write about Rugby on Mothering Sunday of all days?

The answer is simple:  it is about my being a mixed national and my having a teenhood memory of my mother as I awoke this morning.

Mixed nationality:  Lewis (Tim) …born England; father…English; mother…German;  paternal Grandparents…Irish and Welsh; maternal Grandparents…German. What a mix!
I have always supported England; my brother supported Wales. My mum was an ardent Rugby fan too.  She would always root for the Welsh which often caused a family schism, especially with my dad! If Wales were not playing, she would side with the underdog. She always came to support me in my school matches and representative games; as she was 5 foot high she always arrived early so that she could be near the action.

Back to my teenhood memory:

It was a grim Saturday afternoon and UCS was playing KCS in a needle match.  At the time I was Captain of Middlesex U19’s and playing in the Centre.  My opposite number was an ugly chunky character who played for Surrey and, frankly, from the start we both knew that this would literally be a crunch game!

KCS had a dominant pack and their backs put us under pressure, though our scramble defence was really effective.  The two KCS centres executed a simple scissors which was easy to read; my resultant tackle left my opponent somewhat winded; we gained possession and subsequently scored.

Something in his eyes told me that he was out for revenge!  The bared teeth and flared nostrils seemed to confirm this!

The second half began with a poor kick-off from our Fly Half; their Full Back gathered the ball and placed the most huge Gary Owen high up into the heavens which I fielded close to the touchline; I passed inside to one of the forwards to set up a defensive ruck.  Five seconds later an express train ran over me and I was flattened by my friend the Centre!  A late tackle was his revenge, I thought, as I staggered to my feet slightly dazed.
The strangest sight filtered through my hazy vision:  my six foot opponent was crouching on the ground, cowering beneath a shower of blows being delivered by a squat little lady wielding a pink umbrella and cursing him with an assortment of Teutonic imprecations that even I found hard to translate!

The referee, one of my Rugby coaches, turned to me and said between clenched teeth, “Lewis, remove your dear mother from that poor lad and escort her from the pitch!”
Talk about embarrassment!  I prised the umbrella from mum’s hand and ushered her from the pitch.  I returned to the field which now resounded to hoots of laughter – mostly aimed at me!

I walked slowly over to my opponent and naturally apologised.  He smiled and told me that his mother was of Greek extraction and that she flew off the handle at the slightest provocation too and it was lucky that she hadn’t been there – we giggled at the thought of two fanatical mothers fighting in the mud whilst their sons watched!

Back to reality!

As it is Mothering Sunday, I have been a good boy: I have peeled the potatoes, the yams and parsnips; I have cooked the breakfast Fiona wanted – boiled eggs and soldiers; I have bought the Sunday Times; I even nipped round to Pippins Florist and purchased a fabulous bunch of Spring flowers.

A sudden thought: Why am I doing all this when my wife is not my mother?

The answer: she is the mother of my kids and a damn fine one too!

Happy Mothering Sunday to all mothers wherever you are!

Yesterday afternoon at around five o’clock 9 adults and 34 pupils boarded a coach bound for the West End.  The temperature was below zero but the party was buzzing – probably fizzing with E numbers from the ever-popular Jersey Tuck Shop that the Upper School students had run so successfully at Morning Break!

“Belt up, everyone!” I bellowed above the cacophony of excited children.

Silence reigned.

“I meant that literally!  Make sure you put your seat belt on properly!”

The noise level resumed and we were on our way with Ray, our chatty coach driver, in control.

Soon a plethora of gadgets emerged from knapsacks:  I Pods, I Pads, Smart Phones, one laptop, PS2’s, a Kindle and other gizmos I had never previously encountered! What a relief when I found Emily writing her diary and two others reading real books!

As we approached London, it was obvious that we were far too early for the show so Ray began an informed commentary on the sights and, as a Londoner born and bred, he treated us all to snippets of London history.

Some of the children put aside their machines and tuned into the education on the move that was on offer.

Here are a few snippets:

-Monument is 202 feet high because it is 202 feet from the base to where the Great Fire of London started in the King’s baker’s shop (Thomas Faynor’s) in Pudding Lane. It has 311 steps to climb!

