Boarders' Weekend 8th and 9th November

The weekend kicked off to a cracking start with the House matches on Saturday afternoon. Games were played with more than a little passion, as happens in civil war, and both the boys and girls played out of their skins to try to win one over on their pals.

Nelson triumphed and their namesake would have been proud of them as they dominated both the boys' rugby and girl's hockey competitions although Pitts finally squeezed home on the girls' hockey front - on goal difference. Access to the finery at the Christmas Fayre was an equally fiercely contested battle as a mass of parents and children elbowed each other out of the way to get their hands on some fantastic goods on offer. Thankfully there were no casualties.

So, this was a weekend which will not be forgotten in a hurry. Remember, remember the 5^th of November ….admittedly celebrated on the 8th at S. Anselm's! The bonfire was a massive structure and the groundsmen certainly did a better job than Guy Fawkes, fingers crossed that the cricket crease is repaired by the summer term! Burgers and sausages were munched and a fair amount of fine local brew was tucked away by the parents - no doubt for medicinal purposes to keep the cold at bay of course. All this combined with the fireworks and camp fire singing came together to make a magical family event which summed up all that is great about S. Anselm's.

That night the 5th form boys got up to some acrobatics - just for the website!

The next morning after a fine breakfast of ham and eggs, we welcomed the delightful Adam Warton, Housemaster at Malvern, and his wife. After some swift letters home Mr Warton spoke to the congregation about the importance of not forgetting those who put others before themselves to make the greatest sacrifice. He also put some of the parents' brain cells through their paces too!

Then it was time for some fun. Mr Northcott pretended he was doing some additional work to support the boarding community and took a group to see the new Bond film (something he has been gagging to see since it came out!).

Then an equally intrepid group went up to Castleton and straight into the "Devils' Arse".

Once Mr Mace had stopped sniggering at the name of these giant caverns we were subjected to a fantastic tour by Richard who took us deep underground underneath some 350 million year old limestone. 35 foot long stalactites (tights go down) hung from the ceilings way above us but we all came out alive and had a fabulous hot chocolate (plus marshmallows) and a slab of cake.

The Chapel Choir put the rest of us to shame and was engaged in something far more serious - singing Faure's 'Requiem' in Bakewell Parish Church, wowing an audience as they performed beautifully. There was also some pottery, five-a-side football, meccano, boardgames and so on and so forth. Phew!