The Birds of the Air

I sang and played in a beautiful concert last night - The Birds of the Air. I had a real mission to find some bird themed violin music other than The Lark Ascending, but in the end found a Sonata by Biber, which also had  cat and  frog movements; sadly omitted as they didn't fit the Avian theme, but maybe another time.... A nightingale, cuckoo, cock and hen and quail featured, and it was good fun to practise! I had a solo song too, Ravel's Trois Oiseaux de Paradis. We also sang a fantastic piece in Mediaeval French with bird sounds (Jannequin) which was amongst the most difficult things I've ever learnt, but well worth it!

Follow this link to listen to the concert: https://storage-eu.gmx.com/guest?path=Birds%20Concert%20from%20peter_smith%40gmx.co.uk&token=1EDA3A27C125E3A2&locale=en

Activities Week

The girls have been off timetable this penultimate week of term, and have been doing lots of exciting things - home (ice skating, watersports, Hampton Court Palace, 10 pin bowling, circus skills, dance/drama, cooking, craft) or away (Spain on a language trip, 2 activity holidays in Norfolk and Weymouth) The girls doing their Duke of Edinburgh Bronze award were camping and hiking on the North Downs). I was with them today meeting them at checkpoints so they didn't get lost! Perfect day for hiking, not too hot and a nice breeze. They all did really well with their map reading, and are enjoying the experience of cooking on a Trangia and sleeping under canvas, as luckily it hasn't rained - might be a whole different story if it had been wet!

The rest of the week, Jan and I have been running the Craft activities, making jewellery and corsages.

Those who were patient and neat got the best results!

                                           I made a couple of examples to start with

Marcia got the hang of it really speedily, and created this very pretty brooch and hair decoration combo to match her outfit.

Reconciliation and Peace

Last summer holidays on the Facing History seminar, I met lots of really interesting and philosophical people, including Candia, who works for St Ethelburga's, a centre for Reconciliation and Peace  in the City. St Ethelburga's is in Bishopsgate, and was bombed by the IRA in 1993, ironically just after the insurance wasn't renewed by the CofE as the church had survived for six hundred years, including the Great Fire and the Blitz. It's been rebuilt as its new incarnation to remember its past and to work with groups of people from all different faiths and cultures for unity and peace, and to build relationships across divisions. I had a meeting there this morning before school with Candia. She has been approached by a group of Cuban musicians, and we hope to organise some workshops at Notre Dame in the autumn, and they will perform at the church as well, as it has a varied programme of world music throughout the year.

The whole place has a wonderful calm atmosphere, even with the really noisy excavation and building work next door, and they have a beautiful garden for contemplation. Have a look: http://www.stethelburgas.org/

Busy week!

Phew! 6 big things happening this week! Dilys Wadman, the Director of Education for the Archdiocese of Southwark had a Retirement Mass in St George's Cathedral on Monday afternoon, and chose us from all the schools to provide the music - a huge honour and privilege, but a lot of work behind the scenes as well as on the day. All went well. In fact I was rather glad to be in the cool of the cathedral all day on the hottest day of the year, and not in my boiling attic classroom!
Then, that evening we had the Leavers' Dance on a party boat on the Thames - a lovely evening, and the girls all looked beautiful dressed formally. We invited the Year 11 boys from St Thomas the Apostle, (who spent as much time as the girls getting ready, I'm sure) and after an hour of looking at each other uncomfortably they got on well. Things don't change; our school discos 30 years ago were just the same!

Tuesday evening was the annual Summer Music Showcase, for girls to show their parents and friends what they have been doing in class and in their individual lessons, and this year it was a chance for those taking their Associated Board exams next week a chance to practise performing their pieces. A very successful evening.

Wednesday first thing we had Mass in the cathedral for the feast of SS Peter and Paul, and Thursday was a normal day inasmuch that most of us didn't go on strike.

Yesterday we had our Leavers' Graduation and Service in the cathedral; with very smartly dressed young ladies! I had crocheted 27 flowers as hair decorations (managed to find in my stash 27 different coloured wools!) for my form as a gift, together with a form photo we took at the beginning of the year.

                           Good luck 11L - see you in December for Prize Giving!

Cushion

I've finished Mairead's cushion. I hope she likes it and it matches with her pink and mauve sofa throw.

I used a mixture of suffolk puffs and crochet daisies - all upcycled, and the cover was made from white cotton I had already.

Theatre

I've had two super outings to the theatre in the last week! I went to see 'Blink Again' with Anthony at the Above the Stag theatre; a sequel to a show we saw last year. It's an evening of great songs from musicals that weren't successful on the stage in the West End or on Broadway. There were just 5 performers, and the space is tiny - like someone's sitting room. We had dinner beforehand at Wagamama, so it was a lovely way to relax after a day at School.

Teresa and I went to see The Railway Children at the old Eurostar terminal at Waterloo, actually on the platforms and the tracks, with a real 1906 steam train. A very strong cast, with Marcus Brigstocke as Mr Perks, complete with Yorkshire accent. Thoroughly enjoyed it, and yes, I did cry at the end, as I knew I would! Karol in my form was in the children's cast last year, but I didn't manage to see her. I'd wholeheartedly recommend it to anyone looking to see a show in town.

Yet more flowers

Jenny gave me a really nice swingy skirt she bought for herself and changed her mind about - I love it! I made her this little flower to say "Thankyou", and then made lots more to put on a cushion for Mairead as a housewarming pressie for her new flat. I'll show you when it's finished.