One might say that this weekend served as the calm before the storm. With Christmas descending rapidly and a huge number of festive celebrations ahead of us it was wise to unwind a little this weekend. Thus, after a refreshing lie-in , the boys and girls tumbled into the Froggatt Hall and polished off a magnificent full-English breakfast. After a short but punchy hymn practice the pupils raced off their letters home and tripped down the lane to the beautiful Bakewell church. The Rev Kaunhoven spoke gently about the passing of Advent and the need to see it as an exciting time of anticipation and yet also a time for reflection. I am sure much of this did sink in but soon after the service was over, the 5th year girls popped into the town to buy some sweets and the 5th year boys had to scurry back up the hill to don their outdoor wear ready for battle!
Yes, the boys really were readying themselves for war on an epic scale! Thanks to the Litchfields and Nolans the whole of Storrs-Fox was going out on the rampage at Wild Park in Brailsford. Boy did they get stuck in!
All manner of different games were played and bullets flew and lads dived for cover in a mad frenzy of attack and retreat! It was said that Mr Litchfield was devilishly accurate and peppered the boys at will. Nevertheless, Rufus L and Ollie N's acrobatics and sheer bravery were a sight to behold. Jacqui T was a tough campaigner too and withstood several bruising assaults. There were some heavy losses - Harry R-S saw a trainer disappear into the boggy mire that served as the playground that afternoon! Despite this sad casualty, the boys had an absolutely magnificent time of it and we are all very grateful to the Nolans and Litchfields for organising such a fabulous day out. It was all over too quickly so I have no doubt we will try to organise a re-match after the New Year. Well done to all the lads involved who behaved perfectly and impressed all the marshalls with their skills and their very polite and sportsmanlike approach - even when bullets were whistling overhead!.
Thus with the 5th year boys off site we were set for a quieter afternoon. The choristers headed off just before 3pm and arrived at Ashbourne church where they sang like angels and were very well received indeed. Back at base, it was time to get festive! Holly was hung, tinsel was untangled and lights were laid out throughout the girls' houses. The anticipation of Christmas was tangible and there was a really warm and expectant atmosphere in all the houses. All the girls were very keen to create the best displays before Mrs Northcott comes to judge them this week. Who will win the best decorated dorm prize? Watch this space!
Mrs Price also rewarded her girls with a long but leisurely walk followed by hot chocolate and a bun.
The boys got what they have been crying out for over the last few weeks - a day on site chilling out! They had a tremendous splash around in the pool and a good forty five minutes badminton followed by a monstorous game of ten-a-side football in the gymn. Needless to say, they left the sports hall hot and sweaty, having had a fabulous few hours burning off their roast lunch!
This was a cracking Sunday and a great deal was done but perhaps most importantly, everybody got a day away from the books to refresh and re-charge before the exciting run up to Christmas. Yes, the festive season has finally arrived!
Posted on
Sun, November 29, 2009
by RDM