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FANFARE AUTUMN, 1979

Vol. 3 A U T U M N 1979 N o . 3

FORTY YEARS ON

KENNETH BUCKLAND Died 7th May, 1979

No mere words can do justice to the debt that Mount House owes to the late Kenneth Buckland. Coming as he did some sixteen years ago to teach Classics, having been compelled by cruel fate to relinquish prematurely the head mastership of Sandroyd School while at the height of his powers, he brought with him too unrivalled wisdom, a delighful sense of humour, a touch of magic in his teaching and above all his wife Lucy who, though determined to avoid any deep involvement, nevertheless lent loving support to him, and brought a deft and tactful touch to her contacts with the school. The very inseparability of Kenneth and Lucy Buckland makes it impossible to pay tribute to the one whilst omitting the other, for here, with their daughter Anne, was a united family to whom the various schools which had been their home, be they in Yorkshire, in Anglesey, in Hampshire, in Wiltshire or in Devon, were the very stuff and fabric of their lives.

As a colleague, KBB was sagacious, honour-able, admirably skilled, highly professional and endowed with a fund of anecdotes and a sparkling wit. He modestly made no claims to great scholar-ship, but the many boys who have benefited from his lively and careful teaching will bear

witness to his expertise. He especially enjoyed teaching the elements of the Latin language to beginners, and at the other end of the spectrum, preparing potential scholars for their ordeal. It was in this, together with his skilful handling of Common Entrance candidates, both the confident and the less so, that Kenneth Buckland made his greatest contribution to our academic life. But it was not for this alone that we shall remem-ber him with pleasure and with gratitude. As an elder statesman of vast experience his advice was often sought to help unravel the manifold problems, great and small, that inevitably beset a community of lively youngsters and their mentors.

Above all, those of us who had the privilege of working with him over the years will remem-ber him as a man—good humoured, friendly, sympathetic, sane

And to that great multitude of boys who have been fortunate enough to be among his pupils, Kenneth Buckland will be remembered for all time as a vibrant personality and an in-spired teacher.

'Yet he was kind, or if severe in aught, The love he bore to learning was in fault.'

FLY-LING

CENTENNIAL

The sixty glorious years of Queen Victoria's reign contained within their purview an astonish-ing range of notable events. Governments rose and fell; new nations were born and old ones subjugated; wars and revolutions were wide-spread; advances in medical science phenomenal; and the British Empire (like Topsy, who herself was born in the middle of this august reign) just g rowed.

But in 1870, there were two particular events which in their different ways were both destined to influence the history of our country in a way which at the time would have seemed impossible.

The first of these events was the challenge thrown down in 1870 by Napoleon III against the great military might of Prussia, for although Britain was not directly involved (though some of the most sober reporting of this war emanated from the correspondents of T h e Times' in the field), the ultimate defeat of the French people and the consequent cession of Alsace-Lorraine were the obvious and immediate consequences of a war from which there emerged for the first time 'that sinister problem of modern national war, from which the great catastrophes of our epoch have developed, and on which we have foundered twice in succession.' These words, written by the German historian Gerhard Ritten some 10 years after the second of these founders had rocked the world, underline the significance of the Franco-Prussian war not just to Europe but to the whole world.

But it was the second event of 1870, this one domestic in character, with which we must be especially concerned in a journal of this nature, and that was the Education Act of that year which for the first time put elementary education within the reach of every British child. This was part of a rising tide of interest in education during which a number of new public and preparatory schools were founded, and in particular during which, in 1881, Miss Tubbs opened her dame school in Plymouth. It was from this small beginning, and indirectly nourished perhaps by the second of Ritter's great catastrophes, during which Mount House was evacuated from war-torn Plymouth to the calmer ambience of rural Tavistock, that our present school has grown and matured. In 1981 we hope to mark this achievement in a number of ways, not the least of which will be the launching of an appeal from which we hope to raise the £75,000 we need for the building of a new multi-purpose hall. So confident are the Governors that we

shall reach our target that the preliminaries have already been put in hand so that we can have the building ready for use in our centenary year.

The appeal is being conducted by Boyd Campbell, son of a former Headmaster, himself one-time headmaster of the lower school of John Lyon in Harrow on the Hill, and until recently Director of the Public Schools Appointments Bureau. W i t h his family links with our school and with his vast experience of schools and school administration and public relations, it would be hard to find anyone better qualified to undertake this task, and we wish him every success. Further details of the appeal will be published later but it is our hope that all who hold dear the prosperity of Mount House or who have benefited in any way from its efforts over the years will support this appeal to the very best of their ability.

A century of service in the field of private education is not to be shrugged off lightly; neither is the attempt we have made and are still making to create and maintain standards of industry and behaviour which often seem to belong to another age but without which we feel sure that our country will founder once again.

' W h a t we can we will be, Honest Englishmen. Do the work that's nearest, Though it's dull at whiles, Helping, when we meet them, Lame dogs over stiles.'

Charles Kingsley

Christmas Dance, Thursday, 20th December, 1979 (Tickets from John Vaughan at £3.30)

Easter Term 1980: 16th January to 26th March Half Term: 8th to 12th February

Summer Term 1980: 24th April to 13th July Half Term: 22nd to 27th May

Christmas Term 1980: 17th September to 17th December Half Term: 31st October to 5th November

BY THE WAY PEOPLE

VIS ITORS Many of our visitors come specifically to talk to us at our Sunday morning service and we have been especially well served in this respect during the past year, our preachers including a serving Royal Navy officer; public school Headmasters, both past and present; Royal Navy chaplains; a Bishop; the Director of Studies at the Britannia Royal Naval College, Dartmouth; Anglican priests; and for the first time in the school's history, a Roman Catholic monk.

To be more specific, we have been delighted to welcome the following at our Services:-Rev. Derrick Newport, at that time Curate of the Parish Church but now serving abroad. Rev. N. P. H. Pond. Chaplain R.N. The Master of Wellington—Hon. Frank Fisher, Chairman of our Governors. Commander Robert Woodard R.N., captain of H.M.S. Amazon. Dennis Ball, Headmaster of Kelly College. Rev. Michael Bucks, Chaplain R.N. Rev. Ivo Morshead. Vicar of the neighbouring parish of Whitchurch. Mr. John Dancy, of Exeter University and formerly Master of Marlborough. Rev. Richard Gilpin, Vicar of Tavistock. Father Benet Conlon, Prior of Buckfast Abbey. Rev. M. D. D. Jones. Assistant Priest at St. Andrew's Church, Plymouth. Rev. D. Jones. Headmaster of Bryanston School. Henry Christie. Director of Studies at BRNC, Dartmouth. James Batten. Headmaster of King's College, Taunton. Rev. Harvey Griffiths. Chaplain R.N. The Right Reverend the Bishop of Plymouth, a member of our governing body.

This is an impressive list and we are more than grateful to all these gentlemen for so honouring us.

Visitors do of course come for other reasons and we were especially pleased to welcome Lady

Fisher, Wimbers (Mrs. P. M. Wimbleton, who served the school for so long and who is still remembered by many of us); Bill Caldwell (former Headmaster of Belhaven Hill school in Dunbar and presently Editor of the 'Preparatory Schools Review.'); Mr. and Mrs. Michael Rawlins, (who looked in briefly and later made a longer visit as customary custodians of the school for part of the summer holidays); Michael Spiller, an Old Boy who spent a memorable month with us, referred to at greater length elsewhere; John Hutchison, who spent a day trekking with the Pioneers prior to his ordination; Robin Russell, now a large Lieutenant in the Royal Irish Rangers, who took time off from his admin, duties connected with the Ten Tors operation to visit us; Richard Cottrell, who is now a regular at the Christmas dance; James Crowden, who came to tell us about his amazing sojourn in some of the wildest terrain in the world. And Margaret and Norman Chinn, back for common entrance duty.

And the Visitor's Book was signed by Nicholas Skinnard, Peter Babcock, Richard Pascoe, Mark Vincent, Bruce Stewart, Michael Cooper, Richard Webber, Michael Holmes and Kenneth Bryan, in addition to those mentioned above.

S C H O L A R S Our congratulations go to this year's scholars, who have once again shown that good pickings are there to be taken by those with the ability (and the will). Andrew Cole. King's College, Taunton. (Exhi-bition) Jonathan Wood. King's College, Taunton. (Music) James Ryle. King's College, Taunton. (Major and Classics) Richard Bridge. Kelly College. (Top Scholar) Richard Edwards. King's College, Taunton. (Exhibition)

THE M O R L A N D S After seventeen years with us, and as a result of the considerable reorganisation which we are undertaking, Ben and Joyce Morland left us at the end of the summer term. In their time they have made a significant contribution to the life of the school, Joyce in her junior teaching, Ben In his junior classics teaching and in the running of the Library, considerable assistance with the orchestral music, printing and Pathfinders.

The departure of such old-established mem-bers of the staff inevitably leaves a considerable gap in our ranks. W e hope we may have managed to fill this with the aid of our latest recruits, but nevertheless we cannot allow the Morlands to leave us without a very hearty vote of thanks and our warmest good wishes for their future prosperity and happiness.

T H E G O V E R N O R S One of the most important functions of a Govern-ing Body must surely be wise fiscal control. They must achieve a nice balance between the demands of the school and the soaring cost of maintaining its standards, and the willingness and ability of our parents to foot the bill.

It would seem that they are proving very successful in this matter for, though no parents can possibly welcome continual rises in fees, all must see the inescapability of this continuing process, but they must be assured that they are receiving value for the ever-increasing sums they are obliged to pay, an assurance which is underwritten by the present programme of expansion which the Governors have approved.

Our numbers now require us to implement a twelfth form, having added an eleventh just two years ago. W e have therefore decided to convert the Common Room, now too small on account of the enormous increase in staff since it was first commissioned nineteen years ago, and adapt it for use as a new sixth form room. Situated as it is in the original classroom block it is ideally suited to this purpose, and a new Common Room has been built in the middle of the 'Chinese Jungle.'

W i t h even greater courage, the Governors have given the go-ahead to a long-cherished plan

to build a multi-purpose hall. The plans were exhibited at our Athletics Day assemblage, and the project has been approved and put out to tender.

It is hoped to open this hall in our centenary year, 1981, and to finance it by the appeal which is referred to elsewhere.

These schemes furnish tangible evidence of the desire of the Governors to do their best for the school and its supporters, and added to the costly refurbishment of the swimming pool and other less evident but equally important pro-visions such as the installation of a new water main and the gradual up-dating of classroom furniture, provide a pretty impressive list of achievements in their very active three years of office.

H P W In the twenty two years that have elapsed since H P W assumed control of the school, there has been a very remarkable programme of develop-ment, much of which was outlined in Matron's Diary published in our 1978 edition. And this apart, it has always been his avowed intent to maintain both the fabric of the school, and the beautiful grounds in which they are set, to the highest possible standard. There is no doubt that the coming of the Governors and the resultant sharing of at least part of the administrative burden has made this task a little easier, but it is also true that the hand of Tony Wortham is very evident in these latest projects, and there is little doubt that it is largely due to his powers of persuasion that the die has been so positively cast.

It is rare for Headmasters to achieve public acclaim; their position at the top of the pyramid more or less rules this out. But it was a very happy gesture on the part of Mr. and Mrs. James Patten to make a presentation to Tony Wortham on Athletics Day in recognition of his twenty five years of service to the school. The presenta-tion took the form of a glass tumbler beautifully engraved with a picture of the school, and there is little doubt that this gesture, as unexpected as it was felicitous was much appreciated and richly deserved.

It is surely fitting that the opening of the Hall, scheduled not only for the hundredth year of the existence of Mount House but also for the twenty-fourth year of Tony's term of office, should provide one at least of the pinnacles of his ambition. At no small risk of being declared redundant, the Editor now nails his colours firmly to the mast and proposes that this new building should be known in perpetuity as 'The Wortham Hall'—second only in importance as a scheduled building to the already established Wortham Manor!

T H E K E N N E T H B U C K L A N D G A R D E N Tribute has already elsewhere been paid to the life and achievements of Kenneth Buckland. Suffice it to say here therefore that in the front of the new Common Room, a special area of floral beauty will be prepared which shall be known as 'The Kenneth Buckland Garden', a fitting and permanent tribute to a memorable servant of the school.

T H E LADIES The most significant change in the Matron's department has been the departure of Susie Buchanan-Allen who, after a very long spell as a most efficient Assistant Matron, decided to seek promotion in the form of a post as a House Matron in the Junior Department of Taunton School. Susie has served us long and faithfully and many boys have cause to be grateful for her sympathetic attention to their woes and her kindly ministrations in their illnesses. W e wish her the very best of good fortune in her new task.

The Matron's department has been rein-forced over the past year by the arrival of Mrs. John Bax, Mrs. Katherine Bowden and Miss Georgina Andrew who, together with the old firm of Lois Spencer and Jackie Fogwill, make up a formidable and efficient team whose combined contribution to the welfare of the boys is beyond measure.

In a predominantly male establishment, the efforts of the distaff side tend regrettably to be taken somewhat for granted. W i th the departure of Mrs. Pells, who retired after many years of loyal and much appreciated service, Miss

Catherine Norris was left to cope single-handed for a considerable period with the catering plan-ning and the actual preparation of food. She rose, as might be expected, gallantly to the occa-sion but nobody could have been more relieved when help arrived in the shape of the daughter of one of our oldest and most faithful workers, Mrs. Evingdon. Diane has had some experi-ence in the kitchens of another boarding preparatory school and she is a most welcome addition to our ancillary staff.

N E W C O M E R S It is our pleasure to welcome Robin and Sue Harward, who joined us in September with their two sons. The Harwards will be living at The Lodge, John and Yoland Symons having moved into their own house at Lydford during the sum-mer holidays.

Our third newcomer, equally welcome, is Lisa Gregory who has come from the Lake District to teach junior forms. This is a new appointment occasioned by our further expan-sion into twelve rather than eleven forms.

W e very much hope that all these folk will settle into our ways and come to enjoy the quietly satisfying life of this beautiful county— not quite so quiet, perhaps, during term-time!

Earlier in the year we also welcomed Katherine Bowden and Georgina Andrew who, as referred to elsewhere, came to join the Matron's department.

M I C H A E L SP ILLER Michael Spiller, Old Boy, sometime Head Boy, and currently a student at the Queen's Univer-sity, Belfast, came to spend a month with us in the summer, and so much did he achieve in that short space of time that he deserves a paragraph to himself.

It was his determined assault on the ever-growing grass and his skill in the preparation of match pitches that first caught our eye. But when Michael also undertook the duties of Life Saving Instructor and part-time tennis coach, at the same time involving himself in a variety of lesser but very important matters, we began to realise that here was a young man of varied and

considerable talents, and he ALMOST succeeded in making himself indispensable. W e did survive his departure, two short weeks before the end of term, but only just, and many of us (not least the four successful Bronze Medallion candidates he trained so efficiently) have good cause to say a very big thank you indeed. This we do with heartfelt sincerity. Here's to the next time, Michael!

G R A N N I E S ' T E A PARTY Once again we opened our doors to the older generation and invited all the Grannies we could trace to tea. In the event over 60 turned up and were met by their grandsons, who toured them round the school. After tea, during which many old friends were able to meet, they were enter-tained by an ensemble of musicians after which they were free once again to enjoy their grand-sons. This was another very happy and successful occasion and one, to judge from the many letters of appreciation which followed, which was hugely enjoyed by all these ladies, so many of whom, in the absence of parents abroad or a long way off, play a very important part in the lives of their young relatives. It was a pleasure to be able to entertain them.

H E A D B O Y This office has again been shared by two boys over the past year, and the first holder was James Gardner, who presided during the Christ-mas Term before moving on to Marlborough. Here was another example of a boy who probably never dreamed of being selected for this appoint-ment but who, in the event, made a thoroughly good job of it. He encountered many difficulties but found ways of coping admirably and proved to be in every way a worthy member of the exclusive club to which he was promoted.

In Ja nuary he was succeeded by James Ryle. In this case, the selection was more or less an open secret long before it was made, and it is rarely that the choice of head boy meets with such unanimous approval from both boys and staff as did that of James Ryle. He was extremely successful and even managed to weather the summer term (which, for a variety of reasons,

is always the most difficult for those boys in positions of authority) with commendable sang-froid, though there were many occasions when he did not find the going easy.

To be selected as Head Boy of Mount House and to achieve a measure of success in this responsible task at such a tender age requires qualities that are not possessed by more than a few potential leaders. All the more praise then to those who do make the grade, and again our thanks to James Gardner and James Ryle for their loyalty and hard work.

They will be succeeded by John Coupland, to whom go our best wishes for a happy and equally successful term of office.

PREFECTS The Head Boys have been assisted in their duties by a number of sub-prefects and also by the following prefects listed in alphabetical order.

Christopher Barley Richard Bridge Stephen Chalk John Coupland Alain de Pourtales Richard Edwards Edward Fletcher Digby Fox Paul Furse Christopher Ling

James Mackenzie Horatio Morpurgo Robert Orr Richard Paige Bruce St. Clair Patrick Smiley Nicholas Tucker Duncan Tytler Ian Willey Richard Wright

H A I L A N D F A R E W E L L Since we last went to press we have said goodbye to the following boys, all of whom take with them our warmest good wishes for their future success and happiness. Christopher Baker,Tavistock School Christopher Barley, Winchester College Richard Bridge, Kelly College Stephen Chalk, Rugby School A. J. Darby, Kelly College Richard Edwards, King's College, Taunton Edward Fletcher, King's College, Taunton Digby Fox, Felsted School Peter Fox, Kelly College James Gardner, Marlborough College

Stephen Gunn, Grenville College Christopher Ling, King's College, Taunton James Nicholls, Private tutor Robert Orr, Wellington College Richard Paige, 8lundell's School William Perry, Blundell's School Simon Read, Kelly College James Ryle, King's College, Taunton Bruce St. Clair, Shiplake College Patrick Smiley, Trinity College, Glenalmond William Trinick, Haileybury College Duncan Tytler, Wellington College Ian Willey, Plymouth College Richard Wright, Queen Elizabeth School, Crediton

And to the new generation who have joined us in the past year, our good wishes for their future with us. Christopher Allerton Evan Lewis David Balmer Andrew Lopes John Beckley Timothy Lumb Robin Bertram Dimitri Marcoulides Andrew Craig Horatio Morpurgo Patrick Eames Timothy Morshead Guy Gillmore Julian Newby Charles Gozzard Christopher Odling-James Gozzard Smee Paul Gregson Alastair Parker Swift Rupert Hoskin John Sears Benjamin James Benjamin Simpson Charles Keay Robert Sturges Richard Lamb Peter We i r

FAMILY MATTERS W e extend our congratulatiions to John and Barbara Weeks on the birth of their son, a brother for Jeremy who is an Old Boy of the school; and to John and Yoland Symons on their on their first born—a daughter.

E N T E R A I N M E N T S In the Christmas Term, we had another visit from the eminent naturalist, Mr. H. G. Hurrell, who showed us a further selection from his superb library of films. Mr. Andrew Golder later provided a new departure in entertainment

so far as we are concerned, and that consisted in an evening of song solos. That the venture was a success can be judged from the comments of our music critic, David Gimson:-

'Last November we had the pleasure of hearing a short recital (consisting of some twenty songs) by Mr. Andrew Golder, baritone. All seemed to enjoy his programme, the general favourites being the four Flanders and Swan songs with which he concluded his recital. W e hope that Mr. Golder will come here again and that we shall be able to hear more of his light-hearted songs.'

No Christmas Term would of course be complete without a showing of the school film for the year, and 'Mount House 1978' lived up to the standard of expertise which we have been led to expect over the years.

In the Easter Term we had another visit from adventurer-extraordinary Mike Banks. This ex-Royal Marine, one-time Liberal candidate for West Devon, professional explorer, seems to have packed more into his life than most and this lecture lived up to the enviable reputation he has built up with us of his ability to thrill and absorb.

In February, we had contrasting entertain-ment in the shape of two of HPW 's remarkable travel films, preceded a week earlier by a recital by Clarence Myerscough and his talented daughter. This recital, postponed from the Christmas Term, proved very popular, the most attractive item clearly being an arrangement for reader and violin of the fascinating story cf 'Ferdinand the bull,' the voice being most effec-tively provided by local talent in the shape of Christopher Ling.

The year's indoor entertainment was round-ed off by a fascinating lecture by Robin Hanbury-Tenison, leader of the recent Royal Geographical Society's expedition to the Rain forests of Borneo. W e were most privileged to hear this lecture about 'Mulu' for it was for his outstanding performance on this expedition that Robin was awarded the much-prized Gold Medal of the RGS. To him we offer our thanks and sincere congratulations, both on his achievement and on his riveting lecture.

LITERARY C O M P E T I T I O N For several years we have run a competition in various guises but which centred round a passage of spoken English, and we have been able to provide prizes owing to the generosity of Mr. and Mrs. Peter London, whose sons both are erstwhile members of the school. By varying the formula we have tried to get the mixture right, but this year, with a completely new approach, we seem to have got nearer achieving our objects of (a) encouraging a wider range of reading; and (b) trying to raise the standard of spoken English.

Instead of having a set piece each competitor was asked to choose his own passage within prescribed limits of length and also to be pre-pared to answer a few simple questions about the book and his reasons for the choice of passage. This made for a most successful com-petition which had a much larger spectator appeal than anything we have done hitherto as there was no repetition. The main problem was audibility and we hope to overcome this next time when we shall run a competition on very similar lines.

This was an open competition with no age allowance and, as it was experimental, was judged internally. Next year we hope to persuade a judge (or judges) from the outside world to adjudicate for us.

In a very close competition, the winner was James Ryle with a very lively reading of a passage from Paul Gallico's fascinating story, The Poseidon Adventure.' Horatio Morpurgo was placed second with an extract from Gerald Durrel's 'Birds, beasts and relatives;' and third was Christopher Ling, who read a thrilling piece from 'Eye of the Tiger' by Wi lbur Smith.

Not far behind came the youngest competi-tor, a former winner of the Junior Reading Prize with an admirably read passage from Willard Price's 'Elephant Adventure.' This was Johnnie Wraith.

