Student Host

As I prepare for my second and final year I assume a new responsibility. All 'returning' students are expected to take some role on, ranging from Archdeacon (that's not a quick promotion, just a fancy name for 'Senior Student') who represents the students interests towards the staff, to Staircase Steward, Chapel Deacon, Audio-Visual Deacon, Books Deacon, and a whole load of other jobs. You might expect me to be doing the Audio-Visual job, but you'd be wrong. Plenty of other people to do that, I wanted to do something different.

So after standing for Archdeacon last term, and not getting elected (I'm over it now) I waited patiently for the successful Archdeacon Dave to create me the post of Gargolyes Maintenance and Operation Deacon. But that call never came. So I decided to go for Student Host instead.

What this means is that I work with my fellow Student Host, Mark, and the admissions office to ensure that future students who are coming for an interview have somebody to meet them and escort them on their interview day. Whilst all students are expected to act as escorts on at least one occasion through the year it's quite a challenge at this time of year to find enough hosts, when students are on exams or short courses, and from time to time Mark and I find ourselves standing in. Which is what I'm doing today.

So, as an escort, my job is to meet the student, and usually their spouse too, and have lunch with them, before delivering them to a series of interviews, and in between interviews showing them around the place and answering their questions. One panel session ('This is Ridley'), one with the Principal, one academic (what course do you want to do) and one pastoral (about personal background and family type stuff) in one afternoon means that they mostly emerge with a semi-glazed look, desparately trying to remember who said what to them, asking all sorts of questions. Sometimes you then need to find somebody who can answer that question - if somebody asks me about secondary schools I'm fine, but if they ask me about advice for budgets for one bedroom flats I'm useless!

Then Common Room Tea is a fine opportunity for all to regain their breath for half an hour, before they join us for College Communion, to get a flavour of Ridley at worship. After that it's time for dinner together, more questions and chat, before finally wrapping up, pointing in the direction of the door and leaving, with Student Host exhausted and interviewee feeling a bit dazed by the intensity of it all!

All done!

An important day for lots of people at Ridley today - it was the final essay deadline for everyone, and the Greek exam. For those on my essay-based course this was the last academic hurdle this year. For others on the exam-based course the exams continue for the rest of this week.

So at lunchtime there were lots of relieved faces, a few people comparing notes on exactly how the tricky questions 2 and 6 had been answered (don't you hate it when they do that?), and my friend Jane observing that now she had no deadlines left all that stuff which had previously distracted her from work suddenly didn't seem quite so urgent!

But back to the Greek exam - I've taken a Cambridge University exam! Although I would have appreciated more salubrious surroundings as we sat in the most depressing room in Cambridge, a 1960's monstrosity called the Rank Room. And it most certainly matches its description, but to be honest when you've got your head down writing solidly for three hours you tend not to notice what's around you.

However, Cambridge being Cambridge there were some lovely traditions. The invigilators were fully robed in batman capes. If you've seen the recent video release of 'Joseph' it was a bit like the opening scene where all are lined up in the school hall waiting for the teachers to begin singing*! But that never actually happened. Pity.

The exam was OK - a few tricky bits that I couldn't do but I'm not expecting to get 100% anyway - I'll get the results in about 3 weeks time, along with all the other results for the year.

So now the pace eases off. For those leaving there are a couple of intense weeks of short courses, but I'll write about those next year when it's my turn. For those returning there are slightly less courses - the Bereavement course that I wrote about in January is back for all students, due to popular demand, so having already done it I've actually got the next few days off! Next week there's a couple of half-day courses, and I'm organising a Besom project (a what? - call back next week).

It's really nice with the pressure off. I can go into the library and read the books that I've been looking at longingly for the last 6 months, knowing that I've got time to read them, and that I don't have to take notes or write anything about them. I could sit drinking tea all day, practising my pastoral technique. I could, at a push, afford a lie-in.


*Thanks to Disco Dave for that - kept me amused all the way through the exam, waiting for them to burst into song.

Nearly there

It's a year today since I left work. Lots has happened since then, as long-term readers will know. This time last year we faced a move to Cambridge, not really knowing what lay ahead. Looking back, it's not been too bad!

The course has flown by, and academically we're almost there. Today I finished the last of my first-year essays, which now just awaits my proof reader before being finally printed and handed in on Tuesday morning. For me it's been an amazingly productive week with three essays completed, but I offer a little piece of advice at this point - it's best if you don't doze off with your laptop on your lap. I am absolutely shattered - towards the end of the week it's been difficult to get out of bed, but no difficulty at all getting into it!

Now there is only the Greek exam to look forward to. The rest of the Bank Holiday weekend will be spent enjoying the Monaco Grand Prix (unfortunately not in person), with a bit of time off, and some revision, as well as hosting a barbecue for SPICE (the Ridley partner's group) on Monday evening.

In other news, Gavin and Ruth have clearly decided that I have forgotten about my Ferris Wheel. I told them I'd send a text when I'd forgotten about it....

Vicars and children

We had a good session at Romsey Mill today. Partly because there weren't very many in the group, mostly because I spent much of it playing with K-Nex. Here's the Ferris Wheel that I made in a feeble attempt to 'engage with the young people'.

