of‘ hot-house’ colours. The parable is one that, no doubt, benefits the boys, as their natural surroundings increasingly compete for attention with screens of all sizes. Both feeding into and feeding off the energy of the school, Alan and Tim both agree that less is more when it comes to aesthetics.“ The idea is to fit respectfully into the surroundings, rather than to impose upon them.” The school’ s surroundings will continue to be carefully amended in the coming few years.“ At the end of the day, it is all about feel;” remarks Alan,“ if it feels right, you’ re half way there.” It takes many years of intuition, mixed with intelligence, before careful planning eventually evolves into the fruit of a full effect. Dons know this inherently as part of their profession, and Alan and Tim will be sharing the patient practice of rearing young roots as they turn their attention towards the garden outside Common Room.“ If you plant artificial roots, they will never remain strong.” Tim adds,“ Gardening inherently involves patience, and central to patience is trust. In gardening, sometimes you can plant all the right seeds in all the right places, but at the end of the day,
it is always down to mother-nature to define what happens next. Sometimes, you just have to do your best, and trust that it’ s going to work.”“ One is always tempted to remember Voltaire’ s Candide”, says Tim. It is a story about a man who ventures through the world, learns all of its foibles, only to find a great final solace and meaning in the cultivation of a garden. Without doubt, this would trigger more than the faintest nod of approval from Old Wykehamists, who have a great debt of gratitude to pay to those who have carefully coloured the backdrop to some of their fondest memories.
The Wykeham Journal 2016 23