-We all loved Big Ben and he correctly pointed out that it is the great bell that is called Big Ben

-Norman Foster’s City Hall which resembles a crash helmet was popular; the Shard, The London Eye and Canary Wharf also looked spectacular on a clear, crisp evening.

-The Tower of London stood out sharply as the buildings were stunningly illuminated.  The last prisoners to be held in the Tower of London were the Kray Twins in 1954, held for only a few days because of their refusal to report for national service.  Reggie and Ronnie Kray were gang masters who ran the East End in the 1950’s and 60’s.  They were cruel, unstable and were guilty of arson, protection rackets and armed robberies with a bit of torture thrown in too!  We passed the Blind Beggar Pub, a popular haunt of the Krays which became famous in 1966 when Ronnie murdered George Cornell there….gruesome stuff!

-Eros is a famous statue located on top of the Shaftesbury Avenue Memorial fountain in Piccadilly Square, London.  The statue is of a winged, naked archer and was created by sculptor Alfred Gilbert in 1893. It was commissioned as a memorial to the 7th Earl of Shaftesbury who was a famous philanthropist and politician.
There was great controversy when Eros (Anteros) was unveiled as people were uncomfortable with such a naked figure being displayed in public. As a result, the statue was renamed The Angel of Christian Charity but this did not catch on and over the years, the statue’s name was abbreviated from Anteros to Eros. In Greek mythology Eros was the God of Love and his Roman equivalent was Cupid.  Anteros, the God of Requited Love, was created as a brother for Eros, who was in danger of pining away from loneliness. Anteros is basically the Anti-Eros.

All fascinating stuff and worth a bit of research when I find the time!

Back to the journey!

We parked in the Haymarket and walked to the Criterion Theatre.  The theatre was charming and intimate, seating around 500 spectators.  It was full house as The 39 Steps is a very popular production!

Four highly adept actors played 139 different roles and had the audience in stitches!  This audience, myself excluded, was predominantly young; our children were enrapt by the over-the-top comedic humour, the slapstick, the mime, the innuendoes, the simplicity of the plot and the versatile acting.  As one critic recently said: “The 39 Steps isn’t a show-stopper; it’s not dramatic, amazing or shocking. But what is the most important, overriding feeling? It is a hilarious depiction of old British drama, which is entertaining from beginning to end – suited to all age ranges!”

With the show finished and the snow falling, it was back to the coach – by now the E numbers had begun to subside and it was, therefore, time to attack the snack boxes…and what an assortment of tastes: chilli wraps; irradiated nuclear chicken that tasted like haddock; marmite and peanut sandwiches; macaroni cheese; hula hoops; pot noodles; and even a bit of fruit.

By this time, yours truly had consumed his ham and cheese granary roll and was on the scrounge!  Georgina, one of my reliable Prefects, was picking the odd green seedless grape from a Tupperware pot.  She saw me ogling the fruit and kindly offered me one.  I reached out and just as my fingertips brushed the skin of the mouth-watering fruit, she whipped it out of range!  This happened thrice and, once again, education stepped in and saved me!

“You are tantalising me!” I cried.

“What does that mean?” asked Georgina.

So I told her the story:

Tantalus was the son of Zeus and was the king of Sipylos. He was uniquely favoured among mortals since he was invited to share the food of the gods (ambrosia). However, he abused the guest-host relationship and was punished by being “tantalised” with hunger and thirst in Tartarus: he was immersed up to his neck in cool, refreshing water, but when he bent down to drink, it all drained away; luscious fruit hung on trees above him, but when he reached for it, the winds blew the branches beyond his reach.

I could have continued about the fact that there are differing stories about what Tantalus’ crime was. One account says that he tried to share the divine ambrosia with other mortals, and thus aroused the ire of the gods. A more famous version says that he invited the gods to a banquet and served them the dismembered body of his own son, Pelops; when the gods discovered the trick, they punished Tantalus and restored Pelops to life, replacing with ivory a part of the shoulder which had been eaten by Demeter.

