On Monday 16 January the Upper School was privileged to hear one of this country’s most successful poets, Simon Armitage, who began his lecture with the moving and humorous 'Oh come all ye faithful'. In a spell-binding hour featuring some of his most exciting and provocative poetry, Armitage took us on a journey through his rich imagination, and explored how he drew upon a broad range of experiences in creating his verse. He read extensively from his most recent collection, Seeing Stars, and delighted his audience with a quirky and lyrical mixture of images, that also showed his exceptional technical precision in the placing of every word. From our rich hour with Armitage we not only gained an appreciation of his poetry, but also of his poise and wit as a performer, and his skill as an editor and translator of historical verse.