An evening with the stars...

Take a look east at about eight in the evening and try to find a bright red untwinkling "star" a few hands-widths to the left of Orion. This is Mars, perfectly positioned directly opposite the sun in the sky, so that it appears as bright now as it can be. Mars is sometimes a little closer at "opposition", such as back in 2003, but this year's opposition is well placed for our winter skies. In the same general part of the sky, you'll see glorious Sirius, and its little brother Procyon, the ruby-red eye of Betelguese and bluish Rigel. A keen eye will pick out the Pleiades, and the Hyades star clusters, or the great nebula of Orion. If you're not too sure about where exactly to find these things, why not ask one of the boarders? They'll even tell you what the proper name for Alpha Tauri is.

There will be plenty more observing nights ahead, so why not pack a thermos, stick on a warm coat and join us some time?

A peaceful boarding activity

Sometimes, it's nice just to spend a bit of time being quietly productive. This evening Lynn Finnegan ran a very simple craft activity, much enjoyed by the students who joined in with it. The atmosphere in the room when I visited was warm, friendly and happy - what a nice way to spend a dark wintry evening...

Golfing comes to Bootham

Many thanks to Robert Hudson, who bravely took a band of college pupils to the driving range this weekend, despite the appalling weather. He was a bit miffed that several of the students turned out to be better golfers than him, but at least Tom Stephenson did not disappoint; driving a high-speed ball straight into the saftey bars, and sending it ricocheting like a bullet around the bemused onlookers....

Winter at Bootham

Here is the first in a series (hopefully) of pictures from around school during the current cold spell. Today, things seem warmer and there has been a slight thaw, but the news says that there is more snow on the way...

This was taken by Edmund Fisher, and shows a small tree by the Fox House front door, completely covered in ice!

Let's go bowling dude

Thick snow and arctic weather may have been blasting the world outside, but the bowling lanes were still open, and the boarders were keen to try out their skills. Many thanks to Rob Sandercock for volunteering so freely of his time. Everyone had a wonderful time, and some of the scores weren't too bad either!

Scene from Bootham climbing Club

Every Friday night, Rob Sandercock leads the fearless climbers of Bootham on an indoor wall at Oaklands Centre for a few hours. Here we can see them ready for action...