The Tower in 1967

THE PIRATES OF PENZANCE AT the end of the Christmas Term, the School Dramatic Society presented " The Pirates of Penzance ", by W. S. Gilbert and Sir Arthur Sullivan. The production ran for four nights, and as is customary, Old Age Pensioners from Northampton attended the Dress Rehearsal. "The Pirates of Penzance " is in the usual style of Gilbert and Sullivan - love, baby-mixing, misunderstandings and right prevailing over wrong combining to provide a happy ending. The production was guaranteed to lift depression the moment the audience saw the bevy of beauties playing the daughters of Major-General Stanley. Their singing was light and confident and the natural enthusiasm of the chorus soon infected the rest of the company. The cast as a whole was extremely good, and it would be unjust to say that any one character was outstanding. Certain performances however, deserve to go on record, notably S Slinn's amusing and apt portrayal of the Sergeant of the Police, Mr. G C Grimshaw's gruff but soft hearted Pirate King, and Lesley Griffiths as the loving Mabel. Over one hundred members of the school were involved in this production, and they all acquitted themselves well. Particular credit must be given however to the Wardrobe Mistress, Mrs. Watson, and to Mr. Adams who was responsible for the design of the striking scenery, constructed by the A.D.W.S. and painted by Sixth Form Art Students. Make-up and lighting were both of the usual high standard. Especial	credit is due also to the producer, Mr. Timms, and the musical director, Mr. Baker, who both patiently persevered to make this production the success it undoubtedly was. This was an excellent evening's entertainment, but we feel that the school should now look to the future, and the establishment of a " Gilbert and Sullivan tradition " raises several questions, which ought to be considered before the next opera is chosen. Is the school satisfied with Gilbert and Sullivan, or is it now ready to find fresh fields to conquer in the realms of opera? We maintain that our sights should now be set on something more taxing, both musically and dramatically, after all, over a hundred pupils have shown their willingness to help, so we cannot complain of the lack of support. One of the functions of a grammar school is to set a standard in the field of taste and entertainment, and if our audience goes away at the end of the evening having had to think about what it has seen, so much the better. An argument often advanced in support of Gilbert and Sullivan is the difficulty of finding any other suitable opera. We suggest that those involved in choosing the next opera should consider, "Let's Make an Opera" by Benjamin Britten, "Amahl and the Night Visitors" by Giancarlo Menotti, and Purcell's "Dido and Aeneas. If these are considered unsuitable, perhaps the school could commission a composer and librettist to write an opera specially for Trinity High School, a project which could be financed from the profits made from previous dramatic productions.

LONGTOWN: HILL WALKING COURSE ON Friday, the 15th of July 1966, a party of girls set out from Northampton for a hill walking course at the Youth Centre, Longtown. On arrival we were issued with equipment ranging from stout walking boots to a bright orange windcheater, designed to make us as conspicuous as possible. We began enthusiastically with a short walk along the Red Darren, and hastened the breaking-in of our boots by soaking them in one of the rivers. On Saturday we began our week with a vengeance. Our first taste of hill climbing was to be a seven mile walk up the steep Cat's Back and further along the Hatterral Ridge. The climb up the Cat's Back was hard but once on the ridge the going was easier. Part of our route took us through swampy ground which slowed us down, but once through this our pace quickened. The sun was extremely hot at times but it was tempered with a cooling wind. We were very tired when we reached the Court House and sleep came quickly that night. Sunday, however, was far from being a day of rest, for on this day we were to gain our first experience of rock climbing. We were set down by the mini bus some miles from our final	destination, and given a bearing to plot our own route to the cliffs which we were to climb. Our course took us past a lake which made the ground marshy, and the final part of our journey was in a fine drizz1e. By the time we were ready to climb the drizzle had increased to a downpour. This made the climb more challenging and we completed our two climbs, one of ninety feet and another of about a hundred and thirty feet, with a great sense of achievement. On Tuesday we travelled into the county of Brecon, through magnificent scenery dominated by the Beacons. The Penn-y-Fan Beacon was our destination, which we intended to traverse. The climbing was not too difficult and we were able to appreciate the marvellous views from such a great height. On Wednesday we travelled further into the Black Mountains to find our camping site. The hike was made more difficult by heavy haversacks containing our food and tenting. We pitched camp in bright sunshine and made our meal from dehydrated rations. We finally fell asleep, guarded by a herd of wild ponies. The following morning we hiked back to our waiting transport, a County Borough minibus which struggled along the steep and winding mountain roads. This was our last excursion and the remainder of Thursday was spent checking and returning equipment. M. EYES (6LG)


ATHLETICS The majority of the Athletics events, fifty-three in all, were held during a spell of very good weather, and seven new records were established in the Boys' events. These were: S. Adams, 1 min. 47 secs., 660 yards. C. Campling, 6 ft. 8 ins., Pole Vault. C. Morgan, 4 ft. 11½ins., High Jump. P. Gill, 15.8 sees., 110 yards Hurdles. J. Leonard, 38 ft. 1in., Triple Jump. G. O'Farrell, 35 ft. 9 ins., 12 lb. Shot. M. Stock, 20.7 sees., 120 yards Hurdles, in which event there have been no competitors in previous years. The Inter-House Athletics Championship was not held on May 18th on advice from the Meteorological Station, but the promised bad weather did not come. The sports were planned for other days, but on each occasion there was a steady downpour of rain in the morning and it was felt unwise to proceed with the sports in the afternoon. The points obtained by the Houses were: Blakeman 115 Burghley 106 Kelvin 118 Mobbs 123 Meanwhile, the heats for the Timken Sports were hold on various evenings at different schools and we had a reasonable number go forward to the Finals. The result of the Inter-Schools Sports was that we finished second to Northampton G.S. in the15-17 age-group as we did last year. The under 15 group was unplaced. Our winning athletes proceeded to the County Sports and as a result of their performances, two boys were selected for the All England Inter-Counties' Championship at Peterborough on July 7th and 8th. They are N. Daly, 100 yards, 17-20 age-group, and P. Gill, 100 yards and relay in the 15-17 age-group. The School has also competed, with some success, in Athletics matches held at Northampton G.S. and Wellingborough Grammar/Technical School. G.C.G.

Extracts from "The Tower"

Extracts from 1967