BCS Founder’s 165th Day 28, July 2024
..be it the Crimond named after the Crimond Church in the Aberdeenshire town of Crimond.. this hymn has withstood the test of time, the changing world keeps changing rapidly .. but yes…this hymn has withstood the test of time … always moving us with deep nostalgia; our voices in togetherness…in our Chapel with..
the Good Shepherd protecting us flock …I repeat now three years since ..
Up in the greens of Simla
on a magnificent spur
S I T U A T E D
is an institution steeped in history..
As young boys we arrived
with some trepidation
some anxiousness and many not knowing then…
WHEN..
time is finally up
through the stone corridors
the dorms, the classroom, the Irwin Hall, Linlithgow, Remove, Main School, the Biology and Chem lab, the flats, the courts, the bakery, the war memorial, the art block, Chipu’s, the Lodge and The Chapel….
walking-running-singing-howling-mugging-acting -sitting-grubbing-laughing -smiling-melancholic ..
..now at so many points on the planet ..
we yearn to be there..
even for a brief moment.
Today I close my eyes
and arrive through the global positioning systems in my mind..
…like a drone hovering above capturing the entire print of this beautiful place…
I can see ..
we all arrive
in mind body and spirit..
all in congregation
each drone different
each drone uniquely the same..
like mists rising after
today’s sweet summer rain
we inhale the bouquet of the earth , the pine laden wind…
looking down from the skies
we see the young Cottonians
looking up at the sky
pointing at us
smiling from the benches
they shout at us in glee..
our propellers create a whirlwind..
they hold on to their school caps
as their metal badge beats on their chest…
insisting we all land ..
..but today .. not today..
we hovered above
in the sky..
to pay obeisance
to our great institution..
on our one hundred and sixty fifth ..Founder’s Day
we know …
Bishop Cotton School,
Our School …
will be there for us..
F O R E V E RVivek (Bonnie) Bhasin
Please convey my congratulations to Mr. Bhasin on this beautiful poem which should move the heart of every Cottonian, Student or Staff, with nostalgia and pride. Thank you for sharing it with me. My congratulations to the School on its 165th Anniversary and for remaining “Forever Green”.
Ron Goss
(BCS Staff: 1956 -64)