Celebrating the past in the present...

Hello there and welcome to this blog – for anyone who doesn’t know me I am Brittany Dore, Yew Tree graduate who cannot seem to shake Yew Tree from her system (an undercurrent theme of this blog).  I was asked to write this blog after my most recent return to the Games Day session which, as you can probably guess, was the most fun I’d had for quite a few weeks – which isn’t surprising considering I’d spent the weeks prior in the archives for historical research but moving on…

We began the day with the usual best and worst before jumping into the actual games.  Now if I had a better memory I would tell you what order we played the games and who won each and the like but unfortunately I don’t so here’s a few quick highlights of my favourite moments.  So let’s begin with the fact that the session has a decidedly ‘Olympics’ feel to it – with things such as a ‘make me’ and the two touch scenes being based around the Olympics or other sporting events.  My team made a scene about a rowing competition which is quite ironic considering I ended this day with blisters on my hands in the same places I get them when I actually do row….no one can claim Yew Tree isn’t realistic!  Other highlights for me included the list game which I had never played but quickly became a firm favourite (especially considering I won and was able to do a history final against fellow history student Amy) and what I would call ‘angry games’ such as Aggression and the infamous Ratchet Screwdriver which are good for all that het up energy.  I think my favourite thing about the games day, however, was the feeling that I’d never left.  Whether it was the fact that I was still able to trash talk with the best of them or could jump straight back into creating scene or I was actually able to remember how to play some of the many games we played it was incredible how I felt I just slotted back in with the Yew Tree people and activities. 

This brings me onto the second point of my blog – the ongoing impact of my years at Yew Tree.  When Sarah mentioned to me that I could write about Yew Tree as a whole and if it’s still part of my life I did sit and think about the past two years at university and how it had affected me and it quickly became quite obvious the lasting impact those 2.5(ish) solid years had on me.  It’s obvious to me that it had an impact on my confidence.  Standing in front of a room of fellow second years and some lecturers to present our group research into Nazi Germany teaching techniques was scary, and other members of my group really struggled.  But then I remembered – I’ve stood on a stage in giant gold trousers dancing to Queen’s ‘A Kind of Magic’ – standing in front of a crowd is not unusual to me because of my years as a Yew Tree-er. So I took a deep breath and embodied that girl who could stand on a stage and perform (except I performed a very boring report about geography textbooks in 1940s Germany – I would much rather have been a genie).  The impact is also obvious in the times when I sit in a hall with some friends before we go waterbottling (which is handing out bottles of water to people coming out of the uni nightclub on a Saturday night) and someone suggests we play ‘Moo-Off’ to pass the time until we got outside and everyone is surprised that I win most rounds.  But that’s not unusual to me because I’ve had years of playing the Laughing Game which is essentially the same thing as a ‘Moo-Off’ – even the Yew Tree games have prepared me for University life!  Finally the impact of Yew Tree is obvious to me in the tiny things.  I remember the preparations for the Christmas shows which would often involve Sarah lecturing us about breathing techniques – breathing right into the diaphragm so you can project your voice.  Now I am here to tell you that that breathing technique is actually incredibly useful when out in the middle of reservoir trying to row your little heart out – who would have guessed breathing wouldn’t just help you on stage??

I guess the point I’m trying to make in this rather long blog (sorry) is that you can leave Yew Tree, you can move 100 miles away and only come back at holidays and drop into special sessions, but Yew Tree will never leave you. 
So until the next holidays, it’s been a pleasure!
Brittany xoxo