Two minutes to think

The whole school lined up outside the main building, and stopped for two minutes of silent thought at eleven o'clock this morning.

Old Viking Reunion

Lesley and I were at the Royal Air Force Club in Picadilly last night for the annual reunion of Old Vikings. Alastair Barron, the first ever pupil was there, with some more recent Burr faces including Ryan Donovan, Chris Alstadt (with Sam Pershall in the middle) , Alvin Tang, and Becca Walmsley (with Ed Pinker and Chessie Hames on the outside).

From a slightly earlier era, James Crosse was an imposing Sixth Former when I first came to Shiplake 12 years ago, and is now an architect with a special interest in environmentally sustainable buildings.

Also a delight to see former teaching colleagues including Malcolm Woodcock, David Stoker and Peter Webb.

We will remember them

Many of us took part in the CCF service and parade today - including a short ceremony by the village war memorial to lay wreaths for the College and the CCF.

One parishoner commented "It was one of smartest parades I have seen from the CCF".

Also with us was Shiplake old boy and former CCF member S Lt Tim Lowndes RNR.

Several old friends of mine are now running the British Forces Broadcasting Service radio station in Camp Bastion, Afghanistan.

Capital adventure

Some economists and business students in the Sixth Form are joining me in creating virtual share portfolios. We'll each "invest" £1200, and see how we do by the end of May next year. Expertise ranges from South-East UK property, through Japanese bio-medicine, to the natural gas reserves of Central Asia. This rather outclasses my Marxist analysis of historical determinism, so any readers with hot tips for high growth is welcome to send anonymous emails to the usual address, or slip a postcard under my door next time you're passing.

Awards

Congratulations to those who were awarded special mentions for academic effort, after the recent progress reviews:

Andrew Rewcastle, Harry Griffiths, Ed Bowers, and Cornel Mgbangson.

And special mentions for attainment:

Alex Baker, Nurdaulet Sarkytbayev and Bunty Sykes,

and for combined attainment and effort:

Arthur Law

Well done !

Email

I'm told I should be expecting one or two emails. Nothing new has arrived on my school account since Friday afternoon, which makes me suspect the system may be sympathetic to the Communication Workers' Union. No doubt the dragoons will be sent in tomorrow to shatter the picket lines - meanwhile if you have something urgent, perhaps the telephone is best.

Global reach

We seem to have picked up readers in a few more continents, over half term. I'm looking forward to attracting attention in Antarctica.

I'm particularly impressed by the ISP well off the eastern seaboard of the USA