Sometimes a day can begin with a very pleasant surprise, and such was my experience this week when I was opening my post on Monday morning. Flicking through the pile, I came across a slightly bulky envelope which evidently had a book of some sort inside. “Ah, another sales catalogue, I expect!” was my first thought, but one detail made me think otherwise. Unlike sales catalogues which are usually addressed to either the School or the Headmaster, printed in Times New Roman font, this package had a hand written address, laid out with care…. Opening it carefully, I was delighted to find that the contents was indeed a book, and is in fact a gift to the school. It is an anthology of poems entitled Read a Poem, Write a Poem, and was personally sent to us by the author, Mr Simon Ireland. Inside the cover I found a handwritten card in which Mr Ireland explained that he was Head of English at TPS (then known as Thone Junior School) for 6 years between 1984 and 1990. He was a keen writer of poems which were used in assemblies and staff farewell tributes, and now, in his retirement, he has finally had his collection published. He also tells me that he thoroughly enjoys reading the Courier regularly, and I could think of no better way to thank him for his gift and celebrate his achievement than to take the opportunity to mention him in this edition. Every strong community not only reflects on the good work we do in the present, but also recognises those people that have served us in the past. Mr Ireland, we thank you! Your book will be available for all our pupils to enjoy in the Wood Library.
Duncan Sinclair
Prep School Headmaster
