The Michaelmas term began with a flurry of activity with the arrival of 20 new IVth Formers. After their inauguration day with the help of Tommy Tippetts, Paul Arthur and Charles Forbes, the rest of the House arrived back, bristling with gossip and stories to tell from the summer, and the term officially got under way.
The first major event of the term was the House Performance, a truly daunting task for the IVth Form, who performed brilliantly. However, undoubtedly the highlight of the evening was victory in the part-song, ably led by Tom Lyle and Jocelyn Waller who co-ordinated ‘Big Yellow Taxi’ by Counting Crows with great patience and skill. Unfortunately, our efforts didn’t end in victory but, nevertheless, the evening was enjoyed immensely by audience and performers alike.
Next up came the House Challenge quiz competition and the chance to show off some of the intellectual brawn in the House. The team, led by the genius that is Dave Tysoe, dispatched South with great ease in the first round and then won a tense semi-final against Cubitt. The final against East was unbelievably close and, having clawed our way back into contention in the last five minutes, the team lost by one question. The only viable conclusion is that the scores must have been added up incorrectly! (No comment- Editor.)
A traditional resident of the Loveday trophy cabinet over the years has been the senior squash trophy and it was duly regained again under the captaincy of Seren Waters after a hard-fought 3-2 victory over Cubitt. We narrowly missed out on ‘the double’ in the juniors but the convincing performances of Duncan Allan suggest that future success is definitely on the cards. The junior House basketball was also won for the first time by Loveday, having won the IVth Form competition and coming runners-up to East in the Vth form. It was a true exhibition of ‘flair’ and some top quality ‘dribbling’ from the likes of Fred Hickman, Adam Sansom and Tom Gillen: a real spectacle to watch! We weren’t quite so fortunate in the House rugby, losing the senior final to North in a hard match. The ‘lights’ were also unlucky enough to lose to North after a thrilling 0-0 draw in extra time which saw them go out of the competition on a coin toss!
Loveday’s contributions to music and drama have always been outstanding and Piers English and Jack Church were hilarious in the comedy ‘Bedroom Farce’. The West House plays also featured many of the Loveday boys, but Paul Arthur deserves a special mention for his debut performance as an extremely camp servant who had the audience in stitches the entire evening!
However, as the term drew to a close, the House had to say goodbye to Kate, our Matron of three and a half years. She will be tremendously missed by everyone in the House and we wish her all the best in her retirement.
Having recharged the batteries, the first obstacle of the Lent term was the annual charity football event in the TASC, organised by Crumpy and myself. Whilst the new tournament ‘experiment’ was not as successful as hoped, it, as ever, produced some outstanding skills, goals, gaffs and of course, horrendous tackles! Over £1000 was raised: an outstanding effort from everyone involved, especially with the ranks depleted through illness and other school commitments. Events such as this typify the tremendous spirit within the House and a mention must go to Eddie Hamilton who played over six hours of footie!
Sport in the Lent term saw the senior fives return to the trophy cabinet again, but narrow losses in the hockey, football and senior water-polo meant that the term was not as successful as had been hoped. The cross-country also merits a particular mention as every member of the UVI ran the race, voluntarily, and demonstrated to the other Houses the special atmosphere and teamwork in the House. Congratulations to Tom Spreckley for proving the doubters wrong and winning the senior race in style.
The House debating and the junior House Challenge quiz both brought about two more agonizing second place finishes for the House. Nevertheless, the debating was successful in its own right as we became the first boys’ House to defeat a girls’ House in the competition, thanks to a fantastic effort from Peers Lyle in particular as well as George Hemingway and myself.
Yet again, the thespians of the House were prominent in ‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream’. As with the musical last year, it was a very much a Loveday-dominated cast with special mention going to Jerry Thompson, Ian Sekalala and Jack Hartley for their fantastic performances.
The highlight of the Lent term for the UVth, however, was the annual dinner that took place in Dining Hall with parents, staff and Matrons. The evening was a great chance to look back and reminisce over the past five years, share some funny memories and relive the embarrassing ones, as well as enjoying some great food and yet more banter!
The Summer term once again brought sporting success to the House, this time completing the ‘double’ on the cricket field. Led by Crumpy in the seniors, Cubitt’s challenging target was met easily in the semi-final and then victory against a strong North side with half-centuries from Seren (the XI captain) and Ashy ensured that we retained the trophy. In the juniors the star performer was all-rounder extraordinaire Duncan Allan, with support from Harry Thomas and Sam Young who between them guided us towards victory in convincing fashion. In the pool, the seniors once again dominated proceedings, winning all but two races and Henry Wilson’s efforts in winning two events, back to back, with no rest break, drew comparisons with the iconic Michael Phelps (well… in swimming circles at least!). This helped Loveday to third place, with the seniors contributing over half the total points. On to athletics, not normally a word that one would associate with Loveday, but, having narrowly missed out on second place this year, things are looking up for the House in the future!
The final House event of the year was the Loveday House concert that took place on the 25th June in the MMS. The incredible range of talent in the House was on display throughout the evening, with the LVI octet producing a performance to remember, combining imaginative choreography with vocals, even if they missed the odd note!
Finally, special thanks must be made to CNS, CHDB, RCEKK, the team of Tutors and the Matrons whose tireless efforts on behalf of the House make it the special place that it is and ensure that we are awake at 7.15 every morning; or nearly every morning, Bodders! In September, SJB will be taking over as Deputy Housemaster and AAGL taking over as Warden of High Upfold. Both Bodders and RCEKK will be sorely missed as their contributions over the last six and five years respectively have been enormous. CHDB has always co-ordinated the charity football event and has been the person responsible for the continuing development of the children whom we sponsor. RCEKK has run High Upfold with great patience and commitment to his pupils throughout his tenure. He has also been responsible for the successful co-ordination of the music evenings the House has hosted over the last five years. To SJB and AAGL, who come in as the ‘new boys’, there is no doubt they will be fantastic additions to CNS’s ‘inner sanctum’ and we hope they enjoy the Cranleigh boarding experience as much as the departing UVIth have.
Adam Stonell