Dear Parents

I wonder if you’ve ever seen Van Gogh’s portrayal of the Good Samaritan, painted in 1890? It was, in fact a copy (in his own style) of Delacroix’s painting of the same name, created about forty years earlier. In it, we see the stranger from Samaria helping the man who has been beaten and robbed on to his own horse.

Van Gogh expands the scene so that the Levite and the Priest can be seen walking off in the distance. Both artists must have known of Rembrandt’s 17th Century version of the narrative where the man is being helped off a horse at the door of an inn.

Scholars wonder whether Van Gogh was taken by this scene because he too was suffering at that time: committed to a psychiatric asylum in Saint-Remy-Provence and confined to a small cell with barred windows. Was this why he was captivated by this moment of extreme and unexpected kindness?

I wonder whether any of your Upper school children came home before half-term with van Gogh’s image in their pockets. The Registrar of Eton College, Paul Smith, handed out copies of the painting for children to keep with the message of actions being more important than words and of going the extra mile. He compared this act to those families who have turned their home over to refugees such as those families arrived from Ukraine.

As we start the second half of term, I remain grateful to Cargilfield families for their generosity with gifts of food for Fresh Start, the Edinburgh charity that supports those going hungry and without a home. This year’s harvest collection was greater than I ever remember. But I also wonder, as the nights grow longer and the weather less hospitable, whether we can maintain that spirit of generosity.

At a time of financial crisis, many families are struggling but charities like Fresh Start or Social Bite (another charity supported by members of the Cargilfield Community) are making a great difference in this area. I know that I can (very quickly) get caught up in personal matters that dominate my thoughts but I’m going to try to keep that beautiful Van Gogh image in my pocket through the second half of term to see if it will make a difference to the (very often selfish) way I think and act.

Might I also make a final plug for the bake sale happening next Wednesday in aid of the Pakistan Flood Relief Fund? Thanks to all those who are contributing to this.

As always, you can keep up to date with things here at Cargilfield by following our various social media channels which are constantly updated; the links to these are at the bottom of this newsletter. Our news page on the website is updated daily and can be accessed here.

Rob Taylor