Great Scot April 2018 GreatScot_153_April_2018_Online | Page 8

Chaplain
Rev Doug Campbell – School Chaplain
A smorgasbord of
opportunities at Scotch
We challenge our boys to grasp opportunities and do great things
REV DOUG CAMPBELL
SCHOOL CHAPLAIN
YEAR 7 BOYS AT COWES CAMP
It could not have happened at a worse time. The
wind was screeching across the veldt and buffeting the
house to such an extent that one worried about the
roof. Pondering the prospects of the roof’s survival was
soon to be a distant recollection. The sudden absence
of light heralded the news that the power was now off.
After the customary flick of the light switch, I groped
in the dark for my faithful head-torch in order to locate
the fuse box.
My mantra was simple and heartfelt. ‘Please let it
just be a tripped fuse!’ Sadly, with all the fuses in their
proper position, the reality dawned. The storm had
brought the power down around the island. Returning
to a now candlelit room, we hunkered down for the
duration and hoped that the absence of light and
heat would be a short one. Thanks to the work of the
unseen heroes of the power company, the light and heat
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Great Scot Number 153 – April 2018
returned after a few miserable and cold hours. As we
basked in the electric light and felt the heating warm
our bones, it was clear that we take these ordinary
things for granted.
We tend to take many things for granted in life. We
expect the heating (or air-conditioning) and lighting to
be available every minute of every day. We jump into
our cars and expect the engine to start, first time. The
days of playing with the manual choke in order to start
the engine on a cold Scottish morning are a distant
memory. Try explaining that one to your children.
If we expect things in life, we also expect things at
Scotch College. Some of these things are opportunities.
Scotch boys have before them a real smorgasbord of
delicacies and interests from which they can choose,
and they can challenge themselves in so many different
ways. They are able to choose electives and go down