An Annoyance of Neighbours by Angela Lightburn (née Trench)

I’ve always had a secret desire to be an author.

Even after writing academic papers, a PhD thesis, had letters and articles published in newspapers and magazines, I’ve yearned to be a Proper Author with my name on a book. Over the years I’ve gathered ideas for novels and even got as far as a first draft.  Then a similar storyline cropped up in a well-known series on TV and that was that.

Inspiration can be found in strange places.  Three years ago I volunteered to help my parish council develop a Neighbourhood Plan which involved consulting local residents for their views on housing needs and the best places for development. During the process I heard many interesting tales of neighbourly interactions and I noticed similar stories in the news about disputes between neighbours over hedges, parking, noise and building works. As a psychologist I was fascinated by how these situations arose, how they were dealt with and the consequences. They shed light on the minefield of undercurrents, subtexts and etiquette involved in the type of forced relationships that exist between neighbours.

One day as I was thinking, all those thoughts coalesced and An Annoyance of Neighbours was conceived. Once I started writing I couldn’t stop! When searching for a word and later when editing and proof reading the manuscript, I often thought about the wonderful Merchant Taylors’ education I received in grammar and punctuation. I vividly recall an English lesson in the use of Roget’s Thesaurus, which came in very handy!

I had great fun researching and writing my book.  It will never win The Man Booker Prize but I’m proud of it and I can finally call myself an Author.

So if getting published is on your bucket list and you’ve got something part-written gathering dust somewhere or even just an idea, have confidence in yourself, get writing and resolve to finish it. If I can do it, so can you!

Dr Angela Lightburn (née Trench) is the author of An Annoyance of Neighbours published by Troubador Publishing Ltd and available on Amazon as a paperback and ebook. Find me on Facebook and Twitter.

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Newlands Photos – More Pictures Added!

After a safe trip up the motorway, the boys arrived to an action packed afternoon of canoeing and ghyll-scrambling! They’re all having a great time.

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Top Industry Accolade for Anna Ratcliffe (1999 Leaver)

Former pupil Anna Ratcliffe (1999) and Director of The Michel Roux Jr Cookery School in Clapham, London, has been honoured with a top industry accolade for her work at Cactus Kitchens.

The school works with a number of male chefs however the team running the business is entirely female. The school was crowned 2016 Cookery School of the Year at the Food and Travel Magazine Reader awards celebrating the best in the worlds of food, drink and travel.

Anna accepted the trophy at a ceremony at the RAC club on Pall Mall saying “The support we’ve received from mentors, and workshops we’ve attended, as part of the growth schemes have been invaluable in helping us gain essential business knowledge and set sound strategies for future growth.”

“It’s incredibly heart-warming to be rewarded by the Food and Travel readers for all the hard work we’ve poured into the cookery school. The entire team – the admin staff, the home economists, the chefs and I – all love what we do and I think that really shines through in our daily approach and is the reason our customers have voted for us.”

The cookery school was opened in 2013 in partnership with Michel Roux Jr and since then has grown from employing just 2 full time members of staff to 7. They have received support from the government’s Growth Accelerator programme for small businesses and are now being mentored by the British Library’s Innovating for Growth: Scale Ups programme. Anna also took part in Escape the City’s Start-Up Tribe in 2015. Hundreds of cooking enthusiasts and food lovers have since had the opportunity to cook alongside the trailblazing chef, his protégés and an array of award-winning stars of the kitchen.

The chefs all work for the famous Roux family: Toby Stuart – Executive Chef for Chez Roux Group, Chris King – Executive Chef for Chez Roux at The Langham London Hotel, Steve Groves – Head Chef for Roux at Parliament Square (former Masterchef: The Professionals Winner), Rachel Humphrey – Executive Chef for Le Gavroche.

To find out more about the school please follow this link www.cactuskitchens.co.uk

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Preparing Our Leaders of Tomorrow, Today

Merchant Taylors’ Boys’ School in Crosby was delighted to welcome back one of its Old Boys, Major General Paul Nanson, CBE to deliver a lecture on ‘Leadership Under Pressure’ as part of the Merchant Taylors’ Speaker Series. Paul Nanson, who was appointed Commandant of the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst in 2015, spoke to an audience of 400 including parents and guests, the Schools’ Combined Cadet Force (CCF) cadets, current pupils and Year 11 pupils from Hillside in Bootle and Stanley High, Southport and talked about his experiences of leadership and the most important element of getting the difficult balance right between the task, team and individual.

Paul Nanson was born in Ormskirk, Lancashire and educated at Merchant Taylors’ Boys’ School Crosby, Runshaw Tertiary College and Sandhurst. He was commissioned into the Territorial Army in 1984 and then into the 3rd Battalion, The Royal Regiment of Fusiliers in 1986. His early service was spent in Regimental duty as Platoon Commander, Adjutant and Company Commander with 3rd Fusiliers and 2nd Battalion, The Royal Anglian Regiment.   He has served on operations in Northern Ireland, Cyprus, Kuwait and Iraq, Bosnia, Iraq and Afghanistan and received his CBE in 2015 for services in Afghanistan.

