rsma newsletter
Newsletter of the Retired Senior Members' Association of Homerton College, Cambridge. June 2014
RSMs start reading Geoff Ward's welcome
Goodbye to Frank and Eileen Diary of a Victorian undergraduate
A word from the Editor
RSMA Committee: Chair:
John Axon
Secretary:
Charlotte Jenner
Treasurer:
Stephen Grounds
S
Events and visits coordinator:
ince the last issue, the RSMs gave Kate Pretty a good send off to her new life in Fife, with a luncheon where she was ushered in by the Eriskay Love Lilt, performed by Emeritus. I’m just hoping Mr Salmond hasn’t plans to rebuild the wall and that we will be seeing her again soon.
Pauline Curtis
Almonry: Judy Barham
We welcome Professor Geoff Ward as the new Principal. Geoff has very kindly offered to meet us annually at one of our Michaelmas Term coffee mornings and write an annual piece for the newsletter. His first appears in this issue. I’m delighted about this as it gives those who cannot attend the Michaelmas Term talk an opportunity to really understand how Homerton is progressing. Above all, it’s a most encouraging indication of the close relationship between the RSMA and the current college leadership.
Newsletter editor: Philip Rundall
Contributors:
John Axon, Mike Bibby, John Murrell, Geoff Ward, Sue Macklin, Pat Cooper, Elizabeth Edwards, Margaret Whitehead, Jennifer Kerrison, Philip Rundall.
There’s another departure I should mention and that is of John Murrell, who has stepped down as Chair of the RSMA Committee. It was John who persuaded me to join the Committee and I have to say that I’ve enjoyed it immensely and this is largely due to his sense of humour and sound guidance. Finding a replacement wasn’t easy, but in the end we found our fourth John in a row - John Axon. John IV has settled into the role splendidly and his first Chair’s Report appears in this issue. Trish Maude, who has been a tireless Secretary, has also stepped down, with Charlotte Jenner as her replacement. Charlotte’s skills and up to date knowledge of college affairs is of immense value.
Design and layout: Patti Rundall
Please email articles in plain text or Word with illustrations to: Philip Rundall, 34 Blinco Grove, CB1 7TS. Tel:01223 240483 philipjohnrundall@gmail.com
The series of trips to the St John’s, Pepys and Wren libraries, organized by Pauline Curtis, were highlights for both me and Patti. At each we were given first rate talks by the librarians who also put out special displays. Since visiting the Pepys Library and reading Claire Tomalin’s Samuel Pepys The Unequalled Self I discovered that the brother of one of my ancestors, the second Earl of Anglesey, paid £23 to pack up the library after Pepys’s death, remove it from Clapham to London and then paid a further £18 to take it up to Cambridge. Anglesey also provided enough to pay the library keeper ‘£10 per annum for ever’. Next time I visit, I hope to bump into the present keeper and you can guess what I’ll be asking her....
Cover: Dorothy Richardson
and Janet Scott on the RSMA visit to St John's Library, 31st May, 2013. Photo: Patti Rundall
We apologise for the lateness of this issue, but hope you will enjoy the wide selection of stories. Read on! Philip Rundall
CONTENTS Chairman's letter by John Axon
3
Scott Polar by John Murrell
4
Principal's welcome by Geoff Ward
Charter Bursary by Jennifer Kerrison
5 6-7
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Diary of a Victorian undergraduate by Sue Macklin
8-11
Eileen Alexander by Margaret Whitehead
12-13
EU tackles junk food sponsorship in schools by Patti Rundall 13 Frank Whitford by Mike Bibby
14
Loose Talk by John Murrell Academy of Bluegrass by Philip Rundall Emeritus by Elizabeth Edwards and Patricia Cooper
15 16-17 18-19
RSMs visit the Pepys, Wren and St John's Libraries 20
Chairman's letter by John Axon
E
aster and April have contrary characteristics. Chaucer rejoiced in April as the month of sweet showers which bring the drought of March to an end and make possible the Spring flowers, the first crops and the song of birds. So exhilarating was it that “Than longen folk to goon on pilgrimages” to give thanks for whatever blessings they had received during the cruel winter months. On the other hand, T.S.Eliot felt that “April is the cruellest month” because that life promise might yet be blighted by frost, of whatever kind. This duality has long been a feature of the progress of teacher education. As far as I can recall every year has been a pivotal year, when crucial decisions had to be made about a future which looked decidedly insecure. This has been particularly true in Homerton where on many occasions the future looked bleak not because of the College but because of the shifts and changes in national educational policy. I had been in post in 1981 for just one week when the THES announced the certain end of the BEd degree. It was headed by photographs of two of the country’s foremost Colleges potentially at risk: Homerton was one of them. At that time, thirty years ago, Alison Shrubsole was skilfully negotiating the College’s relationship with the University, almost on a daily basis. National policy
had begun to identify the PGCE as the preferred route for secondary teachers and the BEd degree the route for primary teachers. At that time it was a delicate issue within the University but somehow she guided the College through it all without obvious incident. I can hardly imagine what her reaction would be to the news that as part of the largest expansion in the University’s history, on the north west of the city, there is to be a University Primary School at its centre. The new University Training School will be a three-formentry school, eventually accommodate six hundred and thirty children from the ages of four to eleven, and will be closely linked to the University’s Faculty of Education, in partnership with local schools. It was announced in the Press as “the first University Training School at Primary level.” Last summer College members bade a sad farewell to Kate Pretty who had managed to negotiate the College’s long and at times tortuous journey into full integration with the University. The Charter celebrations in 2012 were a testament to her vision, skill and tenacity; it would have delighted Alison as much as it did the rest of the College community. It was the completion of that long pilgrimage from Alison, to Alan Bamford and finally to Kate Pretty. At the RSM luncheon skilfully organised
by John Murrell and the RSM Committee sadness at her leaving combined with thanks for all she had achieved gave the occasion an almost tangible poignancy. In October we were delighted when Homerton’s new Principal, Prof. Geoff Ward, met the RSMs on the first coffee morning of the year. To hear his short but positive account of his vision of the future of the College was a privilege. Starting with a few observations on Cambridge’s global preeminence as a University, he related Homerton’s past core values as a high quality teacher training college to the future expansion of biomedical research and the related scientific disciplines around the Addenbrooke’s burgeoning Hospital site. This time Homerton’s geographical location and its ethos in education are valuable assets which will be integral to future developments now planned by the University. A new pilgrimage is now to begin or, to put it in a metaphor perhaps more appropriate to this generation: the genetic history of the old College will still be in the genes of the new Homerton. It is good that through the RSMA all retired members can still have some part in that future. In a rare metaphor Jane Austen once commented on "the wonderful velocity of thought” and that irrelevant thought brings me back to the RSMA. There are now
almost ninety members in the RSMA, of whom about a third live in and around Cambridge and take an active part in the life of the Association. Sadly, two former colleagues have died: Eileen Alexander and Frank Whitford, but four new members have joined the Association: Libby Jared, Dhiru Kharia, Anne Thwaites and Peter Warner. As you will know, last October John Murrell and Trish Maude retired from the Executive Committee; Charlie Jenner took over as Secretary and I became Chair of the Association. Fortunately four of the original members remain with us: Judy Barham, Pauline Curtis, Stephen Grounds and Philip Rundall. The Book Club, the Emeritus Choir, the monthly Coffee Mornings, the termly Presentations and the vital Almonry work all go on as previously. In addition there is a thriving new phase of visits to Cambridge college Libraries. The first three, to the St.John’s Old Library, the Magdalene Pepys Library and the Trinity Wren Library were extremely popular, and more are planned. We now need to reflect on how the changes in the College will affect us. How to continue the work of our predecessors and to review our future as part of the evolving Homerton. The AGM will be a good opportunity for comment and advice from all our members.
