No 18 - Denham Hall Prize Giving and thieving Magpies..

Denham Hall College Prize giving and…

 Thieving Magpies and Weddings Rings

The event was the annual prize-giving although the students already knew who the prize recipients were. The prize-giving was a traditional event in that it was a formal occasion stretching back to past times of nobility awarding academic honours to the students.

Last year the prizes were awarded by the Marquis and Marchioness of Cirencester who had for many years been generous benefactors to the college, their children being past pupils, and again this year they would be presenting the prizes.

The teachers and senior students were assembled in the concert hall as well as reporters from the Rickmansworth Bugle and one from a national daily newspaper when Miss Sefton, the Headmistress, accompanied by the Marchioness mounted the stage.

The background noise from the students increased accordingly. Miss Sefton busied herself sorting the awards and certificates on the dais, discussing the order of the prizes before clapping her hands and calling for quiet from the students.

When Miss Sefton clapped her hands there was an immediate response. Two notable prize winners this year were Rebecca Tate, her extra-curricular activities included being the winner of the Southern Counties 100 metres ladies freestyle swimming championships who was to take out the college prize for the best athlete for the year, and Patience Beauchamp who had recently left the college and had returned to receive her honours in classical languages.

Tamsin, somewhat down in the honours list, was not to be disappointed and was awarded the prize for the most improved student. 

I asked myself “improved in what”? It was not for her general behaviour that’s for sure. One could say it was a consolation prize but that might appear to be catty.

Phaedra Gascoigne won the Ancient History Advanced Latin Prize for the highest achievement in Advanced Latin, and Eustasia Alexopulos, daughter of the Greek ambassador, won a commendation for her keen grasp of the Greek language.

It would take too long to go through the complete list of award recipients but the awards list was exceptionally encouraging this year. Again Miss Sefton called for silence then invited the Marchioness to give the closing speech.

Lady Elizabeth, the Marchioness, spoke of her daughter who was fortunate enough to attend Denham Hall and gave a lovely closing speech encouraging the students to keep up the high academic achievements particularly in the field of the classics and English literature and not to be detracted by modern influences.

I assume she was referring to iPods, iPads, Twitter and Facebook. She congratulated Miss Sefton and Miss Pringle for running a “tight ship”. All the girls were expected to go on to university.

As the college was a good step out of the town and to the nearest bus stop, my parents arranged a permanent account with Silver Service Taxis as did Tamsin’s and quite a number of the other students’ parents. Denham Hall had a small bus but was reserved for college use only.

Father made his considerable wealth from ‘coal and oil interests’ in Brazil and hiring an executive jet to allow me to commute between college and home to Oban was a normal occurrence.

I should mention Tamsin was now a regular visitor to our home. Her family had just recently moved to Loch Awe, Scotland and she was now almost a neighbour, so she would regularly commute with me between Stanstead and Oban in Scotland, along with any other girls who had been invited to stay for the weekend or holidays.

The following weekend I, Tamsin and Phaedra was met at Oban airport by Beecham who drove us to Inveraray Castle. On the way home we called into Tamsin’s home at Awe Grange then drove on to Inveraray. On the way home, Beecham filled us in with news that mother had her wedding ring stolen by a magpie.

On arriving home father said mother was beside herself with worry. It appears just an hour earlier the magpie had stolen her wedding ring when she put it on the window sill while trying to remove super glue from her hands.

Now things had gone missing before but we never suspected a rogue magpie as being the culprit. It was not the monetary value of the ring that upset mother but its intrinsic value. What made it worse was mother saw the magpie fly off with her ring.

As regards thieving magpies, Tamsin pointed out to father the BBC got it all wrong….again. She said she heard on the BBC evening news that recent research showed it was a myth that magpies stole shiny objects. Furthermore, Tamsin pointed out and, rightly so, SOME magpies steal shiny objects but others don’t. Not unlike some cats that hate peanuts. SOME do, SOME don’t, or that not ALL dogs bark, SOME do, SOME don’t.

She added, “Do you see where I am going with this?” I think I did.

In the library, we discussed Mother’s loss and magpies’ reputation in general. Phaedra noted that The BBC most likely researched a small cross-section of magpies that lived in a country area and not in an urban environment. 

 She also noted in a country environment people like farmers, newsagents, and country people were most unlikely to carry shiny things around with them. Tamsin said the same could also be said of tractor drivers and people who chop down trees, whereas in an urban area there are shiny things all over the place, if that makes any sense.

Pity the BBC did not pick up on this one.

That afternoon I was reading on the swing settee as Tamsin and Phaedra lay basking on the lawns when Tamsin said she saw a magpie flying to and fro from its nest high in the southern turret and then swooping down near the state dining room windows.

We went into the library and informed Father. Father said he would get a security person to take us to investigate. He said he did not want Beecham at his age wandering the castle’s turrets. Arriving on the roof we found the magpie’s nest very quickly.

There were young chicks in the nest, along with one of Mrs Dalrymple’s missing earrings, a tourist’s bracelet and what appeared to be a visitor’s cigarette lighter, a bank card, and some coins. This had been a busy magpie and one clever bird the BBC researchers must have missed in its research.

It did occur to me that the magpie’s young would have much preferred food rather than shiny stuff and small change.

It was initially thought mother’s wedding ring was not among its loot until Tamsin lifted one of the chicks to find it had been sitting on it. There was immediate joy when Mother was reunited with her wedding ring. Calm had been restored to the Campbell household and the weekend had not started.