School

I have had 2 interesting visits to school, yesterday and today.

Yesterday I went for my normal activities - and found myself filing and printing out lists of spelling words and laminating them. Very ordinary you would think but not a bit. I arrived at 1.0pm and found everyone rushing around tidying, vacuming the carpet etc etc. Once the children were in after their lunch-time play, there was an uncanny quiet. You may have guessed what was afoot? The OFSTED lady was expected any moment. I was wearing a Visitor badge and had signed the Visitors Book. I had been rung up beforehand to get my Police clearance number, as the Education Authority hang onto the papers, instead of passing them on to the school.
Once she arrived it was a bit of an anticlimax because after a quick tour of the school, she sat in the staff room grilling the Head, before she departed for her hotel.

Today, I was let in by the Head because the same lady was in the Library, by the main entrance door, talking to a group of children. I am certain that she will be pleased with what she found there. The reason for my return today was to help with the Christmas Concert, the first performance being at 1.30. The result of 'The Lady' being there was that they had had to have ordinary lessons all morning, instead of doing a run-through.

The Lady departed at 1.0 and everything returned to normal, except that the children were not as over-excited as usual, so perhaps her presence had been a bonus! I was given the job of helping a wee fellow with cerebral palsey to get into his costume. He is actually very good at coping, but his boots and buttons cause problems. Once they were all dressed and ready, they 'sat on their bottoms' and listened to a lovely story about a spider which came across a Christmas Tree in the house where he lived. He explored it all over, leaving his silk thread behind him. Later, Santa saw the tree and was surprised by the silk covering. He touched it with his finger and it suddenly sparkled all over - and that is where tinsel came from. Mrs B listened as quietly as they did and thought it was sweet!

Then we all trooped into the hall, where there was only just room for all the children because of lots of Mums, Dads, Grannies, baby siblings etc. The concert was pretty standard for a First School (Reception to Year 4) but was made special by some lovely harp accompaniment and the Year 2's upwards sang songs in French! The dialogue was mostly in English though! The little Year 1's won my prize - you could hear every word and they really kept to the rhythm as little Reindeer and Santas.

After, I helped the wee boy to change back into his ordinary clothes and then came home. At this very moment, they are in the middle of their second performance. I felt it was more sensible to stay at home - my cough is improving, but far from gone and it is freezing hard.

It was interesting to see a school responding to the OFSTED visit. I still think that they ought to just turn up, without warning, and work round whatever is going on. It would give a much better idea of what the school is like and cause much less stress to staff. Of course they get very little warning these days, but it was still a very different-feeling school yesterday afternoon and the staff were all feeling very stressed.

All Souls Day

Today, the Benefice celebrated All Souls Day with a service in Cambo Church in the evening. It was very moving. I had reason to mourn, but nothing compared to others who were there.
I had not been to this service before, so did not know what to expect. It seemed to be aimed at those who were recently bereaved and were sorrowing in a big way. It did not, however, exclude people like me.
There was one young family who had lost the Mother at a very young age. A lady who recently lost her husband after 52 happy years together. A long list of names who meant much to someone but little to me. Whatever, there must have been comfort for all.
I was specifically remembering my first husband, who died last April and my cousin, who went a fortnight ago. Then, when I looked in the diary, I saw that G's brother died 5 years ago today. That was a tragic story. He had a daughter, whom he adored, who was living in Hong Kong. One Christmas, she caught a cold and did not manage to shake it off. Her doctor diagnosed lung cancer and so she came home. The centre of excellence in Newcastle did the best they could, but she died two or three days after her 48th birthday. The really awful thing was that about 6 months after her death, her mother began to have symptoms of bloating and nausia, pain etc which was wrongly diagnosed. In the end it was diagnosed as Ovarian cancer which had moved on. After a terrible time of lack of support - a rural address, away from public transport, and impossible to get proper in house help - no room in the Hospices, no help from the Community Hospice - she did get into a Hospice and finally died. Her sad husband, who had adored his daughter and was very dependent on his beloved wife, was left with his eldest son living across the yard and his other son in the south. Sadly, son and grand-daughters could not make up for the great loss he had suffered. I visited him every week and there was no doubt that he was slowly dying of a broken heart. He would not eat and turned to alcohol to dim the pain. When I reminded G that it was the anniversary of his death, he asked me to pray for him tonight. So, of course, I did.
In a strange way, this ties in with my ambition to get involved with bereavement councilling. I hugged the lady who was married for 52 years. One gets very close to people for a little while.
But the original reason why I blogged here tonight was not all this. It was the thoughts that I had during the service. When you are as old as I am, there are so many people who have gone to be with God. A young man who had a motorbike accident, a semi boy-friend. My best friend and her husband who were drowned together aged about 30, Much later, a number of friends who were killed in accidents, died of cancer. My Grandfather and then my Grandmother. My Father. My Mother. Quite recently, my nephew aged 37. My first husband. My cousin, for whose parents, I was bridesmaid. And many, many more.
I remember that my first husband's grandfather, who lived to be over 90, used to both cheer because he had outlived old so-and-so and was sad that he was amongst the last of his friends/aquaintences to be alive.
But this should not end on a sad note. All those who have gone are with God and those of us who are left are in his care - and I truly believe this.

