En garde, encore!

THE acclaimed Nicholas Hytner production of Hamlet, with Alex Lanipekun (LaA 92-99), right, as Laertes, returns to the National Theatre for twelve performances in April. (Before that it visits Woking, Milton Keynes, Plymouth and Luxembourg.)

A snip at £850

ANYONE fancy a handsome landscape painting by Howard Barron (PeA 1909-16)?

Five years ago two portraits of Churchill by Barron came up for auction at Sotheby's and Bonhams, and each sold for more than £6,000.

Doing things with words

FROM September, Roman Catholic churches will be using a new English translation of the liturgy, created under the supervision of Monsignor Bruce Harbert (LaB 54-62), who here discusses translating the oldest Eucharistic prayer, the Roman Canon (11 mins):



The new translation, and Bruce Harbert's role in it, are examined and applauded here. Is he the first-ever Old Blue Monsignor?

Matthew

HOUSEYBLOG joins with the CH community and with all who loved him in mourning Matthew Leonard of Grecians East, who died on a level crossing near the school on Monday. May he know peace.

Ten years of, well, you name it

THIS entertaining account of the Eighties by Alwyn W Turner (LaB 73-79) was listed by both the Sunday Times and the New Statesman as one of the Books of the Year.

Life of Riley

CONGRATULATIONS to Tace Allen-Hunt (BaA 89-96) and husband Shaun on the birth of their son Riley Jack Allen-Hunt on 29 January.

Half-thought thoughts

MINUTES after a Music Business Innovation event in Glasgow, someone cornered journalist and broadcaster Colin Somerville (LaA 68-75) and asked for his reactions (2½ mins):

All Saints

CLICK here to hear "Anthem for All Saints' Day", a collaboration - one of at least eight - between organist and composer David Goode and poet and dramatist Francis Warner (MdB 47-54).

To the barricades

THIS CH parent was all in favour of the tuition fees protests in December:

I'm proud of my daughter Ellie and her friend Hanita, both graduates of Christ's Hospital, who took part in the demonstration and occupation of Tory Party HQ. They aren't the anarchists of the foaming tabloid writers. Quite the contrary. Hedonists would be a better description! But young as they are they know right from wrong… And if resistance is in the air then that to me is demonstrated by one of [my] sons, Tom 13, who is also at Christ's Hospital. Never particularly political he came back for leave weekend wanting to go on the anti-cuts demonstration in Brighton!… I take pride in the fact that our younger generation is waking up to the need to change society and that means not accepting the idea that "there is no alternative".

Snow

THE Guardian gives us a poem by Keith Chandler (ThA 56-64).

Contains strong language

NIALL BARKER (PeB, PeA 84-91) of Nately unleashes his song "What If It Rains?", supported by Alex Selby-Boothroyd (MdB, MdA 84-91) on sax (3 mins):

Blest pair of sirens, x 2

THIS fine upstanding body of men is the Berlin Art Quartet, featuring violinist Zheni Kanani (LHA, GrE 99–01), front left. They performed last March in the Chinese seaport city of Ningbo, but that is all we know about them. More news welcome.

angry_with_britain

A SPOOF exhibition of modern art, mounted last year by the author Wendy Holden and her husband Jon McLeod (MdB 76-84) to promote her novel Gallery Girl.

Kiwi worthy

WHO was Dr Donald Stuart, and why should his statue be moved? Rodney Hamel (Horsham Staff 74-75) has the answers.

Lesson to us all

MANAGING director, art director, travel writer and photographer, broadcaster, filmmaker - is there anything Tony Pletts (ColA 72-79) can't do? (7 mins):

Hang on Tight

THIS unusual book by Sue Davies-Jenkins (Wilson, 2's 57-65, Governor), a mixture of photographs, original poetry and prose, is not exclusively about CH (though that's where the profits are going) but shows how the school's unique ethos has permeated her adult life. It includes contributions by CH teachers and a current pupil, Dominic Parker, and has earned write-ups in the Sussex press and the Welsh press too.

