BAHS 77th Anniversary (St Hilary's Day 1998)

Spreading Peace and Love - Miss Shurland greets Minister Pam Nicholson and Margaret Thompson	Canon Joseph greets former Vice Principal Mary Bishop, standing next to current Principal Valerie Taylor
The Lord loves a cheerful giver – Minister Pam Nicholson makes her donation	The Clergy for the 77^th Anniversary Services – from left to right: Canon Winston Joseph, acolyte Carla Roach, Bishop Rawle Douglin, Deacon Joy Wiltshire and Bishop Michael Bedford-Jones

A large section of our congregation – note Mrs Gema Ramkeesoon seated at right. She had just celebrated her 90^th birthday!

Hilarian Diane Shurland reads the lesson

We held our annual Service of Thanksgiving in the School Hall; it was attended by a larger than usual number of guests, who took time from their busy schedules to be with us on this historic occasion, in particular the Minister of Sport and Youth Affairs, the Honourable Pamela Nicholson, representing the Honourable Adesh Nanan, Minister of Education who was out of Trinidad at the time, the Permanent Secretary, Mr Hart Edwards and our own Supervisor, Mr Alvin Browne. Our guests also included Miss Stephanie Shurland, Mrs Freda Araujo, Mrs Mary Bishop and many Old Hilarians, including Mrs Gema Ramkeesoon who had celebrated her 90th birthday the previous weekend and NIPDEC Representatives Mr Noel Garcia, Chairman, Mrs Margaret Thompson, herself an Hilarian and Project Manager, Mr Indar Outtar.

Bishop Rawle Douglin, chief celebrant at our 77th Anniversary

We were especially honoured by the presence of two Bishops; the chief celebrant was our own Bishop Rawle Douglin, assisted by Canon Winston Joseph, School Chaplain and Chairman of the Board of Management and, performing this role for the first time, was Deacon Joy Wiltshire, our recently ordained Hilarian. The lively and relevant sermon was preached by Bishop Michael Bedford-Jones who was visiting the diocese from the city of York in Ontario to learn firsthand something of the experience of his own parishioners in Canada, many of whom come from the Caribbean and to establish links with the Church in Trinidad and Tobago. Lessons were read by Miss Dianne Shurland, Principal Ms Valerie Taylor and Deacon Joy, and Mrs Cynthia Birch gave us interesting and valuable information about St Hilary of Poitiers, our patron saint. The spirited singing of the School hymn, 'Who would true valour see ....' at the beginning of the service and the School song 'Non Nobis Domine' at the end left no-one in doubt that the Anstey Spirit remains alive and very well.

Immediately after the service, we moved into a ceremony which climaxed with the turning of the sod for our new Environmental Sciences Building - such a long-awaited event that all but those of very great faith had long forgotten our initiation this project on St. Hilary's Day in 1992, with the laying and blessing of a symbolic foundation stone by students then in Form III. A number of those same students, now at University, was/were on hand to witness the events of the day!

With his usual panache and sense of occasion, Canon Winston Joseph chaired the function, calling upon the several speakers in turn. Ms Taylor read from the diary of Miss Amelia Stephens, written on January 13 1921- a fascinating account of the first day of Bishop Anstey High School and an inspiration to all to continue to labour in this particular corner of the vineyard. Mrs Judy Chang, the very hard-working and tenacious Chairman of the Building Committee gave some background information about the proposed new building and noted that many persons had worked long and hard to keep the dream alive (Non Sine Pulvere Palmam indeed!).

And then it was the turn of a jovial and ebullient Minister Nicholson who, in her feature address, told us that Bishop's is a School with which she had always identified, in part because her younger sister spent five years with us and, had she been educated in Trinidad, she would certainly have been an Hilarian! She rose magnificently to the challenge of Canon Joseph to ensure that the current worrying decline in world oil prices would not impact on our new building; she assured us that it would not, that the government was committed to its education programme and that we will get our new building as planned! Good news, indeed, for all of us! Following an exemplary vote of thanks by our Head Girl, Reanne Aimey, the Minister, Clergy and special guests, together with a representative of each class moved outside.

The new building is to occupy land between the tennis court and Chancery Lane, in the north West corner of the compound. Prayers were said by the two Bishops, the site was blessed, more words were spoken and the sod was turned in an area that had been previously prepared to ensure that Minister Nicholson did not have to work too hard in the very hot sun. A special spade, embellished very beautifully with ribbon in the School colours, was used for the event. Thanks go to Tania Carr, Hilarian and NIPDEC Public Relations officer, for giving us the benefit of her experience in the business of sod-turning!

All our guests and many of the students were very grateful for the comfort of the new chairs, a very warmly welcomed donation from the Washington Alumnae group. These chairs have made an elegant and extremely useful addition to our facilities - every time we chair the Hall, we are reminded of and grateful for the support we receive from Old Hilarians and, indeed, many other well-wishers.

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Page last updated 1st November 1998