About
Reflecting on Bonfires
It is not every day that you find a gigantic replica of yourself tied to a tree.
I listened – and I hope you listened – carefully to the Rev’s address in chapel on Tuesday and, in particular, to his final message:
He encouraged each one of us to make a commitment: "To strive to live up to the legacy left to us by thousands of students and staff throughout the history of Shawnigan. To be people characterized by the respect that we show one another."
The Education Management Team decided before the midterm break that it might be a good idea to set up a bonfire evening to gather our community in order to tackle the November blues and to illuminate our weekend.
In early November, as I strolled down the corridors of the Learning Commons, I began to detect mischievous twinkles in the eyes of certain members of staff. Snatched half conversations, vague rumours and a tip off from the Director of Awesome, Mr. McDaniel, led me to slip unnoticed after lunch one day into the epicentre of Shawnigan mischief, the Hobbies Building. I searched the workshops but found no clues, no evidence.
As I returned - defeated - I spotted Mr. Boyce lurking suspiciously outside my office.
After subjecting Mr. Boyce to Mrs. Miranda’s powers of persuasion and candy drawer, he revealed the photographic evidence.
He had spent his midterm break, in a Dr. Frankenstein-esque frenzy, in his workshop at home creating a fifteen foot wooden effigy of the current Shawnigan headmaster – a giant Pinocchio.
On Tuesday, Dr. Brydenstein and his woodwork accomplice somehow transported my wooden Gulliver replica to School and plan to burn it on top of the bonfire we have planned for this evening.
It is not every day that you find a gigantic replica of yourself tied to a tree.
Bonfires are historically enlightening. The Nordics continue to this day to gather on midsummer’s eve around bonfires (my favourite Norwegian painting captures the culmination of the rites of spring in a village bonfire amidst the fjords).
The English celebrate Guy Fawkes Night on November 5th – a bonfire with an effigy of a Catholic nobleman who plotted to blow up Parliament in 1605.
In early November, as I strolled down the corridors of the Learning Commons, I began to detect mischievous twinkles in the eyes of certain members of staff. Snatched half conversations, vague rumours and a tip off from the Director of Awesome, Mr. McDaniel, led me to slip unnoticed after lunch one day into the epicentre of Shawnigan mischief, the Hobbies Building. I searched the workshops but found no clues, no evidence.
As I returned - defeated - I spotted Mr. Boyce lurking suspiciously outside my office.
After subjecting Mr. Boyce to Mrs. Miranda’s powers of persuasion and candy drawer, he revealed the photographic evidence.
He had spent his midterm break, in a Dr. Frankenstein-esque frenzy, in his workshop at home creating a fifteen foot wooden effigy of the current Shawnigan headmaster – a giant Pinocchio.
On Tuesday, Dr. Brydenstein and his woodwork accomplice somehow transported my wooden Gulliver replica to School and plan to burn it on top of the bonfire we have planned for this evening.
It is not every day that you find a gigantic replica of yourself tied to a tree.
Bonfires are historically enlightening. The Nordics continue to this day to gather on midsummer’s eve around bonfires (my favourite Norwegian painting captures the culmination of the rites of spring in a village bonfire amidst the fjords).
The English celebrate Guy Fawkes Night on November 5th – a bonfire with an effigy of a Catholic nobleman who plotted to blow up Parliament in 1605.
The Strathcona girls ventured outside on Nov 5th for a campfire and to burn their regrets written on paper – things that they wanted to forgive, forget and move on from.
Walpurgishnact (‘the burning of the witches’) is a pagan festival in some European countries where bonfires are lit to warn away witches and evil spirits. Some participants traditionally jump over these bonfires in order to ensure youth and fertility. With health and safety in mind, Mr. McDaniel (our fire chief) and I strongly discourage (in fact, ban) any such acrobatics this evening.
Persian people have a festival of fire with bonfires keeping the sun alive until dawn.
Last year, protestors lit a ceremonial ‘sacred fire’ on the front steps of the government buildings in Victoria demanding protection for wild salmon by banning fish farms. Hereditary Chief Ernest Alfred in an address explained that the crackling of the sacred fire represents the sound of our ancestors.
A few years ago, I visited a school in Massachusetts called Deerfield Academy, and found myself swept along by my first experience of a pep rally towards a bonfire on campus where students ignited an effigy of an orange wild boar, the symbol of their main rivals, on the eve of their annual sports clash.
It was quite unforgettable.
Last week, I found myself talking about the novel All Quiet on the Western Front by the German writer, Erich Maria Remarque, to Mr. Connolly’s AP Literature class. It was deemed controversial to the point of heretical by the Nazis in the 1930s for its portrayal of the futility and horror of the First World War, with university students encouraged to burn it on street bonfires along with other ‘un-German’ texts by Einstein, Freud and many others. It marked a frightening return to a medieval bonfire of the vanities.
If you want a book recommendation, read Ray Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451 - a futuristic novel where books are banned and firemen, armed with flame-throwers, burn any books that they find.
Our library is the geographic and intellectual centre of Shawnigan. Imagine a world where books are banned.
Bonfires are part of worldwide rituals - and are historically illuminating.
It is important to note that the wild fires in the past week in California have been a reminder of the destructive power of fire – and we shall remember the people affected in our prayers today.
Winter is Coming. This evening’s Shawnigan bonfire is a ritual as we turn towards winter.
It offers us the opportunity to gather as our Shawnigan community - an inclusive, hands and heart-warming evening full of laughter and friendship. As the Rev described on Tuesday, "[An opportunity and] a commitment to ensuring that our community is one."
This evening, please wrap up with scarves and woolly hats and come up to the bonfire near the playing fields. There will be hot chocolate, marshmallows, and sparklers - and, of course, a giant replica of the Headmaster (with carved beard) being burnt at the top. It counts as playful and excusable disrespect, and comes with my full blessing.
Indeed, it comes with the territory of my job - along with the purple inflatable swans and canoe and lifejacket which I found mysteriously in my Headmaster’s parking space during the Opening Week for Staff. All part of keeping me grounded as the Headmaster.
In spite of the glorious sunshine, I shall be doing a rain dance in the hours before the bonfire - and trust that the Shawnigan weather gods are looking favourably upon me.
It is not every day that you find a gigantic replica of yourself tied to a tree.
In spite of the glorious sunshine, I shall be doing a rain dance in the hours before the bonfire - and trust that the Shawnigan weather gods are looking favourably upon me.
It is not every day that you find a gigantic replica of yourself tied to a tree.
Richard D A Lamont
Headmaster
17th November 2018
We acknowledge with respect the Coast Salish Peoples on whose traditional lands and waterways we live, learn and play. We are grateful for the opportunity to share in this beautiful region, and we aspire to healthy and respectful relationships with those who have lived on and cared for these lands for millennia.
Shawnigan Lake School is an independent co-educational boarding school for ages 13 –18 on Canada’s beautiful West Coast. Our diverse, interdisciplinary and innovative programming helps shape the next generation of global leaders.