And engage we did. One by one everybody joined me for a few minutes to add a bit, or to have a chat. Why didn't we get this out weeks ago? One boy finally realised, after 7 months, that I'm a trainee vicar. It didn't change his foul language at all, but it completely threw him off balance because, in his words, "vicars don't work with children."

Which in turn threw us, the leaders, off balance. Why on earth would vicars not work with children?

The reality, from my side, is precisely why I'm working at Romsey Mill - we need to work with all ages. When I first started thinking about training somebody told me that she could never see me being a vicar because "you're no good with old ladies". It was amazing how many old ladies crossed my path and befriended me over the next few weeks to enable me to firmly rebuke that statement.

In other news, we're out of the croquet tournament. Trounced by the vice-principal and the college's main sportsman, 8-2. Next year maybe.

Meanwhile here's a short film of Gavin and Ruth demonstrating the Ferris Wheel and trying to be relevant to da yoof.

So what happened last term?

I just realised that having given you a comprehensive account of what I got up to academically in the first term I totally failed to tell you what I've been studying since Christmas. So you've been reading about snowballs, Federation Worship and croquet, and maybe thinking that I'm not justifying my use of church funds terribly well!

The Spring Term replaced 'Reading the New Testament' with 'Reading the Old Testament' - this was a study not of every single page of the Old Testament (OT), but of the different types of writing within it. Let's see if anything went in - The OT comprises 5 types of writing - Histories, Prophecies, Wisdom...and two others. Oh dear. I'm so pleased I don't have an exam in this!

Also 'Church History' was replaced with 'Theology and Practice of Mission'. Some sample topics there: Mission and Evangelism, Mission and other faiths, Mission and the Trinity (nope, me neither...I thought the Trinity had already been converted). The essay for that one went in on May 11th.

Finally, Life and Service changed emphasis from the first term (when we thought a lot about Theological Reflection, and some Pastoral Situations) to looking at some Preaching and Sermon Writing, along with some theological background to the CoE. That gave some opportunity for us to ask some 'why do we do that?' type questions, as it's so easy for us to do or say the same thing in services without knowing really why we do them. My favourite one was a Ridley specific one- "Why is the large freestanding silver cross placed on the right hand side of the chapel panelling rather than in the centre?". The answer wasn't so much theological as practical. If it was in the centre it would get in the way of our projection screen!

Greek continued unabated - I didn't do so well in the end of term test as the last time, but the average mark was still highly respectable. Exam for that in a couple of weeks time.

The summer (or, confusingly, 'Easter') Term has no new teaching - some of the modules roll over for a few weeks, but the contact time is much lower, and we've had pretty much all the formal academic teaching for this term already. The staff are currently 'heads-down' writing reports on us for our dioceses and after the essay deadline/exam period they will furiously mark our assessments in order to get our marks back to us before the term is over whilst we occupy our time with some practical training.

The essays are going OK - my piece on Romsey Mill is 95% there, just simmering on a side-burner for a few days. Now I have to read up and write on 'the characteristics of a prophet' and design a course that isn't a blatant Alpha rip-off, all within the next 12 days. As well as fit in the next round of croquet, and start to plan an All-Age service.

Heads down, finishing post in sight

It's busy, busy, busy here. Two weeks to go until the final essay deadline and a Greek exam.

The essay that I had to write on 'Theology of Mission' went in on time yesterday. Now there's just three more essays to write and that Greek to revise - which is as much about being familiar with Chapters 1 to 5 of John's Gospel as knowing actual Greek words.

And if that's not enough, there's the Ridley Croquet tournament. The picture shows Will revising hard for this particular assessment. For the last two terms we've been kept off the grass in order to preserve the Wembley-like playing surface (read into that what you will!), but now the lawn is beginning to look like Wimbledon in the middle of the Championships as we trample it in order to make it to the top of the croquet pile. Along with my croquet partner Jon Oliver we found a few spare hours to hone our game last week before thrashing our first round opponents last night. The second round may not be so easy - essays are starting to look more attractive than a match against the Vice-Principal....

Slightly annoyed

Jesus did 'righteous anger' when he kicked the moneychangers and rip-off merchants out of the temple. I think I'm about to do a spot of it, albeit remotely and aimed at some Dutch people and venture capitalists that I've never met.

It's coming up for one year since I left work, the fortunate consequence of a round of redundancies. I learnt today that there's another round - that's the second lot since I left, the third in a year. Facts are few and far between, and I'm trying to find out more so that I can pray for the situation in an informed, rather than ignorant, manner, but what I know so far is that the teams that I left are being hacked about, despite record breaking performance over the last couple of years. It's heart-breaking to think that people's lives are being ripped apart when they've worked so hard. Their reward - a P45.

I've realised today that I haven't missed the daily slog of driving to Southampton, of staring at spreadsheets, graphs and meeting minutes for endless hours. What I have missed is the company of certain individuals, good friends, and human company with a face. As opposed to a faceless company with no heart.

Whilst my new 'employer' may be another faceless organisation, we're certainly in the business of having a heart and caring for people. I'm looking forward to that bit.