This new system allowed us to present twenty readers in the final session of around one hour and this was an added bonus as previous competitions have had, by their nature, to restrict finalists to three or four in each of the three age groups. There is little doubt that the

competition will develop along these lines in the future.

CHR ISTMAS 1978 W e had our customary secular celebration in the shape of a Christmas Party at which huge quantities of food, provided by the indefatigable Catherine Norris, were consumed at lightning speed. This was of course the centre-piece of this particular diversion, but before the feast we were treated to a selection of cartoon films and it is interesting to note the enthusiasm that is generated by the appearance of Tom and Jerry, and even of the much more ancient Mickey Mouse and his constant companions, the dishy Minny and the hideously-embarrassed pup, Pluto.

After tea, we reverted to the Victorian practice of homespun entertainment, though the simple logistics of such an enterprise, with over 160 rather hot and very excited boys, are mind-boggling. In the event we divided the school into two roughly equal sections by the simple device of 'Birds and Animals'—three of our sets carry the names of birds, three those of animals. One section went to the gym. for a session of extrem-ely active games while the other went to our double classroom for a rather quieter spell of charades, an old-fasioned form of entertainment which still holds considerable appeal and pro-duces many surprises and a great deal of ingen-uity. The two sections changed over at half-time, and the whole party ended with our customary short service of a carol, a reading and a prayer, as a reminder of what really lies behind all this annual jollification.

C E N T U R I O N S As we move up towards our centennial year, it is fitting that for the first time in recorded history, two centuries have been scored by our batsmen in school matches. The first was scored in record time by Mark McElney against Buckfast Abbey School; the second by Richard Youngman, against St. Petroc's, playing for the Colts XI , at the tender age of ten years and four months.

One hundred wickets in a season is a triumph unlikely to come the way of our bowlers, but surely worth a mention is the achievement of Nicholas Bayly, Colts captain, who in one match took seven wickets for five runs in nine overs and included in this devastating attack the demolition of four batsmen in four consecutive balls, this with the considerable help of sharp-eyed Johnnie Wraith.

ATHLET ICS DAY In recent years we have held our Athletics Day immediately prior to half-term and then followed this up with an Open Day late in June. This year, for two reasons, we combined these two big summer events into a single Athletics Day held late in the summer term. The reasons were firstly that we had received a number of requests that our half-term should coincide with the bank holiday at the end of May. This falls earlier than we have normally had our half-term in the past and left insufficient time to prepare for Athletics Day. The second reason was that since Athletics now forms such an important part of our summer activities and the competition season now goes on right to the end of the term, it seemed reasonable, while we were making a change, to combine Open Day and Athletics Day at a later stage in the term, and this we did.

This resulted in a rather more relaxed and fuller programme than we have hitherto been able to stage, but at the same time we were able to include some of the major features of previous Open Days.

Patrick Cashell again staged one of his celebrated French comedy plays, this time elec-ting to perform indoors as a matter of choice. This was a considerable improvement as it made the action much easier to follow than at the previous outdoor performances, and it also made the preparations rather less complicated than those required for an outdoor arena. The play was, as we have come to expect, a huge success and the action revolved round the multi-farious and primarily non-academic activities of as rowdy a bunch of schoolgirls and boys as you would ever hope not to meet. Acted by members of the Sixth Form, this did underline their

histrionic ability, for surely this was as far from their normal behaviour in the classroom as it possibly could be—or is there that particular kind of demon lurking all the time just beneath the surface!!

Jo Thomas, much to her surprise, produced a very delightful display of contrasts in the library, many of the ideas, to your corres-pondent's untutored eye, being highly original and delightfully executed.

James Honey, noted mainly for his customary low profile, startled us all with a fascinating action replay of the Battle of Waterloo with his superb collection of model soldiers and arma-ments. This was a unique and most interesting contribution to the day's events.

P IONEERS A note on the camp, the climax to the year's activities, appears elsewhere. For the rest of their weekly meetings, the Pioneers are occupied with training in 'Major Hobbies', such as Orni-thology, Orienteering, Knotting, First-Aid, Ecology and Map Reading, and the purpose is to achieve an acceptable standard of proficiency which is then recorded on the Certificate which each Pioneer possesses.

These more serious activities are inter-spersed with competitive games which are always popular and are tackled with considerable energy.

PATHF INDERS The more junior members of the school are organised into a quite separate group known as Pathfinders. Each of its small sub-units, known as a Flight, has a Leader and a Second, and the main purpose of the training is to cultivate leadership, response to leadership, and a degree of group discipline. This is achieved in a number of ways, but on Athletics Day, the Pathfinders made their second public appearance in a short display of movements which demanded a high degree of alertness and concentration. This display, which earned for the Pathfinders a num-ber of compliments on their smart appearance

and disciplined bearing, was led by Philip Kearley, other key roles being played by Tom Cheshire, Tim Wiltshire, Sebastian Smith, Gordon Lewis and Nicholas James.

The flag which marked the centre of the arena on this occasion was the brain-child and product of the combined talents of Rupert Noy Scott, Tom Cheshire and Philip Kearley.

In their weekly meeting through the year the Pathfinders are called upon to exercise such qualities as obedience, self-discipline, esprit de corps and alertness, and a special attempt is made to train the leaders, many of whom are excellent, to lead by example and verbal instruction rather than by mere 'pushing around.'

At the same time, there must be an element of 'fun' and much of the training is approached through the medium of purposeful games and interesting activities. On the whole, this par-ticular mix seems to be right but it is not easy to assess just to what extent there is a carry-over of the 'Pathfinder spirit' into everyday things, and it is this more than anything that was (and still is!) in the mind of the founder.

GIFTS It is our pleasure to acknowledge with grateful thanks the receipt of the following gifts. Mark and Christopher Barley—Generous dona-tions for English & French Prizes The following have made Donations to Cen-tenary Appeal Fund:

Simon Bayly Stephen Chalk Robert Orr Geoffrey Sayers Alexander Whicher Ian Willey Ian Miles Richard Bridge—Sundial Edward Fletcher—Slides for the Science depart-ment Digby Fox—Red Chestnut Tree for the grounds James Gardner—Equipment for the Golf Course Stephen Gunn—Laboratory equipment and Art Room

Christopher Ling—Junior Athletics Cup Angus McBride—Young Musician of the Year

Cup and Books for the Dormitory Library James Ryle—Chairs for the Library Patrick Smiley—Sports Equipment William Trinick—19th Century watercolour of

Tavistock Duncan Tytler—Electric clock Ian Willey—Contribution towards the Buckland

Memorial Garden Gift by David Jarvis's uncle, Mr. Denning Richard Paige—A Tennis Trainer

C O L L E C T I O N S As a result of our collections at Sunday and End of Term services, we have been able to send the following sums to the various organisations listed. Dr. Barnardo's, September, 1978—£61.00 Help the Aged, February, 1979—£44.00 Red Cross, October, 1978—108.00 (Sponsored

Walk) Old Folks Rest House, Tavistock, December,

1978—£50.00 Shaftesbury Society, November, 1978—£54.40

June, 1979—£62.00 Blindness Research, March, 1979—£50.00 National Childrens' Home, October, 1978—

£52.20 U.N.I.C.E.F., July, 1979—£67.00 J.E.T., July, 1979—£136.00 Diagnostic Unit, December, 1978—£119.00 Farms for City Children, March, 1979—£30.00 National Association for the Welfare of Children

in Hospital, March, 1979—£55.50 Christian Aid May, 1979—£51.00 Pestalozzi, June, 1979—£23.50 In addition, over £100 was sent to the Joint Educational Trust as a result of the collection at our summer end-of-year service. This regis-tered charity exists to provide education at fee-paying schools for children who might otherwise be debarred from attending.

CROSS C O U N T R Y C O M P E T I T I O N This competition, in some ways the Cinderella of all our athletic assignments, was moved back this year to its proper place in the calendar and

took place on a Saturday in mid-February. For once, the conditions were dry and really rather suitable for this type of activity and some very good performances were set up by many unex-pected runners. The three winners in the Senior, Middle and Junior sections were respectively Simon Weston, Michael Griffiths and Benjamin Simpson.

T E R P S I C H O R E A N EVENTS These have enjoyed three quite different mani. festations. First and foremost the popular Christmas Dance, designed mainly for family parties, was held in the week before Christmas, and this well-attended event was catered for musically by our old friends Sid Gateley and his Music.

Then in the Easter Term, Patrick Cashell continued his series of Scottish Dancing evenings on Saturdays. Numbers were slightly down on previous years but in fact this very much in-creased the enjoyment of the dancers whose ranks were limited in the main to those who really wanted to be there. There is a hard core of boys in the school, many with no pretensions whatever to Scottish ancestry, who gain real

enjoyment from this very stylised and disciplined form of dancing and it seems a better plan to leave it to those who do have this genuine appreciation.

At the other end of the spectrum is that very remarkable tribal dancing that is enjoyed by rather more boys and which takes the form of an 'Eleven Plus' Dance two or three times a year. Here the astonishing preparations, involving the donning of carefully-chosen garments and often the liberal spraying of these clothes, the body, the neighbours and the whole dormitory with excesses of male cosmetics, are all part of the ritual that has grown up since these dances were somewhat daringly initiated some ten years ago.

The essential ingredients appear to be very loud music, very soft lighting, and plentiful supplies of Coke. Girls also appear to play some part in the proceedings, but as they invari-ably remain at arm's length and any form of speech is not only taboo but in any case physically impossible, it is not easy for the outsider to gauge their precise function. Is it perhaps merely to provide material for those tales of derring-do that are heard in the dormitories later that evening?

ARTS AND ACTIVITIES M U S I C

The general commitments of the Music Depart-ment keep us all very busy from term to term and we have dealt with the usual Parish Church Services—End of Term, Christmas Carols, End of Year—together with three Concerts, the Music Competition, Grade Examinations and a 'Granny Concert'. There is an enormous amount of preparation needed for all these events and credit must be given to our Visiting Music Staff for a lot of this.

The year has seen changes in staff. Mr. Cyril Butland, who taught strings, was with us for 15 years, decided that at the age of 70 he should take things a little quieter. W e are all most grateful for what he has done for the boys over this period and we miss him a lot. The members of the Common Room also miss his ready wit and co-operation. His place has been taken by Mr. Cyril Payne who has recently come to the West Country from the London Area and is already making his presence felt.

W e were very pleased to have with us again Mr. Tim Harrison (Director of Music, King's Taunton) for the Music Competition. He last came in 1973. The Competition was won by Bruce St. Clair, to whom we give our hearty congratulations.

MUS IC C L U B W e had an enthusiastic Club until Play rehear-sals intervened with the Sunday evening meet-ings. There were 30 members this Easter term and the music played covered a wide range of tastes from Beethoven to Gilbert and Sullivan.

In the Quiz on the last Sunday, David Gimson won the senior prize with Christopher Ling and Paul Furse runners-up. James Thomas won the junior prize closely pursued by James Cowling and David Key.

H.P.W.

During the year the following grades were passed by boys entered for the Associated Board of the Royal Schools of Music examin-ations:-Richard Berkley-

Matthews Pianoforte Grade 2 James Maycock Trumpet Grade 3 merit Stephen Williams Trumpet Grade 3 merit Robin Bertram Pianoforte Grade I Robert Bunbury Pianoforte Grade I Mark Costen Pianoforte Grade I Timothy Morshead Pianoforte Grade I Rupert Noy-Scott Pianoforte Grade I merit Alexis Pond Pianoforte Grade I Stephen Pratt Pianoforte Grade I merit George Spencer Pianoforte Grate I John Healey Violin Grade I Sebastian Smith Violin Grade 2 merit Rupert Noy-Scott Violin Grade 3 David Key Clarinet Grade 3 Guy Bartlett Clarinet Grade 4 Christopher Ling Clarinet Grade 4 Jason Wright Clarinet Grade 4 Bruce St. Clair Flute Grade 4 David Gimson Trumpet Grade 4 Ian Mair Tenor

Trombone Grade 3 merit

GARDENS The Gardens' Prize was won by Simon Meers and Peter Brindle who coaxed their flowers to a prolific display at the end of term through careful watering and undoubtedly encouraging talk with them each evening.

James Cowling must be congratulated for remembering to water his window box before departure after the End of Year Service—real devotion to duty.

H.P.W.

T H E P H O T O G R A P H I C C L U B Most of the 20 members of the Club made use of the Dark Room facilities during the Winter terms and Friday evenings were devoted to learning developing and printing techniques.

Alan de Pourtales and Peter Brindle were among the more active members of the Club and submitted prints for the Easter Holiday competitions—Spring water or portraits.

There are difficulties these days in rousing enthusiasm for the art of processing partly owing to the rage for colour and partly because the small instamatic films have a negative too small for satisfactory enlargement.

What you need is a good second hand 35 mm camera with variable speed, aperture and focusing and some bulk 35 mm film for Christmas!

H.P.W.

SC IENCE 1978-79 This has been an exciting year in the Laboratory. W e are slowly building up a very useful collec-tion of transparent slides through the generosity of leavers' parents. W e already had a set of Comparative Anatomy of the Vertebrates and another of the Development of Chicken Embryos made by the Oxford Scientific Films, to these we have been able to add the Pollination of Flowering Plants and Seed Dispersal. These are a very useful addition to the teaching aids as we are able to go out into the grounds and compare what we have seen to the actual flowers and trees.

W e have also had a very successful breeding season, concentrating on our native species this year. In our aquaria we were able to bring on both frogs and newts to the stage where we were able to release them in the lake. W e collected a mass of very small Lesser Tortoise-shell larva, these supated and we released between forty and fifty imagos a few days after Open Day.

The flora were not neglected. Form lla planted some acorns in pots last Autumn and by

the Summer term 9 of these were about 20 cm tall so we planted them out on Rowden Field and now we only have to stand back for 30 years to see a new copse in the grounds.

Open Day was an opportunity for parents to see some of the work their sons had been doing for the last three terms. This includes, of course, Chemistry and Physics, though the Summer term does tend to lean very heavily towards Biology because of our climate.

J.S.T.

ART The era of the endless childrens' art competitions is over and the cries of "what is it worth?" are heard no more, thank goodness. Thanks to Mr. Or r we have an endless supply of lovely paper in many unusual colours so we have been able to be fairly extravagant, some of the juniors managing to paint as many as four pictures in one lesson!

Over twenty paintings and drawings were chosen for a big exhibition in Tavistock at Kingdon House for the "year of the child".

Prizes Progress: James Honey, George Spencer, Bruce St. Clair, and Pe-r-.n Thomas. Friezes: John Coupland, Nicholas Learoyd, Rupert Read and Simon Weston. Design: James Allerton, James Thomas and Nicholas Tucker.

J.E.T.

F L Y I N G A HEL ICOPTER ! At 1030 hrs. on Wednesday 27th June, all the scholars set off with Mr. Wortham on a mystery excursion. W e were completely in the dark as to our destination. W e reached Plymouth at 11.00 a.m. and knew that we must be nearing our goal as some of us were due to play cricket in the afternoon.

About a mile on the other side of Plymouth, Mr. Wortham told us that we were going to the Royal Marine base at Coy Pool. There were gasps

of excitement. Minutes later, we arrived and were greeted by Major Cameron, the father of Charles Cameron, a boy at Mount House.

Major Cameron showed us a film on the Marines and their role in the Defence Forces. Then, he told us about the helicopters they use, which we found very interesting. The Scout we learnt was more 'soldier-proof' (more heavily armoured) than the Gazelle but the latter was more versatile and faster.

The Scout has the advantage of a very long range; it can fire missiles up to 3000 metres (3 kilometres). However, It is going to be replaced eventually by the Lynx, which will come into service in 1982. It will have an even longer range of 3750 metres (3f kilometres). It also travels faster than the Scout.

Even the U.S.S.R. are taking notice of these highly-efficient machines. They are, at the moment, designing a new anti-helicopter heli-copter.

Outside, Major Cameron showed us a life-size model of a Gazelle, and on the way, we were shown a complete map of the United Kingdom. Apparently an officer had set up a system enabling anyone to find out how long it would take to fly to any particular place in Britain. As a matter of interest, Richard Edwards asked how long it would take to Mount House.

About fifteen minutes according to the chart.

W e were shown all the mechanics and instruments of the Gazelle which were fascina-ting. Then suddenly, out of the blue as they say, we were told we were travelling back to Mount House by helicopter.

W e could not have had a more splendid surprise. I would have been very content with the enjoyment we had already had.

Christopher Ling, Stephen Chalk and James Ryle went back in the Gazelle. Mr. Wortham, Richard Edwards and I went back in the Scout with Major Cameron.

W e left Coy Pool at 1150 hrs. Looking down on the ground made everything look like a model village with tiny houses, roads like ribbons, and cars like moving ants. This was the first time I had flown in a helicopter.

Major Cameron asked me whether I should like to pilot the helicopter for a little time. I accepted with speed. From the back, I heard Richard Edwards comment, jokingly I think, 'I hope you know what you're doing!' I was able to move the lever which controlled the path of the helicopter and It was a feeling of great power!

At approximately 12.10 p.m. we arrived back on the Stony pitch at Mount House. All the school were watching and we felt like returning celebrities. Mr. Wortham flew back to Plymouth with Major Cameron to collect his car, still at Coy Pool.

It was a very enjoyable and exciting occasion. Richard Bridge

A M A Z O N A D V E N T U R E "Whe re can we be going at 5.30 in the

morning?" I asked. " I don't know", came the reply. Now we were going to find out, as Mr. Wor-

tham drove the mini-bus through the country-side in the vague direction of Avonwick.

" W e ' r e going to see the old church at Avon-wick", announced Mr. Wortham. All the leavers, packed into the vehicle, chuckled, think-ing it a joke.

Slowly but surely the minibus started to take the sign-posts towards Dartmouth.

" W e ' r e going to Dartmouth sir!" someone exclaimed.

There was silence for a few seconds and then Mr. Wortham said, "Yes, we're going to have a look at some cadets practising for the parade". Corners of mouths were turned up at the remark.

Finally the minibus arrived on the quay at Dartmouth and Richard Paige said, "Sir, there's H.M.S. Amazon."

" O h yes, I had heard she was over here". Mr. Wortham drove the Transit Van into a

car park and was told where to park. Finally, having stopped, he turned around

and said seriously, "Now, we are very privileged. W e are going aboard H.M.S. Amazon and are going out to sea on board.

Gasps of excitement filled the van and we all leapt out. "We ' r e going to be picked up at 7.30" he added.

The minutes ticked on. Then a small tender appeared exactly on

time and we all jumped in. The young sailor at the helm steered us in

the direction of the frigate. W e arrived at the bottom of the steps and I was the first up the ladder and I shook hands with Commander Woodard, "Good morning, sir!" The others followed with Mr. Wortham behind.

First of all a Petty Officer took us to the dining hall and we immediately dug into a yoghurt, a cup of tea and a few biscuits each.

After this the Petty Officer took us all on deck to watch the departure.

Soon we were out in the open, cruising along towards Plymouth.

Then we were split into two groups and we had one 'guide' to each group.

Each group was shown around various places on the ship.

The Operations Room was very interesting with the tracking computers which we all had a go on.

Then we were shown the 4.5 inch gun and its loading system. That, along with the tracking system was complicated but very interesting.

After a delicious lunch of roast beef and Yorkshire Pudding, eaten with the sailors, the ship went full astern. Standing on the flight deck the sight was amazing: the spray flew up 15 feet into the air.

After this great test run we went full ahead at 36 knots, about 40 m.p.h.

Finally to my great surprise and delight I was invited to fire the 20 mm cannon.

And I did so. The magazine was clipped on. I waited, strapped in and muffled in every

protective gear you can think of. At last I was given permission to fire; three

short bursts as the arm-rests pumped into my shoulders and it was all over.

A fantastic experience. By now we were nearing Plymouth Sound—

the end of our journey. W e said our Goodbyes

and thankyous and leapt into the tender to be taken ashore at Millbay Dock.

It had been a marvellous outing and we were very grateful to Commander Woodard and all those who showed us the ship.

James Ryle

T H E P I O N E E R CAMP After a term which was not notable for its good weather, we were lucky in having a lovely weekend for the camp, during which not a 'welly' or anorak was to be seen. Our walk on the moors was on the hottest day, but with a light breeze conditions were fine, and the operation went off without a hitch.

Through the rest of the weekend the Pioneers (form five upwards) spent their time competing in hilarious games, making their debut in the theatrical scene, 'bombing' the school, and cooling off in the swimming pool, apart from attending to the requirements of their set leaders in the general running of the camps.

Efficiency in the running of the camps is really what determines the result of the Set competition, and this demands leadership and co-operation, which is not easy when people are tired and under stress. The result was close, though Richard Edwards and the Hawks just pipped James Ryle's Curlews. Our Quarter-master, Richard Wright, also did a splendid job, combining general efficiency with his talents as a bugler.

Many of the campers were utterly exhausted by the end of the operation, but they all enjoyed it, mainly, I think, in the satisfaction of a job well done.

J.E.R.V.

CHESS Chess was played mainly during the Autumn term, when an open competition was held, and for those who wanted to go in for the game more seriously, a course for the British Chess Federa-tion award grade one.

David Gimson managed to defeat Digby Fox in a very close-fought final of the competition in which thirty-two boys played, some of them

as many as twenty match games, apart from a lot of practice ones.

Gimson and Fox were also among those who passed the grade exam, though the highest scorers in this were Richard Bridge and Rupert Youngman, who did extremely well in what proved to be a very demanding test.

Chess will be continued this Autumn in the same vein, and several people will, I hope, be taking grade two in the BCF exams.

J.E.R.V.

STAMP C L U B Still going strong! Very popular with a few enthusiastic Seniors, many Juniors and most new boys. W e entered a "Devon" Competition last Spring which taught eveyone how to use a stamp catalogue amonst other things—most instructive—but no prizes. The prizes went to young people in Plymouth with the exception of one in Okehampton! Anyone who could come and give any help with the Club, or has any stamps to spare for the boys, would be very welcome.

R E M I N I S C E N C E S AT R A N D O M Some Visits by the Fire Brigade

When the frying machine in kitchen went up in smoke one Sunday evening cooking chips for staff supper!

