The last in this season's lectures took place on Wednesday 15^th March when a large audience came to hear one of the society's most distinguished members.  Professor Robert Fox is the Professor of the History of Science at the University of Oxford and his talk was on "The Scientists and Schools of Sedgwick's North Country".
  Grammar schools were schools that had been endowed for the free teaching of the grammar of the classical languages, Latin, Greek and sometimes Hebrew.  They often taught other subjects but the pupils would pay for this tuition.  A survey done in 1818 showed a wide range in the number of pupils and the salary paid to staff.  The Master at Leeds received £500 per annum whilst many in small schools only got about £50.  In addition to the Master some schools had an Usher who helped him and some had a person who taught the three Rs.  The buildings were similar in that all the pupils were in one large room.  The Master sat at one end on a raised dais and the pupils sat on forms.  These were grouped together so that pupils sat with others who had reached the same standard.  The pupils learnt the grammar by rote. During the nineteenth century these schools declined except for those in big towns or a few such as Eton that attracted wealthy people. There were several reasons for this. The importance of the classical languages for getting a career had declined although they were needed to get into Oxford and Cambridge Universities. National, British and Dames' Schools provided a cheaper way of being taught the three Rs.  Also those schools endowed on a fixed income found that to be increasingly insufficient.  By the end of the century the Grammar Schools had either closed or had been converted into elementary schools or in some cases survived by become fee paying schools teaching grammar as well as other subjects.  Dent came into the first category and Sedbergh into the last.
  In the seventeenth century the Grammar Schools in the North West had produced many pupils who had gone on to Cambridge where they had made successful careers mainly in Science and Mathematics. A contemporary had called them the "hard progeny of the North".  Examples were Sedgwick and Watson. The former had been appointed Professor of Geology, without any knowledge of the subject, but had gone on to a very distinguished career. Watson had been appointed Professor of Chemistry, again without any knowledge of the subject.  He had gone on to be Professor of Divinity and finally Bishop of Llandaff, a
place he hardly ever visited in over twenty years.
  Other people came up through different routes. John Dawson, from Garsdale, was largely self-taught initially but became an apothecary in Sedbergh after studying in Lancaster, Edinburgh and London. He also coached Mathematics to some of those reading it at Cambridge. They stayed with him in their vacations and he was so successful that he gained a national reputation and eventually earned his living from it.  John Dalton from near Cockermouth went to Kendal and then to Manchester teaching and lecturing.  He produced an Atomic Theory of immense importance in Chemistry.  Finally there was Thomas Garnett from Barbon who had become an apprentice of Dawson. He had gone to Edinburgh and then set up as a doctor in the spa town of Harrogate.  He next moved to London where a glittering career as a lecturer beckoned. However, his wife died, he became depressed and soon died of typhoid.
  The chairman thanked Professor Fox for a most interesting lecture which the audience had enjoyed and it had provided a fitting end to the season.

  As Gala Day, Saturday, 20^th May approaches, preparations for the event are well under way. This year's theme is "Books", in recognition of Sedbergh's efforts to become a book town. We hope this will encourage children (and their parents) to recreate their favourite characters and books.
  Two years ago to celebrate the Ruby Gala we enjoyed a Dakota flypast by the RAF Battle of Britain Memorial Flight. An application was made for a flypast this year, and we are delighted to announce that the RAF have gone one better and awarded us a flypast with three historic aircraft - a Lancaster bomber, a Hurricane fighter, and a Spitfire fighter (which recently celebrated its 70^th birthday). If we had to pay the full cost of such a flypast it would by way beyond our means, and we are grateful that the RAF has waived the charges - it is their way of saying "Thank you" to communities which accept the need for military low flying in the region.
  Many of the old favourite attractions will be there, and there will be a few new events and attractions. Among them are Bezerkaz Circus who not only perform circus skills but also teach these skills and allow the public to have a go, and a Paint-Ball Range, run by the King's Own Royal Border Regiment.
  We look forward to this and hope for fine weather on Gala Day. For more details of the gala attractions see the advertisement in next month's "Lookaround".

  Hardly February fill dyke black or white with only 2.64 inches of rain. Most of this rain fell in the latter half of the month. It was generally a chilly month with a maximum temperature of 49.3F. On 5 days the maximum was in the 30sF the rest in the 40sF. On 8 nights temperatures fell to of below freezing with a minimum of 25.5F. It was quite a breezy month and on only 3 nights did the wind chill stay above freezing. The lowest wind chill temperature was 5F. On only 7 days was the maximum wind speed recorded from a quarter other than the North West. The maximum wind speed record being 28.6 mph. Atmospheric pressure was also generally fairly low with 5 days in the middle of the month when it dropped into the 28 inches of mercury.
  Thrush, blackbird continue to claim their territories singing away morning and evening. The oystercatchers were back in the middle of the month. It amazes me how they fly about at night, clacking their alarm call, in apparently total darkness. There are some young rabbits about which were born around the turn of the year judging by their size. A pair of bullfinches visited the bird table again as did the long tailed tits. The snowdrops and hellebores put on a brave show in spite of the bitterly cold winds as did a few specie crocuses.

  If any reader has a wireless router to access the web, it would be wise to secure it with at least WEP encryption. Otherwise, someone could 'tap' into your system.