Welcome to St Mary's the Virgin 

            The first head teacher I can recall is Mr Whitt. He was the headmaster of my primary school and had a moustache. Every year at around this time there was an assembly when he announced to us all that Christmas was coming. Not something very many children need any reminding of, you might think, but after this pronouncement he would go on to ask us what comes before Christmas. Eventually or sooner the answer would arrive - Advent. Mr Whitt would then proceed to tell us about the last Sunday before Advent and the special prayer that goes with it.

            "Next Sunday," he would declare, "is Stir Up Sunday!" when the prayer for the week opens with the line 'Stir up we beseech thee O Lord, the wills of thy faithful people...' - "And wherever Christmas puddings are made," he would carry on, "this prayer is the signal for cooks to get out their mixing bowls, put in all the ingredients and stir them together, because," (his headteacher-laser-eyes would fix us) "if it is not done NOW! they will not settle together and mix as they ought. And you can imagine what a terrible thing this would be!" Of course we could. "They must rest with each other until Christmas itself, to create the unique multi-layered flavour of a properly made pudding."