b'THE ELLESMERIAN31That was respectable enough, but better was to come: an outstanding Part Song, where Alex Herbert-Adams arranged Bicycle Race for eight-part harmony. With yellow jackets and helmets, the Part Song team produced a veritable tour de France and stunned the audience and judges alike. In the end, the final result didnt go our way, but some things are still pretty special, and I shall not forget our Part Song in a long time. And this is where the story wraps up this yearand for some, particularly those who move on to pastures new, it will feel like T.S. Eliots words are appropriate:This is the Way the World Ends, Not with a Bang but a Whimper. I say NO! Yet again this year, we have done new things, found new exactly the same side of the argument as we were, and by the timetalents, and pushed the envelope: in September, we will find that things had been straightened out we went through to the final afterspirit again and the Wakeman Army will welcome a new bunch of a sudden-death debate on This House would rather be a Cat than arecruits to swell the ranks. My great thanks to the House Tutors for Dog. The Seniors found the luck of the draw against them and a verytheir support, and to Molly and Jake who have taken on their roles composed performance sadly went unrewarded. A Junior Finals topicwith great gusto. Best wishes to Joe Patmore and Georgina Dawson about the impact of woke culture proved rather a tough ask, andwho will be picking up the baton in the New Year. sadly, we had to settle for second place. The Semi-final of the House Quiz saw Wakeman-Lambart challenge Meynell: the contestOn holiday in America last year, I found a listings magazine featuring remained tight until the final third, when a good run of starteran advert: the slogan was LIVE VICTORIOUSLY. questions allowed Wakeman-Lambart to seal the win: our high hopes for the Final were smothered as world events overtook theWere going to keep doing that. schedule. However, we just found time for the House Dinner before the interruptions, and all had a very pleasant evening.DWCThe House Cross-Country brought a good turnout on a cold January afternoon, and though it is not historically a strong event for usI was disconcerted to see some of our runners overtaken by cows in the neighbouring fieldit was also good to see James Li-Campbell bring home a win in the Junior division. The House Singing is always a popular eventthough I must confess to finding it stressful as well as enjoyableand this year the theme was to be a homage to legendary band Queen. We went for the lesser-known choice of Hammer to Fall and turned in a positive display, with captain Jake Redshaw taking on the appearance of Freddie Mercury.'