A Contrasting High Mass

On Sunday, four of us went to St Bartholomew's Church, Brighton. The present building, which cost £18,000, was commissioned by Fr A D Wagner and dates from 1874. It was designed by local architect Edmund Scott and is the tallest parish church in Britain at 135ft. The style is Italian Gothic and the brickwork is particularly fine. The furnishings are some of the finest examples of the Arts and Crafts movement.

When you first enter, it seems barn-like but the beauty of the high altar and other factors soon dispel this impression. We were there early and were made very welcome and were able to wander around a little before the High Mass.

The High Mass is the most wonderful piece of theatre. It was brought back into some Anglican Churches by the Oxford movement, of which Nathanial Woodard was a member. The idea was to return the importance of the Eucharist, robes and actions etc to Anglican services, that had been lost since the Reformation.

At St Bartholomew's, they have a strong musical tradition. The choir sings a full choral setting of the ordinary at each Solemn High Mass. They have a repertoire of over 40 mass settings, but on this occasion they used Mozart's Mass in F. Unfortunately, the choir was very thin on Sunday as well as the alto ringing in sick that morning! They still managed a very beautiful rendering of the Mass.

We were sitting chatting in our seats, when a bell rang to the right of the high altar, and the procession appeared. It was led by a black-clad man swinging the censor. There were a number of black-clad men, carrying candles, a cross etc. Then came 3 robed priests. As we sang 'Love divine, all loves excelling', they processed to the back of the Church and then down the central aisle to the High Altar. The choir sang the introit. The Epistle was read by a man with a foreign accent, so we were glad to have it printed in the service sheet. The gradual hymn was 'Guide me, O thou great Redeemer', during which the Gospel was processed to the middle of the Church, just beside us. The celebrant read it so it was easy to follow. The Creed followed and then the Sermon, which was excellent.

The Offertory hymn was 'Come down, O Love divine', and that was followed by Intercessions and the Peace. Only the 3 robed men acted that, hugging each other in turn! The congregation did not join in.

As part of the next stage, there was much theatre, bells, swinging of incense etc during the prayer of consecration. The altar rail was up quite a lot of steps and were only across some of the front of the altar. That meant that most of us had no rail and only a carpet to kneel on. Not easy for the likes of me and when I stood up my knees had just about cast! I watched the last people come down and there were 2 who only just made it, and wouldn't have if they had not had a partner to help.

The final hymn was 'Glorious things of thee are spoken' and the usual ending to the service - so I thought. The procession appeared to be going out but suddenly I realised they had stopped at the Lady Chapel and we had Mary, Mother of God, that I only half know and it was not printed out for us. That was the end - or almost!

We had coffee and chatted to some of the parishioners and looked at stuff for sale. Helpers were busy clearing the kneelers and re-organising the chairs, ready for a concert later in the afternoon. Then there was that bell again! A procession was emerging from behind the High Altar, which came all the way to a small chapel at the back of the Church, with the consecrated bread and wine. Everyone but us dropped to one knee, where-ever they were

I may sound a little disrespectful in my account and for that I am sorry. I was deeply impressed by the enormous reverence of the congregation. They were mainly older but there were a few younger people. For me, I can find God more easily in a simple service, but there was no doubt that he was there at that Mass, and all the participants gained a great deal from the service.

Brighton and Lancing College

This weekend, I went to Brighton, with a number of Old Ethelburgians, to visit Lancing College. Lancing was founded by Nathaniel Woodard, who was of the Oxford School of thought. I will not try to describe his career etc, much better that you read the Wikepedia entry. Queen Ethelburga's School in Harrogate, which I attended from 1942 t0 1948, was opened in 1912 and was part of the Woodard Corperation. It is now called Queen Ethelburga's College near York and is no longer a Woodard School.

