Whole school assembly - 16th December 2022
We’ve made it to the end of term – the Autumn term – which I usually flippantly refer to as the engine room of the school year – the longest term with the fewest interruptions as Winter grows and evenings darken. That’s been the case especially this year I think, with this concluding period of arctic temperatures driving home the point. The year turns through Christmas, time moves on.
And it’s those ideas of change and the passage and pattern of time that I wanted to explore this morning as we teeter on the very brink of the Christmas holiday. A brief exploration, to be sure, but one that hopefully will make you think about the year past – and the possibilities of a post-Covid year to come.
I’m going to start with a bit of Art History – with this painting. It’s called ‘A Dance to the Music of Time’. It was painted by Nicolas Poussin in the mid-17th Century, probably in Rome, and certainly commissioned by a future Pope. The Baroque scene is one of classical antiquity; in the background, Aurora, Goddess of Dawn is pursued across the sky by Apollo, the Sun God as the day comes alive. In the foreground 4 figures dance to notes played by a greybeard, and cherubs (or to be technically accurate, putti) while away time itself. The four figures are thought to represent 4 seasons, summer at the front; they move, hand in hand following intricate patterns as each partner disappears in turn, only to reappear as the group spins perpetually. Pattern, rhythm, beauty, spectacle but also a feeling that they follow a repeating path which they can’t really control.
And that in some ways is us, right there. OK, the uniform/dress code is not quite the same but you get the gist I’m sure. Our quadrille within Bishop’s over the past year has been influenced by great events beyond the school gates – and it will ever be so. The invasion of Ukraine making energy prices climb, and economic dominoes falling has made everyone think much more carefully about budgeting – and that’s true whether you’re running a school or if you are planning for Christmas at home. The increasing impact of a climate that is changing, and a feeling of frustration as politicians and diplomats put self interest before planetary health. The death of a queen – our queen – a sign of change if ever there was one. The Second Elizabethan Age is over, the Carolean Era of the twenty first Century is with us. We end 2022 with the ghosts of Christmas present, strikes by public sector workers and the recurring tragedy of cross channel migrants adding to the misery of the cold weather.
2022 came with a ration of gloom – but there are bright spots not to be missed too. The success of the Lionesses driving forward women's sport and much more. The extraordinary success of medical research in a post-Covid world, the wonders of future Science in the form of Event Horizon and James Webb, the LHC, Fusion Physics and Artemis. It is clear that the world – and Britain – have emerged from the shadow of the pandemic and human ingenuity has not waned. Far from it.
And that’s true here too. The Autumn Term especially has been a period of learning resumed, activities grown and opportunities realised. The dance to the music of time goes on, as ever, but we – you – do have some influence over the patterns that you tread as the year goes through. We are defined as individuals by the choices that we make – not by who or what we are, nor by where we come from, nor by the big events in the backdrop of our lives. After this past year, this autumn term, now is the chance that we all have to reflect on those choices and the effect that they have had on ourselves and those around us.
To complete my reflection on 2022 I have assistance from California – a 2 minute summary of searches put together by Google – with change and rebirth as its central themes … See how many elements you can recognise as the music of time moves inexorably on.
https://about.google/stories/year-in-search/