It was late; it was dark and the explanation had lulled Georgina into a false sense of security: purloining grapes is such great fun and so educational!

Children all collected, I sat back and the motto “CARPE DIEM” sprang to mind.  Often loosely translated as “Seize the Day” but “carpe” literally means “pluck” as in pluck the fruit so perhaps it should read, ”Pluck the day when it is ripe!”

And what a ripe day I had enjoyed!  My thanks to all on the trip who make school such fun!

Half Term has started; Fiona is making the tea; Rowan and I are singing Faure’s Requiem on Sunday and I have Latin words spinning around my head!  I don’t even teach Latin! This “Carpe Diem” has a great deal to answer for!

A few quotations from people brighter than this scribe on the “Carpe Diem” theme:

“I am not a teacher, but an awakener”!  Robert Frost – I like that one!

“Nothing is worth more than this day!” Goethe …back to my Teutonic roots!

“Don’t count the days – make the days count!”  Muhammed Ali boxing clever!

Finally, Mahatma Gandhi sums it all up: “The future depends on what you do today!”

Be that as it may, I am declaring my personal Half Term now officially open so it will be “Paulatim sed firmiter” for the next week!

Valete!

The Christmas Fayre was brilliantly organised by Chairman Jane.  The three dodgy gangsters on the Human Fruit Machine were hysterical and dispensed their booty with true generosity. Santa arrived by hackney carriage and obviously enjoyed the sound of the School Choir singing festive carols.  £1600 was raised but the best thing was that fun was had by one and all.

Then, of course, the Juniors took centre stage …literally!  I was astounded at the confidence and volume of our Year 1 and 2 classes as they retold the Nativity story in a modern yet poignant manner.   The dance was beautifully choreographed; the singing and acting were also well-rehearsed but without being overpractised.  Well done to teachers and pupils alike!

The climax to the Autumn Term is always the Carol Service and this year the elements smiled favourably on us!  We broke with tradition and replaced some of the traditional Bible readings with other literary offerings.  To complement excerpts from Luke 1 and 2 we were treated to the Flavelle children reciting e.e. cummings’ Little Silent Christmas Tree.  Georgina also read Hardy’s The Oxen which was moving indeed.  The musical contributions from the instrumentalists, the soloists and the choirs were delightful and Bibi’s rendition of the Virgin’s Slumber Song in German was sublime…many a moist eye I can assure you!

Strangely enough Max Reder’s “Maria Wiegenlied” was one of my late mother’s favourite songs and one of our parents at the Carol Service thought the words in German sounded beautiful but said that it would have been helpful to have a translation – well here goes!  The German first and the poetic translation thereafter!

Maria sitzt im Rosenhag

Und wiegt ihr Jesuskind,

Durch die Blätter leise

Weht der warme Sommerwind.

Zu ihren Füßen singt

Ein buntes Vögelein:

Schlaf, Kindlein, süße,

Schlaf nun ein!

Hold ist dein Lächeln,

Holder deines Schlummers Lust,

Leg dein müdes Köpfchen

Fest an deiner Mutter Brust!

Schlaf, Kindlein, süße,

Schlaf nun ein!

Amid the roses Mary sits and rocks her Jesus-Child

While amid the treetops sighs the breeze so warm and mild
And soft and sweetly sings a bird upon the bough
Ah, Baby, dear one
Slumber now

Happy is Thy laughter; holy is Thy silent rest
Lay Thy head in slumber fondly on Thy mother’s breast
Ah, Baby, dear one
Slumber now

The teachers rounded off an exciting Friday with a gentle end of term celebration at the Mark Cross Inn.  It was a convivial affair and afforded those that could with the opportunity to let their hair down!  Great fun!

As I write so the family members of the Lewis clan begin to gather – and we all wish you a Merry Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year !

Buon Natale!

Merry Christmas!
Joyeux Noël!
Feliz Navidad!
Frohe Weihnachten!

“God bless us, every one!”

Tiny Tim

It all began with “the phone call”!  It was our Reporting Inspector, Liz Coley, detailing our ISI inspection and asking for a hundredweight of documentation to be sent to her within 24 hours!