Bonfire Night and a false alarm when it was lighted—literally it was the highlight of the evening.

When it arrived at the front door for no apparent reason one Saturday night at 10.30.

Long ago a "dress rehearsal" after the boys had gone to bed.

1066 and All That (1955 or 6) Charles Human and Richard Twining as the

King and Queen sitting on their thrones about to say their "piece" when they disappeared! All fell backwards off the stage!

Peter Cocks went to investigate a bad smell down under and came back to say there was nothing there "only a dead rat"!

F L O O D I N G S Before the back porch was built and the

drains re-organised there often was a water fall down the back steps and into the kitchen and changing-rooms—usually during the night—First to be wakened was H P W to clear the drains in his S'wester—then the seniors to clear the water with dustpans, mops and anything we could lay hand on.

Sunningdale During their first visit the Sunday Match

was interrupted by a herd of heifers stampeding across the Oval chased by the "onlookers" this ended at the Swimming Pool where one heifer jumped in followed by his owner, Mr. Blowey in his Sunday best! Both successfully retreaved but what about the water afterwards?

L.J.S.

APRES-SKI Walking around Terminal One of Heathrow airport looking for H P W , I soon came across six small, rather lost looking boys standing in one little group; within seconds H P W appeared and I knew I had hit upon the Mount House Ski Party of 1979.

W e caught the afternoon flight to Zurich, having a very good late lunch on the plane, and at Zurich we hired a taxi to take us to Lech. Then we caught the lift up to Oberlech, from where we walked to the Gasthaus where we were to stay our first week.

For Sebastian Smith, Honkey Dyke, John Coupland, Duncan Tytler and Gage Pellowe, the next morning was the first attempt at skiing and although I had had practice on a dry slope back in England, I had little confidence in my ability on the slope and so I too joined the beginner's gang. Because ski school did not take beginners until the Monday, we had Sophie as our instructor who soon got us doing the basics, such as snow-plough turns. Whi le we beginners were trying to find a way of skiing without falling over, H P W along with the other two members of the party, Toby Ashworth and Robert Orr, were attempting, with some success, some of the longer Arlberg runs.

When Monday came we beginners were split up and I found myself in an adult class with about eight other Germans, It was all fine except for one small problem—the instructor spoke no English and I spoke only limited German; but apart from that minor detail we did a great deal of skiing in the next four days. Luckily one Ger-man girl was learning English and therefore we soon overcame the language barrier and got along much better. Gage Pellowe proved the real character of the party; like all of us he had difficulty in standing up on his skis and unfor-

tunately, on the Sunday, only after three days, he fell over and bruised his knee. Did he give up? No, within two days he was on his skis again, or should I say on the ski slopes, because I think he really preferred lying in the snow half way down the Petersboden to skiing down it!

Everyday after the ski school I met up with the others and H P W and then we all charged down to Lech to stock up on beer, apple juice and crisps, which we ate and drank in the evening; followed by a milk shake in the milk bar.

Our last day of instruction, Thursday, soon arrived and thankfully it was a beautiful day, so we went to Ziirs by way of the Rufikoft, a a superb five mile run from 8000 feet, on which a great deal of speed can be obtained either in or out of control (in my case usually the latter!)

The last few days skiing we went up and down many runs at all speeds and in all ways, and they were not without their excitements; as when H P W wasn't looking where he was going hit a bump, fell and slid a few yards, stopping just outside the Sonnenberg hotel, much to the mirth of the many visitors.

There are indeed many distractions on a ski slope and these include beautiful girls, to name but one, but going up the Petersboden drag-lift is not the time to view these sights especially when you are a beginner. This I learnt, to my cost, as we were nearly at the top of the lift, when I caught sight of rather an attractive German girl; the next thing I knew was that I was face down in foot deep powdered snow. It was only after many attempts that I got back on to the Petersburden and continued my down-ward ski.

W e came back via Feldkirch and then caught the plane back from Zurich to Heathrow. The weather had on the whole not been good, but we had had a holiday to remember.

D.J.T.M.

THE PLAY

'Rookery Nook'

by

Ben Travers

Presented in the Mount House Theatre on 15th, 16th and 17th March 1979.

Nobody could possibly complain about any lack of variety in the entertainment that is presented to us year by year in the Mount House theatre. In the last three years, we have been variously stirred by the horrific history of naked Red Indians in 'The dream of Chief Crazy Horse,' harrowed by dark and dirty doings in the Scottish glens in 'Macbeth', and now tickled by the preposterous reincarnation of the Lynn-Walls-Hare set-up in 'Rookery Nook.'

Certainly the period was most effectively caught in a skilful mixture of set, costume, hair style and music. But to your correspondent, born in the period and lucky enough to have seen the original Ralph Lynn monocle, the Tom Walls moustachioed leer, and the descent of the Robertson Hare breeches, all this was a pale shadow of the original and it was soon clear that there is insufficient substance in the writing of Ben Travers to make its resurgence today, except, perhaps in very competent professional hands, in any way worthwhile.

Having said that, it is only fair to pay full tribute to the worthy efforts of the players and to the courage of their producer. James Ryle did well with the brisk worldliness of Clive Popkiss and managed every now and then to get somewhere near the loud-mouthed bonhomie of this grossly overdrawn character. Bruce St. Clair is not nearly silly enough to recreate the true silliness of Gerald Popkiss, though he made a splendid shot at it. And Andrew Darby, faced with the impossible task of recreating a character first drawn by one of the funniest men on the

English stage, gave us a credible and often very amusing portrayal of the henpecked and harassed Harold Twine, though David Gimson, as his overbearing wife, perhaps relied too much on the lines and too little on the creation of a genuine 'femme formidable'. Richard Edwards played Mrs. Leverett, the char, complete with Cornish accent, as to the manner born; and Stephen Chalk's handling of the irascible Putz was full of Prussian bombast if at times somewhat i ncoherent.

Perran Thomas, in the role of Mrs. Possett, had the distinction of putting across most effec-tively his one and only line, quite the most amusing aside in the whole piece.

Rupert Youngman has for the last three years specialised in memorable gems of charac-terisation and this year's was no exception. His devastating dance halfway up the stairs was the highlight of his attractive playing of the ludicrous Poppy Dickey.

James Mackenzie was suitably brusque and salty as Admiral Juddy and Christopher Ling appropriately decorative as Clara Popkiss, con-triving in best Travers fashion to arrive at the worst possible moment, for her husband's peace of mind.

Last but by no means least was Jason Wright's representation of encapsulated in-corruptibility in the role of Rhoda Marley, around whose predicament the plot revolved. Here, masked by a butter-won't-melt-in-my-mouth innocence, was the original 'femme fatale', and this was indeed, by chance or by design, the subtlest acting achievement of all.

It would be churlish to offer anything but generous praise for both the acting and the production, but this presentation confirmed the writer's long-held view that comedy, and even more so farce, involve the most skilful techniques in the whole histrionic range, demanding as they do superb timing and a sensitive reaction to the audience response, both almost unattainable by schoolboy actors.

But the production was magnificently mounted and it remains only for your critic to express his thanks to all concerned, both on stage and behind the scenes, for a most diverting

THE VIRTUOUS LADIES OF CHUMPTON

evening. In a school production, the impact on the audience is by far the least important con-sideration since most of the 'educational' value has been wrung out well before the opening night. But if the final product can in fact contrive to please, as well this is an added bonus and one which was certainly earned in the case of Rookery Nook.

(In Gertrude Twine Mrs. Leverett Harold Twine Clive Popkiss Gerald Popkiss Rhoda Marley Putz

Admiral Juddy Poppy Dickey Clara Popkiss Mrs. Possett

C H A R A C T E R S order of Appearance)

David Gimson Richard Edwards Andrew Darby James Ryle Bruce St. Clair Jason Wright Stephen Chalk James Mackenzie Rupert Youngman Christopher Ling Perran Thomas

The action takes place in the Lounge Hall of "Rookery Nook", Chumpton-on-Sea, Somer-set.

It begins on a night in summer. The time is the 1920's. Act I About 9 p.m. Act II Five minutes Interval Act II The next morning

Five minutes interval Act III About two and a half hours later

S T A G E S T A F F Assistant Stage Manager Philip Learoyd Lighting

Sound Properties

Crew

Richard Wright James Nicholls Rory Marshall Horatio Morpurgo Michael Gardner Simon Wright Nicholas Tucker Simon Meers

"THAT SWINE OF A TWINE'

STAFF L I S T — J U L Y 1979 H. P. W O R T H A M Headmaster J. E. R. Vaughan English and P.E. P. C. Moore Asst. Headmaster F. J . K. Weeks French

Mathematics J. N. Bax Classics and English Miss L. J. Spencer Matron R. Buchanan-Allen English Mrs. J. W . Fogwill Assistant Matron G. Bush Mathematics Mrs. J. Bax Under Matron G. P. W . Cashell French Mrs. K. Bowden Under Matron K. C. Cload Carpentry, Shooting Miss G. Andrew Under Matron

and Games G. B. Glossop Geography M. R. G. Darwall Bursar Miss J. Lee Junior subjects Mrs. W . W r o e Secretary B. H. Morland Classics, English and Miss C. Norris Catering

Junior subjects Mrs. M. J. Morland Junior subjects Peripatetic music staff R. Reynolds Music L. Brown Woodwind J. Symons History J . Boorer Woodwind Mrs. J. E. Thomas Art C. Payne Strings and brass J. S. Thomas Science C. Tucker Brass

PATHFINDER WHIRLIGIG

S C H O O L LIST, J U L Y 1979

ALLERTON, Christopher E. O. ALLERTON, James R. O. ASHFOLD, Simon K. ASHWORTH, Henry W. ASHWORTH, Toby G. H. AYLWIN, Anthony C. B.

BAKER, Christopher BALMER, David F. C. BARBER, Dominic J. BARLEY, Paul BARNEBY, Geoffrey B. BARTLETT, J. Guy BAYLY, Nicholas D. G. BECKLY, John B. BEELEY, Arthur J. BENN, J. Sebastian BERKLEY-MATTHEWS, Richard J. BERTRAM. Robin C. BRIDGE, Richard M. K. BRINDLE, Peter M. BROUGH, Thomas D. P. BROWNE, Peter J. de F. BULLOCKE, Christopher M. BUNBURY, Robert M. R.

CAMERON, Charles D. S. CHALK, Stephen P. CHALLIS, Charles M. P. CHESHIRE, James P. CHESHIRE, Thomas E. COLE, Adrian V. COLLIER, Edward M. COSTEN, Mark T. J. COUPLAND, John S. H. COWLING, James B. W. CRAIG. Andrew W.

DARBY, Andrew J. de POURTALES, Alain L. DOIDGE, William J. DONNE, Simon C. R. DURRANS, Brett DYKE, Nigel P.

EAMES, Patrick C. H. EDWARDS, Richard J. T. EVANS, Gareth M. P.

FOX, Bruce R. FURSE, Paul G. R.

GARDNER, Michael N. GILBERT, Alexander A. C. GILLMORE, Guy F. R. GIMSON, David J. S. GOZZARD, Charles GOZZARD, James GREGSON, Paul J. M. GREY, Angus M. St. J.

GRIFFITHS, Michael A. GUNN, Steven I. HANBURY-TENISON, Rupert T. T. HARROW, Rupert J. A. HARROW, Timothy M. E. HEALEY, John M. HENSMAN, Thomas L. HONEY, James W. D. HOSKIN, Rupert J. C. HURST, Julian G. JAMES, Benjamin D. JAMES, Nicholas W. JARVIS, David J. IMPEY, James R. KEARLEY, Philip A. E. KEAY, Charles E. KEY, Andrew J. T. KEY, David J. T. KIRWIN, Matthew G. B. LAMB, Andrew R. LAMB, Richard H. A. LANGLEY, Jeremy D. S. LEAROYD, Nicholas C. LEAROYD, Philip M. B. LEE, Nelson K. LEWIS, Evan W. LEWIS, Gordon M. LEWIS, Nicholas S. LEWIS, Timothy I. LING, Christopher R. LOPES, Andrew J. LOPES, Massey J. H. LUCAS, Casper J. LUMB, Timothy J. M. McELNEY, Mark D. S. MclNTYRE, Charles A. MACKENZIE, James A. D. MAIR, Ian A. MANN, Malcolm W. MARCOULIDES, Dimitri MARSHALL, Rory J. MAYCOCK, James H. C. MEERS, Simon A. MEYER, Jonathan B. MILNE-HOME, Andrew M. MORGAN, William J. MORPURGO, Horatio J. MORSHEAD, Timothy F. NEWBY, Julian M. K. NICHOLLS, James C. O. NICHOLLS, John P. O. NOSWORTHY, Timothy R. NOTLEY, Thomas G. D. NOY SCOTT, Rupert C. W. ODLING-SMEE, Christopher ORR, Ian A.

ORR, Robert, J. PAIGE, Richard J. PARKER-SWIFT, Alastair P. PELLOWE, Gage M. PHILLIPS, Dominic S. M. PINDER, David J. POND, Alexis H. PRATT, Stephen J. PRICHARD, Lloyd E. L. PUGH, Lewis W. G.

READ, Rupert B. READ, Simon J. ROGERS, Philip M. RUSSELL, Alistair J. RUSSELL, Robert J. RYLE, James J.

ST. CLAIR, Bruce J. SCOURSE, Robert E. SEARS, John D. SIMPSON, Benjamin J. L. SMILEY, Patrick V. SMITH, Sebastian V. SPEDDY, James R. SPENCER, George C. W. STANNUS, Piers G. STURGEON, Philip J. STURGES, Robert A. H. SWARBRICK, Edward N.

THOMAS, L. Perran THOMAS, James R. THOMAS, Tristan H. THOMPSON, Alistair J. TODD, D. Cameron TUCKER, Nicholas H. P. TYTLER, Duncan G. F.

VALENTINE, J. Michael VICK, Paul G. WEIR, Peter E. J. WESTON, Simon J. WHITELEY, William F. WILLEY, Ian R. G. WILLIAMS, Stephen M. H. WILTSHIRE, Timothy J. WOOD, Jason M. WOODARD, Jolyon R. A. WRAITH, John W. WRAITH, Nigel P. WRIGHT, Jason M. D. WRIGHT, Richard E. F. WRIGHT, Sean M. WRIGHT, Simon C.

YOUNGMAN, Richard D. YOUNGMAN, Rupert J. P.

"Words, Words, Words." Hamlet

T H E STORY OF A F O X One day I went out into the woods to get some conkers. When I got halfway through the wood I saw six little cubs. I wanted to catch one to have it as my pet so I made a little cage out of sticks and I put a piece of meat in the cage. I went up a tree near the cage then I saw one cub come into the cage. I had a door so the cub went in and I pulled the door shut. I climbed down from the tree and gave it some more meat. I took it home and asked my mummy if I could keep it and she said I could. Then I asked if I could buy a cage for it. So I went to the pet shop and bought a big cage. I took it home and put the baby cub in it with some meat. Then we had lunch and the fox had two pieces of meat and some drink. W e called him Tom. W e weighed Tom on his first day and he weighed half a stone and he was six inches high. Then I asked if I could go fishing with Tom and we went to a big pond and when I caught a fish Tom went in to get them, W e caught three fish. After that we went home and had tea. W e had one fish for Tom and one for me and one for mummy.

Charles Cameron

T H E STORY OF T H E F O X When I was a cub I was fed by my mother but she was killed by a hunter so I had to learn to hunt on my own. One day when I was playing about in the woods with my friends I fell down a trap but luckily they were able to pull me out. Another time I didn't have my friends. I whined but they were not near enough to hear. Instead a boy heard me and when he saw me he thought, 'Poor fox, I think I will take him out and let him go-'

So he took me out and let me go. The next day he came to look for me but instead of him finding me, I found him! He hadn't told his father so it would be a surprise. When his father saw him coming home with a fox, he said,

'Did that fox come from a zoo?' 'No, he didn't. Yesterday I saw him in a trap

and I thought I might as well let him go. So I let him go and I thought I would make it a surprise for you and when I went to look for him, instead of me finding him, he found me, so can we keep him?'

'Well, ' said his daddy, frowning, 'we will see about that.'

After a while, he said, ' W e will keep him because he will be able to catch rabbits which will be useful.'

So they kept me and fed me well and I lived happily ever after.

Sean Wright

T H E S W A N Gliding gracefully Down the stream, On a mirror, In a dream. Gleaming brightly On the blue; Whi te as clouds As if it flew. Slipping royally Wave by wave, Dazzling by Until the grave

Adrian Cole

I N A H O L E One day I was in the kitchen and I fell asleep. I dreamt that I was walking along a path when I saw a hole under some brambles. I thought that it might be a rabbit hole but it was too big. I picked up a stick and I pushed the brambles away. The hole was about a metre wide. Suddenly someone pushed me and I fell down the hole. I closed my eyes as I fell. I landed in a bush and then I opened my eyes and there before my eyes lay a huge animal. It started to come towards me. I picked up a stone and chucked it at it. Then I heard someone shouting to me to stop. It was my mother. I had been chucking pots and pans at her.

Nicholas Learoyd

THAT ' S L IFE ! The sailor hated, really hated, wearing a life-jacket and never went on deck with one. The captain of the ship had a word with him one evening and told him for his own safety how necessary it was for him to wear it always and it would be his life if he fell overboard without one.

When the end of the war came, he threw his life-jacket as far as he could. He watched it, and to his dismay, it SANK !

Toby Ashworth

S H I P W R E C K E D — N E A R L Y ! It was three o'clock and my father and I were going fishing in a speedboat. W e had a machine on board that told us where conger were but it would not work so we decided to fish for mackerel.

W e fished for two hours but we moved about and caught a lot of fish. They were mackerel and pollard.

W e were going back to harbour and we broke down. W e had enough fuel but we could not start the engine. So we radioed for help and this is what we said.

'Rame Head coastguard. This is Snowgoose. W e have engine failure. W e are drifting towards the rocks.'

W e heard the Coastguard reply, 'Please will you turn to channel sixty four.' This was to harbour where there was a boat called Osprey.

Osprey could not come to us because they were working.

W e were drifting towards the rocks and the anchor would not hold. Osprey said that she would get a boat out to us. W e tried to start the engine again but it would not fire. There was a storm coming up and the sea was very rough. After fifteen minutes help came.

A yacht radioed and asked if we needed any help but we said that help was coming. The boat threw a rope to us. Once again we tried to start the engine and after several more tries it started. The yacht followed us all the way back to the harbour.

Gage Pellowe

A D V E N T U R E STORY Next to our house is some waste ground, and one day I took my machine gun down there. Then I heard the rat-tat-tat of a burst of machine-gun fire. I saw my trench and I dived into it. A bullet skimmed me and I saw two commandos manning a Lewis machine gun. One of the commandos farther down jumped out of cover and was shot very badly. Then a mortar exploded nearby. Then I found that I had a real Thompson machine gun and I found myself throwing a grenade at the enemy. It exploded next to a mortar crew who were knocked senseless. W e were racing to the German lines and were shelled with heavy losses. When we got to the other side in the first German trench, we stayed the night. Then one of the commandos told me that I was on duty that night. So they gave me a uniform and I looked out. A Spandau (German gun) opened up. I loaded my Thompson and fired a burst at it. I hit one man.

At morning the C.O. (Commanding Officer) and me took the guard, but a few more yards further on was some barbed wire. Most people were stuck on the wire and were killed. The C.O. and I laid the demolition charges. A few yards further on we detonated the charges and there was a mighty BANG! !

I went home and my gun turned into a toy one. I had tea.

Charles Keay

B U Z Z A R D Circling on a great warm air current glides the buzzard, looking down upon the world below. So silently he glides round and round many a time, with the air rushing past, occasionally giving a few tremendous blasts from those wings of power.

Buzzard looks so great and proud as he glides on the current, looking for his prey, the mouse.

Buzzard dives, streaking like lightning towards his prey—a screech, buzzard lifts mouse up, up into the air with great talons of steel.

Peter Brindle

A S A I L I N G H O L I D A Y Last year I went on a sailing holiday in a boat called 'Trident.' W e sailed down the Clyde to Rothesay where we stayed two days and we went to the castle there. Then we sailed to the Isle of Arran, where we stayed on Holy Island. There was the wreck of a landing craft just off the island and there was another very rusty one on the island.

When we were sailing across the bay we got becalmed and the motor broke down, so it took us a long time to get across to Lamlash. When we got across we dropped anchor and went ashore in our tender where we got some clams. They were uneatable!

In the morning we saw the boat from the oil rig (there was one in the bay) go ashore then we started back to the submarine base on the Gareloch where we hired 'Trident' from.

Rupert Hoskin

T O M T H E T U G B O A T Once upon a time there was a tug boat, she was called Tom. There were some Indians on the other side of a deep lake and they were fierce fighters. Tom's master, John, didn't know about this and one day they went across this lake because his father sent them. They were half way across the lake when suddenly down slid the Indians with daggers, and John's daddy saw them so quickly that he shouted 'Come ashore.'

So we came ashore and while we were coming in, Daddy was getting a knife and at the last moment, Dad killed them.

Nigel Wraith

H O L I D A Y IN Y U G O S L A V I A It was the week before we were going to Yugo-slavia. All ready we were packing our own suitcases. Dad was on holiday for one and a half months. I helped Mum pack our case for cups, saucers, pans, pots and dishes. When I had finished helping Mum and Dad I went off to finish off my 'homework.' Then Nicholas (my brother) and I went to play on the moor with our bikes. Nicholas and I were dying to go to Yugoslavia. But at last the time came. W e had to get up very early because the plane left Heathrow at 9.00 and we lived two hundred miles away. W e had to get all the cases and things into our caravanette, Then we went. W e stopped to get some petrol at our garage. W e had gone about one hundred miles when we stopped at a cafe. W e were all very hungry. Then we started off again. It did not take as long to get there as we thought. Nicholas and I sat on a seat while Mum and Dad went to look around. Then Mum and Dad came back and said we must put our luggage on the scale to be weighed and then put on the conveyer belt and then put on the plane. The time went quickly and we were soon on the plane. W e fastened our seat belts and we were off. I went to sleep. When I woke up I was in bed at the hotel so I had slept a long time. In the morning I asked my Mum and Dad if they knew where the swimming pool was. When I got dressed Mum and Dad showed Nicholas and me where it was. W e all went in and were having a lovely swim when it started raining so we had to go to our room. When we got there I started reading Biggies to myself. I had read about two hours when it stopped raining. But it was lunch time so we went down and had some food. After that we all had a lovely swim.

