'Sir! I did my music exam today!'

'Excellent! Well done! How did it go?'

'Oh, OK, I think'.

'Did you have nice examiner?'

'He was OK.'

'Young? Old?'

'Er, old-ish. About your age, sir.'

So that's good, then, is it not. Could have been worse. Still, I felt rejuvenated when one of your LMs came up to me, just before silent reading and said 'Sir, you're like a dad to me'. That made my evening.

There was great glee among those involved in the Play tonight, when they returned to lodge, as they wasted no time in regaling us with the details of the crash landing into the doghouse! Mrs C and I will be going to see it tomorrow, but I doubt whether anything quite as exciting will happen then. Apparently, it's terrific, and we can't wait to see it, especially with a number of Newtonians in it.

Wednesday night is TV night, as you know, and we all opted for the Top Gear Polar Trek episode, which went down very well, as did the bourbons, pink wafers, fruit and apple juice. Oh yes, and I meant to tell you: last Thursday, in the HM's drawing room, where we all gather on that day for Break, there was, finally, a biscuit upgrade! The Newton Blog has done it again, and the selection of cookies that accompanied our (real) coffee was superb. I'm looking forward to tomorrow already.

Nearly Short Leave.

Goodnight.

Latvia, Egypt, Israel and Lithuania! Those are just some of the regions of the world whence visitors to this blog have joined us during the course of today: and if any of you happen to be reading this now, welcome!

'twas the dress rehearsal for 'Peter Pan' tonight, and it sounds as if all went very well. I'm looking forward to it enormously, and I'm sure you are, too. Incidentally, talking of successful Newtonians, I forgot to mention last night how well our representative did in the Advent service, so my apologies for that inadvertent omission.

Our DCR TV's been on the blink for the past two days, which has meant that my morning glance at the news as I see the LMs out in the morning, having dealt with their various sartorial 'issues' (collar issue, shirt-tucking-in issue, hair issue, wrong shoes issue (you'd be amazed how many get half way across to school before realising that they still have their slippers on) and the like) has been rather impeded by the lack of televisual accompaniment. Funny, you know, the morning cup of instant doesn't taste half as good without the anchorpeople's banter. Not to worry, though, because the wonderful Miss Alex (who, sadly, will be returning to Oz at the end of this term) managed to fix it, and now all is well again.

Apple juice, fruit and pink biscuits formed our lodge sustenance tonight, which disappointed Mrs C and Miss A, because they favoured chocolate digestives, of which there were - sorry, was - none. (Sounds all wrong, doesn't it.)

I managed to get all the Latin scripts marked, you'll be pleased to hear, so I didn't feel too guilty about watching Ice Road Truckers. Let's see how the Young Apprentices get on. Then I must start writing some reports.

Goodnight.

Evening all. I forgot to tell you last week that we had the record number of hits on the Blog on one evening: 105! Yesterday's was 37, which is just about average, and today I see that 15 of you have already had a butcher's.

After Mrs C's and my final Advent Carol Service, in which the Chaplain gave a very kind and appreciative note at the beginning of his sermon, things have been quite theological over here tonight. It all began, you see, with one of your LMs telling me that as he was a Catholic, he worshipped in a church. I opined in return that that was quite a sensible place to do so, but that as far as I was concerned, you don't need a church to worship The Almighty. Of course, this led to the inevitable rejoinder about what was considered to be an appopriate location for private devotions (yes, that's right), and I agreed that such a spot was perfectly acceptable, as it was, after all, S/He that had created it in the first place. My theological understanding of such things was then challenged, as my conversational partner then expressed the view that it most certainy wasn't the Creator who had done so, but, in his opinion, the builders what done it. (Actually, his exact words were, 'Ah. I thought it was the builders.') After having played through Bach's Fantasia in G minor, conducted a hymn and prayed while in Chapel, I didn't pursue this fascinating exegesis.

I then went into another dorm and found two rezzies in devotional posture, kneeling by their beds, silently.

"Oh, sorry, are you praying?"

'Well, sort of.'

'To whom?'

'Father Christmas, of course'.

Behold, then, two boys, kneeling by a bottom bunk, hands clasped, gazing at a picture of St Nic on the wall.

I can only hope that their petitions are answered positively.

And now I'm going to see how the Ice Road Truckers deal with deadliest roads. I love that programme. (Mrs C gets scared by it as she thinks they're going to fall off the edge.)

Yes, thank you, I know I should be marking Latin CE Trial papers.