Our well-oiled machine sprang into motion and the ether was fizzing with the exchange of data between inspectors and school.

A week later, three charming inspectors arrived and the first stage of our 5 day examination began in earnest.  Both ends of the proverbial candle were well and truly burnt and we emerged from Part 1 being fully compliant in terms of the 208 regulations!

Four weeks later, the second stage of the inspection began and I am certain that you have all assimilated the 17 page report and digested its tasty contents with relish!  I was very pleased with the report as I felt it gave an excellent, correct and thorough snapshot of the current health and character of the school.  The inspectors also recognised that we are a school with a vision and a bright future.  And the staff and I definitely appreciated and will act upon the recommendations which are designed to help us become an even better school.

I am tremendously proud of the pupils, staff and parents – and so is our governing body and Mark Malley in particular!

Last week I donned my M & S suit, my Middlesex Rugby tie and a new pair of Clark’s shoes (on offer in T Wells) and boarded the train to London Bridge…my destination was a conference centre near Tower Gate for a meeting of the heads in our group.

We now total 5!  And it was a pleasure meeting all the heads of the respective schools!

Sam Habgood from Norfolk House; Lucia Harvey from Weston Green; Nick Copestick from Edenhurst Prep; Lee Sanders fro Brabyns; and, finally, moi!

We spent the day getting to know each other.  We discussed Employment Contracts and Handbooks.  We were trained by our Education Officer, Chris Sanderson, in the art of Lesson Observation.  We discussed future joint projects and one, which we are going to follow up, is promoting  Skippers as a centre for excellence in the Performing Arts and gaining the Artmark accreditation from the Arts Council – an ambitious goal but within our compass I believe!

As a reward for all our hard work – after all strategic planning is exhausting – Mark Malley took us to Corney and Barrows annual wine tasting event!  This took place in the Tower of London and was great fun!  The wines were delicious and the company fun!

Home by eleven!  With an all-round education!

My story begins early on in my career at Skippers when, as a young and debonair fledgling Headmaster, I wanted to please everyone and said yes to nearly all staff requests.

“Mr Lewis, can I have a word?”  the dulcet tone of Mary Pennington was insistent.

“Of course, Mary,” I replied on my guard.

“Tomorrow is Half Term and I have been unable to find anyone to look after Fish and Chips!  I know you and Fiona are staying at Skippers – would you look after Kindergarten’s goldfish; I’ll leave food for them.  Make sure you speak to them every day and they love the song I’m forever blowing bubbles!”

How could I refuse?  Fish and Chips gawped at me and Chips, I am sure, gave me a conspiratorial wink!  No problems I thought!

Fiona refused to be involved in tending to Fish and Chips and I did talk to them every day until I lost the fish food which resembled multi-coloured confetti and smelled appalling!  This was on a Thursday and by Friday Fish and Chips were sulking: the proverbial bottom lip was out and they gave me the cold shoulder when I spoke to them!  I even tried singing and my son ran into Kindergarten to find out whether I was in pain!

They needed food I said to myself so off to the kitchen for supplies.  Naively, I thought goldfish were omnivorous and would scavenge anything: in the fridge, wrapped in clingfilm, was a cooked school beefburger; I broke of a chunk and crumbled it into the aquarium and left Fish and Chips to feed.

Saturday morning, diligent to the last, I visited Kindergarten…calamity!  Fish and Chips had passed away and a film of oily fat lay on the water’s surface.  Guilt washed over me and, at the same time, I thought about what I was going to say to the children on Monday morning!

I buried Fish and Chips in the woods, cleaned out the aquarium and headed to the local pet shop to restock.  An hour later, Fish and Chips 2 were swimming happily in their new environment.

Monday morning arrived and the fresh-faced children trotted into school blissfully unaware of the weekend’s tragedy!

The teacher asked, “What have you been feeding them?  They have nearly doubled in size over the week?”  She smiled.  She knew!

There!  I have confessed my crime!  But what had made me dredge up this incident?  What was the stimulus?  Fish and Chips, of course!

