Fall 2012 Semester Arrivals

We will keep this page updated as we get news of faculty and student arrivals.

Friday, 24th August 2012 - Student Arrival Day
03:00 - Our couriers are on the way to Heathrow. We have received reports of some flight delays.

06:00 - Our couriers are waiting for you. If you get lost head for Terminal 3 and look for the Harlaxton t-shirts and big smiles.

09:30 - Flight arrivals are coming in thick and fast. Most flight delays have been minor and we are still on schedule. Two coaches (buses) have now left Heathrow and are on their way to Harlaxton. We expect both coaches (with 103 students) to arrive at Harlaxton between 11:30 and 12:00 (UK time). A final third coach remains at Heathrow awaiting the later flight arrivals.


11:20 - The first coach is about 10 minutes away.

11:30 - The first coach with 54 students has arrived. Students were greeted by staff and given a formal welcome by Dr Kingsley. Now the fun begins: finding rooms, unpacking, getting a bite to eat and exploring a new home.

 

12:00 - The second coach has arrived with 49 students. The third and final coach left Heathrow att 11:50 and is due at Harlaxton around 14:30. In spite of some flight delays we were able to collect all students except one who's flight unfortunaely arrived too late (14:10 - he has now arrived after making his own way to Harlaxton.

 

14:15 - The final coach has arrived. All students are now at Harlaxton except for two independent arrivals who are due later. A very smooth arrival - thanks to everyone involved including staff organising arrivals and our students who seem in remarkably good spirits considering rhe long day they have had.

 


Thursday, 23rd August 2012
17:00 - Final preparations are complete and our couriers are getting ready to head down to London Heathrow in the early hours of Friday morning to collect the Fall 2012 class. We are ready!

Wednesday, 22nd August 2012 - Faculty Arrival Day
06:00 - Our very own Dr David Green left Harlaxton to collect our Fall 2012 faculty.

11:30 - Most of our faculty are now on their way to Harlaxton. We expect arrival at about 14:00. You can find full detail our Fall 2012 faculty on our website.

13:30 - The faculty have arrived and we are glad to see them. Today they will be getting settled and getting to know the manor. Then, tomorrow, faculty orientation begins as does last minute preparations for student arrivals on Friday.

Restoration Lions

Photos - Restoration Lions, a photo set on Flickr.

Video - Restoration Lions, a video on Facebook

It was a momentous (and nerve-wracking) day at Harlaxton today. The iconic Harlaxton Bronze Lions, loved by so many of us past and present, were removed from the Front Entrance Courtyard. Have no fear; they will be returning in September after a good clean and some minor repairs. This work is part of a major restoration of the Front Entrance Courtyard , including the Side Steps and Entrance Lodges, which has been made possible with a generous donation from the Schroeder Family. As you can see, it was a complex operation needing much care and attention.

The large bronze animal groupings were placed on Harlaxton Manor’s entry lodges by Mrs. Violet Van der Elst. They were sculpted and cast in Paris by the well-known French artist Auguste-Nicolas Cain. The "animalier school" of highly realistic creatures--both exotic and domestic--was popular in the mid-to-late 1800s. Cain concentrated his work on animals in their natural habitats, including somewhat gruesome scenes of conflict. Both of the massive, 1.8 ton Harlaxton bronzes are of this type. One grouping depicts a male and female lion sparring over the kill of a wild boar ('Lion et lionnes se disputant un sanglier'). This piece is dated 1878, and a twin exists in the Tuileries Gardens in Paris. Our second group is of two tigers fighting over the kill of a water buffalo. We know that a like grouping exists in Kelvingrove Park in Glasgow, and other single examples are found in New York's Central Park and now in the Philadelphia Zoo--moved from a street scape as it frightened the horses. Altogether there are six fine examples in the Tuileries, and others in the Luxembourg Gardens and at the Chateau de Chantilly.

U3A and Harlaxton Staff Reception

U3A Staff Reception, a set on Flickr.

Celebrating 10 years of the U3A Summer School at Harlaxton College, Hendy Farquhar-Smith and other members of the organising committee paid a warm tribute to the staff of Harlaxton College for their sterling efforts and help over the years.