The TRUSTY SERVANT

The TRUSTY SERVANT N O .114 N OVEMBER 2012 The Headmaster writes: During the Olympic Games Winchester limits of our bodies, then we can call of spontaneous desire and the qualities of rejoiced in the winning of a bronze medal exercise a faithful friend and a contributor determination and commitment such as by George Nash (K, 2002-07) in the to our spiritual growth. are embodied in peoples’ approach to Men’s Pair on the lake at Eton-Dorney. playing games well. The human qualities underlying athletic On that day the flag flew proudly above activities are the same as those underlying Thus, soccer and basketball and cycling Outer Court! George stroked the VIII at spiritual life activities. Discipline, can be disciplines of the spiritual life, too, Winchester in 2007 and rowed in the dedication, enthusiasm and perseverance inasmuch as they help provide a character victorious Cambridge boat at the Boat are a few of those human qualities evident and personality with qualities that also Race last year. The School expects to in our playing of games. They are the same lend themselves to the spiritual life. have a strong VIII for Henley this year, Through skiing, rock-climbing, and white- and with a successful record in rackets and water rafting, we learn how to deal with cricket over recent years, I am prompted and overcome fear and anxiety. Through to reflect in a general way on the place of running, swimming, or rowing long sport in relation to ‘school spirit’ in a distances we develop endurance and will- school with Winchester’s moral and power and the ability to deal with intellectual priorities. boredom. Through golf one can practise In broad terms, Winchester’s educational intense concentration and subtle aim is to equip its pupils to live a good control. Team sports can teach us the life, that is to say a life worth living, a value of co-operation. life that is satisfying and a life that takes Discipline, freely chosen, fully a critical interest in what is going on in experienced, is essential if we are to do the world. Socrates and Plato understood anything well, including playing a game. ethics to be concerned with two areas, Meditation can be such a discipline, but namely right action and life’s greatest good. so can running; both prevent the world Ethics may be defined as the study of right from filling our lives to such an extent conduct and the good life. How does the that there is no place left to listen. concept of the good life relate to sport? It is Further, if an activity is good for the body, arguable that we are more fascinated by ones that will get us out of bed at dawn to it is also good for the spirit. Sports set in sport than at any time in our cultural meditate, or enable us to protect fifteen motion our mental faculties of attention, history, and that the concept of the good minutes a day for reflective study or observation, analysis, order, judgment and life has something to do with that reading a book of spiritual wisdom. The evaluation. We need all these qualities fascination. The values upon which spiritual person is the one who is interested finely honed if we are to live the good life. physical team games are based make them in and dedicated to the artful handling of As Socrates and Plato observed, no-one more than pleasant diversion and the world, the artful shaping of one’s self, with a sense of serious moral purpose can recreation. If exercise can help us blow off and the artful forming of a life into journey through life without them. angry steam, soothe jangled nerves, push something good. This artful fashioning of along bulky food, teach us to respect and life seldom results from coercion or The Olympics of London 2012 offered a co-operate with others, and smile at the regimentation. It is best achieved by virtue window on to the character of individuals 1 T HE T RUSTY S ERVANT and the values of nations. Watching the about his country is much nearer the some of the Latin teams; even the Games, or the World Cup or Test matches truth than the sophisticated cynic who incompetence of the games’ diplomats, is actually quite a serious business. The thinks there is nothing more to the their umpires and linesmen - all these figure slumped before the TV set with his business than eleven men running about seem to reflect something of the wider reservoir of lager or claret is not just getting sweaty. Fine football which world, while the contrasts in styles of play, hooked by the excitement of a demonstrates the Africans’ conviction from the elegant and exuberant to the competitive game but confronted with that by showing off their skill and dour and cynical, are signals to be picked the state of mankind - its politics, discipline they are drawing light to their up about national and racial cultures, tensions and driving forces as all-too-dark continent, destroying some characteristics. Winchester is proud of well as the exhibition of individual damaging clichés; the indifference of the George Nash. Britain and London qualities of character and temperament American people, self-absorbed and little showed up well in the Olympics. Socrates which emerge under pressure. concerned how the rest of the world lives; and Plato would smile. I the scent of political manipulation and The football fan who believes the way his financial corruption that hangs about team plays tells the world something John Surry (1928-2012) We are grateful to Tommy This wide versatility, this Cookson (I, 1955-60; Co Ro, mixture of the academic and 1964-65, 1967-72, 1974-90; the histrionic made him an Headmaster, 2003-05) for this outstanding schoolmaster. memoir of John Surry (Co Ro, He revelled in teaching, in 1953-84; Head of Modern the give-and-take of the div Languages, 1967-82). John room, in its potential for died on 24th March, 2012. humour and debate as well as for detailed analysis. He John Surry’s life was as varied did as much as twenty-four and accomplished outside his hours would let him: he ran time at Win Coll (1953- the RAF section of the 1984) as it was within it. He CCF; Film Society; 2nd X1 was Head Monitor at Soccer and Cricket; he Merchant Taylors’ (which entertained at parties, meant that he became a accompanied on the piano Liveryman and received the by his wife Marion - a Freedom of The City of particular hit was his and London); a Scholar at St Hubert Doggart’s version of John’s College, Oxford where You’re the Top ; he was House he got a First in French and Tutor in Hopper’s; and he German; a keen footballer appeared memorably and and cricketer; a lover of JRS in Meads, ‘home’ to his 2nd XI often quite unpredictably in dons’ music, cinema and theatre; and a fan of with the poetess, UA Fanthorpe) and a pantomimes. planes and flight which pre-dated his spell history of the Cinemas of Bridport; he was of National Service in the RAF. a member of the local cricket team, His outstanding contribution at treasurer and then umpire; he was village Winchester was as Head of Modern In retirement at the Dorset village of quizmaster, appeared in over 40 plays and Languages. It was a post he filled with Burton Bradstock his energy was entertained at local functions, in pubs and distinction. He was scholarly and staggering: he wrote two volumes of witty, festivals. His memorial service at Burton painstaking in all he did. His knowledge elegant poems (and regularly corresponded Bradstock was a sell-out. of foreign literature was the equal of 2 T HE T RUSTY S ERVANT anyone in that large and talented development of film. Compromise was though they could not be held responsible department. His careful administration, usually reached because Grace Kelly, for the lines the cast would actually speak. precise instructions in beautiful Marlon Brando and Humphrey Bogart This provided John with all the excuse he handwriting and (for absolute clarity) were often directed by people of whom needed: as early as the first scene, when different-coloured inks were a model for John approved. the ugly sisters were trying on their others to try to follow. Younger members dresses, he emerged from the wings to say The RAF section was the preferred option of Common Room walking home after a in a loud and horrified voice, ‘Keep it for those who wanted to fly and John’s Saturday night off would pass his study clean!’ and proceeded to warn the cast at connection with RAF Odiham where he window and see him behind his curtain in frequent, unscripted intervals throughout had done his National Service came in silhouette, bent over a set of exercise the performance. useful here. It was also a haven for those books. His neat and exhaustive who preferred a less military existence. He was a man of great talents and the corrections were legendary. But John made it useful by bringing in quiet energy required to use them. His He had as much time for people as for instructors in the principles of flight volume of cricket poems written in 1992 paper. Young members of the department which extended to simple instruction in to accompany the weekly payments to his found him encouraging, as ready to give the workings of a petrol engine and milkman, who opened the batting for the them Oxbridge teaching as sets in Junior culminated in the taking of Proficiency local team, evoke in an impressive range Part, as willing to learn from them as exams.

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