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Scott Polar by John Murrell
T
he Scott Polar Research Institute is a monument to one of the great British seconds. It is well known that the Norwegian explorer, Roald Amundsen (above left) was the first man to reach the South Pole, or, more correctly, the small group of men he led were. Captain Robert Falcon Scott’s expedition party were second. Having suffered the immense disappointment of arriving at the Pole only to find the Norwegian flag flying and a letter from Amundsen to Scott asking him to return the flag to the King of Norway, Scott’s demoralised party then faced the task of a journey back in the most awful weather conditions. That journey was never completed and the weather took its terrible toll. Scott and two remaining companions died together only 11 miles from the food store, which might have saved their lives. The date is not known but Scott's last diary entry is 29th March 1912. The British seem to have a special ability to turn disaster into something inspiringly glorious. As with the retreat from Dunkirk nearly three decades later, Scott’s ‘failure’ became a valid reason to celebrate that courage and resilience, which exemplifies that “grace under pressure”, which was Ernest Hemingway’s answer to Dorothy Parker’s question “What do you mean by Guts?” When in 1985 ITV, a commercial competitor of the BBC made a mini-TV series
about Scott’s expedition, called ‘The Last Place on Earth’, they chose to portray him as an authoritarian, aloof from his team, who made a number of disastrous errors of leadership. It is possible this may have been so. It is more likely that since the protests from Scott’s family could be easily dismissed and it was an age of iconoclasm and revisionist history, the decision was based on the need to make the series ‘sexy’ (advertising jargon for controversial) and more popular. The script is based on a book by Roland Huntford, the Scandinavian Correspondent for an English newspaper, who has made a reputation as a debunker of the Scott ‘myth’. One example of this is the portrayal in the TV programme of one of the most memorable quotes to emerge from Scott’s failed mission. Captain Oats, suffering from the most severe frostbite and exhaustion, chose to leave the shelter of the tent and go into in a fierce blizzard, with probably the most famous English understatement of all time: “I am just stepping outside and I may be some time” An act which was the epitome of self sacrifice, leading Scott to record it in his diary, and to add “…. though we tried to dissuade him, we knew it was the act of a brave man and an English gentleman.” In the ITV series the actor’s words were changed to “Call of nature”. This was insulting, not only to Oates, by suggesting he may not have intended to sacrifice himself,
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but also to his comrades, who fully appreciated the meaning of his last words. So, what is the American link? In this case a tenuous one perhaps, but worth noting for its significance in the effect it had on history. When Scott and his party set off in1910, Amundsen had no intention of going for the South Pole. His initial plans had focussed on the Arctic and his ambition was the conquest of the North Pole by means of an extended drift in an icebound ship. Even when his expedition set sail for the Antarctic the members of his expedition party were under the impression that that the North Pole was their goal. Amundsen, however, had heard the news that Frederick Cook, a medical doctor from New York had lodged the claim that he and two Innuits had accomplished this feat and so he secretly changed his plans. There is no small degree of irony in the fact that Cook’s claim and even the later claim by another American, Robert Pearson that he and an AfricanAmerican friend had done so, were not accepted. The first group to reach the North Pole on foot was a led by the English - born Sir Walter ‘Wally’ Herbert in 1969.
of two remarkable explorers, to accept that if that were true, both men achieved their aim. They may still have perished on the way back, but perhaps one reason Scott was behind Amundsen in reaching the Pole was that he didn’t see it as a race in the true sense of the word. He was aware of Amundsen’s intentions and he certainly wanted to have the glory of being the first to reach the South Pole, but the purpose of his expedition and its source of finance was based in scientific and geographical research. This central aim continued to the very tragic end. When the bodies were finally found they were with 401 animal specimens new to science and 16 kg of rock samples, including a fern, which paved the way to the ‘supercontinent’ theory that India, S Africa and Australasia were connected. This research led to the establishment, first of the small Scott Polar Research Institute in 1934. The inscription above the door is "Quaesivit arcana poli videt dei", which translates as "He sought the secret of the Arctic Pole but found the hidden face of God". This was followed by the larger British Antarctic Survey being based in Cambridge. The BAS has been responsible for the majority of British research Postscipt in Antarctica for the past 60 Huntford has said years. It identified the hole in “Amundsen wanted to get to the ozone layer in 1985. The the Pole, but Scott wanted to race to solve that problem is be a hero”. Perhaps it would definitely on and no one will be best, rather than create mind if a Norwegian is the first antipathy between the memory to do so.
The Principal's message by Prof Geoff Ward
I
have been in post as Principal of Homerton for five months now, and there is plenty on which to report. I hope you will agree with me that the developments which I describe below will help in different ways, but also in combination, to enhance the academic reputation and financial security of the College. You may well have read in the press or seen on regional TV the news about Homerton Business Centre. Cambridge City Council have given planning permission for this £60 million development, which will put to beneficial use the 3-acre site purchased in 2011 (the land value of which has of course risen since). This site, which borders Purbeck Road, Harrison Drive and the railway line, will be home to a mixture of commercial and other activity, including 90 residential units. This will allow us to attract and accommodate academics from Cambridge and elsewhere together with their families. It will also release an annual return which we can utilise for student bursaries and scholarships. It will benefit the City of Cambridge by taking a little pressure off local housing, and by supplying a more aesthetically appealing approach to Cambridge as seen from a train window. And, of course, HBC will help secure our endowment. This news has attracted
congratulations and favourable comment from other Colleges, not all of whom are in a position to contemplate anything similar. We have elbow-room here on Hills Road, which others do not. The many cranes moving overhead and compounds on the ground show clearly that South Cambridge is becoming a fantastic growthpoint for the University. A University Technical College (UTC) with a £10m investment will shortly open on Long Road to supply education with a scientific tilt to 14-19 year olds. This is just one of many new but related projects. When the investment of pharmaceutical giant AstraZeneca (who are moving their world HQ here) is added to the internal investment in Addenbrooke’s, that investment comes to half a billion pounds, and will result in the biggest biomedical campus in Europe. Since becoming Principal I have made sure that Homerton is part of these plans and the discussions around them. While I am not given to counting unhatched chickens, I can say with growing confidence that Homerton will admit its first undergraduates to read Medicine in two years’ time. I can say with certainty that we will admit Academic Clinical Fellows and Academic Clinical Lecturers in Medicine later this year, and that discussions about importing talent from other tiers of the medical hierarchy
are progressing. To move in this direction makes moral, educational and geographical sense, given that we are by far the closest college to Addenbrooke’s. I believe too that it would have the blessing of our predecessors, because inclusivity, training for the professions and working to the good of all are in the Homerton DNA. I promised to deliver an Academic Strategy to the Governing Body by Christmas 2013, and am pleased to report that this was passed without amendment. The strategy is for planned, modest growth. Along with expansion into Medicine, we are budgeting for extra investment in subject areas where we already have significant strengths. An example is Engineering, where our researchers are doing cutting edge work, notably but not solely in Bioengineering. In other subjects, extra investment is required because too much responsibility falls currently on the shoulders of one conscientious Fellow, leaving us vulnerable in terms of staff movement or illness. An Estates Strategy flowing from the Academic Strategy is still undergoing discussion and refinement. There will certainly be a new Porter’s Lodge area, which will come out towards Hills Road and make a more emphatic architectural statement about our identity as a College. In any case the current Lodge cannot cope with the
rising number of parcels delivered following internet purchases, and the Library needs more space to house special collections, including a recent donation which will require around 120 metres of new shelving. We lack an exhibition space and may be able to hit a number of targets here with one extension. I am pleased to say that the College is now home to Poetry By Heart, a national competition for young people reciting poems from memory, and that it will soon (thanks to Sir Andrew Motion) be home to the National Poetry Archive, the world’s largest digital repository of celebrated poets reading from their work. The presence of these resources on campus will enrich the experience of those students reading English, and our specialists and graduate students from around the world who come to Homerton as a centre par excellence for the study of Children’s Literature. Now that I have met pretty much the entire Fellowship for a one-to-one, I feel confident in saying that we have an excellent base from which to move in a positive direction. The mood in College is good, and this is underpinned by a sense that we are all – Fellows, students, staff – on the same side in wanting the best for what is Cambridge University’s largest and newest college. continued on Page 6
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Charter Bursary: Forest School by Jennifer Kerrison
continued from page 5 Little did I realize when accepting the post of Principal that five months later I would be wearing a false beard and wizard’s hat as Albus Dumbledore, hurriedly writing a comic skit on a napkin in the Harry Potter Formal Hall Dinner, after the owls, the evening’s star turn, got stuck on the A14. But this is a great college, and one that knows how to enjoy itself as well as how to work hard. The hard work that my colleagues and that our students put in is paying off, and while the external environment is still one of economic uncertainty, the outlook from Cambridge, and from Homerton in particular, looks bright. I look forward to relaying more positive news in due course. Prof Geoff Ward.
