Outreach March 2013 sequential - Buckland Church

Hlo!Devon to Zomba, Malawi - 8,400 milesNic Hughes - Memories of Boyhood Days in Buckland Monachorum(Ed. Note: Nic Hughes was the son of Chris Hughes, who was Vicar of St. Andrew’s &Holy Spirit, for 9 years in the 1970s. Nic sadly died of cancer last October)."Welcome to Malawi - the warm heart of Africa"This was how one of the teaching assistants greeted me on myfirst morning at school last Monday at about 6.30am! It alsosums up the welcome I've received since I arrived in Zombalast Saturday - even when we broke down yesterday on a roadfar from anywhere, and locals passing on foot and bikesstopped to offer us help!Upon my arrival after the hustle and bustle of both Heathrowand Jo'burg's international airports, the airfield in Blantyreseemed extra remote. As we came through the arrivals kiosks I couldimmediately see the luggage being pulled off trailers and pushed onto the belt inthe small arrivals hall packed with people. I thought it was worth a picture but asecurity guard was quick to caution me against taking further photos in case ofany terrorist threat I might pose. :) Happily Phil & Jo and the girls were outsidethe airport waiting to drive me back to Zomba before I got into any more trouble!Since then, this last week I've been able to observe lessons, teach a few classesand start getting to know the children I'll be teaching for the next five months -mainly 10 & 11 year olds, the top class in the school. There are 5 classes in theschool as well as a pre-school, which means there are 120 children in the schoolaltogether. The children are mainly local Malawians (African & Asian) and maybea quarter of the children are from ex-pat families. I've been trying to remember awhole range of names from Mwini and Shalzin to Chifundo and Chickondo (and afew more familiar ones such as Wayne & Will!) and to get used to school startingat 7.30am.I'm starting teaching properly tomorrow so thought I'd send you a little updatebefore then & before my laptop runs out of power. It's been an unusually wetmonsoon season here so it hasn't been sunny all day every day, but when theclouds do lift we can look up and see theZomba plateau above the school and you cansee this in the picture here.I hope this finds you all well. Thank you forbeing in touch!!!Lots of love, Becky xxxPg 20Nic attended Buckland Primary School in the Old School Houseby the church, under the watchful eyes of Mrs Callen andHeadmaster Mr Ron Isherwood. Later, Nic and his sister Helenwould run down (& up!) the Path Fields from the Vicaragegarden and were seen safely across the road to the new schoolbuilding by ‘lollipop lady’ Mrs Boniface.Perhaps most memorable were the ParishCamps, held those days at Bosloe, besidethe Helford river. Here Nic and manyothers experienced the fun of communityliving: sailing, swimming and feasts cookedby Pat Heath, plus a solid grounding inChristian teaching. Life then wasremarkably free, with one exceptionperhaps…being a Vicar’s son was, it has tobe said, a bit of a burden for Nic at times.To be told that ‘this is not the way a Vicar’sson should behave’ stuck with him for toolong, but perhaps helped to develop aquestioning attitude?!Nic went on to Tavistock School, before thefamily moved on to Surrey. How we allmissed Buckland! However, through thechurch in Ashtead where Chris was Rector,Nic was introduced to the Christian ArtsFestival Greenbelt, providing him withmany opportunities to use his creative gifts.The festival was to remain an annualcommitment for him until two monthsbefore he died. After ‘A’ Levels, heobtained a degree in Graphic Design at HullUniversity, and later an MA.Nic first worked with a number of DesignAgencies and magazines. He then took anew direction deciding to teach, becominga lecturer in the Philosophy of Art atGoldsmith College in London, and latterly apost at Norwich University.Pg 21From a young age Nic was an independentthinker – always exploring new ideas,thoughts and designs. Politics oftenproduced heated debates. His capacity to‘think way out of the box’ could at timesbring him into conflict, particularlyregarding the established church.Fortunately, the C. of E. has ‘many ponds’from which to fish, where Nic could usehis creative gifts alongside others withsimilar mind-sets.Nic met Susie through St James the Less inLondon, and were involved in ‘Abundant’,the Christian Night Club. This wasfollowed by ‘The Vaux’ in another LondonChurch where they were permitted tolead an ‘alternative’ service, which drew inmany from all backgrounds. Nic hated anyform of injustice: he attended protestmarches and spoke out against itwhenever the opportunity arose.Jem and Chris are most grateful for all theprayer, support and care they havereceived. There have been many tributespaid to Nic, particularly through theInternet. His blog on his experience as acancer sufferer is both profound andcourageous…its final words referring tolove… “SOME THINGS CANNOT BESTOLEN” …are a fitting epitaph.