A YEAR IN BOARDING
EVERY YEAR, the boarding community is blessed with a thousand opportunities and activities that can only be deemed‘ unforgettable’. Yet every year, it seems to me that the activities get better and better. So, as a member of Aisher House, let me share just a few which took place over the past 12 months.
The highlights for most people are always the inter-house competitions, and between the top-tier football and basketball, the year was off to a good start. We are known to be loud and emotional during these, but I prefer to think of it as passion and enthusiasm. Much later, the boarders’ sporting year ends in the Summer term, when we all take part in the exciting Boarders’ Olympics( which I must say Aisher seems very good at!). Volleyball and athletics are a pure show of sportsmanship and talent, but the unanimous preference is the synchronised swimming competition. We had to organise a big dance both in and out of the water, being marked on various criteria such as raise, dive, synchronicity and many more judge-kept secrets. This year, it was a close battle, with entries ranging from the hilarious Johnsons and IC routines to the amazingly synchronised GIH( and Aisher, some might say). Yet in the end, the judges decided to award the trophy, and pride of boarders, to School House and Sennocke. I have to admit that these excellent sporting events would all be impossible without the constant efforts of Mrs Haworth.
As the year progressed, many other trips and events took place. For example, the Aisher House boarders went to see several plays and musicals and always appreciated the time put into organising such trips by Mr Danby and Mr Tate. I know that I, like many other Aisher boys, are now imbued with their love of the dramatic arts. We also went to London to listen to LSE public lectures with Mr Norman.
Those are just a few examples of the more intellectual opportunities of this year, but the truth is, the most impactful events are the in-house activities. For example, I have not missed one of Mr Norman’ s famous‘ Normanomics’ sessions, within which we have acquired a mixture of history, geopolitics and general knowledge. Also, as the kitchen is the cornerstone of the Aisher social life, the nights when the Spanish language assistants come and cook with and for us are adored by all. We made croissants and other delicacies that the whole house butchered while simultaneously catching up with the assistants on all the recent gossip.
All in all, it’ s been quite a year … Tom Nassar, Lower Sixth
104 BOARDING