H
aving received the Homerton RSMA Charter Bursary, I was able to spend the summer between completing my undergraduate finals and starting my Primary PGCE helping in the early development stages of a new Forest School venture in Norfolk. My role as a volunteer was beneficial not only for the Forest School and its developers, but I believe has played a role in preparing me for my future career in the education sector, both in terms of my classroom performance, as well as in my goal to one day take on a management role in schools. Nurture by Nature Forest School is based in Attleborough, Norfolk; it is a large site set in woodland with vast and diverse flora and fauna. The school was established earlier in 2013, and thus far has focused on providing individual SEND support for high schools in the area, as well as providing tailor-built school trips and educational birthday parties. Although interest in the Forest School has been growing in the local area on a daily basis, the teaching team when I joined in the summer was still very small, consisting of Hannah (Forest School Leader), Neil (an arborist), and myself. Every day at the school involved new experiences and the need to adapt to this new outdoor environment; no one was more surprised than myself
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at how I adapted from a ‘city girl’ to ‘forest school leader’! I was given a large amount of responsibility at the school and my role was threefold; I worked as a teacher, developer and advisor. Primarily, I volunteered as a Forest School teacher, helping with the primary school day visits and the school’s Summer Activity programme. The latter was a four week course in archery, bushcraft and drumming that was funded by the charity Momentum (Norfolk) to provide a free summer activity programme for 12-19 year olds in Norfolk (the majority of whom have had difficulties in mainstream schooling or at home). Secondly, I played a crucial role in the development and marketing of the Forest School. I raised its profile and presence in the Norfolk Educational Market by managing and establishing twitter and facebook accounts, as well as developing posters and advertising for the Summer Camp. Moreover, I played a key role in making contact with other local Youth Services and I initiated the completed involvement of some participants from the Forest School Summer Programme in the Bernard Matthews Norfolk Youth Awards. Finally, I was an advisor to the management team, contributing to the development of their ideas and plans for future projects at the school.
Having spent a summer volunteering at the Forest School and having seen the benefits of Forest School education, I believe that my experiences have benefitted me in numerous ways and have helped to prepare me for my own future teaching career. It has encouraged me to reflect on how I will manage my own classroom; specifically how I will promote positive social behaviour and the development of children who find it difficult to cope and learn in a formal classroom environment. Furthermore, I have extended my repertoire of activities that I can incorporate into my lesson plans, I have broadened my own general knowledge of nature, and am now excited by the prospect of taking my own classes to the Woodland for lessons or trips in the future. Moreover, given that I hope to become involved in school management in the future, my work at the school has given me an insight into the marketing and development aspects of schools. However, perhaps most importantly, the experience has given me more confidence in my own teaching abilities and involved working with a much wider range of school ages than previously. The money from this bursary has allowed me to make a far more significant time commitment to helping at the Forest School. The school is located 45 minutes
from my house, so was used to pay for petrol money, as well as a few equipment items that I needed for working in the Forest. When not working at the Forest School, I spent my summer earning money to help fund my PGCE next year; if I had not have received this bursary, I would not have been in a position to make the financial commitment to travel to the school so often. I am now a true convert to the Forest School education, and I am certain that I will continue to volunteer and have a vested interest in this particular Forest School in the future. I believe that my experiences and wider outlook on alternative education provisions will ensure that my own classroom is a dynamic ; one in which the National Curriculum is followed, but with enthusiasm, spirit and a more childcentered focus. B.F. Skinner once postulated, “education is what survives when what has been learnt has been forgotten�; a notion that I will always remember throughout my career. I will aim not to forget the importance of developing the whole child under the reams and reams of paperwork and lesson plans that I will have as a teacher, and always try to maintain elements of that which I have learnt in the Forest School in my own classroom.
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Four years at Cambridge: the Diary of a Victorian undergraduate by Sue Macklin
H
erbert Walter Macklin (18661917), clergyman, writer, and founder of the Monumental Brass Society (MBS) was my grandfather, though I never knew him as he died a quarter of a century before I was born. From the ages of 16 to 28, he kept a diary which it has been my great good fortune to inherit and from which I have learnt a great deal about him, his family and friends, and his four years at Cambridge. It’s a most entertaining read and my grandfather comes across as an observant, sometimes eccentric, very likeable and hugely energetic young man. He was born and grew up in Tooting, south London and was educated first at a small prep school in Hastings and from 1880-85 at Cranbrook School in Kent, before coming up to St John’s College Cambridge in October 1885 to read Theology, his education being paid for by a rich uncle. His only sister Helen, two years older than her brother and much cleverer, read Classics at Girton from1883-6. The photograph of them both in academic caps and gowns was taken after Helen’s M.A. degree ceremony in London on 11th May 1887 (Cambridge then refusing to grant
graduate status to women). ≈
Herbert graduated in 1888, and spent the following year training for the priesthood at the newly established Cambridge Clergy Training School (CCTS) – known since 1901 as Westcott House. He was ordained in December 1889 and spent the next four years as a curate in the West Country. In 1894, following his marriage, he moved to Huntingdonshire where, for three years, he was curate in charge of the small parish of Pidley, before being granted the St John’s College living of Houghton Conquest in Bedfordshire in 1897. Here he spent the rest of his life as a busy country parson, as the father of five boys, and as one of the country’s leading experts on medieval monumental brasses. He had founded the MBS in his second undergraduate year, served on its first committee until he left Cambridge and was later elected as its 3rd President (1903-14). He also wrote two books on brasses, ‘Monumental Brasses’, a popular beginners’ guide written at Cambridge and published in 1890, and his major work, ‘The Brasses of England’ published in 1907. Herbert’s health had never been good and in early middle age he contracted TB which, in 1914, forced him to retire from parish work. He died three years later, at the age of 50 in January 1917, and is buried in the churchyard of All Saints Church, Houghton Conquest. Herbert arrived in Cambridge on 1st October 1885, in great excitement and some trepidation. His first impressions were ‘ . . . far too manifold to record, but St John’s is a splendid college, and my rooms in the New Court superlatively comfortable . . . to get to them I have to come through three other courts, and across the “Bridge of Sighs”. It seemed so odd to have to go to dinner in Hall in my cap and gown . . .’ Initially there Herbert and Helen Macklin, May 1887
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Above: Sue by her Grandfather’s grave at Houghton Conquest.
were hurdles to be crossed, in the form of pre-matriculation exams in which he feared being ‘plucked’ [i.e. failed]. He passed however, and on 21st October, went through ‘. . . the solemn rite of matriculation . . . we marched in a body up Trinity Street to the Senatehouse, where we all inscribed our names in a big book . . . and now we are matriculated students of the University. We can’t however discover any very great difference in our condition’. Throughout that first Michaelmas Term, Herbert revelled in a variety of new experiences: he explored the town, its churches, the Colleges and their chapels; attended his first lectures, made many new friends, visited his sister at Girton, went running with the University Hare & Hounds Club, and embarked as often as possible for a recreational row on the Cam.
