So this is it, then. Another Newtonian year draws to a close, and it's one that Mrs C and I will look back on with much affection. Laughter, tears, successes - triumphs, even -, disappointments, idiocy (usually initiated by your correspondent, viz: 'I don't mind you being silly as long as I'm being silly', and other such daft quotes), it's all been part of the whole, and the main ingredient of the whole has been FUN! I always said that when the job stops being fun then I would give up, so with just one year to go, I'm optimistic about next year, especially as the LMs that will be with us came and 'bonded' with their new lodge (and lodgemeister and ubergrupenfuhrerine) this afternoon. They seem so very young now, but, like your NSLMs, they will be ready to move on when the year has passed.

Tonight we've all packed, enjoyed edible rewards in the form of Heroes, and some other lovely treats supplied by Miss Alex, and now everyone is watching the remainder of the film that, for reasons best forgotten, was put on hold on Saturday night. Actually, there were only seven minutes left, which was a tad embarrassing, so now they've selected The Golden Compass, and that seems to be going down very well.

So there we are. That, dear Followers, is that. Thank you all for your loyal following, and thank you, too, for your huge support throughout the year. We've loved having every single one of your LMs, and I hope that they will all have another great year, wherever they go, next year.

Goodnight.

Greetings, dear Followers, for the penultimate time this year - and a very warm welcome to our latest new Full Follower, Paddy by name, who is known well to me because he's an amazing journalist and a thoroughly bon oeuf. (Quite how he's managed to locate this blog is beyond my comprehension, but I'm 100 per cent sure that phone-hacking is as far from his modus operandi as I am from the moon.)

The lodge party seems to have been a huge success, with all the nibbles, sausage rolls, mini-sausages, Crunchie-bites and Sprites that go to make up SF lodge dos. (You see, there's a case where an aberrant apostrophe would actually assist with comprehension, but I will, of course, desist, otherwiseI shall lose all credibility with those nice journalistic friends of mine, and the offers from the DT and others will dry up.)

I made a very brief, but I hope sincere, speech, thanking everyone, and incorporating the fact that Alice C has emerged from her annus horribilis as deputy head of house and a school prefect, which is testimony both to her tenacity, the amazing support we've had from the HM and his staff, and the kind thoughts and words that we have received from you, dear Followers. And while I never mention names on this blog, the school is Milton Abbey, and the HM's name is Mr Gareth Doodes - and he's brilliant. And yes, you can quote me.

Mr Porter took over after the party, and did another fine job, and it is only right and fitting that I should thank him and Mr Bryan for all that they do for me and for Newton. I couldn't wish for two more conscientious colleagues as my deputies, nor could I wish for a better gapper-matron than Miss Alex, who, sadly, is ill at the moment and was unable to join us.

But of course, the real star of the show is Mrs C, who remains the steadfast rock she's always been, and without whom none of us males would have much of a clue. In this, our 30th year of marriage, I know, more than ever, just how fortunate I am.

Goodnight.

It's been a busy old day today, for various reasons. Issues a-plenty to deal with and things to get on with - and, as always, all the more fulfilling for that.

Tonight I received a visit from the erstwhile headmaster of SF, Mr Nigel Talbot Rice, who had very kindly agreed to write an obituary for Nick Aldridge. We journeyed down memory lane, reminiscing about times of yore, and then he asked if he could have a look around Newton.

The LMs, of course, were fascinated to discover that the face that looks down at them whenever they're in Macmillan is actually a living, real person, and I had the pleasure of introducing them to Mr T.R. He was greatly amused, when greeted by a member of Upper Third, who introduced himself thus:

'Hello, sir, I'm **** - and you must be Nigel' !!!!!

'Er, Mr Talbot Rice to you, I think, **** !' I replied.

Anyway, it's been a long old day, so I'm going to turn in for the night, as they say in Cliche-land. (Sorry, can't do accents on the blog.)

Goodnight.

See? I told you there was more to the relationship between Mr Hansen and Zahira Shaa. I know it's all meant to be complicated, what with him being the director of surgery and she being his protegee, etc, but I suppose the irony is that, for all the complications, their liaison is really very simple. Fascinating stuff. That's the stuff of CE themes when the topic for the year is 'relationships'! (It's 'conflict' this year: equally apposite!)

We were going to have our lodge party tonight, but didn't, due to inclement weather conditions. (Have you ever heard anyone talk about 'clement' weather conditions?) We'll therefore have it on Thursday evening - although don't tell the LMs, please.