Michael Valentine

OVER ITALY Once upon a time we were going to Malta and we were going over Italy when two men came walking up to the cockpit. They put their hands in their pockets and brought out two pistols and said, 'There's going to be a big explosion in

this plane unless you let Bill Pett out of prison.' W e heard a tick, tick, tick under my seat

and I saw a time bomb. I saw that it was ten seconds until it would blow up—nine, eight, seven, six, five, four, three two one . . . at seven we all put our parachutes on we all jumped, me, my mummy, daddy and sister and we landed on the house in which I was going to live.

Lewis Pugh

BE ING A SPACE M A N In space on the moon, In a big space suit, Walking around the moon In the big, big space suit. Left alone on the moon In a big, big space suit. Exploring the moon Bouncing about like a bouncing ball Looking for your space rocket.

Julian Newby

SPA IN I would love to go to Spain and lie on the hot sands and play with my brother. I would love to explore the caves and listen to the roaring sea and to fish for oysters which the gulls would get for their next meal. Best of all I would like to climb the cliffs.

Paul Gregson

W H E N I A M K ING When 1 am King of Greece everybody will bow to me. I will always sit in the sea watching the birds in the sky. And if by any chance a bird should sing to me I shall never forget that day.

Dimitri Marcoulides

A LITTLE POEM If I were the wind I would blow down the trees and they would fall on cars and old people, I would blow the grass and disturb the cattle.

Robert Sturges

PATHF INDER W E E K E N D When Pathfinder Weekend began it was very nice. Pathfinder Weekend began on Thursday and ended on Sunday. W e played lots of games. The best game was the Oil War . This is how the game was played. You had a piece of string on your arm and if you lost your string you were dead and out of the game. Driller Smith's army wore black shorts. Ben Kearley and his army wore white shorts. Ben Kearley's camp was behind the tennis court and by the road. Driller Smith's camp was down on Rowden. There were some oil wells and some batons. When the first whistle went the game started and when the second whistle went the game was over. There were other games but I can't tell you about them.

James Gozzard

TO BE A DOG I wonder what it is like to be a dog, Chewing a bone, Biting a slipper, And being whistled to. It must be fun to have all hair And to have rides in a motor car. Ho! What fun it must be to be a dog.

Ben James

MALTA I would love to go to Malta and swim in the hot sea and play in the sand. I would love to float out on one of the little rafts and dive into the waves and come up and go down again. Then go up the beach and have a cup of tea.

Patrick Eames

T H E D U C K PARTY Once a duck called Wel ly was going to have a party. When he was writing the invitations he couldn't remember the date. He sudddnly remembered it was the twenty third of April. The day came. The rain was gushing down as Wel ly was saying what a lovely day it was. He decided to have his party outside. Then he heard a knock on the door. It was Jolly. Jolly said, "Happy birthday" and gave Welly a big parcel. It was wrapped in silver paper. As soon as Wel ly saw it he said, "Wha t is it? but Jolly just

gave him the parcel. Wel ly opened it and a huge teddy bear was in it. Wel ly said to Jolly. "Thank you it's the best birthday present I've had. Then he heard another knock on the door. It was Mr. Bear and Mrs. Bear and the Chicken family. Wel ly said, "Let's go and have our party outside," and they all agreed. After eating jelly and cake they all decided to go inside. They had lots of games. Then it was time to go home and Wel ly went to bed with his teddy and fell fast asleep.

Timothy Lumb

CHR ISTMAS DAY I was in bed ill on Christmas Day. I was awake. I saw thunder and lightning. It stopped and I saw something moving around the room. I got out of bed and I had a closer look. Guess what I saw. I saw an angel.

John Beckly

T O BE A K I N G It is nice to be a king, with a castle, and a horse that I can ride to battle on. I am a lucky king to have all these things and some servants to bring the food in, and some stables for the horses, and a mounting block, and a cobbled yard, and a lot of very big rooms, and a drawbridge, and a portcullis and an inner bailey, and an outer bailey, and some dungeons, and a moat, and some big gates, and in the middle of the inner bailey is the keep and the battlements, and lots of soldiers, and the well.

Richard Lamb O N A RIDE

Chapter I The Two Bikes One day my father came and woke me up and said "come on lazy bones, get up, get dressed and come and look in the yard, I have a surprise

for you"! So I got dressed very quickly and I went to look out of the window, when I looked out I saw two big parcels, they were for me! I ran downstairs and went out side, I began to unwrap the parcels, I found that they were motor-bikes!

That moment Daddy came out and he told me that one bike was for stunts and the other was a scrambling bike. I already knew how to ride a bike.

Chapter Two Round the Farm, the Moor and the Garden Daddy had tacked up our horse while I tested my scrambling bike for a ride.

When we started off, we went up along a field and on to the moor, through a gate along a rough track to our farm managers' house. Up through their drive, across the road and to the village across a short cut.

W e bought an Ice Cream and went home just in time for lunch.

Rupert Hanbury-Tenison

S U M M E R A D V E N T U R E I was four years old. It was the summer holidays and I was very excited because we were going to Australia for all of the holidays.

On the plane we saw a gun in a man's bag and the man looked fierce. After half an hour on the plane, I fell asleep and I don't know what made me wake up, but when I was awake I noticed that the man and the gun had gone. Everyone was quiet, then the silence was broken by the man who had had the gun in his bag, but now it was in his hand.

"Hands up!" he said. "Pilot land the plane and take the money

out of the bags!" ordered the man with the gun. After that had been done he said "Wel l , good-bye. I may pay you another visit!"

He was just about to go out of the door when he tripped over my teddy which was on the floor. He dropped his gun on the floor and bent over to pick it up. I jumped off my seat and landed on his back and I bit him hard all over. He fell over on his tummy and was howling in pain because I was still biting him hard for treading on my teddy. Daddy picked up the gun and told

me to get off the man. Then we took off again and the man was tied up. When we landed we took the man to the police station and the police gave us £1,000 and Daddy bought me a new teddy because the man had squashed my other one.

Simon Donne

T H E SPACE H O L I D A Y On January 1976 we decided to go on a space holiday. W e started on January the 10th. The day came. My daddy and I got into the Car, and went to the space station. W e got into the cockpit. W e decided that we could take four more people. They all got in. Then it was the count down, 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, I blast off. W e took off. My daddy started to drive it faster. W e only wanted to go for two days. Then we saw the stars and the moon. It was very exciting. One day went. Then in the morning we carried on with our journey. W e got to Venus then we started to go home. W e got back to our house at 7.00 in the evening. W e had great fun. W e had travelled about 12,000 miles.

Andrew Craig DISASTER OF A H O L I D A Y

One day my Daddy said that we were going to go on a holiday to an island. The island was called Moominland. W e were going to go on a ship called Comet. It would take an hour and a half to get to Moominland. W e started to get ready. W e were going to go in four days. At last the day came to go. W e all got in our car to go. It took quite a long time to get to Dover where our ship was. W e showed our tickets and got on aboard. W e waited a bit and then we started to go. My Daddy got us some food to eat. When we finished our meal I played a game with my brother. Suddenly the noise of the engines stopped. The Comet started drifting. Then a scraping noise came. The captain came to us and said we had hit the rocks. W e started to sink. W e got a boat and got away from the ship. After about four hours we saw a Rescue heli-copter. It came down and picked us up and took us home. After that we had a holiday camping. W e had great fun playing games there. I didn't want to go on a ship ever again.

David Pinder

A H O L I D A Y IN W A L E S Last Summer I went to Wales because my Sister is one of the best leading rein pupils in England and Wales. She went to some shows in Wales. Once when my Sister went to a show I did not go because there was a cross country race and I was competing against my girl friend and a few other people who were in the race. Then the race started and we were off. I did not have a very good start but, I was soon up and away ahead. My girl friends were soon up with me again. But I was away again at a full gallop as I glided away from them. I just flew over the jumps, it seemed like I was flying. When I had got three-quarters of the way around the course I went over a fly and my pony took it too fast and I went over on to its neck but luckily I did not fall off. I got back into the Saddle and rode on. Half an hour later I was coming up to the finishing line in first place. Over the line I went what a rejoice it was for me to come first.

Philip Rogers

MY H O L I D A Y IN H E L S T O N One morning I woke up at the sound of foot-steps. It was the summer holidays and I was at my favourite Holiday House. I had Breakfast and then I went down to the park. When I got there I got into a paddle boat and started to paddle. I was paddling so fast that I hit the edge of the lake (crash!!) I got out of the boat and saw it had a dent in it.

Suddenly I saw the park-keeper so I ran away. When I got home I decided to read for the rest of the day in case the park keeper came along. At lunchtime I decided to stop reading and tell my family what had happened. In the end they said I would have to repair the boat. It took me the whole afternoon to do so.

I had just finished the boat at teatime. After tea I played Monoply and then we had supper.

Benjamin Simpson

T H E LITTLE SQU IRREL One day when I was in my garden at home in America I saw a little baby squirrel and it looked like it had a broken leg. I took it inside and my mummy and I took it to the vet. When we got

home I put him in a cage about three feet wide and four feet long. I put a little tree in it and some grass and nuts. Every day a bigger squirrel would come and sit at the door step. I thought it might be its mother so one day I let her in and she went into the cage. I did not close it but they both stayed in. The next day I let them go but they never came back.

Alistair Russell A D V E N T U R E IN A SECRET PASSAGE

It was the end of term and we were all in our suits and we were walking down to the Parish church. W e crossed the bridge and we arrived at the church. Some of us went in and the rest stayed outside.

I was one of the people who stayed outside. I was standing on the grass behind a little ruined wall. I took a step forward and I slipped, and I fell down a trapdoor.

I fell about three or four metres. I hurt my head, and I cut it a bit. I got my hanky out of my pocket and I tried to bandage it up.

I was knocked out for a while and when I woke I did not know what or where I was. I saw an entrance in front of me, and I got up and started walking along for what seemed like miles, but it was only about two or three miles. I found some steps, and I climbed them and found myself on Dartmoor. I would not see a building for miles, but there was a cluster of trees not far away, so I walked over and started to build a shelter and a bed of bracken for the night.

Next morning I made a catapult and a small bow and arrow.

Wi th my bow and arrow, I shot a rabbit, and with the skin I made a pouch to keep the stones in for my catapult.

I made a nice breakfast out of rabbit and I put some of the meat in my pouch,

I set off for home. I had walked about five miles when I came

across a track. I followed it and I came to an old shooting range.

I said to myself that I must be near a road and I was right because I heard a car going past. I ran to the road and got a lift home.

Alexis Pond

T H E G O L D E N EAGLE He runs along the field, Slowly but getting faster, faster, makes a

big leap, He is off the ground, he glides upwards, Soars higher and higher, Then hovers, watching miles of land around, W i t h his eagle eyes, There it is, scuttling a field-mouse, He dives, curved beak pointing to the ground, And snatching up the victim in his talons, He flies to his nest, on the cliff face To feed his eaglets. James Maycock

R E M E M B R A N C E S As I lie and write my diary, I look over the year, And I remember all the seasons Summer; with native birds, Fluttering in song. Autumn leaves tumbling, To natures floor, Jack-daws sitting on glazed branches. Wrens digging in Winter 's snow, For food is scarce to find. In this winter's paradise. But best of all I remember, Thrushes singing among, Spring's wakening plants. Patrick Smiley

T H E C O W B O Y DAYS The rich cattle rancher Guy Jones walked down the road to the cattle Market in order to buy some good steers for his ranch. He wore a big rancher's hat, black jeans and shirt. He had a gun in a sleek leather and metal belt. A coach rumbled past on the other side of the road and some drunkards came out of the saloon on the same side of the road as he was. One of them who was really drunk offered Guy Jones a fight and got his gun out. He shot and missed while suddenly Guy brought out his sleek gun and shot the drunkard through the gut. The drunkard fell to the ground wounded and Guy finished him off with a shot through the head. Everybody crowded round and some people dragged away the corpse. Guy Jones walked off to the Market to do his errands. Simon Read

G O O N I E BIRDS Goonie birds are funny things, they waddle up and down their runway preparing to take

off. Then with few powerful flaps, They are soaring higher and higher. Suddenly the ground recedes as they go higher. After a long flight, they return home tired, Now to land, this is hard, For if when they feel soil, they don't run, They will fall flat on their faces. These Goonie birds are funny things.

Duncan Tytler

C A P S I Z I N G The wind was strong and, as it blew down Kings-bridge Estuary, the waves drove the Mirror sailing dinghy along at a terific rate. The day was cold and my hands froze on the jib sheet.

I was sailing back to shore with a friend, glad that when I climbed from the dinghy 1 could warm up at the sailing club. Suddenly there was a huge gust of wind. My friend and I only just managed to keep the Mirror up right. The gust stopped as quickly as it had started. The Mirror heeled over ditching the other gunwale because of the weight. I was under the water. When I had surfaced I found the water unbearably cold. The first thing I did was swim around to try to keep warm.

Meanwhile my friend climbed onto the daggerboard and threw a rope over to me on the other side. He hung onto the gunwale and heaved. To my dismay the dagger-board broke. I felt, all of a sudden, extremely cold again. It bit deep into my bones and I felt like going to sleep; but I knew if I did this I would freeze totally. I called. "Mark, come here! I feel frozen!" There was only a hoarse whisper.

At last a rescue boat saw us and took us back to shore, the dinghy trailing behind. W e arrived on shore and I exclaimed, " I 'm not going to sail this spring again!" shivering all the time.

Christopher Ling

EAGLE An eagle I saw one day, soaring high above, Then it came down, in spirals, to earth, And started to hunt, gliding qui^e low,

Its sharp eyes scanning the ground, Till they found a prey, And down it flashed, out of sight, Returning with a rabbit in its beak. Then it took height, riding the wind with few

flaps, Till when it had enough height, It flew away heading for its nest, mate and

eaglets. There I stood, straining my eyes, To see more of its majestic flight, Till over the horizon it flew, Out of my reach, I turned to my car and drove off.

Alain de Pourtales T H E S H E L L

If you listen to a shell, It might remind you of that noisy hell, And that hell is the sea, Which is as noisy as can be. Or it might remind you of a windy day, On a small stony bay, And you would wish you were inside, Rather than down on the seaside. Once more you listen to the shell, Which is shaped like a bell But you cannot hear a noise Except the shouting of the playing boy.

Guy Bartlett SPIDER F IGHTS

When I was about five years old, I used to prepare "spider fights" with my brother Fred, in Sing-apore. W e used to take our bicycles and cycle up a steep hill called, "Mount Sophia", which was our favourite spot. There were lots of tropical green bushes beside the road where we stopped and looked to find spiders.

Wha t we found out, was that after a rainy day, the spiders live in between two leaves, stuck together by the warm, moist rain. This always made it easy for us. Still, I always took much longer to look for a spider than my brother. He was more experienced at this hobby than I was, as he was five years older than I was. Eventually I always found my type of spider and then I use to put it into an empty matchbox, as my brother did the same. Both of us also placed a leaf for each of our spiders.

When morning came, we placed one of our spiders on the table. They then started fighting. If they did not, we had to replace one of our own spiders. Whoever's spider had won, we gave five cents to him. W e used to call these spiders "Fighting spiders" or "Devil spiders". Do you like them?

John Coupland

FEAR Fear of what? I'm not frightened Of any lion nor Rhinoceros. Fear of what? Who's frightened of A python or Black Mamba? I'm not. Fear of water? Please, no, Don't mention it. Fear haunts me. Fear of water is a terrible Confession to make. For President Roosevelt said, "There is nothing to fear but fear itself."

Richard Bridge

T H E F O X One day, my mother said I could go for a walk in the wood. I had been there for an hour when a fox jumped up to me. It was a very tame one. Its mother had been killed in a hunt. I picked it up and took it home. When it got home I gave it some milk in a bowl. It drank all the milk in ten Gutps. I put the bowl in the sink and went to find my mother. When I found her I told her my story and my mother let me keep it. I thought all night what to call it but I didnt succeed. In the morning I gave it some milk then I realised he was getting very fluffy so I called him Fluffy. I ran to my mother and father and said, "Do you think I could call my fox Fluffy?" and my father said, " I think that a very good name because he looks very fluffy." Twenty days later he grew very big so I took him out for a walk on the moor. When I came back I gave him some dog food. Then I told my mother I should give Fluffy a birthday and I said how about July the sixth, 3 days after my birthday. Two

days later it was the hunt. When I went for a walk the hounds came chasing after me because I had Fluffy in my hands. Then I stumbled and the dogs took Fluffy back to their master with my fox in the dog's mouth.

John N/choils

There was a professor called Pye, W h o liked to study the sky, He said "I ' l l soon know The distance to Pluto, But first I must learn how to fly."

Julian Hurst

T R O U B L E IN CAMP A Sonnet

W e woke and found that it had briefly rained. Across the field we ran for our cold dip; When we were clad food had to be obtained: It then appeared that we had made a slip; The wood was damp; it would not e'en ignite. In vain we struggled with our hopeless quest There was no doubt; the fire just would not

light Although we tried to do our very best. At last our leader had a bright idea: For paper dry we rummaged in our pockets. W e had to rush, inspection time was near; W e struggled hard to shun Headmasters'

rockets, But when the car arrived both plate and cup Lay on the table yet still not washed up.

James Cowling

A F L O O D The dam had been standing for about six hundred years, and for the naturalists of North Devon it was a magnificent place, because in between the cracks there were mosses and lichens found only in this part of Devon.

There was one problem. The Devon County Council wanted to rebuild the dam, because they said that if they did not act the dam might disintegrate under the great pressure and destroy the little town of St. Davids, which was two miles down stream.

The naturalists argued with the council until one day it began to rain. It rained and kept on raining. The little streams which for part of the year never flowed, were now rushing

torrents. At midnight, the nightmare for the people of St. Davids came true; it started as a loud rumbling then about a hundred thousand gallons of water descended on the poor little town. The surging waters washed away the houses. Men and women were dragged from their beds and sucked up into the whirling cur-rent.

Not one man stayed alive and there was no trace of the little Town except the Town Hall which was now a pile of bricks; this was still standing because during the W a r it was used as an air-raid shelter. Afterwards a local said, " W h e n they built the Town we all knew it was bound for disaster."

A town was never built again in that place. The council were not blamed but the naturalists were hit strongly with complaints from the public.

Thomas Brough U.F.O.

"Scramble!! Unidentified flying object reported. Course, height and speed will be given once you are airborne," screamed the loudspeaker. I snatched up my helmet and dashed out to my F. 15 Eagle jet fighter. The ground crew was ready and I clambered in, strapped myself down, taxied to the runway and took off, closely followed by the rest of the squadron.

"Course: 075; height: 50,000 ft.; speed: maximum" stated a voice over the radio.

"Roger", I replied. Nothing was seen by any of the pilots for twenty minutes until dead ahead of us, I noticed an extremely bright light. It steadily grew bigger until the light was so bright that even our tilted peropex visors did not help. The object was about one hundred feet long, forty feet high and about fifty feet wide.

W e had obviously been seen, because as we drew near, it suddenly shot off, climbing rapidly. W e tried to give chase, but it was travel-ling far too fast for us, and soon it was too high.

W e watched it steadily disappear and when it had f inal ly gone , we returned to base. "Just another U.F.O." I remarked later when I landed and was helped out of my aircraft by one of my ground crew.

Robert Orr

T H E H E R O N The stream sentry. The neck hunched between wings. The beady, wicked, patient eyes. The mist dripping off the leaves. The plop in the distance as a trout jumps. And the mist swirls back again.

Alexander Gilbert T H E I S L A N D

The sea-mist is pierced by a jagged stone; A place where even grass dares not grow, Only a hermit dwells there—alone. It is a place where any life lies low Here time is still and only water flows, And the hermit kindles the dying fire Of life; his way and why he chose it; no-one

knows. Horatio Morpurgo T H E C O B R A

I went into the bathroom to brush my teeth; it was ten o'clock at night and I was very tired. Suddenly, as I reached for my toothbrush, I saw a long fat black slimy thing; it was slithering all over the window-sill, leaving a sticky body juice all over it. Fear overcame me and I stood still, shaking all over; I did not dare call my Father, for fear of the creature lunging out at me.

Suddenly, it leaped into the bath, I fell back in fright and screamed; it slowly slithered up the side of the bath. Just then my parents rushed in; when they saw the cobra they stood stock still, and my Father told me to as well.

My Mother loves snakes, but she knew this one was going to be a great danger to us all. I crawled backwards as the snake slid along after me. My Father crept out of the room and came back with a Colt .45 automatic from the war. W e all walked back slowly as the snake slithered forwards over the floor. My Father told us to move behind him; he loaded the Colt and aimed at the snake, and then he fired.

There was a bang, and suddenly the snake stopped moving. It was dead. I started to cry a little; but my Mother comforted me, and put me to bed. I hardly slept at all that night. The next morning the carcass was burnt. That was the last we saw of that deadly enemy.

Jason Wright

T H E F O X FAMILY I once found a young fox that was in a state of starvation and unable to move as both his back legs were broken. He seemed to be strained to find the energy to lift his head. I fed him small quantities of food and soon his strength returned to him and his broken limbs healed and I was able to return him to his natural home.

The fox adapted his way of life to the wild quickly and after a year he had a mate. He did not mind my presence at his earth and I was able to watch the fox's way of life.

A month later the female fox entered the earth and I never saw her above ground from then on.

The next time she emerged was many weeks later but this time she was followed by three cubs. The tiny offspring stayed near their mother for protection.

The young grew up fast until the time came when they departed from the earth. Two of them I never saw again, but the other became a menace to the local farmers and chicken owners. They had lost many animals due to this fox.

Farmers came and complained to me and now they were asking me to destroy the fox. I knew that he had escaped the hunt every time and I also knew that he had to go.

I tried waiting for him to come to me but I was unsuccessful. So I decided to go to him.

