Games Hockey 1467 Retrospect 1469 Public School Hockey 1469 Public School Seven-A-Side 1470 Cricket 1470 Boxing 1478 Tennis 1479 Commemoration P.T
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THE SHIRBURNI,AN· SHERBORNE : AT THE ABBEY PRESS VOL. XL. No. 32 SUMMER 1948 THE SHIRBURNIAN SUMMER 1948. VOL. XL. No. 32. CONTENTS Cairn Gorm Expedition, Easter 1948 Frontispiece 1 Broads Expedition, Easter 1948 Frontispiece 2 Editorial 1441 School News 1442 Events Commemoration 1948 1442 Julius Caesar 1443 The Guinea Pig 1444 The Abbey Fair 1445 New Venture Cairn Gorms Expedition, April 1948 1446 Snowdon Expedition 1447 Broadly Speaking 1448 Music Brahm's Requiem 1449 Organ Recital ... 1449 Subscription Concerts 1450 Art Exhibition 1451 Societies The Duffers 1452 The Alchemists 1452 The Interpretes 1452 Les Polyglottes ... 1453 The Wildman Society 1453 The Ornithological Society 1453 Entomologists ... 1454 Music Club 1454 The Model Aircraft Society 1454 Golf ... 1454 Literary Prize Poem-D. J.M. Cornwell 1455. Christopher Warren-First Prize 1456 Concerto 1457 European Holiday 1458 Insomnia 1459 "Arepo?" 1460 The Lilies 1461 Into the Past 1462 Fathers' Match ... 1462 The Open Road 1463 Colour Bar 1464 Julius Caesar Plate 3 " The Guinea Pig " ... Plate 4 Correspondence 1465 Balliol Players, " The Frog " 1466 . Sherbome House Letter 1466 Games Hockey 1467 Retrospect 1469 Public School Hockey 1469 Public School Seven-a-Side 1470 Cricket 1470 Boxing 1478 Tennis 1479 Commemoration P.T. and Gym Display 1479 · Fives and Squash 1480 Shooting 1481 Prizes 1482 O.S. News 1483 Valete 1484 THE S 1-1 IRB UR NIAN No. 32 SUMMER, 1948 VoL. XL EDITORIAL The outstanding feature of the Headmaster's report to the parents at Commemoration was the policy of change, cautious and well-chosen it may be, but none the less of change. Indeed, this term will be remembered for certain new enterprises Which were, on the whole, remarkably successful. !The Guinea Pig was a strange invasion on School routine, and yet, mainly through the good offices of their Public Relations department, they stole the hearts of the most confirmed conservatives: the Abbey Fair was, in part, a revival of a pre-war custom, but it was still a novelty to us, and, but for disappointing weather, we thoroughly enjoyed it. But these events, exciting as they were, can scarcely be described as changes. Of more importance were the experiments of the A.C.T. period and the New Venture, both of which have met with a certain amount of unmerited criticism. The objection to the first is purely animal; we have to wait a quarter of an hour longer for our lunch, and we cannot persuade our stomachs to rearrange them selves. The disparagement of the New Venture is more serious; the brilliantly "enlightened" critics, who, finding novelty incongruous, try to ridicule every novel enterprise, have sought to score off its initial misfortune. To them we reply that we may not have traditions as old or as individual as other schools, but they are well established. Change can come upon us, but, provided that no great tradition is lost, that change need not be evil. The endless daily repetition of the School Prayer was a pointless tradition, and the change was good when it was relegated to Sundays only : now it is at least on a footing with the other occasional prayers and makes a much fairer claim to our attention. There is, however, one change we should like to deprecate. Recently the seniors have seemed to get less and less leisure : no time to themselves. If they are not playing games, they are rushing to society meetings. This is even more true of the prefects, who have to organise and supervise games. Surely some thing must be done to give them time to pursue their hobbies : to bird-watch, to listen to music or-more important than any game-to read. A school should outwardly adapt itself to the age which it serves. This one believes in freedom of expression, individuality, herd psychology, etc. These things do not matter much compared with Sherbome itself, mere theories as they are, but if they can somehow be reconciled to our traditions, surely our "enlightened " critics are rather reactionary, rather absurd to condemn and discourage such change. The New Venture represents much of what is best in these theories, initiative and enterprise; why then pass it over with a careless jest, a mere wave of the hand, and a casual expression of" I told you so " ! * * * 1442 THE SHIRBURNIAN SCHOOL NEWS SCHOOL OFFICERS Head of the School J. F. CRAWFORD (d). School Prefects ... C. L. BERRISFORD (a). M. W. PAILTHORPE (h). G. E. HUMPHRIES (b). J. M. MAYBURY (d). J. G. McGOWAN (c). J. R. SANDFORD (c). R. BACON (f). M. s. CLARKE-JERVOISE (/). R. M. SKINNER (g). R. W. RENTOUL (g). B. S. DUNN (h). P. D. R. CARLILL (h). Editors of The Shirburnian C. L. BERRISFORD (a). J. F. CRAWFORD (d). G. H. HALLSMITH (b). Captain of Cricket M. W. PAILTHORPE (h). Swimming M. s. CLARKE-JERVOISE (/). Shooting J. R. SANDFORD (c). Sports R. M. SKINNER (g). Gym M. D. TOVEY (d). Tennis J. P. WIMBUSH (a). Fives and Squash F. W. BATSTONE (a). Prefect in Charge of the Survey J. G. McGOWAN (c). Chapel Prefect G. E. HUMPHRIES (b). We congratulate: MR. BARLOW on his appoinunent as Warden of Glenalmond : we wish him every success in his new job. MR. WALFORD on his selection to represent England at Hockey in the Olympic games. B. M. HAWKES on winning a scholarship to St. Catherine's College, Cambridge. J. C. BELFRAGE on winning a choral exhibition to Corpus Christi College, Cambridge·. We are also very sorry to be losing MR. ATTHILL and MR. HOLT at the end of this term. Our best wishes go with them. EVENTS COMMEMORATION 1948 The School reckons. itself extremely lucky this Commem. ; in spite of the masses of dark cloud which seemed to bear down on every function and the rain that divided event from event, not one single item on the programme had to be cancelled because of the weather. Friday afternoon was cold and theatened rain throughout the two hours of spectacle with which the School entertained its parents, yet all went well. The Drill Squad was on a level with, and probably exceeded, the high standard set last year, and more than justified the disappearance of the Marines from the Programme. If our drill lacks a little of the verve of the King's Squad, no one has, so far, dropped his rifle. The Band was as good as ever, but one wishes they would march as well as they play : the Gym Squad seemed to excel themselves and the novel Bren Squad were nothing if not military, providing an amusing diversion after what is, to parents, the tense excitement of watching a "flying angel." The Mass P.T. was no worse. than last year, and the ensemble effect is, no doubt, neglected in admiring the amazing con tortions of the Only Child, THE SHIRBURNIAN 1443 Saturday was a distinct success : after a moving service in- the Abbey, with a short address by the Bishop of Sherborne, those who could elbowed their way into the Prize Giving. The Head of the School started with a witty prologue written by D. J. Cornwell and was followed by the two Barnes' Elocutionists and the Prize Poet, a memorable occasion as being the first on which the winning poem has been written in Free Verse. But the climax of the morning, indeed of Commem. itself, came in the speech of Sir Norman Birkett, K.C., in which he spoke of the meaning of tradition. We cannot do justice to such eloquence, indeed we would not presume to criticise it, but it was a speech such as remains for ever in the memories of those who heard it. The O.S. Cricket Match resulted in a draw in their favour. There were a certain number of exhibitions, of Art, the Survey, the New Venture, Aeromodelling and Photography; though we felt that the latter was unwanted. If that was the best show of photographs that the School can produce, it were better not to exhibit them. But no record of Commein. would be complete without a mention of Julius Caesar, a production which seemed out standing even when compared with the usually high standard of School plays. In particular the clarity oft he diction and the ease with which the play was executed were generally praised : our thanks to those to whom we owe such entertainment. JULIUS CAESAR Julius Caesar is fundamentally a political play in the sense that it revolves around a theme central to all civilized communities, the disposal of a dictatorial government by honest idealism, and the aftermath to which that honest idealism is submitted through the means which it has adopted to secure its end. But the problem is also intensely personal. By murdering Caesar Brutus does an evil deed that good may come of it, but good no more comes of evil than roses grow on thistles, and it is this which Brutus slowly but steadily appreciates. The production of this play will therefore be successful as long as the characters are inter related to the problem which Shakespeare is seeking to resolve. Ifwe leave the performance feeling that we have witnessed a play, which is both from the standpoint of staging and acting, a dramatic unity, we may be well-satisfied. And let us say at once that the Commemoration production fulfilled these conditions with remarkable success and reflected the greatest possible credit on all concerned. There were,r of course, certain minor blemishes. Some of the characters, especially in the Thursday performance, spoke too fast, and in some cases good lines were lost through looseness of diction.