A page from Herbert’s diary, 28th Oct. 1885
He also witnessed rioting in the market square between Town and Gown on Guy Fawkes night on the 5th, and on Election night on the 24th of November, and went several times to the (now demolished) Theatre Royal where, at the end of that first term he saw the ‘Eumenides’ in Greek, a production
remarkable not only for its innovative stage design but also for the appearance of a Girton undergraduate, Janet Case, as Athena, at a time when the University did not allow women to appear on the Cambridge stage (it was not until 1950 that a girl again appeared in a University Greek play). ‘Tues. 1st Dec: ‘. . . off to the Theatre Royal to see the Eumenides. The play was magnificent, and I never enjoyed anything more in my life . . . when it was over the clapping and cheering were terrific. No one left their seat for a full quarter of an hour, shouting for Athena at the top of their voices. The curtain was pulled up over and over again, but no Athena was to be seen, and of course we didn’t leave off shouting. She never appeared at all; I expect it was all through that wretched ‘Ladies committee’, but it was a great shame.’ Herbert was fortunate to be at Cambridge in the late 1880s as the second half of the nineteenth century had seen important changes in the University: among many developments undergraduate numbers greatly increased with students coming from a wider range of social background, dissenters were admitted, Fellows no longer had to be celibate, several new Triposes were introduced, and two women’s colleges, Girton, in 1869 and Newnham, in 1872 were established. The Regius Professor of Divinity in
Herbert’s time was Canon Brooke Foss Westcott, the widely respected New Testament scholar who had been instrumental in drawing up the new Theological Tripos, introduced in 1871, and in the founding of the CCTS in 1881. Westcott, with several of his eminent contemporaries such as Rev. F.J. Hort, and Rev. F.H. Chase, the first Principal of the CCTS, and church historian H.M. Gwatkin of St John’s College, were the inspirational teachers whose lectures Herbert attended regularly, though he gives little detail about them apart from commenting sometimes on other undergraduates behaviour: ‘I think the fellows behave worse and worse at Westcott’s lectures, it is perfectly abominable. Today one man at the back called out “encore” after one of his long quotations, and another, “time”, just at the end’ (6th February 1886). Herbert was more diligent and respectful, perhaps because he was always afraid of failure, and dreaded exams, especially the Tripos: ‘Feel limp, & don’t know how on earth I shall get through the next week before the Tripos begins. To have it over and done with is my only wish.’ (20th May 1888). It was therefore much to his relief that, when he went to the Senate House on 16th June to hear the lists read out, he learnt he’d passed: ‘In the Theological, - First Class, Waddington of Emmanuel
St John’s College Theological Group 1888 Herbert (standing centre back) among fellow candidates for the Tripos, with their College lecturers, seated in the second row (from left to right Rev F. Watson, H.M. Gwatkin, M.A., Rev W.B. Cox, M.A.and Rev G.H. Whitaker, M.A.)
alone. Second – eight names . . . Third class a big one of 27 names . . . in fact all the rest of us except Cleminson (Allowed the ordinary) and – alas – poor AB, who is hopelessly ploughed.' In addition to academic work, much of Herbert’s time at Cambridge was also spent acquiring the pastoral skills of a clergyman. His postgraduate year at the CCTS included lectures on subjects such as sermon composition and pastoral theology, but its emphasis was very much on the practical preparation of a parson. Students were supervised for this by Mr Perry, the vicar of Chesterton and his curate, and were assigned tasks such as district visiting, assisting at services in the Romsey new town area and Sunday school teaching. Herbert recounts these experiences in his diary
and he clearly found some more fun than others: ‘Sun. 20th January, 1889 All my class were at school . . . they behaved fairly well, though Tyrell, whom I rather like, got a wicked fit on which brought him and Ghent, the ear-ringed butcher boy, into trouble at church’, and, later that term on Sunday 3rd March, ‘At Sunday School I asked my boys what Lent reminded them of, and they all promptly replied “the Lent races”. Herbert also acquired further valuable practical experience through volunteering to work in vacations at the St John’s College Mission in Walworth, a small, densely-populated south London parish where he encountered the problems of London’s poorest people, many of whom were unemployed, sick and living in overcrowded buildings.
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While the diary is interesting for what it reveals of Herbert’s degree course and his practical clergy training, its real fascination for me lies in his enthusiastic accounts of his extra-curricular life. He was a very sociable young man with many interests and, like so many others before and since, devoted the greater part of his time at Cambridge to recreational, social and sporting activities, and it is his lengthy accounts of these which take up most space in his diary. What is abundantly clear is that he was someone with a compulsive need for fresh air and daily outdoor exercise – cross-country running, long distance walking and rowing were what he enjoyed most. He ran regularly with the University Hare and Hounds Club (CUH&HC) throughout his four years, competing in home and away matches against their chief rivals, the Oxford Hare and Hounds Club and the Thames Harriers, and was delighted to be appointed club secretary in his last year. He frequently hired a boat to row up river to Granchester or down to Baitsbite Lock; and on two occasions (at the end of his third and fourth years) embarked on longer rowing adventures with friends, hiring a large boat, stowing rugs and provisions and spending several days exploring the River Ouse from Cambridge to Bedford and beyond. He never missed
the Bumps, and although he could not row competitively himself, he was always out on the towpath, wooden rattle in hand, to run alongside the racing eights in noisy support of the Lady Margaret Boat Club. His evenings, while physically less exhausting were also strenuous: he served on several University and College committees as either secretary or treasurer, including those of the fledgling MBS, the CUH&HC, and the St John’s College Mission Society – for the latter spending many hours fund raising in Cambridge for the building of a new church for the Mission in Walworth. On top of all this, Herbert found time to relax occasionally and join his friends for some light-hearted fun and laughter. Always a keen theatre-goer, he enjoyed many evenings at the Theatre Royal where popular comedy and musical entertainment as well as more serious drama all appealed to him. Members of the Frank Benson theatre company were regular visitors to Cambridge and their productions almost always met with Herbert’s hearty approval – with one notable disappointment: ‘I did not like Macbeth at all, at least not as understood by Benson & Company . . . Benson did his best as Macbeth, but the part was too much for him . . . Some of the other characters were quite ridiculous, and the witches . . . did a good deal of choric singing. The
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audience got decidedly merry towards the end, especially at the thunder and lightning, which was plentiful, at Menteith’s silver tights, which were inexpressible, and Macduff’s army, which was comic.’(29th Jan 1886) It was undoubtedly with his closest friends, his fellow ‘Stormy Petrels’, that Herbert found his most complete relaxation. They were a group of twelve St John’s undergraduates who got together in their first year, initially as ‘The Shakespeare Reading Society’, a name they soon changed when their play-readings degenerated into rowdy horseplay. The ‘Petrels’ met weekly in their college rooms for evenings of lively, often noisy and mostly harmless fun, though sometimes causing a minor disturbance ‘Petrels met in my rooms for “Sorcery, Witchcraft, and Slow Music”. D’Albuquerque was Sorcerer, & managed very well, though he nearly started a general conflagration by upsetting a pan of burning methylated spirit on to my carpet. He also nearly stifled us with red and green fire. We had laid in some fireworks to finish up with, and Bigg started the ball by letting off a cracker in my gyp room. The effect was lively and sulphurous. The night was rainy, but that by no means prevented a glorious discharge of Roman candles from the staircase windows. Crackers also on the staircases and in the cloisters speedily brought
