No . 131 The Trusty Servant
OW Wine Tasting On 18 th March a capacity virtual audience joined Simon Taylor ( F , 70-74 ) to listen to him espouse the qualities of wine from his South African range . Simon is the Founder of Stone Vine and Sun , a wine merchant near Winchester . Helping him to bring the wines to life was Megan Mullis , the wine maker at Domaine des Dieux , near Hermanus in South Africa . Megan had made two of the wines being tasted and generously gave up her time during the wine harvest to be with Simon ’ s audience . For some in attendance , this virtual visit to South Africa was partial recompense for the Wykeham Patrons ’ trip that has been postponed for two years . Megan has assured them of a warm welcome when they do visit . Simon ’ s next wine tasting will be on Thursday 13 th May and take its audience on a virtual tour of Languedoc-Rossillon .
Ben Hulett ( A , 90-95 ) Ashley Riches ( Coll , 00-05 ), baritone
Chapel Choir Workshop On 9 th and 10 th February , we were able to broadcast an event that normally would take place in front of a live audience . Mr Howard Ionascu , Director of Chapel Music , arranged a masterclass for a selection of Quiristers and members of Chapel Choir . The classes were taken by two Old Wykehamists : Ben Hulett ( A , 90-95 ) and Ashley Riches ( Coll , 00-05 ), who are both professional singers .
Over the course of nearly two hours each , Ben and Ashley took four students through a testing exploration of their skills and understanding of the pieces of music they had chosen to perform . It was rewarding for them and fascinating for the virtual audience .
The Friends of Winchester College
If you would like to see more of Winchester College , both virtually and physically , you might wish to become a member of the Friends of Winchester College .
The Friends offer a wide variety of lectures and events throughout the year , ranging from jazz evenings to talks on Milton and Shakespeare . A particular highlight is the Kenneth Clark competition when six boys , chosen out of the entire of VI Book , present short lectures on artworks of their choosing . The standard of performance is remarkably high . To maximise what is on offer , we will continue to offer some lectures online .
A feature of the 2021-22 programme that we were not able to benefit from last year is that we have been given permission to hold drinks parties before talks in areas of the College not generally open to the public . This will add much to what we offer , allowing the Friends to meet and enjoy a drink in spectacular surroundings before an event .
Some inevitably grainy screenshots of our host Simon Taylor ( F , 70-74 ) and expert Megan Mullis
If you would like to become a member of the Friends , please do visit the Friends page on our website : www . wincollsoc . org / friends / friends-of-winchester-college .
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