I got very close to him—he had not seen or heard me, as he was busy devouring a rabbit. I thought that a shot aimed at his head would be quick so I lifted the rifle and took aim. I squeezed the trigger, the shot rang out and his body flicked back and lay motionless on the ground. It was quick and efficient.

Nicholas Tucker

T H E PESSIMIST Death, coming clearer Your life running away, Death, drawing nearer Every day. Your heart wearing out, Pumping, Pumping, It's running away, The light's going out. Mark McElney

T H E DIARY OF A FIELD M O U S E I live among sticks and stones, Down among the walls of old. In the month of June, I collect my winter stores In the month of July, I collect hay, For my wee small bed. In the month of January, I'm in my wee small house, Among the sticks and stones Down among the walls of old. Caspar Lucas

T H E SNARE I heard a loud cry of pain! There was a dog in a snare, I then heard the cry again, But I did know from where. W h o knows from where. I heard it again and again, All I heard was the same, And then a rattling of a chain. I looked all around, But then behind a bush, There was a sudden sound, And then a hard push. I walked a few yards forwards, I saw a tiny dog wrapped in a chain, And he ran forwards, Because he was in pain. John Coupland

"K IT C A R S O N " He was wearing a huge brown hat which matched his brown but dusty leather jacket. He wore this over an old shaggy Indian shirt. He had some trousers on but covering his feet, he had a very expensive pair of boots which had fine stitched patterns on. As he walked down the street everybody stopped talking. They stood by the front of their old shabby houses and stared at him. He was the first person to come to the town in a month. He walked down the street very slowly and took no notice of the people staring at him. His only weapons were a knife down the side of his boot and a very lethal looking six-shooter. He slowly walked towards the old wooden sidewalk. He then barged through the saloon doors. Rupert Harrow

T H E TROP ICAL I S LAND With its rocks cutting the water, Like blood after slaughter. Which seeps on to the golden sands, Which leads to ever lasting lands. The woods dominate the land, That spreads forever all around. The wild and ever-free animals and birds

run and fly They run on and on and fly from sky to sky W h y I say why, Does nature never lie? A stream gently flows And the water slowly goes Down and down to the sea Where the fish swim and flee. Where man has never been Nor, ever seen.

James Allerton

IF I W A S If I was as clever as an Owl

Or even a dog If I was as strong as Tarzan

Or even you If I was as fast as a rocket

Or even my Friend If I was all these

I'd be Brilliant Ian Willey

T H E K INGF I SHER Like a dart, By the rivers edge, Looking very smart. Like the colours of a rainbow, Red, blue, gold, And even a spot of yellow. It is so quick and elegant, So quiet and beautiful, Not like an elephant. It sometimes works during the night, As quiet as ever, In the white moon's misty light.

Bruce St. Clair

BAD DREAMS I went fishing at the river, I caught one fish then another, Took them home to eat for Supper;

I went to sleep quite late that night, For in my dreams I had a fight W i th a man of such a height, He towered above the cities tall. But when I woke that gay morning, It all seemed so long ago; I forgot it when it snowed.

Jeremy Langley

SPR ING In the distance the rain drizzles down, The ground is sodden And mucky and wet. The mist persists. The rain stops; the mist fades away And the sun comes out. Has Spring begun?

Richard Bridge

P E R U V I A N PERIL The Panther is spreading his terror, He hunts down the herds of deer. He killed the chicks and let them rot. The farmers hunt him with all they've got, Guns and dogs and even axes. They had to put an end to his reigning terror. They had to raise their taxes, To put an end to that fearful Panther. And one day in the middle of Winter, He fell down to meet his death. He felt the impact of the bullet Then he was stone dead.

Gareth Evans

T H E NAMELESS POEM Death, It's in me, It's in you, It's building up strength, For the final attack Then slowly, Through life. You advance, Into the valley of Death, Then with your final struggle For life you fall. Into the swirling blackness of Death.

Caspar Lucas

A BAD E N D T O A G O O D MEAL The small white mouse Crouching near the house Eating grains of corn On that bright summers morn Suddenly a quick sharp shot The mouse died on the spot Silence; no more annoyance For Mr. Foyance.

Andrew Darby

T H E H I G H RISE Twenty-four floors in the sky is much too

much for me, Twenty-three floors in the sky is still too

much for me, Down, Down, Down five floors. Eighteen floors in the sky is the very top for

me, Seventeen floors in the sky is one from the

top for me, Down, Down, Down eight floors. Nine floors in the sky is half way to the top

for me, Eight floors in the sky is one from half way

for me, Down, Down, Down eight floors. Bang! On ground level is the right place for me.

Richard Youngman

W H A T IS IT? Smooth, Round, Soft. . . But hard, Warmed . . . By the sun, Moved . . . By my hand. On a rock; A pebble Sits.

Horatio Morpurgo

LADY H O W A R D VISITS HER H O M E It was very stormy at Walreddon Manor and my parents and brothers and sisters were attending Midnight Mass at Whitchurch. Suddenly out of the darkness came a long eerie howl and the sound of cart wheels in the courtyard and the sound of horse's hooves and someone or something slamming the door and coming up the stairs.

I froze as the door opened and a black shape floated across the room and glided through the wall. I heard a sound of voices in the garden and could make out the voice of the coachman and of the horses neighing and stamping their hooves on the gravel and their heavy breathing. I looked out of the window and could see the vague shape of a carriage going away in the dis-tance. I was relieved and even more relieved when I heard the sound of an engine and the opening of the door and of the call which was,

"James, are you all right?" James Nicholls

J A N U A R Y Cold: the deathly, howling wind Rushes past houses with gas-lamps dimmed There's driving rain, and freezing fog, Which swirls around with London smog. Whi le power-men try to find the light To brighten streets and homes to-night. Then icy-roads: cars crash And vehicles whole are turned to ash. Pipes burst: the plumber's called To factories empty and houses cold Snow falls and only luck Prevents all cars from being stuck. The farmer, he has dire need Of hay and straw and horse's feed More unrest: strikes begin The government loses; the unions win. They win a moderate compromise An ordinary, everyday, fifteen per cent rise. January is very bad It makes affairs look very sad. But the storm is not over yet: February's chill has still not set.

David Gimson

SATAN 'S P O O L What thing is it that makes fear? Is it a monster or a grizzly bear Or is it a flower or a tiny little mouse Or even something in your very own house? Fear is a nerve, which grips all else So your heart stops beating at your pulse, And your blood runs out of your heart As the fear begins to start. It stops your brain, and fills your mind Wi th horror and terror of the very worst

kind Your limbs the devil himself controls And stops all sanity from your withering soul. And when it's all over and you open your eyes To the real world, with groans and sighs; You realize that you've been a fool To have been caught in the fire of Satan's pool.

Stephen Chalk

FEAR I fear the lion in the bush When I hear it growl. My fists are clenched so hard and tight To put the bullet in. Then I walk in slowly To shoot that lion dead; The gun is held so hard and tight, My heart it thumps against my ribs, My finger's ready to pull. Some leaves are rustling near me, I turn so quick and fast. I see the lion ready to pounce: "Shoot!" Bang! I pulled the trigger. There I saw it lying dead My fear had gone.

Robert Russell

W I L T S H I R E Wiltshire's a county of a mixed abode, Where idling streams and rivers always flowed. The rolling hills with wheat and cows are

dotted, And streams and rivers all with weed are clotted An otter darts through weed and then is gone, The black bird and the pheasant add their song. A tractor sows some barley in a field A combine later gathers in the yield.

An old oak wood its friendly shadows pass, A weasel creeps through long and withered grass. A kestrel sweeps and kills the passing birds, A farmer all his cows to milking herds. The seasons take their turn and hurry by, The lovely gift of nature on does fly.

Simon Meers

D E N M A R K Denmark is a very nice place. It is colder than England in winter and hotter in summer. I was born there. Then I went to the Seychelles to live. They are by the equator. The beaches are lovely in Denmark and the Seychelles. I am going to Denmark this summer. I am going to rent a house and a beach. I am going to swim in the sea.

Christopher Odling-Smee

MY FR IEND I fear not the Historic Monster. The Monster that never died. The Monster that never hurt anyone that was

near her The Monster that did not touch the women

who cried. The Monster that had but one friend who liked her The Monster that told no lies. Hated! Hated! Hated!! The Monster liked no lies. The poor, poor Monster

Bruce Fox

BARGA IN WEEK-END? The Standard Manor House Hotel had always been my favourite place, until this incident happened.

It was the twentieth of December when I decided to stay at the Manor House for a week over the period of Christmas. So I packed my case and drove down to the Hotel.

I asked the lady at the desk if there were any free rooms;

"Yes," I said "that will do nicely." I took the key and was shown into the bed-

room by the head waiter. "Ring the bell if you want any help" he said

kindly. I thanked him and he walked out of the

room.

It was getting late so I unpacked my case and dressed into my pyjamas.

I went to sleep early. But I woke up at half past twelve when I heard the door creak and in walked what looked like a gaunt, sick man, but when I looked closely I couldn't believe my eyes; I was looking at a ghost.

"Don't be afraid" he said, seeing that I was terrified.

" I won't harm you if you don't harm me." I attempted to run away but he stopped me

just as I was getting out of bed. "Wha t are you doing here?" I asked. "Just visiting" he replied, and walked

through the door. I didn't tell anyone about that incident so

you are the first person I have told. Alastair Thompson

G O N E A W A Y "Tally Ho!" cried the Huntsman, as he saw the unlucky fox run through the trees. The horses started after the hounds and soon they were chasing Reynard so fast that the eye could hardly follow them. The fox masked his scent in some blood from a dead sheep but the hounds' tongues disturbed him so much that he left it and ran towards the river. The joy looked at him and gave a hoarse cry, then flew towards an oak tree looking for eggs. "Tally Ho!" shouted the Huntsman as the hounds whined. Reynard crept away. The hunt was over. Reynard was tired, hungry and bleeding. He licked his wounds and crept up stiffly, moving towards the mouth of the den. He heard the sound of rain on the autumn leaves. Suddenly, a weasel sprang at him and buried its fangs in his flank; the fox crushed it with his teeth. Other weasels came for the kill, but the triumphant Reynard massacred them all. Shouts came from the Whi te Gallows Inn. John Habana sat smoking a cigar, puffs of smoke filled the room. "When do yer think you'll get that oP fox!" he asked the Master.

" I don't really know" he answered. "Wha t about tomorrow, Sir?" "Certainly, but we'll give him a minute." The voices faded as the night began to close

in, and soon it was dead quiet except for the clock ticking.

The horn blew and Reynard darted through the bracken. The sun blared down on the moor like a huge sunflower bending towards the earth. "Tally Ho!" cried a familiar voice, as Reynard ran across a ditch avoiding the hounds. The whipper-in checked a hound that was chasing a buck rabbit. Soon the chase was on, rushing over the heath, jumping fences and ditches, dodging in and out of trees, and all this was accompanied by the baying of the hounds, Reynard was tiring, he came towards a closed gate, squeezed under it and was away. The horses were falling, some lost their riders, some couldn't get to their feet, others died. But the hounds were gaining ground, and as they came nearly level with thefox, Captain, who was the pack leader, siezedthe fox and swung it into the midst of the hounds. Reynard struggled but he was mortally wounded and nearly blind. Captain bit the fox once, twice, three times and it lay still and as the wind howled on the moor it ruffled the foxes blood-stained fur . . . James Thomas

T H E C O W B O Y It was nearly dark and the main street of the town was strangely deserted. In the middle of the dusty road a figure of a man appeared outlined against the dim sky. Slowly the cowboy walked down the street, the sound of his spurs jangling in the stillness. You could feel the hidden eyes watching his every move. Deliberately he moved towards the saloon doors. His blue suede boots squeaked on the wooden steps as he reached the doors. The sound of noisy drinkers flooded the stillness as he flung open the doors. His hand reached for his gun. A single shot rang out and all was silent.

Matthew Kirwin

DISCOMFORT "Come on!" The most dreaded words on a sailing boat at night. The rain was beating down, the spray pounding around the bows, the ropes clanging noisily against the mast and the ship just floundering in the misty, heavy seas. These words meant that it was time to crawl from the comparative comfort of that warm, cosy, sleeping-bag out into the dark, heaving cabin and to pull on those wet, cold, slimy oilskins.

Two hours sleep always went like a flash while not on watch, but up there in the cockpit it was cold and lonely with only the light in the compass to keep you company. Even that was blurred with the rain driving full blast into your whole face. It seemed to carry on driving all through your face and body until it reached the other side. The cockpit seats were like rivers with torrents of water surging over them which had streamed all the way from the bows, down the deck and through the holes in the cockpit combing and into the cockpit sole.

Then at last, the appearance of the person to take over the watch from you after two hours. It was time to peel off those horrible oilskins and crawl back into that cosy sleeping bag.

Richard Edwards

F O U R W I C K E T S IN F O U R BALLS It was Wednesday, 20th June and a bright sunny day when the Colts X V played Buckl and House. I won the toss for the fTrst, and only time in all the matches I played. I put them straight into bat. The wickets fell quickly and their best batsman was run out for 3. Youngman was bowling well, and I reckoned that I was too.

So I kept myself on for more overs than usual. On about the ninth over I bowled number four batsman. On the second ball of the over Johnnie Wraith caught a nice catch in the slips. Then on the fourth ball, our nippy wicket-keeper Thompson caught number six batsman out of his crease and stumped him. That was the hat trick! Mr. Buchanan-Allen congratulated me. And . . . guess what? On the fourth ball, again it was the amazing Johnnie Wrai th who got hold of an impossible catch in the slips. In the end we won by 8 wickets.

Nicholas Bayly

S K Y L A B The fiery comet hurtled down Heading for that little town, There it crashed, There it smashed, Bringing there its great renown.

Dominic Phillips

DISASTER One evening at about 9 o'clock the whole of

Hardy saw the walls of Nelson melt. Someone was obviously meddling with acids

in the Science lab. Everyone was panicking. As we started to

go towards the landing we heard a scream, then a sizzle, then silence. Mrs. Foggy had been dissolved by the acid.

W e were trapped; the only way of escape was out of the window, and on to the roof of the upstairs changing room. The whole dormitory jumped out of the window, except Kearley who was burnt in the process of telling us it was too far to jump.

Now we could hardly hear ourselves talk, because of the screaming.

W e tried to get up the stairs into the yard, but the passage above us started to crumble. I got through, but the others were trapped. I raced across to Mr. Vaughan's house and took his car keys and went to his car. I switched on the engine and head-lights.

When I got to the Lodge I asked Mr. Symons if I could use his phone; I would tell him why later.

I rang the fire-brigade and in a shaky voice, told them what had happened.

Then I told Mr. Symons what had happened. When I had finished we both went to the

school and found that Thompson, Youngman and Bayly had escaped with only a few burns, but all the others were dead.

The fire-engines arrived too late, for by now the whole building had disappeared.

Christopher Bullocke

I S LAND A lonely island far out to sea, Has no living creature to spot and spy, No trees, no streams, nothing except a dead man Lying in the blazing sun, Shrinking under the powerless heat. Then a ship sails slowly by, It doesn't head towards the isle, But leads on its own journey Forgetting the thought of anyone there, Lying in the wilderness bare.

The crashing waves beat against the shore, And slowly the waters creep, up the stony

beach, Towards the boy awaiting there, like a bait to catch a crocodile, It's washed away and never returns, to that

beach, Far off out to sea.

Simon Weston

M I D N I G H T ARREST I saw the poachers' car driving slowly round the Loch, I shifted my position a bit, so that it would be easier to jump out on them. When they were about two yards away, I fired my gun harmlessly into the wheel of their car. The car stopped and they shone the headlights at me.

"Turn off those lights or I'll shoot them out" I said. They refused and I did as I had said.

One man tried to escape. I set Sam, my dog, on to him, and the man yelled in pain, He re-turned, with a bleeding wrist and he surrendered with the other man.

I returned home, exhausted. David Key

S W A N The swan flew over the countryside Its wings spread far apart, The swan climbs higher and squawking as if

wanting something The body seems strong and against the sun it

flies like a snow goose. The strong flapping of the swan is hard, The flight is elegant and so is its angled flight In the water the swan looks like a diamond, Its neck stuck high as if proud of himself. The swan takes off at a low angle; Eventually the swan lifts itself high and there

in the sky the swan flies. Thomas Hensman

" B U Z Z A R D " Soaring and diving W i th the strong singular beats, Of the browny white wings, As the buzzard gracefully Floats on the air. But when on the ground The bird is but a comic,

Waddling like a duck, To and fro walking, On his territory.

Richard Paige

O W L The Owl sits in a hole in a tree; The silence is continuous, except For a call from the owl or rustle of leaves. The owl suddenly leaps from its perch, And flies silently through the night. He sees his prey, a mouse, He swoops down and catches The mouse and tears off it's flesh; 'Till with little left of it he flies back into its

hole in the dark night. James Honey

A N D . . . And there are A lot of cats; young

cats, Old cats Official cats, house cats, nasty

cats, friendly cats, white cats, ginger cats, female

SLEEPY STEALTHY cats; torn cats;

cats big cats

little cats, fat cats, thin cats,

happy cats, cross cats cats, strong cats, crass

cats, greedy cats, furry wild cats, tabby, cats, Siamese cats;

Persian oriental and Burmese cats, tigers, lions, leopards, cheetahs; tame cats, aristocrats, democrats

cats, cats, cats, thousands of cats, but they are but one

of the animals included in

creatures great and small Rupert Youngman

P I G E O N S Pigeons—Pigeons' mighty flight, Over and round the forest, Feet ready, eyes looking, For the men ready with their guns Dreading the mighty shots. Bang! Bang! falling, down, down to crash to

the ground Nigel Dyke

MY P L E A S U R E My Pleasure is, as many a day passes, Through the year To see little birds, Fluttering in song, To fill their empty crops, W i t h summer's rich berries. To stand and dig In winters snow To perch and sing, For a mate, Amidst spring's wakening plants

Anon.

P O A C H E R I saw him clinging to the ledge So that he doesn't blow off the edge He looked so glad as he perched on the crag That I felt sad as I raised my bag. As I placed my bag over his head I knew that he would end up dead.

Rupert Harrow

T H E D E A T H He swaggered down the street, his spurs chinked together and his black boots kicked up dust from the street. His deadly six-shooter hung loosely from his belt and a bowie knife was tied firmly to his belt. You could hardly see his bootlace tie as his shirt was black checked. The jeans he wore were brown from the track but you could just see the real colour, blue. He had a shaggy beard and his eyes were tired. His badge shone brightly in the sun but just above blood flowed out of a gash in his chest. His hat had a hole in it from a bullet.

Suddenly with a jerk he collapsed on the road with an Apache arrow in his back.

James Maycock

J I M J A M E S Jim James was a Railroad enginedriver. Itwas

3 o'clock when Jim drove his engine in to Virginia City. He was going to take a load of gold and silver to a port to be exported.

He jumped off his engine and walked down to the saloon. He was wearing heavy boots, an oily pair of trousers and an old silk shirt. He also had a cap, on which were the letters C.P.R. (Canadian Pacific Railroad).

That day the street was alive with people because It was market day. Wagons of gold and silver rumbled in from the mines. These wagons were going to be loaded onto his train. Also there was the sound of livestock and farmers shouting out their bids.

After having a mug of ale Jim went back to his train and waited for the right of way from Jack Davis the guard who was sitting down in his Caboose (guard's van). Then he got up and yelled to Jim it was all right to go.

Stephen Gunn

T H E P A N T H E R The snap of a twig, The panther is there, I'd better set up another snare. I'll wait in a bush, And watch it come, Another skin for another drum. The Pather stops, black and sleek The white of its eyes rolling in suspicion. A crack of wood, and a dull thud from my

object. I go to the pit, it looks at the sky above my

head, I see it is dying, so, load, shoot and it falls

away dead. Paul Furse

MY DAILY W A L K When for my daily walk I go, Through fields that once were white with snow. And in the green and open spaces, Lie baby lambs with sweet black faces. And "oh ! " at last beneath the hill, To pick a yellow daffodil.

Christopher Baker

T H E EAGLE The Eagle soars above the skies, And whirls and twirls and gracefully flies He glides down and down to earth What joy he has and what mirth! He spies a field mouse a-running The Eagle falls for he is cunning And rises with its prey in glee, For he is so very free!

Charles Challis T H E LAST C O A C H T O STOP

The rain poured down, soaking him through his three-cornered hat and cape. Basil Grandy's horse shifted uneasily as Basil waited near the trees. He muttered impatiently to himself as he waited for his Boss to arrive.

Basil Grandy was a well known highwayman in Yorkshire. His Boss was called John Elberton, known as Jo, who was about forty-five years old. Basil saw a horse in the distance. He drew his musket out of his belt. The horse came closer and on it was Jo, galloping towards him; it looked like he was in a hurry. When he stopped he was panting heaving and said in a hurry, " I saw a coach on the back road to Pickering, let's go and get it."

"O.K., lets go," said Basil. They galloped off together, Jo a little ahead

of Basil. They came to the road where Jo saw the coach. They could see it in the distance. They galloped off along the road for a bit, and then cut off the road on the side. They came up behind the coach (which had four horses) and Basil jumped on the back of it, while Jo strapped Basil's horse onto his own so it would not stray. Basil took his musket out of his belt again. He crawled over the top of the coach, and suddenly jumped on the driver's back and pushed him off. He landed on the ground and Basil shot him. The coach skidded as the horses stood on their back legs and neighed and then stopped. Jo opened the door of the coach, and in there were Basil's father and sister.

He was very frightened and did not know what to do. He shut the door and rode away. Jo and Basil never ever stopped a coach, or anything for that matter, again.

Edward Swarbrick

A S U M M E R E V E N I N G One Summer evening when all was Quiet and all was calm, Unknown shadows flitted across the glittering Sunlit water. I stood near the wiving reeds—

A duck flew up, beating its wings until He was just a speck on the pink horizon. As I neared the lake a croak came from yonder A frog leapt into the water; circles were the Only

Signs of him ever being there at all. Darkness came . . .

. . . and all was quiet and calm once more.

