C. J. Hirst went to Norway this summer to represent Great Britain in an Orienteering International. At home T. C. Moore, I. A. Nichols and C. A. F. Brown have all attained silver standard in the Duke of Edinburgh Award Scheme. Several prizes have been won by members of the House. S. B. Irons won a keyboard prize; a Vth form prize was won by C. J. Hirst, a Latin prize by C. G. A. Morcom, and P. S. Lancaster won a Divinity prize. Nearly all members of the Middle Sixth are leaving at the end of term and we send them away with best wishes. M.D.
THE THRESHOLD These five poems were all broadcast by the BBC in their 'Books, Plays, Poems' series. They were out of eighteen broadcast in June.
THE MISTAKE I looked at an artist's painting; The trees were gaunt and the grass Had been replaced by mud. Why had The trees no leaves and why was there no grass? A child could have splashed the painting With brown paint and made it look like mud; The sky was filled with exploding shells. What a poor way to cover his mistakes; The painter should have taken more care; The trenches were messy and again coloured with the same brown paint. Had the artist become muddled at this stage? The bodies of men were strewn every where; Why had their legs and heads been blown off? Couldn't the artist paint them? Why had he not planned his picture a little better? If he had never intended to bother, Why had he ever started to paint it at all? Mark B. Anderson.
THE BUILDERS They were essentially good builders, When not at the "Three Horses" Or getting a convenient cold after pay day. They produced excellent results When they didn't break tools that were not theirs. They arrived early, before eight, some days, Except when their van broke down, About twice a week, Or they got stuck in the traffic till eleven And decided it was too late to start work and went home. One day they arrived at eight, Took their money and left at nine; We haven't seen them since.
Christopher Bird 64