There are Old Girls who enjoy trips to places related to the life of Queen Ethelburga or other places associated in some way. Last year, I organised a trip to Durham which is somewhere on one of my blogs. This year it was the original school of Lancing College, which entailed a trip to Brighton. For me, there was also a 100 mile drive to get to the coach, which left Harrogate at 9.30 on Friday morning!

Saturday was the important day, when we visited the College. It started with Holy Eucharist in the Crypt of the Chapel - a simple area which did have some superb stained glass, not visible in my photo. This was the first part of the magnificent Chapel to be built and was used by the School until the rest was done.

We sat in a circle, with a gap at the back, where the small choir from the School sat. While we waited, a message came from the Chaplain - was anyone licenced to administer the wine. I heard my name said by one or two of my friends, so admitted to it! The Chaplain was delighted to find that he was to have help. The form of the service followed those held at past venues, except that it was a Eucharist. We had "Praise my soul the king of Heaven" and the School Hymn and ended with "God be in my head" and the Hill Standard - To be the best I can be, being what I am, with the gifts that I have. The choir sang Glory be to God on high--- and the School Psalm, Psalm 121, to the proper chant (Mozart's?) But the high-light for me was to administer the wine to all these friends and to have them say how good they had found it too.

It was a beautifully simple service with huge meaning for all us Old Girls, with the addition of some beautifully sung music.

After this we had coffee and a short account of the way the school is built and what it contains. Then we split into 3 groups and did tours of the school. We were very lucky and had a lovely, enthusiastic girl to take us round. (It is co-ed nowadays)

This is just a small part of the School. It is always being added to and brought up to date, so there is one building that is ultra modern - the new Art Centre which is opening after Half Term.

We saw inside one Boarding House, where it was clear that high quality educational facilities are more important than excessive comfort for the pupils!

After the tour, they gave us an excellent lunch and then we went back to the Chapel and sat in the Chancel to hear about the history of Nathaniel Woodard, the extraordinary difficulties experienced when building the Chapel and much more. Then we were free to wander and photograph.

The organ and magnificent rose window.

The Chapel from the Organ Loft. It is enormously high, as can be seen from the earlier picture taken from the coach as we approached the School

On our way to the coach, we visited the Memorial Cloister built after the First World War to remember the huge number of Old Boys who were killed. The names of those killed in the Second World War are now included. Then we went back to the Hotel.

The account of a contrasting service will follow tomorrow.

Rural Conference

This blog is a factual account of a Church of England Conference on Rural matters - Community, Partnership and Mission. Please understand that before reading it. Don't read it if you think it will have nothing for you..........

Our LLV (Lovely Lady Vicar) is also the Rural Officer for the Newcastle Diocese. Wearing this hat, she organised a Conference, on behalf of the Diocesan Synod, that was open to all.
There was a goodly gathering at St. John's, Kingston Park - a Church on the outskirts of Newcastle and there was a 'buzz' from the beginning.
The Conference opened with a short period of worship, which included a reading about the parable of the sower - very apt for a Rural Conference. Having been quietened and put into the right mind, we settled down to listen to an excellent speaker - David Stewart. No words of mind can give you a true picture of this man. He speaks from the heart as he wanders around - holding our attention for every moment. He is/has been part of every North East quango you care to mention - but he is a very long way from the type of person you expect in this position. He openly admitted that he is not an Anglican - what he does believe I do not know - but his approach to life seems to me to be Christian, whatever his faith or lack of it. His understanding of the current quangos and the possible future situation as we move to a unitary authority was deep. His desire is that we move to the bottom up rather than the top down, but he put it in a new way that I had not heard before. Long may he be involved with the people who have an influence on our future. Perhaps I should explain that we are losing our 5 District Councils and moving to a single authority with only 60+ councillors. I know there is a move to increase this to 70+ but it will still put the elected members much further away from the man/woman in the field (more appropriate than street). Parish Councils, which have become very stereotyped, with few elections, will have much more power and will have to adjust to this.
David was joined by a District and County Councillor - who is Deputy leader of Northumberland County Council - for a question and answer session.
During the following coffee break, I was cornered by a couple who have the same sort of problems that we do in Kirkheaton - small congregation, small community and all the load that goes with that on the few people who try to carry on the life of the Church. I hope I was able to help a little.
After the break we had 4 speakers from Parishes, talking for what was meant to be 2 minutes(!) about things that had happened in their area/Parish. A Christmas Tree festival - about 30 trees arrived in the Church, appropriately decorated by the organisation that brought them. As a result there was a record attendance at the Carol Service. A group of First Schools working together, both to the benefit of the teachers and children but also the local communities. A group of very rural churches coming together. Again, a coming together of very rural churches. Sorry, I have got the last two a bit confused in my mind - it was getting on towards lunch!
The last session before lunch, we were honoured by the presence of the National Rural Officer for the Church of England, Jill Hopkinson. She told us of a piece of research that had been carried out to find the relationship between the Churches (of all denominations) and the population in rural communities. The conclusions are too long for me to give here and I do not have notes, but it was very interesting in that it proved that what we do - wearing what-ever hat - is of great importance, and we should accept that our Faith is behind what we do.
Lunch was locally obtained food - salmon beef chicken etc - light but more than adequate - and another chance to network.
The 'grave-yard' shift was filled by the Durham Diocesan Missioner, Rev Dr Rod Allon-Smith. He spoke on Missio Dei - God's mission amongst us. Basically, his talk continued the theme of just being ourselves, with our faith and doings acting as mission. I am sure that is not a good summary but the best I can do just now!
Then we had another 4 people talking about local things. First an account of how a rural parish enacted the Passion all over the village, using the village green etc. In a way, low key - minimal costumes, a symbolic Jesus etc - but obviously very moving for those taking part and it must have had a big effect on the people of the village. Then I did my 2 minutes on the fund-raising event which had involved so many people from the benefice and outside - co-opperation. I have to be honest now. I cannot recall the next two speakers enough to write about it. We had had a concentrated day and my 'mental computer' had got tired!
We ended with all the speakers responding to questions/comments from the floor and finally we had a minute or two to decide, with our immediate neighbours, what we would take away with us to do.
We ended with the Grace and went home with our brains humming with all we had heard which would enable us to go forward renewed in our rural communities or with much greater understanding for the urban people who were there.