On Friday, Mr O’C and I went on a fieldwork trip with Year 8 to Eastbourne to measure Longshore Drift.  Armed with ranging poles, clinometers and the like, we spent a thoroughly enjoyable morning being Geography students, which meant skimming stones whenever possible and getting one’s socks wet, even though it was a tranquil day!

For lunch we wandered over to Eastbourne Pier and Mr O’C and I both had…you’ve guessed it…fish and chips!

Delicious!

But I still feel guilty!

There was one good thing that emerged from the demise of Kindergarten’s Fish and Chips.  We took the decision, some 18 years ago never to use frozen burgers or industrial meat laden with high fat content.  It was then that we moved our business to our local Mayfield butcher, purveyor of fine foods.

Out of tragedy can come good!

How did we spend our time?  Swimming in the cool, clear, jelly-fish free Mediterranean Sea; reading George RR Martin; annihilating the Spanish language in our attempts to improve Anglo-Hispanic relations; running into ex-pupils at restaurants – generally “chilling”!  Family, food and friends….just what the doctor ordered!

A fortnight shot by and I abandoned the family by flying back to Sussex to see how matters were faring at Skippers.  I met up with Mark Malley and the builders to ensure the renovations were going according to plan.  We were all delighted with the progress and I believe everyone will be thrilled with the transformation the school is undergoing!  Onwards and upwards!  So many developments in such a short time – a school with a purpose and a bright future!

At the weekend, disaster struck!

On Saturday 6^th August I donned my whites to represent Mayfield Cricket Club in a crunch match.  The sky was overcast and our side took the field.  The opposition was under pressure from our bowlers and the fielding was keen.  I was placed at wide mid-on and felt a tad redundant as the bowling was pitched up and on line.  Our seamer uncharacteristically bowled one on the leg and the batsman executed a stunning on drive that fairly whizzed across the sward to my right hand side.   I leapt like a balletic salmon into the air, inscribed a perfect arching dive, missed the ball and ended up in A and E being injected with morphine and sucking desperately on the Gas and Air!  Ouch!  A dislocated shoulder which I must say was excruciating!  My thanks to Year 7 student, Thomas Stilwell, who gave up his scoring to be a substitute fielder whilst his Headmaster was lying on his back in Resus 1!  And congratulations to his Dad, Brian, who scored 48 and let me know that we did win the match…without my help!

That evening I had the next painful thing to do: telephone Fiona!

“Buenos Noches!”

“Hi, Fi!  My blood pressure is fine and how was the beach?”

“What have you broken this time?”

I flew back out to Spain to rejoin the family and our guest, Angela Alsop, my stalwart Deputy.  I expected and got no sympathy

“You really should grow up!  Cricket is a game for Spring Chickens not Bald Eagles!” stated my youngest daughter.

An image of feathered young upstarts wielding the willow against an experienced team of follicly-challenged Christmas Dinners on the hallowed pitch at Lords leapt into my mind causing me to hoot with laughter.

“It’s his medication!” whispered to Fiona to Angela knowingly.

The holidays were soon over and we touched base with the builders.  On schedule?  Raj was ahead and Gary behind!  Still, onwards and upwards!

On the 27^th August, Skippers became the venue for a beautiful Wedding Reception.  The lower field boasted a vast marquee and former pupil, Nathalie Assayag, and Barnaby Eales, whom she married earlier that afternoon at Crowborough Registry Office, confirmed their wedding vows on the steps to the cricket pavilion.  Another alumni, Cassie Gould, officiated as the Registrar.

There were nearly 300 guests, with many former pupils of the school as well as members of our founders’ family, the Wards.  It was also good to see so many friends from our locality, as well as receiving visitors from all over the world.

It was a happy occasion which pleased Maxine and her family immensely.

The bucolic tranquillity of East Sussex is, as I scribe, being interrupted by the cacophony of hammers, drills, circular saws and the bleating of the intruder alarm.  It is all “Go” here at Skippers.  Peter Jepson and a crew of former pupils are beginning the clear-up tomorrow and some of the teachers are already sorting out their rooms.  Four working days to sort out the whole caboodle before the children arrive?