Hill the tutor & the porter to the scene of the action.’ (5th November 1887). Above all however, it’s Herbert’s descriptions of his ‘jolly brassing expeditions’ which give his diary its unique character. He had first discovered what was to be his lifelong passion for medieval brass memorials as a schoolboy in Kent, and pursued this keenly throughout his four years at Cambridge. Sometimes alone, more often with a companion he covered often astonishingly long distances across the Cambridgeshire countryside, usually on foot and in all weathers, carrying with him his brass-rubbing kit – a brass tube containing rolls of tracing paper and lumps of cobbler’s heelball – to spend hours kneeling on cold church floors making his rubbings. A visit to St Andrew’s church in Wimpole Park, visited with his friend Pollock on 26th March 1886, is an example of both a particular challenge – a wall-mounted brass – and a surprise encounter: ‘. . .. There are three brasses, one of which is good but dreadfully difficult to get at. It is high up on the wall, and one of us had to stand up on the top of a pew turned on its side, about 8 feet from the ground holding the paper, while the other rubbed. Coming back we went to Orwell vicarage for the keys to the church, and the vicar showed us round himself and then asked us to come in and have a cup of
tea. While we were there who should appear but Canon Westcott, and so to our great astonishment we found ourselves drinking tea with the most important Don in Cambridge.’ I’d like to end this introduction to my grandfather’s four years at Cambridge with a slightly longer extract from his diary, one which sums up for me his boundless energy and enthusiasm and his love of exploration and discovery. At the end of the Michaelmas Term 1886, he set out alone for Linton and Balsham: Sat 11th December: 'I left Cambridge by the 10.35 train to Linton on a brassing expedition. Linton is a large and pretty village . . . (and) in the church, I rubbed a nice little brass of a knight of Henry IV’s reign in the southeast chapel. It was raining when I left Cambridge, and the roads were all horribly muddy; a four or five mile trudge brought me to Balsham, another largish place, where the brasses are magnificent. They lie on each side of the chancel, and I got to work soon after one o’clock. First though I ate some sandwiches I had luckily brought with me, and had a look round. The church is a handsome Perpendicular building, and has some beautifully carved old stalls, made of oak . . . Before beginning the brasses I took off my boots, for it seemed a shame to dirty the chancel with the mud
from them, especially on a Saturday night. It got quite dark before I had finished the first brass, and so I went to the rectory and got leave to light a couple of lamps, and after that worked on for three hours more. The brasses are the finest coped ecclesiastics I have seen, and their canopies are beautiful: the sides of one are subdivided into four pairs of canopied niches, each contained a large figure of some saint. In both priests the orphreys of their copes also are ornamented with saints. It got awfully gruesome in the great dark church, with no lights but a couple of little oil lamps, and no sound but the scraping of my own heelball. I was beginning to dread having to turn out my lights and grope for the door when I had finished, but fortunately the sexton appeared, and was able to do it for me. It was then seven o’clock, and I found I had not time to catch the last train from Linton; however, the rectory people told me there was a train from Fulbourn at 8.30, and so I made for that village. The roads were ankle-deep in mud and water, and when I reached the station I found the last train had already gone. Plodding on towards Cambridge I managed to lose my way, and once outside the village there was not a soul to ask, for it had been raining ever since I left Balsham, and wasn’t the sort of night people would enjoy being out in. At last I
struck the railway, and turned off again at the Cherry Hinton crossing, and finally eluded the proctors and reached the college gates at a quarter to eleven, thoroughly tired out and fearfully hungry. The porter will have to report me for coming in at that time of night without my cap and gown, and so I suppose I shall get hauled by the Dean tomorrow, or rather Monday.' Transcribing and editing my grandfather’s diary has taken me a long time – and the work is still ongoing! It has been (& still is!) an all-absorbing and endlessly fascinating task, and one which I am thoroughly enjoying. This short introduction can do no more than give a fleeting impression of Herbert’s four years at Cambridge, in no way doing justice to the diary itself, which I hope may one day be published. Herbert loved his time at Cambridge and his poignant expression of sadness when it was over is a good note to end on: ‘Sat. 22nd June 1889: My Cambridge career is over at last, to my great regret. A happier time I could not have had, & can nevertheless claim as my motto “Numquam aratus” [‘never ploughed’].
John Blodwell d.1462, rector of Balsham
John Sleford d.1401, rector of Balsham rsm newsletter, june 2014, page 11
Eileen Alexander by Margaret Whitehead
I
am honoured to pay tribute to Eileen on behalf of Bedford Physical Education and particularly the Bedford Physical Education Old Students’ Association. Dr Eileen Alexander OBE – what a lady, what a life – in length, in breadth and in quality – what a legacy…. Eileen made a tremendous contribution to physical education and physical activity on local, national and international stages. There is a great deal I could tell you, but in the time I have, I will do my best to give you a flavour of Eileen’s remarkable professional life. Where did this all start? It started with a passion for physical activity – principally hockey, although she was no mean gymnast, athlete and dancer. Little was she, or anyone else aware, of where this passion would take her. Having trained to teach at Dartford – although she always says she only went there to play hockey, she taught at Felixstowe College and Tamworth High School – the latter to make it easier for her to play hockey for Staffordshire. While at Tamworth she travelled weekly to Birmingham to attend in-service courses in teaching primary children – an experience that would stand her in good stead when she applied for her next job. Her next job was at Homerton College Cambridge. Now despite my repeated protestations she
assures me that she initially applied to Homerton, not because it would enhance her career to work in teacher education but because she thought Cambridge would be a nice place to work. She repeatedly claimed that she did not know it was a teacher training college! Anyway, this was the first of two very significant events in her career. The then principal of Homerton, Miss Skillicorn, knew a good teacher when she saw one. She was clearly impressed with Eileen and supported her secondment to the ATS during the war. Here Eileen, at the age of 30, became a Major, a Unit Senior Commander, responsible, among other duties, for the training of P.T. Instructors. On Eileen’s return to Homerton Miss Skillicorn appointed her as Deputy Principal and subsequently guided her to become a member of His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Schools. Eileen enjoyed this work visiting schools, being involved in policy making and playing a part in writing two books that many of us used, Moving and Growing and Planning the Programme. She might have seen out her career in this role, but Miss Skillicorn had other ideas. The Homerton Principal had connections with Bedford Physical Education and when she heard that they were looking for a new principal, Miss Skillicorn knew just the
rsm newsletter, june 2014, page 12
