S.Anselm's in Bakewell

S.Anselm’s is a school Alice-Miranda could certainly attend.  With many young boarders, students range from Nursery through to Year 8 (which is the equivalent of Year 7 at home in Australia).  Co-ed, there is an easy rapport between the students and teachers and a real sense of happiness about the place.

I arrived early and met John Carr, the Head of English, who was directing my activities for the day.  We headed for the office and met Simon Northcott, the Headmaster who immediately invited Ian and me to dinner that evening.  Ian was having a rare day off to catch up on a whole lot of paperwork and make some more arrangements for the weekend and later in the tour.

The reason I wound up at S.Anselm’s was through a FB connection with Penny Price, who runs the Alphabet Street website in Sydney, promoting all sorts of events for children.  Penny had highlighted some of my Alice-Miranda tour events in Australia last year and I emailed to thank her.  She told me about her niece who loved Alice-Miranda but lived in England and went to boarding school – cue the link!

I was keen to meet Jess as she was the reason I was there.  I taught some writing workshops to the students to begin with.  The day was already hot and the classrooms (in fact most buildings in Britain) are ill equipped to cope with such warm temperatures.  They are so used to having the windows closed in an endeavour to trap as much hot air as possible, I think many of them just don't open at all! 

The children were engaged and produced some really good pieces of writing.  There were reluctant writers (self-acknowledged) giving the activities their best and I saw some secret smiles too, obviously pleased with their efforts.

One of the teachers, Richard asked me if I might know his father in law in Australia – a children’s writer too by the name of Colin Thompson.  I couldn’t believe it.  Colin and I sat together at Linsay Knight’s farewell from Random House in December, we had books on the same shortlist for the CBCA awards in 2006 and I had recently been talking to him about the Abbotsleigh literary festival in August.  His daughter Alice popped over later to say hello too.  The world is a small place indeed.  (When I arrived back to the hotel that night there was an email from Colin about the Abbotsleigh festival – too strange!)

In between workshops Jess and another girl Emily showed me around the school.  It’s very well resourced and sits in the prettiest of settings atop a hill in the village.  The boarding houses are spread along the road and in the bottom of the garden, with varying numbers of students in each.  I think the junior girls’ house had about 12 students at the moment. 

The gardens are gorgeous with the ‘Headmaster’s Lawn’ dominating the front of the main building.  Surrounded by flower beds it’s all very pretty.  I was surprised by how large the grounds were.  There were fields to play games on and an indoor heated pool as well as tennis courts and other more passive spaces.

Lunch was served in the dining room – and was very traditional with class teachers taking responsibility for the students and sitting at the end of each long table.  The teacher assists in serving and monitors the children for eating and behaviour and the like.  The students assume roles too, going to the servery for the food and helping clear away.  I sat with a group of Year 7 students – who chatted amiably and told me all about the activities they were involved in for the afternoon.  The food was good too.  Thursday afternoons see the students involved in anything from sailing to horse riding, drama, computer studies, cooking and games.  The students head out just after lunch (unless you are off site and then they go at the end of lessons and take a packed lunch with them) and return in time for the reading period at 3.50pm.  Yes you read that right.  The children from Years 4-8 stay at school until about 6.00pm and there are formal lessons in the late afternoons.  They also attend lessons until midday on Saturday with sport and games in the afternoon.  The teachers work through too, having a half day during the week to make up for the Saturday morning compulsory lessons.  No one seemed to mind – it’s just the way that it is.

I worked with the Year 2 students in the Lower School after lunch.  They are gearing up for the Jubilee and wanted to know about Australia and if we had a queen too.  I shared some things about Alice-Miranda and Clementine Rose with them as well and they asked some wonderful questions.

‘Do you write your books in Australian and then do they have to be made into English for over here?’  Love it!

I was then able to visit the cooking class – who were making chocolate cup cakes and take a wander around the school to snap some photographs.  My last session of the day was during the reading and assembly period and I have to say that I was a little apprehensive about the timing and the temperature.  It was at least 30 degrees celsius and the hall didn’t seem especially well ventilated.

Ian arrived and we watched a drama lesson before the children arrived back from their various activities.  A group of five students were improvising a piece about the Titanic and it was great to watch their ideas unfold.

The children arrived at the at the hall and allthough they were a little more subdued than I had expected ,they were great listeners and when we got to the drama activity, a young fellow called George blew us away with his incredible acting.  If the hall wasn’t too hot before he hit the stage it certainly was afterwards as the entire audience howled with laughter at his antics.

At the end of the session there was to be a signing.  I wasn’t sure how we would go but to my great delight the box of fifty books Random House had arranged were soon gone and there was a list of children placing orders for more.   It was great to have boys and girls buying the books – some for their little sisters but I suspect a few will read it themselves too.

It was a fabulous day and not over yet.  Ian and I returned to the hotel to freshen up then later walked up the road and met Simon Northcott, the Headmaster.  We were having a barbeque in his garden – an unexpected treat indeed.  It was lovely and warm and the garden was a picture.  Simon and his wife Michelle, who teaches PE in the school are leaving Anselm’s at the end of the term to move to Edinburgh.  They’ve obviously loved their time in Bakewell but are looking forward to the new adventure.

Dinner was delicious and we stayed far too late, not realizing the time because it’s light until 10pm.  We also discovered that Simon’s niece Rosie is at school in Salisbury where we are heading on Monday.

S.Anselm’s was absolutely lovely and a school that I hope to return to on the next tour. I think a visit to Edinburgh will also be part of the plan J

The Peak District; Chatsworth and Bakewell - a day to remember

Wednesday morning we allowed ourselves a bit of a sleep in.  Breakfast at Lion Quays included a show from the resident peacock, Eugene, who really paraded his stuff for us.  He's absolutely stunning.  He arrived one day about four years ago and decided to stay.  Then again, I can think of a lot worse places to live too.