No hay problema!

I wonder if there are any cheap Easy Jet flights to Malaga tonight!

Saturday whizzed by in a mass of mundane matters – nice bit of alliteration, I think to myself (which makes me a ‘saddo’ English teacher who can’t switch off!).

The Swimming Pool was my first job: remove the frog from the basket; backwash the filter; test the water quality; contemplate a swim and think better of it.  The water sparkled and I had to admire the quality of Peter Jepson’s handiwork as he made a fantastic job of repainting the pool.

Talking of paint, the resurfacing and painting of the Tennis Court went well – next on the agenda is refencing.  Stop thinking about school!

Walking back from the pool, I stopped to admire six fallow deer, including one albino, who were grazing on the newly-cut sward.

I always feel privileged when I take time out to savour the bucolic beauty of our panoramic vista and can picture C. B. Fry as a youngster cavorting in the fields when he spent some of his childhood at Skippers. The deer edge slowly off into the woods. Time to move on.

Job Number 2: a quick visit to the shops to stock up on breakfast supplies for our revamped Breakfast Club: Baked Beans, bread, marmite, fruit and a few items for home consumption.

Saturday afternoon was taken up with a practice at the Parish Church with the Concert Choir.  Matters did not pan out smoothly! The children were too spread out – neither the Mayfield Festival Choir nor us were “on song” and the normally calm conductor joined Dorothy and me in a communal hair-tugging session.  He ended the rehearsal with: “Don’t worry, everyone . . . it will be alright on the night!”  Only I could see his fingers firmly crossed behind his back!

At home that evening, Rowan had the choice of either going through a GCSE Language paper or watching Dr Who – Science Fiction won!

Home tutoring has its fans and I am one of them when it comes to Home Economics, Roro’s evening task was to cook a Spanish Omelette.

10oz of cooked and diced potatoes (left-over Jersey Royals)

6 large eggs

1 finely chopped red onion

Salt and pepper to taste

Olive Oil

She lightly fried the onions in the olive oil and added the potatoes for a couple of minutes; she whisked the eggs in a bowl and added salt and pepper.  This mixture she added to the small but deep pan containing the potatoes and onions.  4 minutes on a gentle heat on the hob and 2 minutes under the grill to finish and voilá! Tortilla de Patata or tortilla Espanola in my local chirunguito! A perfect vegetarian snack and delicious to boot!

Sunday was an exciting day!  A huge full English Breakfast was followed by that darned GCSE Language Paper which was very straightforward and could have been handled by all my students in Year 8!

A full practice was scheduled for the Concert Choir in the afternoon.  This would be the first time that our choristers would encounter the professionals – the soloists and the orchestra. Graham Caldbeck was very encouraging and the performance was demonstrably better than the one on Saturday; but my fingers were now firmly crossed for the evening performance.

Last night St Dunstan’s was packed with locals of all generations.

The highlights of the first half were: a magnificent counter tenor, Leo Tomita, who had the most extraordinary voice; the harpist and percussionists; the ensemble playing Shanties; and, of course, stealing the show was Dorothy Bridger’s Concert Choir with their rendition of “Simple Gifts”.

The second half of the performance, Rutter’s Mass of the Children, is a challenging piece at the best of times.

I was so proud of our pupils who stepped up to the mark and gave a gutsy and tuneful contribution to the work.  The three choirs gelled with the orchestra, soloists, organist and conductor to provide the spellbound audience with a musical and spiritual experience that will stay in the memory for a long time indeed.

I was so proud of all our 24 choristers and their fantastic Director, Dorothy Bridger.

Home before ten with just one thing left to do . . . open the fridge and finish off the tortilla!

What an edifying and humbling morning we enjoyed at the Jersey War Tunnels. The shear scale of the excavation achieved by the Russian Prisoners was mind boggling! It also helped give the pupils an understanding of what life would have been like had Hitler managed to invade mainland Britain.

If you do visit Jersey, put the Underground Hospital on your list of worthwhile places to visit!