Holocaust Memorial Day

Hopefully a candle is lit tonight....

King's Ely Senior school had a service today to mark the day in Ely Cathedral.

Here's a piece that was part of the service, along with a Rachmaninov piece for Cello, and the lighting of many candles...

Find out more here.

Sean Henry at Ely Cathedral

This is starting next weekend.

A profound exhibition by renowned British sculptor Sean Henry, bringing together over twenty polychrome figures of significantly varying scales.

Each sculpture will be sympathetically displayed in unusual and diverse spaces, such as vacant plinths inside the building, and around the Cathedral environs.

I shall be looking out for the figures when we have our weekly service in the Cathedral.

Harvest

Harvest is an important service for students to take part in. At the school, we do a collection for the Trussell Trust / Ely Foodbank.

This shows why the foodbanks are so important.

Temporary placemaking

It has been interesting to see the adaptations to parts of Ely, which are preparing for being used as a location for filming for a new film called 'Maestro', on the life of Leonard Bernstein. An example of temporary place making for geographers...

Image: Sally Parkinson

Fenland Black Oak Table

In Ely Cathedral currently there is a large table, which is being installed in the north aisle of the nave. It is currently covered over but will be revealed this week.

The story of the table, from discovery of the oak in a field, to the finished table is told on the website which can be linked to below.

The Fenland Black Oak Table

Bog oaks are occasionally found in the peat, excavated by farmers. The one used to make the table is over 13 metres long and over 5000 years old. It has space for 50 people.

One of the interesting aspects of the project was the extent to which the wood shrank as it dried out, and the amount of water that came out of the wood.

Holme Fen is a location where the shrinkage of the Fen as it dries out can be fully appreciated as a post was driven into the ground. Here's some of my photos of the posts taken on a visit some years ago:

Images: Alan Parkinson - shared under CC license

GAIA by Luke Jerram

It was terrific today to get an early chance to see Luke Jerram's GAIA hanging at the end of the nave in Ely Cathedral when we went over there for our Junior School service as usual. I've seen it another few settings, but Ely Cathedral and it's Octagon is a very special place and one I have been lucky enough to spend a lot of time in while teaching at King's Ely.

Cathedral walk

A distinctive element of Ely's built landscape is the cathedral, the 'Ship of the Fens'. Here's an image from our weekly walk to the cathedral which has been edited with the PRISMA app.
Can you reimagine a familiar place?

Image: Alan Parkinson, shared under CC license

Beyond these 4 walls

Preparing for a session I'm leading after the Easter break...
This is the view of Ely Cathedral from the Old Palace garden.

Image: Alan Parkinson

Remembrance Day Service

It was down to the cathedral today for the annual Remembrance Day service. I was asked to an event in Cambridge, but passed as it would have meant missing the service, which is an important part of the school calendar. The music was splendid at the moment, and was moving to hear David Boothroyd and two Scholars reading the names of the fallen pupils and masters and choristers from King's and watch the petals falling from the Octagon Tower during the service.

King's Ely work in the Cathedral

Over the next month a joint exhibition between King’s Ely and the National Holocaust Centre is being held in Ely Cathedral.
Entry is free and the exhibition is in the South Transept near the main West door.
The work displayed showcases the work our students have completed, which was a focus in some RS and English lessons during the Summer term.
They retell the story of Lisa Vincent who escaped Nazi Germany who is now aged 91 and a regular survivor speaker at the National Holocaust Centre near Newark in Nottinghamshire. This is a place that the students will visit later in Year 10 as part of their Religious Studies Curriculum. Students from Year 8 give an artist’s impression of the different characters in the novel The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas which was the focus for their English lessons last year.
Part of the exhibition features poems written by Year 10 and work done on the Anne Frank Story as well as a recollection of their visit to the National Holocaust Centre and our Holocaust Memorial Service in the Cathedral last year.
This is complemented by an exhibition from the Centre itself.
It is well worth a look.

We all took a look at the end of the first Junior School service on Wednesday. Important that these events are remembered....

Changes in Ely

We will be exploring this, and other changes, which will take place in the city of Ely over the next year or so.
This is a proposal for changes to the cathedral...

What other proposed changes are there in Ely?

Cathedral view

During last week's service at the Cathedral, the sun shining through the stained glass produced a wonderful lighting... I hope you enjoy this special place when you visit each week.

Bonus merits for students who point out any features of specific geographical interest...

The big reveal...

For over a year now, Queen Phillipa and Emma houses have been looking across at the North transept of the cathedral which has been undergoing repairs... The top part of the windows were revealed for the first time this week, and they are looking glorious...

Happy New Term

Wandering down to the cathedral this morning for a service to start the Lent Term on the theme of Epiphany. Organ soaring, choristers singing, sun through the stained glass and prayers and readings from students and the Principal. Along with the Junior school assembly where we welcomed back colleagues from absence, and new colleagues too, it was a good way to start 2014...
There's a lot of work ahead of us, so let's get started...

Make it one of your New Year's resolutions to follow this blog, particularly if you're a student at KEJ or KES...

 

Image: Alan Parkinson