Category: Head’s Blog

18th March 22

A famous Russian, Leo Tolstoy, once said “Music is the shorthand of emotion.” Tolstoy, the man who wrote War and Peace, knew something about emotion. Which makes me wonder: on a quiet evening in the Kremlin, what sort of music would Vladimir Putin sit down to? Or, were Putin to be voluntarily stranded on Roy…

4th March 22

For the early part of the week, as Vladimir Putin built up troops and then started an indiscriminate shelling of major Ukrainian cities, I was sheltering. My minor COVID inconvenience is now at an end, but for all Ukrainians the nightmare gets worse. At present, we pray for those under the bully’s fire, and for…

18th February 22

Just as the book Wind in the Willows was inspired by a love of family, so too was the classic Peter Pan, the dramatisation of which has illuminated the school so brightly this week. The characters of Peter and Tinkerbelle came to J.M.Barrie, so I understand, as he formed the idea of telling a tale…

11th February 22

So, having trained solidly for years as a top international skater, you fall gracelessly onto the ice, twice, – in front of thousands at the Winter Olympics. And then, to add insult to injury, you get berated for giving up your adopted citizenship in order to represent your native country. I find it hard to…

4th February 22

‘The best things in life are free,”sang The Beatles (before telling us that all they wanted was Money.) We know what the Fab Four meant. Of course fresh air, our senses, the beauty of the landscape, friendship, loyalty and our wildest imaginations cost us nothing. Neither, at least until the end of this week, has…

28th January 22

What, I wonder, does it take to be nominated as a National Treasure? Clare Balding and the Beckhams are on most lists. So are Trevor Macdonald and Helen Mirren. Judy Dench, Jamie Oliver and Ranulph Fiennes fit the majority of bills, too. But top of the pops in the National Treasure stakes is a man…

21st January 22

The House of Commons has often been compared to a bear pit. This week, as a result of ‘Partygate’, it resembled nothing so much as the Roman Colosseum. While erstwhile-Colossus Boris fought for his political life in PM’s Questions, one half-expected it all to end with those present signalling his future – or lack of…

10th December 21

All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy. That’s what they say. When he was not mobilising this country’s war effort against the Nazi threat, Winston Churchill would spend time painting in oils or build walls in his Chartwell garden. Following that lead, perhaps, our current Prime Minister refreshes himself from fighting the…

3rd December 21

Disappointment comes in many guises. It strikes at painful times. Even on Christmas Night, if Santa has a problem with his reindeer. Acceptance of setbacks is a major clause in the grammar of education. Of course, the only way to avoid disappointment is not to harbour hopes; not to attempt to get better; not to…

19th November 21

I may have forgotten to wear odd socks at the very start of the week, but I still remember this message from my childhood: “If you can’t find something nice to say to somebody, then don’t say anything at all.” In a week when we have concentrated on being kind to one another, this old-fashioned…