THE Dulwich Despatch Summer 2023
Following in Shackleton’s Footsteps
SC: Do you think it has changed you personally? Or would it change the way you operate as headmaster of the school? Dr Spence: I think so. I think it has already. I have tended to think of it as life - enhancing rather than life - changing; some things confirmed, some things looked at afresh, some things rising up the agenda - like climate change. I suppose that the other thing is the fact that this trip was for everyone, not just the people who went on it. We do so many things and it is very seldom that I have been and done something and brought it back for the whole College. This isn ’ t just like going to a conference, that you report back on, or having a holiday that happened to have something I would mention in assembly, or a literary trip that really meant something. This was for the whole College ’ s benefit. “Some things confirmed, some things looked at afresh, some things rising up the agenda”
Sam Cowell (Y8) had the opportunity to interview Dr Spence who had recently returned from a mindblowing trip to Antarctica. Their discussion ranged from the wildlife of Antarctica to the desolation and isolation of his trip. Here are some of the highlights. SC: Antarctica is full of rare and beautiful wildlife. What were some of your favourite memories of things you saw? Dr Spence: I love the Cape Petrels, the ‘ flying chessboards ’ as our amazing companion told us. Seals are beautiful, but penguins appear to have been created to make us smile! Macaroni penguins are up there—up close and personal with penguins was great fun. But suddenly you arrive to be told you are about to see a beach with a million penguins and you see nothing! Then there was seeing the ice collapse— photographs don ’ t quite capture it, I should have got it on video. The sunsets are amazing too.
6
Made with FlippingBook - professional solution for displaying marketing and sales documents online