right person. The outcome of Miss Skillicorn’s diplomacy was the realisation of the second significant event in Eileen’s career. Eileen was appointed as Principal of Bedford Physical Training College in 1951. For Bedford this was a brave and unprecedented move – to appoint a Dartford trained individual. There was indeed no love lost between Dartford and Bedford. Eileen confided in me that, when she played hockey for the Dartford first team, they never played Bedford – in case they lost! But there would be no problem, Bedford staff would ensure that she would not rock the boat. Eileen was taken on one side by Miss Squire, the then President of the Bedford Old Students’ Association, and was told, in no uncertain terms, that NOTHING SHOULD CHANGE. Eileen had other ideas and she launched into her two decades at Bedford with purpose, foresight, and determination. She was a formidable force - a perceptive and able educator, an astute negotiator and a skilful business woman. And changes she made, changes that enabled Bedford to retain and enhance its national and international standing, changes that remain the foundation of our continued thriving. The changes she made were the result of her own philosophy and the need
to respond to the rapidly changing education scene in the United Kingdom. It is actually hard to separate these. But I will start with changes at Bedford and then mention the context for these developments. Eileen’s first move was to dissolve the college as a private institution and to negotiate its becoming part of the education service of Bedfordshire County Council. This was essential to enable students to obtain grants. And so we became Bedford College of Physical Education. She steered the course from a two year diploma to a three year certificate, introducing both a first year teaching practice in a primary school, as well as a second subject within the course. She was as concerned with preparing the students to teach as with continuing their own education. The Alexander years saw a huge expansion of the college, from 141 students to 450 students, from 9 staff to 43 staff. This involved the purchase of numerous additional houses for student accommodation (with all the necessary alterations) as well as the building of new facilities – for example, gymnasia, a swimming pool, dance studios and a library (that is once she had purchased the land and gained planning permission to build on it). Alongside this building work there was the constant
Tackling junk foods in schools a new EU Action Plan by Patti Rundall
problem of ensuring that Bedford training kept pace with national developments. When teaching became an all graduate profession we had to secure an awarding body for our degrees. Sadly Cambridge refused to validate our degree and so Eileen negotiated validation with the University of London. When other colleges were able to offer Honours degrees Eileen again went to Cambridge. It was truly remarkable that she managed to persuade the powers that be to allow our students to gain an honours degree after one year of study at Cambridge. Without being able to award first a degree and then an honours degree Bedford would not have survived. The background to all this change was the need to monitor the continued repercussions of the Butler Act and the McNair Report and to comply with the directives of the Robbins Report. Not only was Eileen keeping abreast of challenges at Bedford she was also in the forefront of ensuring that Physical Education maintained its place in education. She was Chair of the Association of Principals of Women’s Colleges of Physical Education from 19611964 and thereafter the Joint Secretary from 1964 -1971. She also represented physical education on the
Principals’ Panel of the Association of Teachers in Colleges and Departments of Education. Both these were hugely influential bodies in these most challenging and turbulent years in education in the UK. Physical Education has much to thank Eileen for. Eileen also travelled widely across the world to represent Physical Education in this country. The esteem in which she was held, and the impact of her visits abroad, can be clearly seen in the visitors’ book entries during her years as Principal. There were frequent visits from colleagues from USA, Canada, Australia and South Africa as well as from Russia, Switzerland, Germany, India, Cyprus the Netherlands, Egypt, Chile, Japan, Denmark and Finland.
Above: Nestlé’s Epode ‘nutrition education’ program in Spain called ‘Thao’ is also sponsored by Ferrero Rocher and Orangina Schweppes. Here the children are wearing Nestlé branded T-shirts.
Since these two columns are empty I hope RSM readers won't mind me using them to tell you a piece of news I am delighted about. In February EU Member States passed an important Action Plan on Childhood Obesity 2014-2020 that for the first time calls for an end to food and drink sponsorship in schools. Some RSMs will know that I have been campaigning since 1980 for legislation to stop companies using marketing tactics that harm infant and young child health and also promote junk foods to children. As an ex-teacher, I've always opposed corporate sponsorship of education which works on many levels: it blurs the boundaries between education and marketing, sends a confusing message to children and can frame the way we think and tackle problems. It helps companies divert attention from irresponsible marketing and creates the notion that they can be trusted to regulate themselves. We had already persuaded the European Commission to say that sponsored materials should not be branded. But the new Member States' Action Plan goes further, calling for no sponsorship by food and drink companies in schools.
The EU ACTION PLAN is a recommendation - not a law but it's important. It contains a 'toolbox' of 8 actions that Member States believe are 'doable'. ● Support a healthy start in life (breastfeeding support, monitoring of marketing etc.) ● Promote healthier environments especially in schools and preschools ● Make the healthy option the easier option (no food and drink sponsorship in schools) ● Restrict marketing and advertising to children (defined as 0-18) ● Inform and empower families ● Encourage physical
activity
● Monitor and evaluate
Very late in the day I know, but really welcome as a tool for advocacy. Follow the links below if you'd like to find out more about this, conflicts of interest and other aspects of our work.
http://ec.europa.eu/health/nutrition_physical_activity/docs/childhoodobesity_actionplan_2014_2020_en.pdf www.babymilkaction.org/update-newsletters www.babymilkaction.org/news/policy
rsm newsletter, june 2014, page 13
Frank Whitford 11.8.1941 – 11.1.2014
by Mike Bibby
W
hen Frank joined the Art Department of Homerton as a lecturer in Art History he became for me, and many others, a very special friend. He was always able to carry with ease the mantle of a distinguished Art Historian and the relaxed bon vivant with an incisive wit. His scholarship and his envious memory were ever there. Frank’s knowledge of early 20th century German and Austrian art was unrivalled in the world context. He was a great Germanist and was awarded the Federal Cross of the German Order of Merit in appreciation of his contribution to the country’s promotion of its Arts. He made many friends in Germany over the years and was equally at home in Germany as in England. On one of his many visits to East Germany he was fortunate to acquire a complete portfolio of the entire course of a student who had attended the Bauer Haus – a wonderful research source. Unfortunately the East German border guards confiscated it as it was forbidden to export German Art. However, when eventually the wall came down it was returned to him in its entirety. At the time he said to me that this just illustrated the thoroughness of the Germans.
When the History of Art element of the courses at Homerton disappeared Frank focussed his career on writing, and curating exhibitions. As an art-critic and expert he became a familiar face on television and voice on the radio. We kept in close touch over the years taking the pattern of alternate weeks to telephone one another. When it was my turn I always rang him between 7.00 – 7.30 pm. I could always ask him what he was cooking for supper. Frank always loved both serious food and serious wine. He was, without doubt, a committed gourmet. On the 11th January, even though it was not my turn to call him, I decided to ring him anyway, but sadly there was no reply.
