Getting into the Christmas Spirit with a host of seasonal events
It was a real pleasure to be able to welcome our new chaplain this morning in the Cathedral. The
Revd Catherine Gledhorn told us all that she was delighted to be joining us and that she would enjoy
getting to know everyone. She will be coming to the Cathedral every Friday and speaking to the
Prep School every Tuesday morning and to the Pre-Prep every Thursday morning. She will be
available for pupils for pastoral support, spiritual exploration or just general chat and will be running
confirmation classes for those boys who wish to make a more formal commitment to the Church.
The late autumn sun streamed down on the Cathedral, bathing the Cotswold stone in the most
bewitching light, an utterly appropriate time to welcome her to our community. Her main job is to
be the Cathedral Succentor, the person who sings the services in the Cathedral and who helps to
organise the services that occur there. I am sure that you will all be able to meet her over the next
few weeks.
On Wednesday evening at 6.00 we are privileged to have been invited for a private tour of the Christ
Church Picture Gallery – it would be foolish to let this opportunity pass by. The Picture Gallery is the
oldest publicly-displayed collection of art in the country – significantly older than the National
Gallery for instance, and indeed the Louvre in Paris. It has some extremely important works of art
and has a drawing collection past compare. The incomparable Curator of the gallery, Dr Jacqueline
Thalmann will be showing us round. Not only is she extremely knowledgeable – we will all learn a
great deal - but she is immensely enthusiastic and engaging. On all previous tours we have been given access to some of the rarely displayed treasures of the collection – we have seen Leonardo sketches, Michelangelo drawings and newly discovered Boticellis – we really are in for a feast. I could not recommend the date more highly. Remarkably there are still one or two places available. I would urge you not to miss out and contact Mrs Messenger on messenger.m@cccs.org.uk. I hope to see you there.
Another unmissable event is to be held on Friday 5th December at the end of the school day when
we hold our annual light show. This is always an immensely enjoyable event, featuring seasonal food
and drinks, stalls, entertainment and this year, the return of the Form Christmas Tree display when
all forms will be asked to decorate their trees in different colours. It is all held in the dark and there is
a wonderful yuletide atmosphere. This event is jointly hosted by the School and the Parents’
Association. The Chair of the PA, Michael Crooks, has already put a great deal of work into the event.
We would be very grateful if parents would volunteer to help prepare and run stalls during the
course of the events. Obviously the more people who are involved, the less work there will be to do
on the part of any one individual. If you felt that you were able to help, do please get in touch with
either your class rep or with Michael directly - mjcrooks@gmail.com. Thank you so much.
While talking about major events this term, it’s probably also worth mentioning that the Michaelmas
Term ends with the School Carol Service which is in the Cathedral on the morning of Saturday 13th
December. Please therefore do not organise for anything else to happen at this time. The Carol
service is an unforgettable experience in so many ways – all three of our College choirs (Christ
Church, Worcester and Pembroke) will be singing, along with a number of other school choirs too.
There will be the traditional readings and of course the whole school will sing together some well-known carols. Do please come and feel free to bring any guests or relations – it will be a great pleasure to see you.
I went to read to Nursery this Wednesday. As they tend to, they listened to the well-known tales with
great attention. At the end of the final story, one of the children stood up and clapped. One by one
the others stood up and began to applaud too. I realised that I was receiving a standing ovation.
Then a girl whooped and, as you can imagine, many others followed suit. I knew, at that moment,
what it was to feel like a pop star …. I can’t wait to hear how my reading of Hairy Maclary at the Vets
will be received next week!