Sebastian Smith

LA BASTILLE La Bastille, c'etait une prison, Une tres celebre prison. Le peuple I'a regardee Comme le symbole de la Tyrannie Et de la Monarchie, La Monarchie illimitee. Pendant la Revolution, L'armee revolutionnaire La prit et la detruit Le quatorze juillet Mil sept cent quatre-vingt-neuf. "La Monarchie est detruite, Detruite, detruite, detruite . . ." S'ecria le peuple. "Allons enfants de la Patrie Le jour de gloire est arrive." Chaque annee, le quatorze juillet La France celebre la Fete Nationale.

Christopher Ling

A DAY IN G R E E N W I C H During the Easter Holidays I went to Greenwich with my mother and father. W e went by boat from Westminster bridge up the river Thames. On the way we saw the Discovery, Scotts ship and we also saw the place where Captain Kidd was hanged.

When we landed at Greenwich we had lunch and then walked up to the Greenwich Observatory which is on a hill in Greenwich Park. When we arrived I stood on the Meridian Line which separates the Eastern and the Western hemisphere. Then we had a look round the Observatory, we heard the Greenwich time signal and we saw lots of telescopes and navi-gational instruments. There were also figures of famous Astrologers.

After that we went down to the National Maritime Museum and entered the East Wing where we saw models of ships showing the history of sailing. Some of the models were very large.

Later we made our way to the Cutty Sark standing in a dry dock by the quayside. W e had a look at the quarters and the captain's cabin. The Cutty Sark has three decks and had only twenty-eight crew to look after thirty-two thou-sand square feet of sail. It sailed to China in the tea trade and later in the Australia wool trade.

Finally we looked over Francis Chichester's "Gipsy Moth IV" which he sailed round the world single handed, then we caught the boat back to Westminster Bridge.

Timothy Nosworthy

U N E V O I T U R E M O D E R N E Un soir d'hiver, Jean-Paul et Marie allaient

au cinema dans leur nouvelle votture. C'etait un long voyage et, apres quelques kilometres, le moteur a cesse de marcher.

—Ah, dit Jean-Paul, c'est malheur . . . et il est descendu de la voiture.

II y avait beaucoup de vent et il pleuvait des hallebardes. Jean-Paul s'est approche du devant de la voiture et il a ouvert le capot. Tout de suite il a dit:

—Ou est le moteur? On Pa vole! Mais sa femme, se penchant hors de la

fenetre, remarqua: —Ca ne fait rien! II y en a un autre dans le

coffre a bagages! Richard Edwards

QU'EST-CE Q U E C'EST? Pitter-patter, Pitter-patter Dans la grande maison, Au milieu de la nuit, Les pieds S'avancent secretement. Qu'est-ce que c'est? Qu'est-ce que c'est? Un voleur? Un assassin? Qui est dans la maison A tuer le politicien? Oh la la! Oh la la! A tuer le politicien? Un brigand? Un meurtrier, peut-etre? Mais non! Dieu merci! C'est seulement le chat Qui saute par la fenetre!

James Ryle

J E A N N E D'ARC Jeanne d'Arc, Oh la la! Quel dommage A si jeune age Que tous hommes ignorent Ses mots d'or. En depit de sauver La France des Anglais, Les sales Bourgognes Font de la fourberie mignonne, Et tous I'indiquent Une heritique. Le trente juin en Quatorze cent trente et un Elle brule a Rouen, Agee de dix-neuf ans. Apres I'affaire, On declare La fille enchantee La sainte des Francais.

Stephen Chalk

' ' ' * '

WATCHERS

PERFORMERS (Clarence Myerscough and Christopher Ling)

NEWS OF OLD BOYS Blundell's School

A. G. Thomas has now left after a distinguish-ed career. He played for the School Ist X V on the left wing and was Captain of Athletics and also named as Sportsman of the Year. Jonathan Perry has also now left after making a name for himself as a bowler in several of the School cricket teams.

Among those still at school Christopher Perry plays Senior Colts Rugby; and Cricket where like his brother he has been a most promising bowler. He is in his Upper Fifth year and has just completed his 'O' levels. The last of the Perrys, William, seems to have settled in well for his first year and is enjoying himself in all that Blundell's has to offer.

Kevin Rees was Captain of the Junior Colts Cricket X I and a member of the Junior Colts Rugby XV. He plays the flute for the School Band and School orchestra and this year was also playing for the production of "Twelfth Night".

Michael Greenwood who was always a keen photographer is now holding exhibitions of his work. He has just completed his " A " levels and hopes to study Law.

Richard Williams is thoroughly enjoying Blundell's where he is a member of the Tiverton and Blundell's Model Engineering Clubs, and, for variation, has canoed in the River Exe Whi te Water Race.

Richard Swarbrick is now a Lance Corporal in the CCF, a member of the Carol Quarter, and sounds his trumpet in the School Orchestra, Band and Brass Ensemble. He will be in charge next term of the Film Projection Club and sports-wise has played for the Junior Colts Rugby XV , gained his Athletics Vest for the Discus, came 4th in the Russell Cross-Country Race and is in the School 'B' cross-country team.

Canford School Ralf Furse finds that exams have been a great

hindrance to him in time, but nevertheless he managed to come first overall in his form ShellC. He has done particularly well in History being 9th out of a 103 and 4th out of 88 in successive terms. He has represented the House Juniors at Rugby, Rowing and Swimming and finds that though he enjoyed Royal tennis the talent was lacking. He is still having his spelling problems though he got full marks in his letter. He is most enthusiastic at the opportunities at Canford.

Daniel Huntington has taken an English and Latin 'O* level and has been rowing for the Junior Colts A VIII successfully in Regattas.

Tim Huntington is now in the Lower Sixth studying for his 'A' levels. He has distinguished himself by rowing in the School 2nd VIII.

W e were pleased to have a letter in March from Daniel who enquired after the Optimum! I can assure him that it has been in tremendous use for two summers and is still unscathed.

Gordonstoun Rufus Wixon has written at some length

of his first 12 months. He admits he did little work during his first term and paid the penalty by having bad exam results! Anyway he says he has put that right. He played in the under I4's rugby team and then in the cross country team the following term. He has played all the cricket possible this term (unfortunately only twice a week—must be something to do with being in Scotland!) and has been very successful with his bowling taking 24 wickets in 6 matches.

Alexander Whicher still enjoys the outdoor life and makes the most of walking opportunities and expeditions. As always he still enjoys his own company but he has played some colts cricket and is probably doing some work.

Felsted Digby Fox has been appointed " J .R . " captain

in his first year so responsibility came early for him; he describes it as, "just short of a miracle". He enjoys his 'cello playing as a pastime but finds the options for 'O' levels a very difficult problem to solve.

Haileybury William Trinick wrote just before leaving on

a Scottish holiday. He had a good gossip with Geoffrey Sayers and George Sharp on the train at half-term. He has started to play squash for which he is full of enthusiasm, and is making the normal form moves at the end of term.

Kelly College Our senior old boy at Kelly, William Darby,

has won a reserved place at the B.R.N.C. Dartmouth together with a Royal Naval Flying Scholarship. He was Captain of the School Shooting VIII and has just retired from the secre-taryship of the Sailing Club. He won the Navi-gation Prize and also a RYA Intermediate Sailing award. Jonathan Pol linger has started a Punk Rock Band with an unmentionable name and is the lead Singer! and Simon Govier has taken his first 'O' levels. Simon Taphouse is the Honorary Treasurer of the Survey Club and hopes to join the Diplomatic Service. Peter Jackson has been in the School Athletic's Team and as a Monitor will be Head of Newton House next term.

Jonathan Lean was Head of Conway House and is now awaiting his 'A' level results.

Nicholas Booth has passed a vast number of 'O' levels and appears to be acquiring 'A' levels with equal facility. He has been for two years Treasurer of the Electronics Club, a member of the newly formed Computer Society, he was awarded his Half-Colours and an Orange belt to go with them for Judo. He is taking the C.C.E. and Electronics System and Computer Science A-Levels next term to add to the 'A's and 'S' already in the bag, and is generally about to emerge as a No. I boffin.

Jerome Booth is also collecting academic scalps with equal success and is adding the

History of Art at 'A' level to the Science/Maths family bias. He is a member of the Kelly Orches-tra and Choir, Chief Librarian and in charge of the C.C.F. Quartermaster's Stores. Amongst other activities he is taking an 'O' level in Astron-omy to add to the socks in the Q.M. stores.

Matthew Holme has played for the under 14 Rugby team, has represented his house at Athletics and has qualified for his orange belt in Judo.

King's College Taunton W e have one of our largest contingents of

old boys at King's and they will next term be joined by three more.

Tony Mann has been one of our most dis-tinguished scholars and he ended his days at King's with a Scholarship to read Medicine at Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge.

Blair Cliffe is hoping to go to Dartmouth and so to a Naval career having collected the neces-sary 'A' levels this year. He had much to do with swimming and water polo being a member of school teams. He was also a house prefect; and finished the Ten Tors route. Christopher Cole having successfully completed his 'O' levels has now set about his 'A' He became a regular member of the School Ist X I and was awarded his Colours.

James Burton is Captain of Ju-Jitsu (which is no surprise remembering his front-row forward expertise at Mount House) and also Captain of the House sailing team as well as being in the School sailing team. He successfully completed the 45 miles of the Ten Tors route—and still finds time to paint. In fact many of his works adorn the College building.

Bruce Burton has become a keen potter and photographer and is of course in the House sailing team.

Nicholas Howe has been playing for a cricket team (which may surprise some) as well as sailing and coping with 'O' levels.

Gerald McElney is now a force in the tennis world, playing both for the School and his House, besides getting ready for his 1980 'O' levels.

Gavin Grier-Rees is fast developing into a first-class athlete running for the School both in Cross-Country and on the Athletic's track. He visited Kelly College to run in the 1500 metres and which his local supporters were delighted to see him win.

Andrew Cole has settled down well made his mark scholastically with an Exhibition in his first year and has been a member of the Under I4's Rugby team. He has also played some respectable cricket.

Angus McBride has been making a mark for himself as a musician being in both the School Orchestra and the Wind Band, and has generally been settling in well in his first year. He had a major part in a recent school play—A new pro-duction of Tom Browns Schooldays.

Grahame Bartleet took his 'A' levels this term and is now awaiting results before hopefully going on to a University. He plays a lot of cricket.

William Dixon, Miles Morris and Christopher Morshead have all been in the throes of 'O ' levels and . . . so has Timothy Knox, who is still a very keen artist.

Jonathan Wood as well has accomplishments in all things musical has become a member of the stage staff.

William May Somerville is Captain of School Sailing, of House Sailing and is a House Prefect. He is now working for next year's 'A' levels but manages to find time for Stage Staff work. David Bartlett, is a member of the House Sailing team, but is intent on next year's 'O' levels as is David Thompson who swam strongly in the recent Old Boys Race at the Mount House swimming Gala. Alexander Stannus has now settled down and is playing some cricket.

Alastair Wood is Chairman of the Lower Common Room Committee. He played rugby for the Junior Colts, has hurdled for the School, has been stage manager sometimes working with William May Somerville and he even has time for some sailing at Lyme Regis. Last summer he joined a school party to Corsica.

Lancing Rupert Woodard has been swimming for the

Under 15 team and also playing for the Under

14 Rugby team which was unbeaten! (he seems to make a habit of this). He is a member of the Rifle Club and spent much of the Lent Term .22 shooting.

The Kings School, Canterbury Tony Stevenson devotes much of his time

to the Arts. He has played in three school stage productions, the first major part being in "She Stoops to Conquer" this year. He also plays his bassoon in two wind ensembles. His thoughts on the future tend towards Opera.

Malvern Richard Brough writes in the middle of school

exams but the only result to hand was a 'stop press' 70% for Latin. He was playing a lot of cricket, in and out of the School Under I4's as an opening bat but was hoping to hold his place at the end of term after a good score. He received a letter from Roger Highton at Sedbergh (which is more than we have) who, while enjoying himself, was not so enthusiastic about all the runs he had to do (I refrain from facile comment).

Millfield Nicholas Dyke has been in the midst of

taking seven 'O' levels for which six of them he is now waiting results "anxiously". He has been swimming to great effect in the School Water Polo team which has reached the Final of the Under 19 Schoolboys Championship which takes place in November.

Rendcomb College Guy Healey managed a 66% average for his

first year's school exams doing particularly well in Maths and Geography. He played as a lock-forward for the Under 14 Rugby X V and at cricket gained a place in the X I which reached the semi-finals of the Gloucestershire Lord's Taver-ners Competition, and had his most successful bowling season. He also managed his first half-century against the College Under 15 XI. He describes the many new building projects that are happening at Rendcomb.

Sherborne Richard Pinder in a very interesting letter

tells of the pleasures of the Sailing Club which is at Poole and where he has been spending most of the summer term's week-ends camping and sailing. He says the Club is expensive but well worth it. He took one 'O' level this term Elementary Maths, but did not like it at all because it was so different from the normal paper. As a result of the end of term exams Richard and Nicholas Crowley have arrived in the same form as William Churcher. Nicholas has, "been doing horribly well in his exams and also some solid athletics, namely the 1500 metres in which he has been running in the North Dorset Championships. Richard continues," I am giving up Biology and Classics this term because I want to do German and Geography next year. As my standard of work is much better in Geography than Biology I had to give up Biology. As I want to work in Germany for my career I had to axe Classics in favour of German. I am doing Theology in my free time next year and so is Nick Crowley.

Christopher Redman has been Captain of the Junior Colts 'B' team in Cricket and has also been doing much swimming.

Nicholas Winfleld has completed his Lower Sixth year and will be taking Science 'A' levels next year. Stephen White has battled with '8' 'O' Levels and is awaiting results and Robert Pargiter has been similarly engaged. Michael Nolan is said to be losing his hair but undaunted is preparing for his 'O's. Stephen Morris has just taken 8 more 'O' levels and has left for a holiday on Rhodes with his family.

Wellington College W e have a large contingent at Wellington

and the volume of news is variable. William Darwall has now left having taken four 'A' levels in Biology, Maths, Chemistry and Art. He spent the last year playing in all the House teams, plus the trumpet in the Orchestra and Bands. In January he will be going to Kenya for 3-4 months to carry out a Muir Scholarship awarded by Wellington involving a project on the Marine National Parks in Kenya.

Simon Corringham has appeared in three plays this year, and in one the leading role. He is a dormitory prefect and has been a major contributor to a very successful athletics team. He is now studying English, Latin, French and Art at 'A' level having gained 11 'O' levels.

Richard Thomson has taken the first of his 'O' levels, and secured himself parts in the College and the dormitory plays.

Richard Thomas has been Captain of the Colts Athletics team and has broken the College High Jump Record, as well as playing for the Colts Ist X V Rugby. He is studying Maths, Physics and Economics at 'A' level.

John Mackintosh has been taking his 'O' levels in between running for various College teams. He was Captain of a very successful dormitory rugby team last winter.

Jeremy Hibbard has taken the leading part in his dormitory play, 'The Devil's Disciple', is playing the drums and forming his own Rock group.

Angus Buchanan has taken on yet another instrument, the Euphonium, and will soon be going to Rome on a musical tour. He has also been shooting for the College.

James Buchanan, who will be a Prefect in charge of one of the waiting houses next term, is taking 'A' levels in Pottery as well as Physics, Biology, and Chemistry and like his younger brother has also been shooting for the College.

Jonathan Bussell is still playing his 'cello in the Orchestra as well as devoting time to tennis and squash. He has a part in his dormitory play and also Captain of their swimming team.

Adrian Bussell swims for the College, plays rugby for a College team and also continues his viola playing for the Orchestra.

Sharp news is that John has been awarded Colours for rugby, hockey and cricket, and particularly do we hear that he has become a most promising wicket-keeper. George has captained a College junior team but is now concentrating more on his batting, where he has been opening. He also makes full use of the rackets and tennis facilities. He is leaving a waiting house and going to Hopetown next term.

Geoffrey Sayers who is now in Cambermere has been deploying his talents into pottery, metal and woodwork and also playing for teams at hockey, rugby and cricket. He seems very happy.

Blaise Howard seems to be enjoying himself but facts are missing.

Winchester Jean de Pourtales has been struggling a little

with the work, though things are going more successfully now. He was a Cox for the Ist IV at rowing and has been playing in the Under 14 Cricket team.

Mark Barley reports he is flourishing. One of his main interests has always been deriving Crossword puzzles and this he does regularly for the Wykhamist—the Jumbo puzzle this term had over 150 clues and as far as I know no one has solved it.

Christopher Barley is modest about his achievements but has swum 10 lengths of the Winchester Pool, thus creating a Barley record. He also has time for pottery and modelling.

Two of the Travis family are still at the College. Adrian is now a sergeant in the C.C.F. and is hoping to gain a R.A.F. Flying Scholarship. He is able to sail in a Hornet at Hamble. Quintin has had a most successful year; he represents his house, Kingsgate at Athletics, won the junior Pentathlon and rows in one of the under 15 boats which is sometimes guided on its way by Jean de Pourtales.

He plays his flute in the School Orchestra. He too is in the army section of the C.C.F.

Rupert, who left Winchester last year, is spending 3 months in South Africa.

Miscellanea As usual there are the varying snippets of

news from Universities and elsewhere. John Fogwill took a Second Class Degree in

Engineering and Economics at Merton College, Oxford in 1978 and now lives in Acton working as a Trainee Electrical Engineer for British Airports designing lighting circuits etc.

Robert Fogwill is living in Tavistock pursuing his love of photography with Knapes. He is a part-time member of the Fire Service, was most amusing and tuneful in a recent Operatic Society

production, is Secretary of the Leo Club and is managing to enjoy plenty of riding.

Hugh Fletcher is reading Medicine . . . David Matthias who gained a Ist Class

Honours Degree at the University of Alberta is continuing to study Marine Biology.

Niel O'Neil is going to Edinburgh University for his M.Sc.

Patrick Kettle, a Lieutenant in the Royal Navy, is returning to the R.N.E.C. at Manadon to take his M.Sc. He and his wife Nicky are build-ing a house in Horrabridge.

The Heslops: Alastair is still living in London working as a computer programmer with British Airways. Alexander qualified in Design at Bristol University for a B.A. degree and then worked in the U.S.A. as a traveller for several months and is now restoring old property in France with a group of fellow students before taking up an appointment at Bristol University in October. Gordon is in his final year at the Royal Veterinary College and Stuart has comple-ted his second year in Medicine at the Royal Free Hospital in London.

Julian Churcher has passed his second M.B. and John Hambly his 4th year to Finals at St. Thomas's Hospital, where Simon Travis has passed his 3rd and is Editor of the Hospital Magazine in between climbing every possible peak in Great Britain. Geoffrey Morris has passed his 4th year at the London Hospital and James Butler his 3rd year at the King's College Hospital.

The Murches, Dominic completed a course in Building . . .? at Bristol University and is now working as a journalist in London where like Dick Whittington Benjamin has now gone to seek his fortune by first working for a firm distributing bicycles.

One of the most interesting letters came from Jonathan Lake at Plymouth College who writes: " W e have been tracing our family history back to the Napoleonic Wars. . . W e have been up to Wales and a lot of other places looking up these records. . . One of the people we traced was in charge of a fire ship in Napo-leon's time and was knighted at Windsor Castle when he retired. There was also at the other end

of the scale a Miller who lived in Poughill, near Bude. Unfortunately when he was oiling the mill one day he overbalanced and fell into the grinding mechanism and was crushed to death. I took a photograph of the mill and this was why I needed to use the enlarger for which thank-you." When Jonathan recently was defending the old fort of Scardale as part of his duties with Cadet Royal Naval Corps he was entrusted with the night defence as a sentry. Unfortunately the enemy, in the person of John Gilbert, penetrated the defences and exploded two huge flares-cum-thunder flashes to prove it. After term had finished Jonathan was off to Bisley for the lucra-tive post of 'butt marker' for the meeting.

The Hutchisons John has now completed his training at Ridley Hall and after his ordination in Chelmsford Cathedral this September, he will be joining the staff at a parish in the vicinity.

David who is in the Grenadier Guards Is at present in Peru, second in command of a detachment looking after a group of London University Students, who are digging at an ancient village site called CUSI CHACA.

John Jackson has completed a year teaching German and games at Watford Grammar School.

Neil Major has recently become engaged. Mark Thompson brings news of the family.

Nicholas is still working for the family firm in London.

Patrick is now living and working in Totnes. Mark has graduated from Bath University

in Applied Biology and is planning to spend a year travelling before doing a post graduate course.

W e also have news of Francis and Tim Cornish; the former is teaching linguistics at Kent University and Tim has now given up teaching and is Film Mixer for South East Arts in Tonbridge Wells.

Sinclair Stevenson is now working with the National Westminster Bank in its Plymouth Branch and is able to live at home at the Horn of Plenty—lucky chap!

Guy Nowell has joined the Hong Kong Shanghai Bank and awaits an overseas posting.

Four Old Boys are now working in Tavistock —Robert Creber and Nicholas Coppin helping their

fathers. Robert Fogwill is with Mr. Knape (as already mentioned) and J. Knapp runs the Government Surplus Shop.

Richard Leatherby has started a school wear business, Blazerwear, in Plymouth and supplied our Ist X I with their smart new sweaters.

Andrew Leather has just completed a three months journey through France, Italy, Greece and Turkey accompanied by three friends from Sherborne. He starts training in medicine at the London Hospital in October.

Roderick Porter has spent twelve months teaching in a Prep. School.

News of the Tyler family has recently been provided by Nicholas who visited us during the cricket week.

Wilfrid is running a Boarding Kennels in Norfolk with his wife Jill. This is after 34 years in the regular army.

Norman is a land agent practising at Builth Wells. After leaving Wellington in 1952 he served in the Royal Marines.

Nicholas is a farm manager on a 215 acre arable farm near Crediton. He was a pilot in the R.A.F. after leaving Wellington. He is married with six children.

Thomas is an ordained priest, vicar of Hunfield in Sussex. He went to Cambridge and Wells theological College and did a spell with the Melanesian Mission in the Solomon Islands.

Paul is currently producing the Cornwall Courier. After Sherborne, he went up to Oxford. Later he went into politics and was accepted as Liberal candidate for Bodmin. He won the seat in 1974 and was M.P. for Bodmin for 6 months. He is married with two children.

