Dear Prime Time member,
How are you this Friday afternoon? A little warm?! I hope that you’re managing to find ways to stay cool and are able to avoid going outside, at least over the hottest part of the day. Please remember to drink plenty so as to not get dehydrated in this heat. We certainly wouldn’t want you succumbing to dehydration and heat stroke whilst you’re doing your best to stay at home and shielding from Corona Virus. I remember having heat stroke when I was a teenager and it was a most unpleasant experience. I was on a residential school trip and we were staying in a Youth Hostel. Evidently the staff at the Youth Hostel were well accustomed to guests getting heat stroke and on hearing of my symptoms advised my teachers to ply me with Ready Salted crisps and orange juice which the teachers duly did – all day! As soon as one bag of crisps was empty, there was a teacher at my side offering me another. The prescribed treatment did have the desired effect and the heat stroke symptoms did gradually subside, but it was many years before I could face eating another pack of Ready Salted crisps or drink orange juice again! However, that is my little nugget of experience gained that I share with you this afternoon – should you begin feeling the effects of this extreme heat; grab a bag of salty crisps and a glass of orange juice – put your feet up and claim that it’s all in the benefit of your health!
If you have checked your calendar this week, you might have noticed that yesterday afternoon should have seen Prime Time heading up to join our friends at Prior’s Field School for our annual Garden Party. Along with our Carol Service in December, the Prior’s Field Garden Party has become one of the most popular fixtures in the Prime Time calendar and I know that the staff and girls look forward to it just as much as the Prime Time members do; so it was a huge disappointment to the school community too that yesterday’s event had to be cancelled due to the restrictions still in place to prevent the further spread of Covid-19. (In some ways I am just a tiny bit relieved that the event couldn’t go ahead – although the weather was glorious yesterday, it was almost a little too nice and we would have had a job on our hands to make sure everyone stayed safe in these extreme temperatures!)
Although the Garden Party could not take place this year, the school wanted Prime Time members to know that although the school community is currently dispersed – it had not forgotten that yesterday’s event should have been taking place and the staff and girls wanted to do something to try and make up for the disappointment. Attached to this email is an invitation for you to join the girls in their celebration of VE Day and also for a ‘Virtual Concert’. Full instructions as to how to view these performances are on the attached invite, but it really is very simple; just pick the one you wish to view and click where it says ‘click here’. Your computer should do the rest. Make sure your computer’s speakers are on, grab yourself an ice cream and pretend you are in the Rose Garden at Prior’s Field. The VE Day tribute lasts about 6 minutes, the Musical Selection about 45 minutes after performance It is a real treat and we are so grateful to the staff and girls at Prior’s Field for putting this together for us. Regulars at the Prior’s Field events will no doubt recognise some familiar faces (and voices!) It is lovely that Prime Time have been welcomed in to the Prior’s Field family and that we are able to enjoy things like this together. The girls do see us as ‘extended family’ and they are sharing these performances with you in the way that they would proudly show their grandparents what they have been getting up to.
In my email a few weeks ago, I included a verse from 1 Thessalonians (Verse 5: Chap 11) ‘Therefore encourage one another and build one another up, just as you are doing’. I make no apologies for repeating myself as this particular verse seems to fit the relationship between Prime Time and Prior’s Field School like no other. It is a mutually beneficial initiative with learning and understanding of issues affecting different generations taking place on both sides. Thank you so much for your support of this initiative and now sit back and let the girls of Prior’s Field entertain you for the next hour or so…
I pray that you continue to stay safe and well over the next week and I’ll be back in touch next Friday when I will include the full joining instructions for the Prime Time Virtual Quiz Afternoon taking place the following Monday (July 6th) so put the date in your diaries now (if you haven’t already!)
With every blessing,
Penny
Penny Naylor
Primetime Befriending Co-ordinator