The month of June is often a glorious one in the UK, despite the sporadic appearance of 'liquid sunshine'. This June should be one of great relief and joyfulness given that, at the time of writing, 'Freedom Day' of 21 June is very much at the top of most people's agenda.
I am sure that the date is no accident: it is the day after the Summer Solstice, the longest night of the year and denotes the beginning of summer in the Northern Hemisphere, astronomically speaking, bringing positivity and light to what have been very dark and sombre days indeed. June is a month that has some wonderfully, quirky ‘Awareness’ Days and events, and we will be revisiting them again, hopefully. One of my favourites is National Insect Week, which starts on 25 June. I used to have a horror of any sort of ‘creepy crawly’ and this aversion stayed with me until a backpacking trip to India in my early 30s made me realise that if I screamed every time something ‘insecty’ came near me, I would have no voice left. After this experience, I found myself rather partial to things entomological and now have a penchant for ants, realising that their collaborative efforts and work ethic are much to be admired. Another great day to celebrate is Wrong Trousers Day on 24 June, where people pay a £1 in order to have the ‘right to look wrong’ to raise money for children in hospitals and hospices throughout the UK. It is a laudable cause and one to which the 1980s should give backpay to, considering that whole decade was a paean to the right to look wrong, if my old school and college photographs are anything to go by. Of course, if you have any musical nous, you will know that Glastonbury Festival usually takes place in June, in the years when it runs. This year, you may have already seen it on live stream, as it is being held in May, another casualty of COVID. I have spent many hours in the company of friends who have waxed lyrical about the wonders of Glasto, but I must admit that the thought of being there is an unattractive proposition. Despite Jo Whiley’s assertions, and the introduction of ‘glamping’ as a ‘thing’, it still seems to me that I would spend the weekend looking for the cleanest washrooms- and failing miserably- and trying to avoid ‘trustafarians’ who see it as a quasi-religious experience. I love Glastonbury as a town and climbing the Tor on a misty October morning has been one of the spiritual highlights of my life so far. However, my idea of watching the festival is edited highlights on BBC 2 with a cup of herbal tea and the remote on mute for the ‘edgier’ groups, only turning the sound up when ‘legends’ such as Barry Gibb or Shirley Bassey come on. For us as a school, June is usually the month that denotes the middle and end of public examinations, Sports Days, Upper Sixth Leavers’ Service, open events and concerts. As we all know, none of this could take place IRL last year but we are now able to plan ‘face-to-face’ celebrations to commemorate the end of the key stages for our current students. We are also planning Open Days, play readings, concerts and other celebrations to congratulate students and staff who have had a year and a half like no other. All shall be well and all manner of things shall be well…