St Joseph's Society
If someone had told me before I set out for Upholland College that I would be taking part in a panto at Christmas, on stage in front of the whole College, I may not have set out at all in the first place! This piece of information was given to us after we had arrived and begun to settle in, and so the awesome prospect of being in a panto for the amusement and entertainment of the assembled staff and students was a constant thought on my mind from then until that Christmastime, 1963.
However, as with many things that appear daunting to us in advance, the reality turned out to be fun and, no doubt, character building (or so we were told). We performed ‘Cinderella V the Rest’. The text was written by Fr. Denis Harvey and Fr. Jim Austin who customarily provided the clever wit for these occasions. We were telling jokes that we did not understand but which drew laughter from the audience, so that we were encouraged to ‘make a go’ of it. Some boys warmed to their script as they went along. I was among those listed among those described as ‘CHORUS AND RATHER SPARE PARTS’ and played the role of ‘Lord Beste to Windward – a High Court Judge’ who I vaguely supposed to be, from the title, somewhat absent minded and pleasantly inebriated, but my acting skills did not really match what was required of the character.
I was just glad when it was all over and there was boisterous applause at the final curtain. We had finally made our mark at Upholland!
But before going to the seminary in 1963, I had convinced myself that this was to be the end of school, lessons and classroom routines. I imagined (at the age of 11) that now, my days would be spent praying and practicing to say Mass. Arriving at the College in the September, we were indeed thrown into a few days of Silent Retreat during which we weighed each other up and guessed each other’s names, but were (frustratingly) not allowed to talk. After that began a regime of study and a disciplined daily programme from 6.30am to 9.30pm and I will be forever grateful for it. However it was not the life I had naively imagined it would be.
The structure of those days, from Junior to Senior Seminary, and the principles of self-discipline, prayer and work that it provided, are the greatest gifts of my time at Upholland. Friendships made along the way, by the relationships that comes from sharing the same ideals and aspirations in life, were a treasured gift.
We were fewer in number at the College by 1970 when I began to study Philosophy (or attempted to do so). Rules were relaxed a little and even certain pubs were allowable if not too near the College to cause scandal! Half-term holidays were introduced, vacation weekends outside the College, even the cinema and theatre were permitted. More ‘enlightened’ or more ‘trusting’ – whichever you wish to call it, Upholland certainly began to change with the times and under the guidance and wisdom of priests like Tom Worden and Bill Dalton, we grew and benefitted greatly from the example of priesthood at its best.
Sadly, mine was the last year group in the Senior Seminary at Upholland and we all dispersed, leaving behind fond memories, good mentors and one of the finest buildings and places in the North West of England in which to live.
Now I still see the dome from a distance and remember with gratitude those precious years at Upholland College.