Throughout my 19 years of headship, my column to parents before the early May Bank Holiday has referenced bluebells as this has traditionally been the weekend that they are in full bloom. Admittedly there are more scientific indicators of climate change out there but I can’t help feel that, in recent years, the blue carpets have appeared earlier and earlier and on my bike rides last weekend, they were even starting to fade away. Therefore, my picture below is probably my least impressive yet – if you have better pictures of ‘Beacon Boys in Bluebells’ do send them in as we will have our usual montage in the Lighthouse next Friday. The Beacon has been looking resplendent in the sunshine this week but, as a counter to the early bluebell bloom, I did voice my concerns to Jim Sanderson this week as I was worried about our iconic ‘Indian Bean Tree’ in the Quad that has yet to get into leaf. “Don’t worry, I used to think the same; it’s always the last to sprout leaves – nothing to worry about” was the sage response from someone who has historical knowledge of every inch of our site.
With early blooms, has also come early onset of hay fever and as someone who has largely grown out of this affliction, my sympathies with the many boys who have clearly been struggling this week. On the gate yesterday, a couple of boys walked in with sunglasses citing that the lack of glare helped with their itchy eyes. I did exactly the same at their age and found that it really helped alleviate the impact. A few of my unkind peers suggested that I was just trying to be cool(er) and didn’t buy my hay fever rationale but they were wrong. You can definitely wear shades, limit the effects of hay fever…and also be cool at the same time.
Nick Baker