Clarifications about our house

First of all, we do not live in a Stately Home! It has 4 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, neither en suite, 2 tiney ex maids rooms, now our offices. Downstairs, a drawing room, sitting room, small hall, dining room a loo and a kitchen. The so-called utility room is several yards outside the house, beyond the Conservatory. It has a washer, sink, table, dryer, and another table. Also garden tools and all sorts of other gardening bits and pieces!

The house was built in about 1570 as a Bastle House ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bastle_house ) The stone vaulting mentioned is not here and may have never been. The "New Front" was probaly put on in the mid or early 1600's. The wall is thinner and of course has proper windows in it, though they were smaller then. An extra pane was added in 1927 when the ceilings were raised. The square bit was added in about 1730 and has a flat roof. Used to be lead but not any longer.

Film set - it has been used once, or rather the flat roof and the front door were. A children's film a number of years ago. The rooms are all too small for films and there are so many better houses in Northumberland, even for Cookson films.

Shall have to discover how to transfer the Common Room Post to here, so that this makes sense!

WI visit to Yorkshire Lavender Farm and Castle Howard

Yesterday (Monday) 22 of us set off for Yorkshire in a 24 seater coach. It poured as I walked down the village to the coach and as we boarded. It poured most of the way as we drove South and was still raining when we arrived at Yorkshire Lavender. We hurried in and had coffee etc. I had coffee and a delicious buttery crisp toasted tea cake. By the time we had looked round the shop and the owner was ready for us, it had stopped raining and we walked down to the polly tunnel, where he talked about the history of the farm and much about lavender. As he had lived for quite a section of his life in Northumberland, he talked to us like blood brothers!

We had a short time to look round, but it was so wet under foot that we did not feel inclined to explore far. Another visit before too long perhaps?

Then we boarded the bus again and went a few miles to Castle Howard. It was still not raining!

This is the recently restored cupola - as close a copy as could be made, with only old photos to go by. The original collapsed into the hall below when there was a disastrous fire in 1940

And this is the inside. The painting is also reproduced from black and white photos, using great knowledge to create it. Below is one of the burnt-out room, now water proofed and with a wood floor. It, with 2 or 3 others, was used in the second filming of Brideshead Revisited. These rooms are very odd, with open ceilings and bare stone walls, mostly and a little of what the film people did. One day, they will be properly restored, but it costs so much to maintain the house, that it will pobably be a very long time before the money is available.

The famous fountain, in which the young men bathed in Brideshead Revisited.

Two bird species that were around in large numbers. It not being mating time, the peacocks tails were firmly down!

The rose garden. There is also an ornamental vegetable garden, which is most impressive. Produce from it is sold in the Farm shop.

Our day was rounded off with supper in a pub on the way home, and we got back to Kirkheaton, in light rain, about 10.00 pm. Everyone had had a lovely day as we always do when we have an "outing"