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Frank's cartoon of himself under the name Rausch
Loose Talk by John Murrell
I
have to admit to an obsession, and I fear that by ‘sharing’ it I may cause it to spread to any reader. So beware! My irritating illness has been brought about by a heightened awareness of the preponderance of clichés and ignorant language with which we are bombarded. Rather than in any pejorative sense, I use the word ‘ignorant’ in the possibly vain hope that those concerned are simply lacking in knowledge. I hope that they are unaware of the fact that they abuse words by using them for purposes other than to convey meaning, fact, description or emotion. I am fairly sure that most of this loose talk virus (LTV) starts somewhere on the West Coast of the USA, makes its way steadily across to the East Coast and then carries on, eventually arriving in Britain. As long ago as 1984 I spotted my first example, when in Nashville I heard an activity described as “so fun”. I tried to explain that this made about as much sense in English as saying something was “so chair”. Yesterday I heard it said on Radio 4 by someone employed by the B.B.C. On repeated visits to America I had fun trying to spot the latest outbreak of LTV and then seeing how long it took to appear in Cambridge. A relatively slow arrival has been the use of ‘Guys’ for both men and women, but long ago I had to give up the battle against the use
of the name of a nascent goat for children. I am still waiting for the appearance of ‘transparent wall polishing’ (window cleaning). I began this article with an example (we don’t tell people things, we ‘share’ with them) but one of the most virulent symptom of this disease is the use of the word ‘like’. This is a popular modern addition to ‘y’know.’ and ‘erm’, and is used as verbal punctuation by the inarticulate. A friend of mine devised a certain, but dangerous, cure for this affliction when it struck his young daughter. He chose an occasion when she wished to ‘share’ with him her experience of a school trip. Every time she said “like” he said “Ching”. She eventually stopped talking and asked him, “Why do you keep saying ‘Ching’?” to which he answered, “Why do you keep saying ‘Like’?” After a brief, but quite tense, period of quarantine in which there was a cessation of any communication between them, the patient was eventually cured. Apparently, people now go, or take others, on ‘journeys’ up ‘steep learning curves’ which take them ‘out of the box’ and into areas of ‘blue sky thinking’. Ideas to solve ‘issues’ (no one these days has a problem) are ‘run up flagpoles to see if anyone salutes’, or if they have ‘resonance’. Suddenly, after accepting since the sixties, that iconoclasm was what it is ‘all about’ we are
in a ‘growth industry’ of ‘icons’. I thought an icon was an image, painting or representation of the thing it represents. Most frequently this has been the term for an image of Jesus Christ. I like and even admire David Beckham, and I think he sets a good example to others (sorry, is a good ‘role model’). But he's not an icon, nor can he be iconic. ‘Feeling’ has subjugated thinking. I’m slightly interested to hear that someone ‘feels’ that Scotland should be independent, or that the coalition government is doing a good job, but I am very interested in why they think that to be the case. I sat at High Table recently next to a charming lady, who asked me what my “passion” was and seemed surprised by my answer that I considered such matters to be unsuitable for discussion at a dinner table. Passion is an extreme, unreasoned, and often unreasonable form of emotion. Can someone be “passionate about cooking”. Enthusiastic, possibly; even very enthusiastic, but surely “passionate” must indicate a disturbed mind? Politicians, especially, love this loose talk and are deliberately injected or ‘updated’ with LTV by their ‘Spin Doctors’. It is notable that the recent death of Tony Benn has emphasised the rarity of those, like him, who mean what they say. He may have got things wrong on occasions, and could even be
criticised as an example of the ‘tyranny of the articulate’, but he knew what he was saying and chose his words with a full understanding of their effect. One symptom I have noticed recently is the habit of politicians, during interviews, suddenly asking themselves questions, which they then answer. I am going to call this technique PMQ (Put My Question). It maybe that my problem is just harmlessly irritating, and an indication of growing old (as a teenager I was reprimanded by my Grandmother for saying “O.K”). Language is constantly evolving and change is inevitable. Yet when we have the great fortune to have a language which is the richest in the world, to ignore the treasure chest of alternative ways of expressing oneself is the ultimate in sloth. Moreover, it can become dangerous. This essay has been initiated by hearing, on International Womens’ Day, an otherwise intelligent and I am sure well-meaning speaker tell me that writing a letter to one’s body can be “inspirational” and that “Globally, one in three women will be raped”. Using PMQ, my response is: Do I “feel” that the first of these claims might be true? Possibly, but unlikely. Having taught Research Methods for two decades, do I know that establishing the validity and reliability of the first claim would be “an issue”? “Absolutely”.
rsm newsletter, june 2014, page 15
Academy of Bluegrass by Philip Rundall
U
ntil I signed up for it, I would never have imagined myself enthusing about sitting in front of a computer screen and discovering it to be a highly effective and stimulating way to learn how to play a musical instrument. The truth is that I have never before felt so committed to developing my skills as a guitarist. In this article, I’ll try and explain why. It was my son Nick, who is a musician, producer and sound engineer, who said, “Dad, you should join the online Academy of Bluegrass. I think it’ll really help you develop as a player.” I tend to listen to my son’s advice, so I had a look at the website. The Academy is a part of ArtistWorks Music & Arts Campus (Google it and you can check it out. You can even look at sample lessons etc without obligation). There are different schools, classical, jazz, rock and bluegrass. I decided to join Bryan Sutton’s Flatpick Guitar School. Flatpicking is a highly athletic form of acoustic guitar playing in which a plectrum is used. Bluegrass came into being with Bill Monroe in the mid20th century. It’s a musical form that grew out of the traditional music played by acoustic string bands, going back to the days of the first settlers in the USA. It’s essentially a form of music based around fiddle tunes and dance music, but it also incorporates blues, and, more
recently, jazz and classical influences. There’s even a term called New Grass, music that is continually pushing the boundaries of the genre. The guitar in the early days of bluegrass was chiefly a rhythm instrument and if a group of musicians didn’t have a bass player, the guitarist would include bass runs in his or her rhythm playing. Gradually it developed into a featured instrument, capable of taking solos and improvising, along with the fiddle, the mandolin and the banjo. If you read a history of the Martin guitar company (famous for developing the ‘American acoustic guitar’), you’ll discover that it was only in the 20th century that the guitar became popular. Earlier it was the banjo and the mandolin that were the sellers. So, this may well explain it’s slow emergence as an instrument played at a virtuoso level. Microphones and amplification also helped as the guitar is a relatively quiet instrument, say compared to a banjo. A loud guitar is often admiringly referred to as being a ‘banjo killer’! What is special about the ArtistWorks music schools is the calibre of the teachers - Martin Taylor the great British jazz guitarist is a tutor (you may remember that he accompanied Stephanne Grappelli); Nathan East the bass player Eric Clapton hires; Billy Cobham, the hugely influential jazz and
rsm newsletter, june 2014, page 16
fusion drummer and band leader. As for the Academy of Bluegrass, you have Darol Anger teaching fiddle, a fiddle legend; Tony Trischka one of the most influential banjo players alive; Mike Marshall one of the very top mandolin players; Missy Raines the multi-award winning double bass player; Andy Hall on Dobro and finally my teacher, Bryan Sutton, who is a multi-award winning acoustic guitarist, who is perhaps now the most sought after session player in Nashville. It’s worth looking up any of these players on YouTube just to see them play. I’ve been a student now for well over a year - how would I sum it all up? First, it’s incredible value when you consider a face to face guitar lesson in Cambridge would cost you £40 an hour with a decent teacher. The fee is $150 for 6 months and $240 p.a. (£143 p.a.). With a face to face lesson half what you’re told you’ll forget whereas with online learning you can access any lesson in the Basic, Intermediate or the Advanced Curriculum whenever you wish. You can highlight and loop sections of a lesson so you can focus on specific bits and watch them over and over again. Whatever is being taught will be played at speed and in slow motion. A range of backing tracks are provided at ever increasing tempos and the music can be downloaded
both in standard notation and TAB. So, you can learn at your own pace and repeat lessons as often as you need to. With the Basic Curriculum the assumption is that you’re a complete beginner. The Advanced level is pretty demanding, but the concept ‘of being on a journey’ pops up all the time, despite it being a cliche, it happens to be true. The heart of the experience, however, is the Video Exchange. Students video themselves playing a fiddle tune, a scale exercise or whatever, and upload it onto the site. Within 5 days Bryan Sutton makes a video response. To get a response from a player of his standing, someone who is also a superb teacher, is so inspiring. All these videos are available for all your student colleagues to study. This may sound a bit alarming but it isn’t. Students learn as much from these exchanges as they do from the lessons. Very quickly you begin to feel part of the community and the encouragement one receives from fellow students is wonderful. The majority of students are American but the reach of this school is global, so this is an additional and fascinating part of it. There are several Brits: James up in Scotland, another James (an old friend of mine) in Hexham, Derek from Gloucester and more besides. Students exchange ideas in The Forum, an area of the site where we discuss a range
of issues related to music. We can also direct questions directly to Bryan Sutton, who is involved to a surprising degree. Certain threads can be philosophical and I am amazed at how he is prepared to share really detailed and personal insights about his continuing development as a musician - dealing with stage fright, relaxing, focusing, how to organize one’s practice etc. I feel lucky to be part of it. In addition to all this you can watch Bryan Sutton interviewing and playing with other top players. There is also performance footage of members of the teaching team playing together in festival settings. There is an 11 song sequence of Bryan Sutton playing in concert with the late Doc Watson’s sidesmen, a really inspiring performance. Every student has their own Student Page which is accessible to fellow students and one’s teacher. This has background information, photos, videos. All one’s Video Exchanges are stored centrally on the site but they’re also available on your own student page so you can trace your progress made over a period of time, an invaluable resource. Like in a ‘real’ school, students are rewarded with merit marks. On my Student Page I have a badge that indicates that a video of mine has been selected to appear on the Academy of Bluegrass or School of Flatpick Home
Page (in fact I’ve had four selected). Three rosettes indicate that I have passed all the Guitar 101 course tests (a recent addition to the site, a sort of introduction to the acoustic guitar course, taught by another guitarist, Scott Law). The next lot I must have a go at are the Theory Course tests. I’ve had a quick look at the first lesson and I was impressed by how clearly the material is explained and illustrated, with excellent graphics. I came away from it thinking, at long last I might get to grips with this, something I’ve always avoided. I’m hoping at some point there will be an Academy of Bluegrass gathering / weekend in the USA. I know that it’s certainly part of Bryan Sutton’s vision for the future, as we’ve exchanged emails about it. To meet fellow students and one’s teacher in the flesh would be quite something. Failing this, two or three of us in the UK are keen to sign up for a weekend residential guitar course that takes place near Nashville twice a year with only 15 students and 4 or 5 top players as instructors (sometimes including Bryan Sutton). Getting in is the hard bit. Finally, if you’re still not convinced that I’m a fan of online learning - consider the fact that it’s the first and last thing I check each day. Surely that indicates something? Oh, and Patti’s recent birthday gift to me
was a year’s subscription to Mike Marshall’s School of Mandolin!