John is an ordained priest in the Church of England and presently Head of Religious Edu-cation at a boys school in Taunton. After Sher-borne he went up to Cambridge and then Salisbury Theological College. He is married with three children.

The oldest member of the family, a cousin, Roger Man is serving his last posting in the army. He had a distinguished career after leaving Well-ington, winning the M.C. in 1945 in Germany. He commanded the Royal Hampshire Regiment.

He now lives in Camberley and is married with seven children.

Hugh Hanan, who left Truro School last summer, writes that he did well in his final exams and since then has been involved in a German Exchange scheme organised by St. Austell Sixth Form College where he is now doing 'A' levels in French, German, and Latin and hopes for an LL.B. degree for entry in October 1980.

Christopher Popham is now a solicitor working in Westminster near St. James Park. He is married to the daughter of an old Mount House boy Julian Osborne.

Alastair Wilson is now a barrister practising in London and his brother Christopher is about to train as a Chiropodist at Cardiff.

Ross Mackintosh is at present in Australia, prior to taking up his Army scholarship. In a series of fascinating letters to his family, he has detailed how he is living life to the full, inter-

spersing periods of back-breaking work of all kinds, with various expeditions on the traditional tourist trail. He should return extremely fit and well grounded for his military career.

Wellington School Jonathan Elworthy played for the unbeaten

Junior Colts Rugby X V and also for his Ist and 2nd X V House teams which won both compe-titions, and has also completed quite a successful cricket season, in spite of a lot of rain. He has been trying to gain a Bronze award in the Duke of Edinburgh Scheme. At the time of writing he had just finished the school exams but seemed a little uncertain of the outcome. He is more certain of being at the Mount House Annual Dance. Duncan Potts has been Joint School Captain which he has carried out with his usual efficiency.

M O U N T H O U S E W A N D E R E R S 1979 Tour

This was again voted a success, with 3 wins, 2 drawn games, and one lost on the very last ball of the day.

Unfortunately, skipper Tim Cornish, with a badly strained back, could take no further effective part after the Thursday match and with Mark Thompson absent for the Buckfastleigh game, our bowling strength was much depleted. W e all hope that they will be with us next year, fully recovered, but our need is for a few young bowlers of the same ilk to support them.

Top scorer this year was John Gelsthorpe with 78 and there must be honourable mention for Paddy Whelan's fighting 59 n.o. in the last match played. Roger Shobrook in the field was as impressive as ever.

Our thanks to Mr. & Mrs. Perry for the splendid supper at the Barton, and I'm sure all thoroughly enjoyed the evenings at Mount House and Tawasentha.

K.C.C.

In their first match of their 1979 tour, Mount House Wanderers beat Launceston by 77 runs. The feature of the game was a remark-able spell of bowling by Mark Thompson, who in his second spell took 5 wickets for one run, including a hat trick.

Mount House Wanderers D. Rees b. Berry 2 J. Gelsthorpe ct. Hoskins b. Milnes 47 D. Keeble-Elliot Ibw. b. Milnes 18 P. Cashell b. Barriball 26 K. Wedd ct. & b. Barriball 30 M. Thompson b. Berry 16 J. Perry b. Berry 2 R.Shobrook n.o. 26 J. Symons n.o. 2

Extras 13 Total (6 wkts.) 182

Bowling: C. Berry 3 for 56, P. Milnes 2 for 32, L. Barriball 2 for 50.

Launceston r.o. 17 ct. Symons b. Shobrook 39 b. Wedd 28 ct. Tompson b. Shobrook 11 b. Thompson I ct. Cashell b. Wedd 0 ct. Symons b. Thompson 0 b. Thompson 0 Ibw. b. Thompson 0 Ibw. b. Thompson 0 n.o. I

Extras 8

Total 105

Bowling: M. Thompson 5 for 20, T. Cornish 0 for 24, R. Shobrook 2 for 20, J. Perry 0 for 31, K. Wedd 2 for I

A spectacular early catch, at the cost of a damaged finger, fine bowling supported by splen-did fielding enabled the Wanderers to dismiss the Cranbourne side for the total of 44. Three wickets fell however, before victory was achieved.

Cranbourne C.C. Mattingly Ibw. b. Cornish 0 Barfield c. Pearn b. Thompson 0 Davies c. Major b. Cornish 1 Cullen c. Shobrook b. Thompson 0 Elton, R. c. Cashell b. Thompson 3 Powell c. Keeble-Elliott b. Thompson 5 Pople b. Cornish 10 Blackhall n.o. 11 Elton, G. b. Cornish 0 Atherton c Darwall b Shobrook 12 Simpson b Thompton 0

Extras 2

Total 44

Bowling: Thompson 5 for 18, Cornish 4 for 21, Shobrook I for 4

Mount House Wanderers Rees ct. Blackhall b. Powell 0 Major ct. Simpson b. Elton 0

Keeble-Elliot ct. Simpson b. Pople [8 Jackson n.o. 17 Cashell n.o. 2

Extras 8

Total (3 wkts.) 45

Bowling: Powell I for 27, Elton I for 0, Pople I for 6, Atherton 0 for 5.

Bowling unchanged during the R.N.E.C. Manadon innings, Mark Thompson with 5 wkts. for only 13 runs ensured a comfortable win for the Wanderers.

Mount House Wanderers Gelsthorpe b. Luffman 28 Thompson b. Luffman 3 Jackson c. Windle b. Roberts 23 Cashell, P. b. Whitleigh 4 Symons b. Baxendale 21 Shobrook R. c. Fricher b. Luffman 8 Rees, K. c. Baxendale b. Luffman 28 Leather c. & b. Baxendale 1 Shobrook T. Ibw. b. Luffman 1 Cashell, T. n.o. 0 Cornish b. Luffman 2

Extras 10

Total 129

Bowling Luffman 6 for 27, Baxendale 2 for 18, Roberts I for 36, Whitleigh I for 37.

R.N.E.C. Manadon Fricher c. Cashell, P. b. Thompson 5 Roberts b. Thompson 0 Windle r.o. 2 Steel b. Thompson 5 Luffman b. Cornish 5 Ashley c. Rees b. Cornish 6 Moreland b. Thompson 4 Baxendale c. Cashell T. b. Cornish 26 Powell b. Thompson 8 Whitleigh n.o. 2 Orridge b. Cornish 0

Extras 3

Total 66

T. Dingle G. Hills R. Tomkins D. Vanstone W . Glen A. Pedrich R. Hoskins P. Milnes W . Freestone L. Barriball C. Berry

Bowling: Thompson 5 for 13, Cornish 4 for 38, Shobrook R. 0 for 12.

Dropped catches cost the Wanderers the match at Mount House against the Good Com-panions. In a nail biting finish, the visitors needed one run on the LAST ball of the final 20 overs.

Mount House Wanderers Major N. c. Reece b. Evans M. 34 Rees D. c. Coleman b. Young 12 Keeble-Elliott c. Pearce b. Evans M. 3 Jackson c. Baker b. Evans M. 16 Wedd c. Butcher b. Evans M. 15 Whelan b. Evans M. 8 Rees K. c. Evans H. b. Evans M. 0 Shobrook Ibw. b. Evans M. 47 Leather b. Young 6 Thompson n.o. 32 Cornish c. & b. Evans M. 8

Extras 29

Total 210

Bowling: Evans M. 8 for 63, Young 2 for 55.

Good Companions Reece C. c. Thompson b. Shobrook 1 Jones c. Rees K. b. Thompson 0 Evans H. c. Jackson b. Cornish 21 Pearce c. Whelan b. Jackson 17 Gallahgher n.o. 83 Evans M. Ibw. b. Cornish 0 Coleman c. Rees K. b. Cornish 56 Young b.ShobrOok 9 Cooper c. Whelan b. Shobrook 2 Butcher n.o. 2

Extras 21

Total (8 wkts.) 212

Bowling: Shobrook 3 for 35, Cornish 3 for 82, Thompson I for 27, Jackson I for 47.

W i th a much depleted bowling force in operation, the Wanderers could not contain the

hard hitting Cornwood side, who took full advantage of their early escapes from the fine bowling of Roger Shobrook. However, this drawn game had much to commend it, expecially the splendid fight back by the openning pair, John Gelsthorpe and Mark Thompson.

Cornwood C.C. Kittle c. Shobrook b. Thompson 43 Thomas c. Cashell b. Shobrook 15 Marshall b.Shobrook 4 Rogers c. Allen b. Whelan 71 Welch n.o. 32 Sutton c. Jackson b. Thompson 22 Ford stumped. Cashell. b. Whelan 2 Wright n.o. 1

Extras 18

Total (6 wkts) 203

Bowling: Whelan 2 for 45, Thompson 2 for 46 Shobrook 2 for 53.

Mount House Wanderers Thompson St. Thomas b. Ford 29 Gelsthorpe c. Wright b. Matthews 78 Whelan c. Welch b. Matthews 9 Cashell b. Wright 22 Shobrook n.o. 21 Jackson c. Welch b. Palmer 12 Babcock c. Adams b. Palmer 2

Extras 6

Total (6 wkts.) 180

Bowling: Matthews 2 for 33, Palmer 2 for 35, Ford I for 25, Wright I for 49.

Again suffering from a depleted bowling force, the Wanderers, fielding first, had a long stint in the field. Unluckily for us Cragg of Buckfastleigh missed at 18 and 22, went on to score the first century against us, and their total for almost 3 hrs batting was 213 for only 4 wickets.

Victory however was denied them.

Buckfastleigh C.C. Mount House Wanderers Coode c. Elworthy b. Perry 27 Gelsthorpe c. Coulton 1. b. Coode 1 Wakefield c. Shobrook b. Elworthy 49 Brough c. Coulton J. b. Allen 21 Cragg n.o. 101 Cashell c. Joint b. Allen 4 Coulton 1. c. Perry b. Whelan 16 Wedd c. Coulton 1. b. Coode 5 Coulton J. c. Whelan b. Elworthy 9 Whelan n.o. 59 Walworth n.o. 4 Rees K. c. Cragg b. Allen 15

Extras 7 Shobrook Ibw. b. Coulton 30 Jackson b. Allen 0

Total (4 wkts.) 213 Babcock n.o. 14 Total (4 wkts.) Extras 8

Total (7 wkts.) 157

Bowling: Elworthy Perry I for 48.

2 for 19, Whelan I for 43, Bowling: Allen 3 for 48, Coode 2 for 28, Coulton l„ I for 4.

A YOUNG CENTURION (Mark Mc Elney)

SPORT RUGBY

T H E 1st X I The Ist X V of 1978 was faced by the difficult task of following in the wake of the tremendous team of the previous year. Only two old colours, Patrick Smiley and Christopher Barley, remained from Woodard's triumphant XV . In addition, this team of 1978 was a young one with an average age of just 11 years 11 months at their opening match. So inevitably it was short of gifted individuals, and of weight and experience. Yet they still managed to leave behind them the following presentable record gained during a season of transition and increasing confidence. Played 10, W o n 6, Drawn 2, Lost 2, Points for 144, Points Against 101.

Surprisingly few changes were made in the team during the course of the season, and the required changes were mainly positional ones; only eighteen players were used in all.

After the traditional practice match against the Kelly College Under 14 which was lost, but not severely, by 6 points to 20, we travelled to Buckfast Abbey School and received our one big thrashing of the season by the strongest team on the circuit. Our forwards were slow and inexperienced and our backs failed to tackle the hard running-at-them and we went down by 40 points. The team learnt their lesson well and we were only to lose one more match late in November against Wolborough Hill at Newton Abbot, when once again our forwards were out-played and our centres failed to tackle.

As the team gradually gained stature, certain

players began to establish themselses. Patrick Smiley was appointed captain, and after two matches at centre, moved to his natural position of openside flank forward where his experience and example were invaluable and from where he scored 5 tries. The other Old Colour, Christo-pher Barley, a natural wing threequarter, held the fly-half position throughout the season, where he often tackled devastatingly, moved the ball to his backs and played with enthusiasm. He lacked the ability to kick tactically with any precision and this posed problems; but his place was never seriously threatened.

James Mackenzie at fullback became the most improved player in the XV . He tackled courageously and made some splendid attacking runs from deep positions, besides kicking safely after some early disasters. Ryle an experienced threequarter tackled well, not often losing an opponent, and scored six tries by his sheer speed, some as wing and some as a centre.

Simon Weston and Thomas Hensman, two young mid-field utility players, both ran decep-tively on occasions and began to appreciate the need for a sound defence. Mark McElney, after three uncertain matches searching for a niche, settled as the scrum-half where his robust strength made up for his lack of speed. He often kicked magnificently, but did not always choose the right option in attack.

James Gardner was a most useful team player who worked whole-heartedly in several positions, and was most dependable in all of them. Among the forwards a solid front-row of Paul Furse, Stephen Chalk and Richard Edwards usually gave as good as they got, and ensured adequate possession by Chalk's hooking; the latter also blossomed into a popular and effective pack-leader. Peter Fox and William Perry pushed hard in the tight at second row, and Fox scored several tries by his powerful running when allowed to gain momentum. He also kicked fourteen goals. Maycock was the regular No. 8, never developing into a real force but his jumping and work-rate improved as he gained experience. James Nicholls was the remaining flank position where he covered solidly without ever fully mastering the needs of defence.

COLTS—WINTER AND SUMMER

The pack scrummaged, rucked and mauled with ever-increasing skill, but their fire in the loose was only a flicker on occasions, and support for the backs was usually provided only by Smiley and Fox with some rare forays by Furse and Maycock.

Among the backs confidence in their own ability, and quicker thinking, were slow to evolve, and only in the return fixture with Buckfast Abbey School which was drawn and so nearly ended in a famous victory were the backs fully alive to the need for the immediate crash tackle on their individual opponents. Their handling became most sure.

Among the games to remember was the home win over the Wolborough X V when some desperate last ditch tackling just managed to hold on to the lead given by Fox's solo try, from a tap penalty. At Exeter on a hard, dry, sunny October day the bigger Cathedral School for-wards were surprised by the physical toughness of our forwards and we gained a comfortable win. Montpelier School at Paignton were a small young side whom we overcame easily, but most of their team will be playing the next year and may not be so easy a side to beat. The best game for spectators was our win at Buckland House where Ryle scored one particularly memorable try from an interception and solo run from his own twenty five yard line. St. Petroc's did not offer much opposition on either occasion, but we were lucky to draw our return home game with Buckland House when in a scrappy game we neither handled nor tackled with determina-tion.

In the last match we faced the redoubtable backs from Buckfast Abbey and contained them. Fox crashed his way over for a try in the corner which he could not convert. The visitors came back with an unconverted try; and when we gained possession from five scrums in the last few moments right on the enemy's line, twice against the head by Chalk, it seemed we must win but our halves were unable to make the last desperate score. Those minutes were a pulsating end to what had become a surprisingly successful season.

The Ist X V was J. A. D. Mackenzie; R. J. A. Harrow, J. N. Gardner, J. J. Ryle, S. J. Weston; C. Barley, M. D. S. McElney; R. J. T. Edwards, S. P. Chalk, P. G. R. Furse, P. J. Fox, W . J. Perry, P. V. Smiley, J. C. O. Nicholls, J. H. C. Maycock. In addition T. L. Hensman play-ed eight times and C. R. Ling and R. J. Orr once each. Colours were awarded to Chalk, Ryle, Gardner, Mackenzie and Fox; and seven of the side remain for 1979 including one Old Colour, Mackenzie.

The full list of results is:

v. Buckfast Abbey School (away) Lost 0-40 v. St. Petroc's Sch. (home) Won 32-10 v. Wolborough Hill (home) Won 4-0 v. Exeter Cathedral Sch. (home) Won 18-4 v. Montpelier Sch. (away) Won 20-0 v. St. Petroc's Sch. (away) Won 42-0 v. Buckland House (home) Drew 8-8 v. Wolborough Hill (away) Lost 3-25 v. Buckland House Sch. (home) Drew 4-4 v. Kelly College Under 14 (home) Lost 6-20

R.8-A.

T H E S E C O N D X V The reserve X V won three of their matches

and lost one. They scored 38 points against 12 as they steadily improved. Ling captained the side well from the fly half position, but was unable to turn his goal-kicking flair to much profit. Darby tackled fiercely, Morpurgo and Rupert ran strongly to suggest greater things for 1979. Among the forwards Bartlett, R. Orr, Challis and Cole were the most dependable. Digby Fox also arrived from obscurity to hook keenly, and Dyke showed his skills in handling and kicking at scrum-half. Team vigour all round was slow to emerge but in the end an energy and ruggedness was seen.

The full list of results is:

v. Wolborough Hill (away) Lost 0-8 v. Buckland House (home) Won 12-0 v. Montpelier Sh. (home) Won 12-0 v. Buckland House (home) Won 14-4

S E N I O R SET C O M P E T I T I O N S The Final of this strenuous competition

was fought out between the same teams as the previous year, Kangaroos and Beavers, but this time with a different result. Neither of the two finalists had easy passage through the two pre-vious rounds. The Hawks had finally sucumbed 16 point to 8 to the strength of Kangaroo Fox C. in the semi-final and the Curlews, the strongest side in the competition, had taken flight 12 point to 20 before the ravages of Smiley and McElney of Beavers.

So Beavers entered the Final knowing that Fox was the main danger that confronted them. Though the Kangaroos held on grimly, even threatening to score in the first half, their effort suddenly subsided as they cracked before the onslaught to lose 24 points to nil. So, in the opinion of the winners, retribution had been handed out for the previous year's disaster.

The Wooden Spoon, always a keen contest, was a stout-hearted struggle by both Owls and Otters, both of them playing much better than they had done in the previous rounds. Owls avoided the Spoon by 18 points to nil.

One of the features of this competition is the chance it gives for the lesser brethren to play in better company than usual, and how well they take their chance. Brindle, Fletcher, Simon Wright, Brough and Gordon Lewis were among those who distinguished themselves.

T H E COLTS X I I I Played 7, W o n 4, Drawn 2, Lost I, Points for 124, against 26. Try Scorers: Brough 6, Impey and Gardner 5, Healey 3, Baker and Thompson 2, Russell, Gozzard, Bayly, Sturgeon and Mair I. Conversions: Healey and Russell 3. Results:

v. Buckfast Abbey School (away) Drew 4-4 v. Wolborough Hill School (home) Drew 10-10 v. Cathedral School (away) W o n 24-0 v. Buckland House School (away) W o n 20-0 v. Montpelier School (home) W o n 50-0 v. Wolborough Hill School (away) Lost 0-8 v. Buckfast Abbey School (home) W o n 16-4

After three weeks of hard practice and training the Colts opened their season at Buckfast Abbey. A draw was, perhaps, not quite what the team deserved for, although the for-ward play was ragged, good ball was available to the line. Had there been more room in which to manoeuvre, Thompson and Baker looking posi-tive in attack, might have gone nearer to scoring. Impey took advantage of a loose ball to level the score.

The match with Wolborough on Herongate was a thrilling contest with each side, in turn, taking control. Despite the heavier Wolborough pack, Impey hooked well and was well-supported so that we won a fair share of the set scrums. In the mauls and rucks all the forwards distin-guished themselves and gave the backs a chance to run the ball. Healey and Impey scored the tries which Russell converted to give us a 10-6 lead with minutes to go. Taking advantage of indecisive defence, the Wolborough pack surged into our 22 and their left-wing took a good pass and levelled the scores.

On the County Ground at Exeter, the XIII looked in splendid form. The forwards totally dominated the set scrums, mauls and rucks to give the keen runners—Ashworth, Thompson, Phillips, Healey and Bayly—excellent chances. The narrow field meant short passes but Impey, Baker and Thompson ran in good tries. Thomas Brough, the Captain, bulldozed in following a tapped penalty and Gardner's 'Mickey Mouse' move gave him personal success. John Healey converted two of the tries with neat drop-kicks.

W e played Buckland House for the first time at Colts level on their ground in the most appalling weather. A bitter westerly wind with stair-rod rain reduced the twenty-six players to a shivering, sodden mass. To play with any degree of skill, to take and give a pass and to gain any ground was virtually impossible. It speaks volumes for the team that it refused to give in and battled against the opposition and the elements to a fine victory. Tries came from Baker and Thompson and Brough with a coura-geous three.

Against Montpelier, whose side was small and quickly dispirited, we played with strength

and determination. Charles Gozzard, a new boy and playing rubgy for the first time made an impressive debut on the wing and scored one of the 11 tries.

The return match at Wolborough was our only loss. Disappointment was written on all our faces as a try was disallowed and a couple of penalties gave the opposition the launch pad for their scores. There is no doubt that, on their own ground, Wolborough sides always play above themselves. W e were not disgraced and the spectators enjoyed a grand game.

Our final match against Buckfast Abbey School at home was a fitting climax to a term in which so many young rugby players emerged and played with tremendous verve and tenacity. Mair, Brough, Impey and Gardner rounded off the point-scoring.

G.P.W.C.

SOCCER T H E 1st X I

Wi th only two of the successful 1978 side remain-ing a young and largely untried team took the field for the first match at Buckfast Abbey. To say that we were fortunate to win is an understatement for they had the majority of the play; but a penalty converted by Ryle in our first excursion into their half and a 'solo' hat-trick by McElney saw us run out 4-2 winners. The away game at Buckland House was a dour end to end struggle and the only goal of the match, prodded home by Dyke gave us a hard-won victory.

Buckfast Abbey were obviously out for revenge, scored three times in the first fifteen minutes and although we came back in the second half, they deservedly won by the convincing margin of 1-4. St. Petrocs employed an effective offside game which took us quite a time to

fathom but eventually we did and ran out 6-0 winners.

In both the remaining games, against Exeter Cathedral and Buckland House we were behind at half time but lived up to our reputation as a 'second-half team by coming back to draw l-l and 3-3 respectively.

So, of the six matches played we won 3, drew 2 and lost I ; a record 1 would eagerly have settled for at the beginning of the season!

Maycock was a sound and dependable goal-keeper; the back line consisted of Smiley, aggressive and powerful if rather lacking in the finer arts of the game; Mackenzie whose con-fidence and skill developed with each match and the captain Ling thoughtful and skilful but some-times rather tentative in the tackle.

