For our last three days in England, Jess and I journeyed by train through Plymouth, Bristol, and Newport (Wales) to Shrewsbury where my friend Paul is doing a year of teaching at the proper and posh boys boarding school. Paul is a great guy and was a generous host, involving us in the active (mostly thanks to him) teacher social scene, including movie and bowling outings, a trip to Ironbridge, and an evening watching The Apprentice.
The town:
Paul's house and around campus:
Our outings:
We even got to sit in on one of his eighth grade Spanish lessons, a treat. Like many small boarding schools, most of the teachers also coach a sport. Paul's was crew (or "rowing" as they call it). He even took us out sculling on the river!
Paul gave us a tour of the impressive (and obviously very rich) school, including a set of twelve "fives" courts, a handball sport that originated at Eton and which is only played by five English boarding schools. Here's a description from wikipedia. Incredible!
"The Eton Fives court is modeled on part of Eton College's Chapel and is enclosed on three sides and open at the back. A small step splits the court into upper and lower sections, and sloping ledges run horizontally across the walls, one of which forms the "line". There is a large obstruction, known as a buttress, which is known as a pepper or a pepper pot to fives players, on the left-hand side of the court in line with the step. This extends approximately 80cm into the court and is around 2m high. The first courts at Eton were built in 1840 and the rules for Eton Fives were first published in 1931."
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