Chapter Twenty Seven - "Home and Away"

I’ve kept meaning to write this sooner, as soon as I returned for the Easter break – last Monday. Life (and a fair bit of relaxation) intervened, hence why I’m only doing this now.

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So here I am, on the sofa in a quiet house, back in Devon. The recent glorious weather, in my opinion, has accentuated the natural outdoor colours, and it’s nice to have room to breathe.

The train got me into Exeter at 13:40 on Monday, and I spent the rest of the day settling in. Before I move on to my holiday plans however, let me round up the events of university life:

Probably one of the most noticeable events came about when one of our housemates left early, and I don’t mean for Easter. It was a shame to say a premature farewell, but where one chapter ends, another one will begin (to the sound of bells; just one of many).

Other events included helping out at a cake stall to raise money for Japan (during which I was taught origami; slightly ironic), a series of university Open Days, various Church events on the theme of “If you could ask God one question, and you knew He would answer it, what would it be?”, and an answer to prayer on the night before I left – possible accommodation for the coming year; I say ‘possible’, because it is somewhat dependent on finding a job locally.

Going further back, Mark’s visit went smoothly. Les Misérables was all I expected and more, a truly brilliant birthday present. And the OWBA London Dinner was a special evening. It was nice to speak to old friends (conversations which were long overdue), and catch up on present life stories. Looking at the place settings for the dinner (Mark and I were seated together, thankfully) it seemed disappointing that we weren’t sitting with our other classmates – the only other lad, Andrew, was across the room, as were the girls. What was more, we were down the other end of the boat from those making the speeches, so I prepared to strain my ears. I soon became thankful for the place settings though, as it meant we were sitting with the Head Boy and Girl. It would not have been the company that I would have selected of my own choice, but in my conversations with the Archivist, who was sitting next to me, I had the opportunity to hear about the legends of the school, whilst asking my own questions. It also encouraged me to read his latest book, in which many of his stories were written.

When Mr K, the evening’s Guest of Honour, made his talks, he moved to our end of the boat. This was a relief, particularly as I was trying to record it. However, the boat’s engines started at full volume at this point, and so we were still straining to hear after all. Since listening back to it I have picked out stories about typewriters, and childbirth (being more like a ‘death’, and including screams of ‘push’ and ‘aaaargh’ – much to our amusement), amongst others. When it came time to determine who had won the ‘scapegoat’ (sweepstake) – the person who correctly guessed the length of the speeches – the winner turned out to be... the Headmaster. Surely a fix? What followed was an auction of the champagne, much in the style of (old boy) Tim Wonnacott - surely Grenville? Mr K’s final prayer even sounded like the end of Bargain Hunt. “Thank you Lord... for our school. Amen?” to which we all responded: “Amen!” An enjoyable occasion, and a proper, well-deserved send off.

I said Mark’s visit went smoothly. Well, there was one slight hiccup, when we realised that he had accidentally packed our nunchucks for the Wii, not just his own. An excuse to meet up in the holidays, perhaps.


Back to the present...

Now, to my holiday – at last. Despite having a few assignments to accomplish, I fully intend to relax and enjoy the month at home. Tuesday evening saw a pub quiz – the team I was on (this time cleverly called “Does Grey Matter?”) came fourth again. I wonder if they do better when I’m not around. What about next week? More studying, and a driving lesson (to keep up the practise). As to the rest, I’ll just have to wait and see.

Until next time.