Headmaster David Cook reminded General Paul that his career may well have been forged during his time as a school boy in Crosby. Paul was a keen member of the school’s CCF contingent and was even recognized for his contribution at that time when he received the W E Richards Memorial Prize for Services to the CCF in 1983.   General Paul told the audience that the ‘CCF gives you that extra experience to put in your armoury for future leadership roles.’   Mr Cook, commented that ‘our CCF is flourishing with over 260 boys and girls involved in weekly training and camps and courses.  One of its central aims is to develop the leadership and teamwork skills of our young people.  It was an honour to welcome General Paul back to his old school to talk to us today’.  Last year the school welcomed HRH The Duke of York to celebrate the contingent’s centenary.

Paul Nanson left Merchant Taylors’ in 1983 and this is his first visit back since he left.  “It feels as if nothing has changed” he told the audience as he remembered the daily assemblies in the Williams Hall with the Headmaster at that time, Mr Johnston-Jones.

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Cookery Club Begins for Year 2!

Year 2 enjoyed their first after school cookery club last night and had great fun making white chocolate & strawberry cheesecakes in the Art & Science room at Stanfield!

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Great Opening Win for MTS Swimmers

Tuesday 13th September 2016 Merchant Taylors’ swimming team opened their season with a home match against Manchester Grammar School. Our new year 7 swimmers proved to be a good addition to the team with many great swims notably from J Carney and A Curd to win their age group 39 points to 37. Joseph Cameron-Mansour lead the battle of the Under 13’s with two fine wins swimming 50 freestyle in 30 sec. Their score was a 2 point lose 36-38. All the under 15’s put in a great effort with George Wyn- Jones winning a great battle in the 5om freestyle. Despite their effort they lost by 6 Points. Throughout the match the lead changed with every swim, but special praise must go to the Open team C Leece, M Johnson, J Spinks and 3 great new additions to the team, S Davies, Issac Lea and Y Cai. Despite all their efforts we were only 2 point ahead going into the last event the open 4x50m Freestyle relay meaning it was all down to the last race. I have never seen an MGS open team suffer such a defeat, the open teams victory took them to a massive win 45 points to 24. Overall the final result was MTS 155 MGS 147 giving only our second win over MGS in 20 years.

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Senior Prefects 2016-17

We are proud to introduce our new Senior Prefect Team for 2016-17. Welcome Jacob Foster (Head of School), Giacomo Poli (Deputy Head of School), Alex Rankin (Deputy Head of School), Christopher Oldnall (Senior Monitor), Christopher Hagerty (Senior Monitor), Andrew Park (Senior Monitor), Alfie Baines (Senior Monitor) and Ethan Byrne (Senior Monitor). Good luck in your new roles!

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Head Girls 2016-17

We are proud to introduce our new Head Girl Team 2016-17. Welcome Rosie Solomon (Head Girl), Kate Abramson (Deputy Head Girl), Milly Cadman (Deputy Head Girl), Ellie Church (Games Captain), Poppy Yip (Vice-Games Captain) and Sophie Orr (Music Captain). Good luck in your new roles!

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Eco Committee Work Hard for New Green Flag

In the summer term, the Eco-committee was put to the test when two assessors from Eco-Schools England visited MTGS to determine whether or not the school retained its green flag status. On the 14th June, the visitors met with Miss Burns and the Eco-committee, comprising of girls from all year groups, to hear about the ongoing projects, aims and successes of the committee. The girls proudly spoke about their fundraising for the charity WaterAid, their pledge not to use plastic bags, the success of their “Waste Week” campaign and their ideas to reduce litter and promote healthy eating, both in school and at home.

The assessors received a warm welcome from the committee and enjoyed a tour of the school, which highlighted the ongoing recycling facilities as well as the exciting plans for the eco garden, currently undergoing redevelopment.

Following the assessment, we recently received our new green flag and confirmation of our continuing status as an eco-school. The incredibly positive feedback from the assessors reflects the hard work, passion and dedication shown by the eco-committee members;

“This school is outstanding in relation to the extent of the eco activities they are involved in. Teachers and pupils were engaging and enthusiastic in talking about the eco agenda and in taking us around the school to show us the range of activities. It was evident that they have more plans for next year – they clearly live and breathe Eco-schools. Well done to everyone and keep up the great work”.

 Well done girls!

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Old Head Girls Welcomed Back for Supper

Mrs Robinson welcomed back Old Head Girls from the past ten years to join her for the annual Head Girls’ Supper. The girls joined the Heads of School and current Head Girl team for a lovely three course meal in the Library at MTGS. Those in addendance were Milly Cadman, Nicola Boyd, Eksha Gupta, Esme Malley, Ellie O’Shaughnessy, Laura McGuckin, Pramudi Wijayasiri, Francesca Hughes, Oishi Sikdar, Rosie Solomon, Kate Abramson, and Sarah Goldstein. The evening was thoroughly enjoyed by all!

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