France, Mauritius, and London in the rain

VERY much liked this interview with painter and art dealer Anick Purmessur (ColA & LHB 89-92), with four of her paintings thrown in for good measure. She plans to open a London gallery before the year is out.

Farewell, Uncle Keith

POLITICAL historian and wartime codebreaker Keith Sainsbury (ThB 34-43) dies at 86.

Mambo Italiano

SAXOPHONIST and singer Jonny Boston (LaA 82-89) in action with Gumbo Jumbo (2½ mins):

At the heart of the vote

THE people of Southern Sudan have been voting in a referendum on whether to part company with the North and become an independent country. In the state of Western Equatoria, the person running the poll is reportedly a certain "Forojalla Sibrino". This could well be Sibrino Barnaba Forojalla (LaB 68-70) (pictured), formerly Vice-Chancellor of the University of Juba, the capital of Southern Sudan. If, as expected, the vote goes in favour of independence, it'll be interesting to see what responsibilities he takes on as the new state is born.

A humanist requiem

LAST November the Newbury Chamber Choir gave the world premiere of the Rossetti Requiem, composed by their musical director Edward Lambert (Wright, ThA 61-70) with lyrics by Christina Rossetti. Listen to it here; this admiring review may whet your appetite.

Need an index?

LOOK no further than Rohan Bolton (1's, 3's 59-68).

Final peal

VERONICA HYDON (1's 63-70), vicar of Bollington in Cheshire, says goodbye to the bells of St John's (90 secs):

Perhaps a perfect team

A POWERFUL Observer article about the adventurers James Hooper and the late Rob Gauntlett, both of whom were in Maine B & Grecians East from 1998 to 2005.

Nature's traditions

OPENING today at the Eagle Gallery in London EC1, the exhibition Natural Histories explores "how contemporary artists are referencing traditions associated with 17th and 18th century botanicals, herbariums and natural histories, to comment on current economic and environmental issues." One of the six artists is Mich Maroney (1's 73-78), whose Solstice is a photographic record of a nature reserve, inspired by medieval books of hours and the Garden Kalendar of Gilbert White; it documents the passing of time through the changing atmosphere of weather, landscape and tides.

Religion and science

IN Cambridge they join hands, argues a new guidebook by David Berkley (Horsham Staff 73-83), glowingly reviewed here.

The Fear Inside

TIME for another four minutes of Frankmusik (Vincent Turner, MaA & GrE 97-04):

Highland bling

TWENTY years ago she collaborated on an Edinburgh exhibition, The Art of Jewellery in Scotland, and she's never lost interest since. Now Diana Scarisbrick (Wood, 5's & 6's 41-47) has produced a spectacular monograph on the subject.

Prepare for misery

IMMINENT changes to the housing benefit system will do real harm, predicts Oxford councillor Ed Turner (MdB 88-95).

Not entirely silent

BEST of luck to Piers Maxim (PeA 81-87), whose cantata Song of the Silent Land is one of two finalists for the cantata prize at this year's Longfellow Choral Festival in Portland, Oregon, where both will be premiered on 26 February.

The Word of the Lord

ROMAN Catholic priest Paul Uwemedimo (PeA 75-83) reads from Luke's gospel at a conference in the Philippines last year (4 mins):

Engaged and engaging

HOUSEYBLOG hails the Collected Poems of scholar, author and publisher Michael Schmidt (ThB 65-66).

Bloody-mindedness is next to godliness

AFTER his pilgrimage to Rome last year (see exclusive photo above), Joshua Bell (PeA, GrW 02-09) has written a book about the experience.

And blimey, he's in Wikipedia too.

"A quiet presiding authority"

PETER AGULNIK (BaA 48-55), left, commemorates his fellow psychiatrist Bertram Mandelbrote, right, with whom he created the Ley Community in Oxford.