OLWEN HOUSE: GCSE results

GCSE results from the November exams will be available from the reprographics hatch from Thursday onwards.

Thought for the week

Shrove Tuesday
Shrove Tuesday (also known as Pancake Day)
is the day preceding Ash Wednesday, the first day of Lent. Shrove Tuesday is
observed mainly in English speaking countries, especially Ireland, the United
Kingdom, Australia and New Zealand and Canada but is also observed in the Philippines
and Germany. Shrove Tuesday is linked to Easter, so its date changes on an
annual basis.
In most traditions the day is known for the
eating of pancakes before the start of Lent. Pancakes are eaten as they are made
out of the main foods available, sugar, fat, flour and eggs, whose consumption
was traditionally restricted during the ritual fasting associated with Lent.
Pancakes are associated with the day preceding Lent
because they were a way to use up rich foodstuffs such as eggs, milk, and
sugar, before the fasting season of the 40 days of Lent. The liturgical fasting
emphasized eating plainer food and refraining from food that would give
pleasure: In many cultures, this means no meat, dairy, or eggs.
In England, as part of community celebration,
many towns held traditional Shrove Tuesday football ('Mob football') games,
dating as far back as the 12th century. The practice mostly died out in the
19th century, after the passing of the Highway Act 1835, which banned playing
football on public highways.
Shrove Tuesday was once known as a 'half-holiday'
in England. It started at 11:00am with the signalling of a church bell. On
Pancake Day, pancake races are held in villages and towns across the
United Kingdom. The tradition is said to have originated when a housewife from Olney
was so busy making pancakes that she forgot the time until she heard the church
bells ringing for the service. She raced out of the house to church while still
carrying her frying pan and pancake. The pancake race remains a relatively
common festive tradition in the UK, and England in particular, even today.
Participants with frying pans race through the streets tossing pancakes into
the air, catching them in the pan whilst running. In Olney today, a pancake
race still takes place every year on Shrove Tuesday.
In a modern Christian society, Lent is no longer
strictly followed, as there are very few people who will Fast (abstain from
rich foods) in remembrance of Jesus’s time in the desert.
Therefore, is there a need for a tradition that
openly encourages gluttony?
Is it right, that in a world where a large amount
of people do not have enough to eat, that others overeat on a day, because it
is a tradition?
What would you give up for Lent?

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