Hard to believe that another Newtonian year is coming to a close: this one has been very special, with a lovely dynamic throughout.

Mr Bryan has been on duty tonight, and all has been well, notwithstanding a text from him from the other side of the wall, in which he requested that Tom' s private rave (he was learning Bach's D minor Toccata on the bass guitar, as you do, and was, perhaps, a little generous with the volume control) might operate a tad more gently. Loyal son that he is, he acquiesced immediately.

Goodnight.

It's league feast night, and Congreve won, so there haven't been that many charges to look after tonight, although they did come over from main school at 7pm ....... ! The rest will be back in a few minutes, so if I suddenly have to break off and supervise, then - well, you'll probably never realise. Ah - I hear them now.

Good news from Zanzibar has reached us in the form of two text messages; the first telling us that our daughter's room has a view onto the Indian Ocean, and the second informing us that she had been for a swim in the same. (Ocean, that is, not room.) The charity is called 'African Impact', lest you should be interested in seeing what it's all about.

I hear news from the national athletics championships of hurdles records being smashed by a Newtonian, he having also won a clutch of gold medals. You know that I never release names on this blog, but no doubt you can have a pretty good guess who it is ...... ! Many congratulations are awaiting.

The timetable goes a bit strange tomorrow and thereafter, starting with a lie-in of half an hour, so Mrs C and I can enjoy our decadent morning cups of tea in bed withut having to rush. Always a pleasure.

Goodnight.

Post number 380, so I won't be able to make it to the magic 400 this term, I fear. I probably could have done if I hadn't been so pusillanimous in not jotting something down on the evenings when Mrs C and/or I have been out, but, well, c'est la vie, je suppose.

As for last night, the less said about that the better, really. I fear there was a bit of an 'issue' about the way in which films are watched, culminating, unfortunately, in the abandonment of the cinematic pleasures that were on offer. Being boys, of course, while there was a certain amount of indignation at the time, the whole episode (!) had been forgotten by this morning, and all was back on track.

Tonight has been a joy, and no-one has put a foot wrong ......!

Hannah C has just taken off for Nairobi, I see from the Heathrow website, having taken her to the airport this afternoon, and when she arrives in Kenya tomorrow morning she will have just one hour to make a connecting flight to Zanzibar, where she'll be staying for the next month, teaching English for a charitable organisation out there. I think I told you that. She has a slight worry, though, as although she's been booked on the connecting flight, she doesn't, as yet, have a seat - so I suspect, from my own experiences travelling in other continents, that overbooking might be a feature here. Fingers crossed that all will be well.

I'm off to Dr Dean's end of year English department bash now, and Mrs C and Miss Alex will be at the helm. It was good to see some of you at the Leavers' events today, and I hope you enjoyed them as much as we did.

Until tomorrow, then,

Goodnight.

Having just been asked whether my glasses are my own, or whether I am wearing braces (yes they are, and no I'm not) when I turned off the lights in Heron tonight, I did wonder whether the end of term was having a rather strange effect on all of us. Still, I suppose when the boys heard me say 'I have asked you once to stop talkingduring silent reading: that includes the bathroom', they might have wondered why I might have a bizarre idiosyncrasy that makes me want to speak to rooms in the lodge.

Mrs C's and my week of frantic activitity within and without the gates of SF culminated this morning in a mad dash to west Dorset, to attend Parents' Day at Milton Abbey. It was utterly glorious, with a lovely service in the Abbey, wonderful speeches from the HM and his assistants, drinks on the house lawn - and there would have been much more besides, including the valedictory ball tonight, but we thought we might have extended our away-day licence if we'd stayed any longer. So back we came, so that Mrs C could dive back into the form room for a 3.15pm lesson.

I forgot to tell you that the only drama of my London trip was that I was knocked down by a bicycle just outside the Palace of Westminster, and having seen a camera crew only metres away I couldn't help but think that I'd be featuring, in a less high-profile way than planned, on 'You've Been Framed'! I'm still suffering from a very painful right shin, though, and this is making me walk like an old man. No comments required.

Tom C has 'borrowed' the Peugeot again to go to his Old Boys' Day in Bath and Hannah and Alice have gone down to Xi'an to celebrate their re-union after nine weeks without seeing each other. And guess whose card they've 'borrowed'! (With per, I must add.) They won't have much time together, though, because Hannah's off to Zanzibar on Sunday, to teach English for a charitable organisation out there.

It all awaits you - if you haven't already been round the block .....

Goodnight.