Belper High School

Love of the Common People…

by Nigel Vardy
February 9, 2018February 9, 2018
7 Comments

Social networking is both a useful tool and an invasive curse. It has allowed us to advertise what we do and where we are, but also invite the world into our homes and create a world of voyeurism and mental stress. Last year I noticed an invitation on the web to a reunion party from my comprehensive school. It was over 30 years since the class of 1985 had walked away from Belper High School and made their way in the world. I didn’t think long before pressing accept. I thought it would be good to catch up with old friends and talk over old times. It was to be held in January, in a local pub, so I could wander down on foot, enjoy a few drinks and wander back home. It seemed perfect…

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The Long Sobs of the Violins of Autumn…

by Nigel Vardy
October 10, 2017

The modern world is stressful, well that’s what everyone will tell you. Report after report states that our mental health is suffering, our ability to make (and take) decisions is disappearing and that risk is something that we can’t accept. I think you find that life has been stressful since the dawn of time. If you didn’t hunt successfully, you and your family starved, harsh winters killed the weak, and tribes fought hand-to-hand combat over land, property and resources. That sounds a heck of a lot more stressful than a late train, flat phone battery or failing central heating…

Alison Hargreaves, Education and Regulation…

by Nigel Vardy
August 13, 2015

20 years ago today, mountaineering lost one of its greats. Alison Hargreaves had summited Mt. Everest unaided and without oxygen, and was hoping to repeat this huge achievement on both K2 and Kanchenjunga. During the evening of 13th August 1995, a violent storm hit the summit of K2, killing Hargreaves and five others. Though never formally identified, she lies there to this day, buried under snow and ice. A few items of equipment were found, but nothing more. It is a tragic story, which has caused controversy to this day. That, however is for someone else to discuss…

Over the Horizon…

by Nigel Vardy
January 28, 2015

The quest to see what is ‘Over the Horizon’ has intrigued man for millennia. The desire to explore the world has led to much of it being extensively mapped, with people like Magellan, Carstensz and Cook being fine examples, but for centuries, the physical horizon was as far as we could see. For example, if you are 5’7” it would be just under 3 miles, whereas from the summit of Everest you can see over 200. This is why for centuries man has sought high ground. Defences always needed long distance views to see an enemy coming, and explorers want the best viewpoint into the unknown that they can get. This fact remained unchanged until the onset of the Telegraph and the Radio. Suddenly you didn’t need a semaphore or signal fires to communicate over distance. Within years, messages could be sent around the world, pushing the horizon far from view. But there is another horizon – limit of a person’s knowledge, experience or interest.