First off (but in no particular order) The Owl Man of Garston - more properly known as Ray Lindey-Jones of the Garston Bird Shelter - paid a visit, along with four owls, to the Pre-Prep.
I couldn't be there for the entire talk so I thought I'd sneak in the back just for a little while. This was a mistake. You see, I hadn't realised that owls, with their eight ear drums, have extremely acute hearing (they can hear a mouse's heart beat from 25 metres) so nobody gets away with sneaking in quietly at an owl talk. The second thing I hadn't realised is that owls are truly superb at turning their heads round. Where we have 7 bones in our necks they have 14; and where we can manage a half turn of the head before the shoulders need to move, they can manage a full one and a half turns, with no body movement, before they need to start unwinding again. So there I was. One step into the Gym and four owl heads swivel round and lock onto me instantly. That's bad enough. But then, of course, the entire audience swivel round to see what the owls are finding so fascinating...
...and it turns out to be only me. Oh dear, how embarrasing. But still, very interesting birds, owls.
If ever anyone starts wondering why the whole school panoramic photo is only done every third year; well every three years they get a chance to learn why. It takes a full forty minutes to get everyone in position. It's marvellous to watch the photographer in action. The stand is completely full and yet there are five more boys to fit in. Working totally on eye contact (well he doesn't know any names, of course, and he can't very well say, "Yes, you in the purple blazer") he shuffles half the stand and they're in.
This year he really had to show his stuff. All the time we were waiting to be put into position the air was getting damper and damper and then it began to drizzle, and then just as the Pre-Prep were in position the drizzle changed over to rain and we sat there. Still, he got his photo and its turned out well. If you don't believe me - see for yourself. The samples turned up on the Monday of the new Half Term and can be inspected in the school office. Order forms will be heading home shortly.
Prince Hal and Peto discover Falstaff lying drunk (yet again) at the start of The Great Gad's Hill Robbery. As you may have guessed from this line-up of characters, this play, written by Mr Saunders, carries on from where Shakespeare had to leave off. This was very well performed by the boys of 6S and 6W (Yr8) to the School on Tuesday afternoon and parents and friends on Thursday evening. I got to the Tuesday performance and noticed that the cracks, at Falstaff's expense, about obesity, drunkeness and cowardice went down very well with the groundlings - and yet, funnily enough, it was Falstaff who managed to get the last laugh.
On the Sunday that started this hectic week I got along to the dress rehearsal of Along Came Man and discovered that if it was Phil Spector who invented the Wall of Sound, it was Mr Duke and the St. John's boys who really put it to work. This musical, with an ecological theme, was cast and rehearsed all inside the first half term and played to packed-out audiences on the Monday and Tuesday. This really was an excellent, lively and, above all, musical production that could have packed out a few more performances. Well done, also, to all those who contributed to the excellent Art Display that graced the walls of the Hall throughout this hectic week.
© St. John's - DTP, 1997 & 2005 - N. Pauli