Goodnight.

Good evening , one and all, and welcome to bloglog number 430! Only 70 to go now before I reach the magic number ....!

I'm sorry that I haven't been on air for the last few days: there have, in fact, been a couple of Twitterings, but I'm afraid exam marking (a whole load), report writing (masses) and an episcopal visit (must be some pun on mass to be had there, but I can't find anything that doesn't sound contrived) rendered the noble art of bloglogging impossible. Still, His Holiness was a delightful guest, and we chatted into the night about many things before we turned in. (There's another pun to be discovered on the word staff somewhere there, too, but again, I'll move on.)

We have only twelve Newtonians with us tonight, which is in some ways strange, but in another way rather nice, because it's all quite intimate and cosy. 'Men in Tights' seemed a good option as far as things cinematic are concerned, and it seems to be going down well, other than for the two who are in the UCR, playing on the computer. (They think I can't hear their conversation, and of course, I'm not eavesdropping, or anything like that.)

I think I'll stop there tonight. It's been quite a day, and after having read over 100 English II scripts, my eyes are going all funny. (It's a good job none of the candidates wrote as terrible a sentence as that!) The Bishop has now left us, and he very generously left us a lovely jar of marmalade.

Mitre known he would. (Yay!)

Goodnight.

Did you know that Mexican people don't believe in pandas? No? Neither did I. It's amazing what you learn during a night on duty (what a horribly formal term in these more cosy days of pastoral care) in Newton. Anyway, you do now. So if you should happen to be going to Acapulco or the like, at least you'll be saved the trouble of packing any bamboo shoots.

As you will have seen from the newsflash below, the Newton Twitter account has reopened, having descended from its perch rather seriously in its previous incarnation. (OK, Mr D, I know you're reading this, and I confess that that's your line, but you should be flattered that I'm using it.) If it works more comprehensively this time then you might pick up one or two titbits from time to time, but that means that I have to remember that we actually do have a Twitter account and that it needs to be updating. Oh well, if there's nothing on the NN account you can always read Stephen Fry's fascinating life details. ('Just having cup of Earl Grey tea', etc.)

I was reminiscing with some of the rezzies tonight about how my director of music at Kingswood School www.kingswood.bath.sch.uk) suffixed everything he said with 'So there we are, so to speak, as it were, through there'. I could appreciate most of that, but what on earth did he mean by 'through there'? 'Now Cheater, I want that essay by tomorrow at the latest. So there we are, so to speak, as it were, through there.' Don't quite know why I'm sharing that with you, or the LMs, but I suppose when you get older you do start wittering on about former days. At least I don't mention the war.

As for tonight, well, all very pleasant, with jammy dodgers, custard creams, apple juice and a barrowload of fruit, accompanied by an episode of Top Gear in which the trio tried out a number of electric cars. They didn't impress, and I won't be buying one. At least, not one that's about the size of a Mini and costs the earth.

Exams are nearly over bar the shouting, not that we do any of that any more, and tomorrow will be quite an interesting evening, I expect. I hope Mr Bryan will enjoy it. I know he can cope.

Goodnight.

Newsflash from Newton: The Newton Twitter account has been resurrected. You'll find it at twitter.com/newtoniannews

"Sir, sir, why can't you stay.sir? Why do you have to leave? I'll give you all my sweet rations between now and the end of the summer term if you stay!"

That was just one of several offers I received tonight and for which I showed my immense gratitude, but as I assured my charges, que sera, sera. However, once I'd suggested to my confectionery beneficiary that if I were to accept his kind offer, I'd be too large to get out of the Newton door, he felt that this would be a good thing and not a bad one. I politely declined his offer. I was even offered a four-figure sum, which would have emptied his bank account, so I decided that this would not really be entirely justified - and I managed to put the sepulchral vision of the MG out of my mind.

So we got on with things in the present. Shoe-cleaning is always good for a few edible goodies, and chocolate buttons managed to ensure many a shine, as did the whatever-they-were sours, which were used by one winner to have another go at bribing me to stay on. Now, had it been those wonderful Maynards' Sours, sometimes available from motorway service stations (but not often, it seems) that might have been a different matter.

Exams are at the forefront of everyone's minds, but I rabbited on about them last night, so no need to do so again now. I think everyone's pretty calm, if tonight is anything to go by.

And, of course, the rugyby season kicked in today, much to the pleasure of so many. But that's for another night, and now I'm off to see which young apprentice manages to upset the rest of them.

Goodnight.