The mid-field contained Morpurgo, skilful and neat but who must develop more 'bite' in the tackle; Weston, fast and determined but not as consistent as I would have wished; and Ryle who was undoubtedly the most dedicated and consistent member of the side, never had a bad game and held the team together in moments of crisis.

Chalk started the season on the right wing and provided some dangerous runs and centres but he was eventually displaced by the more mobile and direct style of Rupert Youngman who throughly justified his place by scoring four goals in the three matches in which he played. McElney scored six of the total of sixteen goals scored and on his day was a match-winner with his powerful, direct and skilful style; but was not consistent in his endeavour if things were not going well. Dyke also scored some important goals but lack of size and weight told against him when confronted by big, heavy and more deter-mined defenders. Hensman, a natural left footer, did not quite live up to his potential in '79 and only in the last game did he finally realise that he had the skill to take on and beat an opponent!

However with seven of the side available in 1980 and some very promising colts on the way up one can only hope for an even better year. The ability and potential is there, the hard work to fulfil it comes in January!

C.6.

T H E COLTS X I Played 7, W o n 6, Lost I, Goals for 37, against 15. Goal Scorers: Thompson 17, Bayly 6, R. D. Youngman 5, Speddy 3, Healey and James 2, Gozzard I. Results:

v. Buckfast Abbey School (away) W o n 6-2 v. Buckland House School (away) W o n 5-3 v. Buckfast Abbey School (home) W o n 9-0 v. St. Petroc's School (home) W o n 7-3 v. Cathedral School (home) W o n 3-1 v. Buckland House School (home) W o n 7-1 v. Wolborough Hill School (home) Lost 0-5

John Healey's side came very close to what, at my Prep. School, was called a 'Star XI ' . How, after six convincing wins, we should lose at home to Wolborough, I shall never understand. It was unfortunate that our regular goal-keeper, Christopher Bullocke, was ill, but the rest of the team failed to show the bite and determination that had brought it so much success and so many goals previously.

The forward line was very successful, none more so than Alistair Thompson who scored in all but the final match, Bayly, Speddy, Youngman and James cracked home 13 goals between them and, as half-backs, Healey and Gozzard enjoyed long-range shooting. Mclntyre and Wrai th vied for the right-half position, the former eventually securing it. At back, Michael Griffiths played exceptionally well on practically all occasions and Impey tried very hard to improve his play at left back, although he never really looked anything but a right-footed player.

Buckland House and the Cathedral School provided our most testing moments, and there were times when our defence looked thoroughly disorganised, but there is a tremendous amount of talent among the team members and I confi-dently forecast success as these players mature at Ist X I level. Make sure you beat Wolborough then!!

G.P.W.C.

CRICKET

T H E 1st I X It rarely happens that a new season opens without a single representative of the previous year's team available. There was little doubt then that success was going to be hard to find and that this was to be a term for gaining experi-ence and for building for the future.

Christopher Ling, with one or two 2nd X I matches behind him, captained the side, assisted on the field by the ex-Colts Captain, Rupert Youngman. Neither of these players quite lived up to their potential and made one or two costly slips through inexperience in decisions during the matches.

The burden of creating a good score lay firmly on the shoulders of the first five batsmen —John Healey, the wicket-keeper, James Mac-kenzie, Mark McElney, the most mature Prep. School cricketer in these parts, Stephen Chalk and Tom Hensman. All of them played some good innings and pride of place goes to McElney whose 100* was the first century recorded in a Mount House match. It was fitting that it should be on the Oval and it was a controlled and sensible innings lasting I hour 27 minutes and containing 6 sixes and 7 fours. He and Chalk (26*) put on 135 runs for the third wicket.

On the bowling front, Simon Weston, Matthew Kirwin and McElney took the most wickets and were supported by Mackenzie and Ling. The attack lacked fire at the beginning of term but gradually began to use its talents to greater effect. The fielding was, for the most part, quite good—few catches were put down and throwing-in from the outfield became steadily more accurate.

v. Tavistock C. C. Colts A good opening match, with Healey (13), McElney (15) and Chalk (23) scoring well towards a final total of 76. Weston and McElney bowled sensibly and, despite two brave innings, the Tavistock boys left, beaten by 23 runs.

v. Buckfast Abbey School 'McElney's match' and our total of 156 fo r 2 was, perhaps, too daunting a target for the opposition. They didn't look like going for the runs, and our bowling lacked the penetration to secure the wickets. A draw was the tame result after a memorable afternoon.

v. Wolborough Hill School Winning the toss and batting first for the third time, we were n early trouble, but Mackenzie (12) McElney (44) and Hensman (22) steered us to a declared total of 101 for 9, after a session interrupted by rain. Some curious bowling changes and field placing let Wolborough off the hook for, at 59 for 4, they looked unlikely to get the runs They accepted the challenge and won off the penul-timate ball of the last over.

v. Buckland House School Oilskins, souwesters and Wellington boots would have been more appropriate dress for this game. It was played in the most appalling conditions and Buckland House seemed able to cope with the weather rather better than we could. Only Healey (13) and Extras (10) reached double figures towards our declared total of 48. Whilst Weston and Kirwin stuck to their task, Buckland reached their target with 6 wickets down.

v. Montpelier School Two bowlers taking 8 wickets between them proved the downfall of our batsmen—some wickets were sacrified with offerings of simple catches and only Chalk (21) defied the opposition and his was a valuable contribution in our total of 37. Weston bowled steadily without giving away runs, Kirwin, McElney and Mackenzie did their best but Montpelier reached 38 for the loss of only 5 wickets.

v. St. Petroc's The side from Bude having dismissed Healey in the second over, then looked very weak as MacKenzie (23), McElney (48), Chalk (26*) and Hensman (14*) amassed 123 for 3. Kirwin, Weston and McElney each with three wickets then rattled them out for I I . This was not a good game, but gave the stars a good chance to enhance their reputations.

v. Buckland House The return match in perfect conditions looked to be going our way as Healey (40) and Mackenzie (22) put on 57 for

the Ist wicket, resistance, however, from the remaining batsmen was poor. 30 runs later we were back in the pavilion. The Buckland House captain played delightfully for his 63* and, des-pite not unreasonable bowling and fielding, we lost by 9 wickets.

v. Cathedral School Asked to field first for a change, we made steady inroads into the Cathe-dral batting. McElney returned figures of 6.3 overs, 5 maidens, I run, 4 wickets and helped reduce them to 56 all out. Our 59 for 7 to win was contrived despite 3 suicidal run-outs. McElney (21), Youngman (17*) and Weston (9*) contributed most usefully.

v. Sunningdale School Back to toss-winning form, Ling asked the visitors to bat and, with their score at 51 for 7, I though that we had at last learnt the value, of accurate bowling and sharp fielding. A late rally, however, changed the picture and they declared at 88 for 9, having continued their innings after tea. This was still not too large a total and time was not that im-portant. However, against two bowlers moving the ball nicely both in the air and off the wicket, our batsmen processed to and from the pavilion without really troubling the scorers. Our total of 24 was not an impressive last match perfor-mance.

Prospects look bright for next year—8 of the side remain and there are several contenders for the remaining places from the 2nd X I and the Colts.

T H E 2nd X I For the first time for some years the 2nd X I played all its matches. Only one match of the three played was won, but there were several creditable performances.

Tom Brough (14) and Bruce St. Clair (17) were top scorers at Montpelier where we were dismissed for 72. Our bowling let us down and we were beaten by 7 wickets.

There was great excitement in the closing stages of the match at Exeter. Our total of 73 was collected through a good innings by the captain, Richard Paige (22), Robert Russell (17)

and James Maycock (13) and a late 10 from Nigel Dyke. Our bowling and fielding were much better and Brough 4 for 23, Simon Wright 3 for 16 and Baker 2 for 15 ensured the Cathedral School's dismissal for 66.

The match at Wolborough Hill could have gone either way—our total of 63 was not quite enough. Dominic Phillips batted well for 24 but had little support and our bowling and fielding became ragged after a good start. Wolborough were in trouble at 22 for 7 but their No. 9 was a powerful batsman and, given two chances, scored 32* to secure their 3 wicket victory. Christopher Baker 5 for 27 bowled unchanged and most successfully.

T H E SET MATCHES In the Ist round, the Otters 32 for 5 (Mor-

purgo 19) only just beat the Owls 27 for 4, the winning run coming of the last ball of the last over. The Hawks managed to contain the Kangaroos who made 35 in their 12 overs (Kirwin 13*), then Richard Bridge, and Hawks captain, with 25* saw them to victory with an over to spare, defying the accurate bowling of Kirwin who took 5 wickets for I run in 4 overs.

The Beavers entered the contest in the 2nd round and in 12 overs on Herongate scored a massive 129 for 3, McElney 87 and Chalk 30* being the main contributors. The Otters tried gamely but could only score 35 for 3 (Dyke 22 *). On the Oval, the Curlews played the Hawks. The latter struggled to 24 for 4 against the containing bowling of Weston and the Youngman brothers Rupert (18*) and Simon Weston scored the required runs in 4 overs.

The Final was an excellent game which unfortunately ended in confusion. Despite the presence of two unbiased and School-team scorers, mistakes in the addition were made. The Curlews batted first and, in 15 overs, made an agreed total of 83 (Rupert Youngman 24*, Weston 18 and Richard Youngman 16). In reply, the Beavers looked to have won off the final ball (McElney 47, Richard Youngman 3 for 22) with 5 wickets down. A compromise was reached and the Cup will be held by both Sets for 6 months.

1st X I Results and Averages Played 9, W o n 3, Drawn I, Lost 5. v. Tavistock C.C. Colts W o n by 23 runs v. Buckfast Abbey School Drawn v. Wolborough Hill School Lost by 5 wickets v. Buckland House School Lost by 4 wickets v. Montpelier School Lost by 5 wickets v. St. Petroc's School W o n by 112 runs v. Buckland House School Lost by 9 wickets v. Cathedral School W o n by 3 wickets v. Sunningdale School Lost by 64 runs. The X I scored 7I0 runs for 70 wickets at 10.14 runs per wicket. The Opposition scored 561 runs for 64 wickets at 8.20 runs per wicket.

Batting Inns. N.O. H.S. Runs Average McElney 9 I I00* 233 29.1 Chalk 9 2 26* 109 15.6 Hensman 6 I 22 44 8.8 Healey 9 — 40 78 8.6 Mackenzie 9 — 23 75 8.3 Youngman 7 I 13 * 27 4.5 Baker I — 4 4 4.0 Weston 7 I 9 * 23 3.8 Kirwin 7 2 5 18 3.6 Morpurgo 7 I 5 9 1.5 Gimson 6 — 6 7 1.2 Ling 5 3 2 2 I.O also batted in one match : J. C. O. Nicholls

Bowling Overs Mdns Runs Wkts Average McElney 48.1 18 77 20 3.85 Kirwin 58 17 123 13 9.5 Weston 69 28 I2I 12 I0.I Youngman 12 5 26 2 I3.0 Mackenzie 39.4 7 82 6 13.7 Ling 22.2 5 70 5 14.0 Gimson 2 — 10 — _ Catches 4 Healey and I stumping

3 Mackenzie 3 Morpurgo 2 Chalk 2 Gimson 2 Youngman I Hensman I Kirwin I McElney

Single-Wicket Competition Mark McElney won the Perry Cup in the Compe-tion spread over two days. In the Final, he beat Rupert Youngman and underlined his genuine all-round ability. Notable performances in earlier rounds were made by St. Clair, Gimson, Dyke and Phillips.

G.P.W.C.

T H E COLTS X I Your correspondent last year bemoaned the fact that, in 1978 33 out of the team's 50 dis-missals were bowled, through a failure of batsmen to play to the line of the ball, particu-larly caused by the faulty movement, or the lack of any movement, of the feet. In this year of 1979 there was apparently from the figures little improvement, 25 batsmen bowled out of a total of 46 dismissals. But, 18 of those bowled suffered their fate before half-term, so it would appear that lessons are being learnt from experience. But it still remains a hard fact of life that most of the players begin each Colts season, and play their earlier matches, with a forgetfulness of the basic batting skills, brought about by a failure to adhere to sound principles. Possibly in the future Junior Games should concentrate largely on the acquirement of basic principles and much less on participation in team games. Here is a problem that needs to be solved and in which parents who have the time and experience to coach can also help.

This year's Colts started disastrously and finished playing to a presentable standard of cricket. There were two high spots. One was the most mature century scored by Richard Youngman against St. Petroc's when he gave only one chance in scoring 101 not out. He batted for one hour and twenty minutes hitting seventeen fours and taking part in a partner-ship with Christopher Bullocke of 90. The other memorable day was when the captain, Nicholas Bayly, against Buckland House, captured seven wickets for five runs in nine overs including four wickets in four balls. But these natural cricketers

must surely enjoy increasing success in future years.

The lack of a ready-made wicket-keeper was splendidly solved by Andrew Thompson who, without any previous experience quickly harnes-sed his catching skills to become an attacking force behind the stumps. His batting too, though containing some original strokes, was sure enough to place him second in the final averages.

Another to make his mark was Tristan Thomas, who, with Jolyon Woodard, formed a most sound opening partnership. Thomas never attained a high scoring rate but he laid the foun-dations of several victories by his courage against fast bowling and his sound occupancy of the crease. John Wraith made some splendid catches close to the wicket but never enjoyed the success with either bat or ball that one expected. He will need to vary the speed of his bowling and cut out the wild shots from his batting for he can hit the ball quite ferociously when in form. Michael Griffiths should have been a leading batsman but he failed consistently to play to the line until the last match when he finally scored runs with style. His bowling, though not often used, improved and he was the bowler to break a stand. Christopher Bullocke began to acquire both batting and bowling skills, but primarily he will remember his fielding, particularly his throwing which was outstanding in the Senior Set Competition Final.

But the success of the team depended much on the fortunes of Youngman bowling or batting (after his century he then took four wickets for no runs) and the bowling of Bayly who took 21 wickets in the season and who captained the side with ever developing sureness and confidence in his own decisions.

The fielding was not quite as sound as in some years though Nicholas James was always in deadly form with his catching and throwing from fine-leg and mention has already been made of Wrai th and Bullocke. It was once again a lack of applied principles that allowed fielding errors which persisted until the end; it also seemed diffi-cult to find sufficient time for practice.

CHARLES GOZZARD IN ACTION

The playing record was: Played 8, W o n 5, Lost 3. v. Buckfast Abbey Lost by 4 wkts. (19-24-5) v. Wolborough Lost by 9 wkts. (20—24-1) v. Buckland House Lost by 9 wkts. (35-36-1) v. Montpelier W o n by 79 runs (101-3 d.—22) v. St. Petroc's W o n by 122 runs (146-5 d.—24) v. Buckland House W o n by 8 wkts. (28-2—27) v. Exeter Cathedral W o n by 9 wkts. (32-1—30) v. St. Petroc's W o n by 106 runs (150-5 d.—44)

Batting Averages Inns. N.O. Runs H.S. Average

Youngman R. D. 8 3 246 101 * 49.2 Thompson A. J. 7 2 72 20 14.4 Thomas T. 7 2 38 29 7.4 Bullocke 4 1 21 16 7.0 Griffiths 5 — 28 24 5.6 Woodard J . 7 1 33 12 5.4

Overs Mdns Runs Wkts Average Youngman R. D.40.2 22 41 13 3.15

(5.4-5-0-4 v. St. Petroc's) Bayly N. 58 27 77 21 3.66

(9-4-5-7 v. Buckland H.) Griffiths 14 6 25 6 4.16

(3-2-3-3 v. Montpelier) Wra i th J. 25.5 6 61 6 10.16

(3.5-1-5-2 v. Montpelier)

Catches 4 Wrai th 2 Bullocke, Benn, Thompson and 9 stumpings I Swarbrick, James, Thomas, Cowling C. Maclntyre and D. Key also played for the Colt X I Mount House scored 531 runs at 11.5 runs/wkt. Opposition scored 231 runs at 4.1 runs/wkt.

ATHLETICS

ATHLET ICS 1979 I suppose an anti-climax was inevitable after the heady success of 1978 and lack of real strength in depth was soon obvious. This is not to say that there were not successes, or surprises but generally the senior standard was not of a consistently high level.

Smiley as captain of the team developed into a very dependable hurdler as his second places at Kings Taunton and Kelly proved and Ling improved considerably in the 400 m, winning at Kings and coming a creditable third at Kelly. However Ryle did not develop as I had hoped as a sprinter and middle distance will probably be his strength in the future: Maycock, in the process of changing his style in the high jump was only really confident at the very end of the term and the lack of real brawn and power meant a disappointing show in the field events. Even Simon Weston promised more than he actually achieved though it must be said that lack of real talent meant entering him for the 800 metres while obviously he is much better suited to the longer I500m.

W e were soundly beaten in both Junior and Senior in the annual match against Wol-borough. An accident before, to Challis and illness on the day to Smiley, Ling and Griffiths did little to improve our chances but even with a 100% fit side we would have been no match for a very talented Wolborough team. There were however some bright spots; Sturgeon's record run in the Junior hurdles; the excellent showing of Charles Gozzard in the 400m and 800m; (a fine prospect for the future), the determina-tion of Browne and the very young Tim Harrow —indeed the junior relay team of Harrow, Lamb, Brown and Gozzard all still juniors next year!

All in all then not an outstanding athletics year but one in which some potential was un-coverered (some of it rather too late; Chalk's win in the 100m was a notable example!) and one can only look forward and hope that there is a good foundation on which to build and that the potential will be realised. My thanks go to Craig Busby who did a tremendous amount of work to improve the field events and to all the boys who participated in the external Athletics matches and the very successful Mount House Athletics Day.

G.B.

SHOOTING S H O O T I N G 1979

The Shooting cup this year was won by Tom Hensman as shown in the table below.

Term Staff Sill. Total Name total match cup T. Hensman 160 46 22 228 A. Cole 155 47 20 222 C. Ling 158 47 17 222 J. Wright 156 38 20 2I4 J. Coupland 153 45 15 2I3 M. McElney 150 38 22 2I0 S. Weston 155 37 15 207

Fifteen members of the Staff volunteered to shoot against a team of boys. It was an interes-ting contest, much enjoyed by all those who took part.

K.C.C.

SWIMMING S W I M M I N G

The main responsibility for this sport has been assumed this year by John Vaughan, and the whole outlook has been transformed by the long-awaited installation of a gas-fired heating plant. Thus, although the weather for most of the summer term was particularly cold and vile, we were able to start swimming much earlier than usual and then continue without the usual

interruptions due to the weather. The one lesson we learnt very early on is that swimmers emerging from warm water into a cold ambient temperature need to be wrapped up warm for the journey up to the school buildings and track suits and jerseys were the order of the day for all but a very few days in the term.

W e had a very successful term in the Survival and Life Saving departments, culminating in the winning of four R.LSS Bronze Medallions (by Richard Edwards, Robert Orr, John Coup-land and Ian Wil ley) and seven Intermediate awards. It is most unfortunate that owing to a change in the regulations we shall no longer be able to tackle the Bronze Medallion at Mount House. The age limit of 13 has now been raised to 14, and hitherto we have managed to weigh in with a few of these awards gained by leavers at the end of the summer term.

W e also had in the last week of the term a long afternoon of survival swimming, in the course of which Richard Edwards won the first Honours Award for this specialisation that we have ever won. It is clear that this award will have to replace the Bronze Medallion as the ultimate challenge in the future, and a challenge it is, for a number of other very competent swimmers failed to complete the first phase in the specified time, and it is clear that this is a considerable stumbling block. Several of them are young enough to try again next year, when I feel that they should be able to overcome the time problem.

On the same day, we won 16 Golds (more than in any other year), 5 silvers and ten Bronzes. Much of this success I attribute to warmer water, but there are still far too many candidates who tackle these survival awards with insufficient training and far too little determination. They are definitely not for the feeble or faint-hearted.

On the lighter side, we had a most enjoyable swimming gala on the last day of the term, and once again the family races for teams of two, three, four or what you will proved immensely popular and enormous fun.

Tie competitive side of the gala was won by the Hawks, whose set leader, Richard Edwards had set a fine example of dedication during the

term by his determination to achieve the double of a Bronze Medallion and an Honours Award. It was appropriate that we were able to persuade his mother, Mrs. John Edwards, to present the swimming trophies and thus engineer the first occasion on which Richard had ever shaken hands with his mother!

P.C.M.

BASEBALL BASEBALL

This game hasn't taken on inter-school status as yet—do other schools play baseball (softball really)?—but it has given a certain amount of pleasure (and a little anguish) to some thirty of the boys during the Summer term.

W e were able to have four days of games per week this summer as John Symons played a game on Tuesdays—my half day. The big snag with this was that his game and mine had rather different rules, which made Wednesday with me a readjustment.

Until well after half term it was noticed that Malcolm Mann was always on the winning side, although he only occasionally scored a run —though he did score two home-runs in one game—so he was one of the first to be chosen during pick-up; unfortunately this charisma did not last.

W e were much helped—and a little hindered —by Rowden Field being mowed throughout the term but occasionally, the allure of the stream and the damming thereof prevailed.

It is a very relaxed game. J.S.T.

GOLF & TENNIS GOLF & T E N N I S

These two minor sports have continued to flourish during the summer, golf under the aegis of Tavistock professional Tony Moore, tennis under the kindly eye of Mrs. Palmes, with some further help from Julian Allen and Michael Spiller. This trio of tennis coaches between them enabled us to take every match off Wolborough Hill in our annual meeting with them, thus reversing a situation which has prevailed for a

very long time. Congratulatons to Bruce St. Clair, tennis captain, and his valiant team.

The singles competition was won in fine style by Mark McElney in a hard-fought final against David Gimson.

The golf final produced an unprecedented situation when it transpired that it was to be played between the brothers Youngman— Rupert and Richard—both of whom play a great deal at home. The match was won by elder brother Rupert but not without a fight. This was a splendid climax to a season in which quite a lot of golf, good, bad and indifferent, had been played on our sporting nine hole course.

PROTEST

THE PATHFINDERS ADVANCE INTO THE EIGHTIES (Led by Philip Kearley)

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