Driving from Oswestry to the Peak District, we encountered tiny villages with churches hundreds of years old, miniscule laneways, where passing another vehicle meant holding your breath and more pubs than you can possibly count.  This trip mostly saw us avoiding the motorways – which I was pleased about as they can be quite dull and dangerous.  We ventured through some major towns as well as the villages, the last of which was Buxton.  This reminded both of us of Bath and we later learned that it was built as the ‘spa town of the North’.  I’m not sure that it ever lived up to its name but apparently there has been quite a considerable amount of money invested in the area recently, renovating old buildings and encouraging new development.  It’s really very beautiful.

When you head into the Peaks, the landscape changes dramatically, with windswept moors and craggy outcrops – on which several groups of abesillers were honing their skills.  Our drive was marked by bright sunshine and a cloudless sky.  Truly gorgeous.

As we headed toward Bakewell, the villages were like something from a fairytale.  Quaint cottages and narrow streets and again of course, at least a pub or two.  On this rare day off on the tour we decided to visit the Chatsworth estate, renowned as one of the most beautiful country piles in the UK.  It is home to the Duke and Duchess of Devonshire.  There is a farm shop and a village with an ancient church and then as we rounded a bend in the road, careful not to upset the sheep and their lambs, my mouth literally fell open.  The scene in front of us was like something from a movie.  The most enormous mansion surrounded by formal gardens including a cascading water feature that must have been half a mile long.  And then there were the stables and rising from the trees atop the peak, the hunting lodge.  Of course there was also a river flowing through the bottom of the park and people – everywhere enjoying the glorious weather and the hospitality of the Duke and Duchess.

The whole countryside was a palette of blues and greens – we were definitely seeing the estate at its very best.  Nothing about our visit disappointed, except that I could have stayed there for much longer.  The estate is now part of a trust, created when the current Duke inherited it and had to pay 80% death duties.  It was quite likely the only way that they could ensure its future.  The Duke and Duchess pay rent to live in the house and that situation will continue down the line.  The money generated from activities including tours and the like goes back into conservation and maintenance.  There is a large staff to pay for too.

We paid 15 pounds each to enter the house and grounds and I have to say it was money well spent.  Inside there are priceless antiques, curiosities and artworks that the most prestigious museums and galleries would covet.  The trophy cabinets literally glittered with treasure and the collections of various things including Georgiana, the Duchess of Devonshire’s (featured in the movie, The Duchess) trove of minerals and crystals.  The library with its hidden staircase to the upstairs gallery was intriguing and the guest rooms with some of the first ‘ensuite’ bathrooms (built into cupboards) featured extravagant furnishings and beds you really did need a step ladder to climb into.

I spent my time in the gardens imagining what it must have been like in the years before the house was opened to the public, being a child growing up in this wonderland.  With rocky outcrops and waterfalls, a maze to hide in and expanses of lawn, just begging for a game of chasings, it must have been a wonderful life for some.  Perhaps not for the servants who spent their time at the beck and call of the masters, some of whom have quite a chequered past.  The current Duke and Duchess would seem to be well loved by their staff, and well looked after too.  I’m sure that it wasn’t always that way.  Later we heard a story about one duke who was upset that the village obscured his view of the countryside – so he had it moved.  Block by block and piece by piece including the church.  Except for one house where the elderly resident was allowed to stay.  They intended to move the dwelling once he’d shuffled off this mortal coil.  However the wily old so and so outlived the Duke of the time and everyone forgot about it and so there is one cottage that stands alone.

The current Dowager Duchess lives in the village since her husband died and is apparently adored by all.  It sounds like the family has quite a public presence too, and I love the fact that the grounds ,as in the park, are always open.  As we drove out in the afternoon there were hundreds of people picnicking and swimming in the river too – it was hot.  It must have neared thirty degrees.

Bakewell is famous for Bakewell tarts, which I’m afraid I didn’t sample although they looked delicious.  We found our accommodation at the Bagley Hall Sleep Lodge.  A slightly curious place, there is a telephone number to call for check in.  We wandered around and saw the main Hall as well as the Sleep Lodge and stumbled upon the son in law of the owners who was very helpful and offered to take our luggage to the room.  It was called the Ranulf Fienes Suite and the room was huge with a king sized bed.  The bathroom was upstairs and was large too.  I think the owners had spent a considerable amount of money converting what was previously backpacker accommodation; however, the cleaning and maintenance wasn’t the best and the place had aged quickly.  Nonetheless it was very comfortable and the bed was heavenly.
We stumbled on the school we are visiting tomorrow on our way to the hotel – S. Anselm’s was literally at the top of the hill around the corner and was gorgeous. 

John Carr, the Head of English had left a message for us to call him when we arrived.  We did and arranged to meet up just after 6pm when he would take us a for a tour of the area and to dinner in one of the local pubs.  We weren’t expecting a convertible but when John arrived we had the pleasure of driving through the countryside in his beetle with the roof down – certainly not something I expected to be doing in England.  Convertibles are very popular here and Ian and I had commented on the drive over that day, that a bit of sunshine removes the tops on lots of cars. 

We stopped in a pretty village called Ashford on the Water for dinner at the local pub.  The whole experience was quintessentially English.  John’s a great guy and we really enjoyed having the opportunity to meet him after many emails to arrange the visit.  It’s his first year at the school and it’s clear that he loves it.  I was looking forward to meeting the children in the morning and working with a range of classes.  We had been made so welcome – the Peaks had won us over already!