rsm newsletter, june 2014, page 17
Emeritus by Elizabeth Edwards and Patricia Cooper
J
ohn said to Barbara, “Help us sing”Barbara said to John, “I can do that thing”….. Early in 2010, the RSMA Committee were considering ideas for activities which might be attractive to local members. John suggested that we should ask Barbara Pointon if she might set up an RSM Choir. Barbara discussed the possibilities with Jane Cursiter and they gladly took up the challenge setting out the guiding principles on which such a choir could be formed. These were: 1. It should be an informal ‘fun choir’, meeting on a regular basis, and embracing all kinds of music. 2. Ability to read music would not be a requirement. 3. It should be open to all RSMs and their spouses, partners and friends. The inaugural meeting took place on 13 May 2010. There was a good response from members and everyone agreed what a good idea this had been. From the start it was obvious that this was indeed to be a fun activity as well as practicing, a perhaps somewhat rusty, skill, we found ourselves laughing as well as singing. Much laughter for instance, followed our attempts to exercise the voice by making different sounds. One member’s raucous rendition of a seagull’s cry has become legendary! Emeritus’ first ‘outing’ was in September 2010 when
we performed as part of the memorial celebration of the life and work of John Hammond. The ‘Crumblies’, as we were then known, were joined by other singers from amongst John’s many friends and colleagues. On that occasion the Principal suggested that we should change our name: “Crumblies you most certainly are not!” she averred. It was John Murrell who came up with the more dignified nomenclature, ‘Emeritus’ which better suited our personae as, ‘honourably retired’ we certainly are. Sadly Barbara developed problems with her throat and felt she could no longer help to lead the choir. We gave her a Farewell Tea in March 2013, attended by the Principal, at which we sang a Round in four parts, written and arranged by Jane, entitled simply, ‘Barbara P’ also ‘A Song for Barbara’, the words of which, to the tune of ‘They’re Changing Guard at Buckingham Palace’, were written by the choir’s highly skilful resident lyricist (sic), Pat Cooper. The Choir presented Barbara with a specially commissioned rose named ‘Barbara P’ in her honour. The Christmas Coffee Morning, kindly hosted by Pauline and Godfrey Curtis, has become a most enjoyable annual event and for the past three years Emeritus has led the carol singing and also performed
rsm newsletter, june 2014, page 18
Above: Pauline and Geoffrey Curtis with John Axon.
some carefully rehearsed pieces. The Christmas performance at the end of last year was the first time that our instrumental ensemble accompanied (and hopefully enhanced) our singing. In keeping with the choir’s developing confidence, we accompanied the singing with our own uniquely crafted and definitely eclectic instrumental efforts! Instruments ranged from guitar and drum to chime bars and whistles. In the long and haunting ‘Soul Cake Carol’ we each had our part and it involved a lot of rehearsal! We well remember the night before going over and over in our heads the very short sequences to be performed in the percussion section! We are fortunate to have some accomplished musicians amongst our number who can muster guitars, mandolin, clarinet, oboe, cello, recorders and penny whistle, not to mention numerous percussion instruments which the less proficient can manage. Watch this space! Perhaps our greatest challenge was to sing at the RSM Luncheon given to commemorate Kate Pretty’s retirement in September 2013 and attended by 37 of our members. The repertoire on this occasion had a marked Scottish flavour as Kate was known to be retiring to Fife in Scotland. It was a challenge to sing in the
Drawing Room after a festive meal; it was also a challenge to master (or a least to make a fair attempt at) the Scottish dialect in such varied pieces as the beautiful ‘Eriskay Love Lilt’ and the sly humour of ‘The Wee Cooper of Fife’. The programme also included the Benjamin Britten arrangement of ‘The Ploughboy’, one of Kate’s favourites. Pat’s specially written ‘Farewell to Kate’, was in the form of a tribute and a ‘Waes Hael’ toast, including in its chorus the words of the Anglo Saxon inscription set around the rim of the Homerton Horn: ‘Frith and Freondscip Sie Th’y’. Everyone present raised their glasses and joined in this final farewell. It was a most memorable occasion. A real sense of achievement enhances the fun and companionship we gain within Emeritus. We are also very lucky indeed to have in Jane Cursiter such an inspirational leader who, with consummate skill, patience and good humour, enables us to bring forth talents we did not know we had. ‘And Now We Are Sixteen’!! But the door is always open so come and join us. We meet fortnightly in term time on Thursday afternoons (2.15pm to 3.30pm) in the Drawing Room.
Here in a few words is what Emeritus means to those who take part. EMERITUS is: Fun and fellowship Finding a voice Discovering talents Capturing a tune Savouring a melody Lifting the spirits Bringing us together With harmony Making music together With enjoyment EMERITUS is US Together SINGING
Kate Pretty's Farewell Luncheon 29 September 2013 and her thankyou card.
The RSMA Christmas gathering at Gazeley's, 14th December 2013. Photos:Patti Rundall rsm newsletter, june 2014, page 19
RSM events RSMs visit St Johns, Pepys and Wren Libraries in Cambridge
Above and Left: RSMs visit the Wren Library in Trinity College on 7th March 2014. The Library was completed in 1695. Below: Pepys Library, established in the grounds of Magdalene College after Pepys' death in 1703. RSMs visited 310 years later on 29th November 2013.
RSMs visited St John's Library on 31st May 2013. The Library was founded in 1511 by Margaret Beaufort (above right) the mother of Henry V11 and was the largest Library in Cambridge in 1628. We weren't allowed to photograph inside the Pepys or Wren but St John's had no problem with cameras. Let Philip know if you'd like a copy of the photo book Patti made of our trip (see below). It has many more pictures of the rich variety of treasures we were shown.
St John's above: The earliest known swimming manual from 1587“On the Art of Swimming” by Everard Digby, a student and fellow at St John’s until expelled for“blowing a horn and hallooing in the College during the daytime..”
St John's right: The Great Bible (1539) owned by Thomas Cromwell. The Title Page shows Henry VIII seated on his throne, presenting a bible in either hand to clerics and laymen, conveying the political message that his royal supremacy had now replaced the Pope’s authority over the Church of England and that the Bible should be accessible to the poorest subjects in the realm. rsm newsletter, june 2014, page 20
Photos:Patti Rundall