A Finale, A Foundation, A Celebration
I have been feeling, most unusually, a little flat this week. I don’t think I was alone. I am missing the colour, the energy, the incredible dancing, singing and music that transported me through four magical performances of Legally Blonde: The Musical. What a show it was! It was impossible to leave the Nairn Theatre without feeling one’s spirits lifted and it was such a delight to share the joy of that post-show exuberance with so many parents and friends. After 22 years at All Saints, I should not be as astonished as I am by the professionalism and virtuosity of our musicals, yet I sit in the audience completely spellbound and just shake my head in disbelief at what has been achieved when the curtain falls. My warmest thanks and congratulations to all involved in the production; your incredibly hard work was entirely vindicated by eight superb shows which delighted those of us fortunate enough to be present for a theatrical experience that we shall never forget.
Dampened spirits never seem to last long at All Saints and having just come from a moving Foundation Day assembly, I find my heart full to bursting once again. Last year we received an unforgettable address from the founding Headmaster of All Saints, Reverend Canon Len Nairn, during which he shared a correspondence he had received from a past student expressing his gratitude for the trust Len had placed in him some 20 years earlier. Sue Daly managed to track that student down! Craig Costello (a delightfully mischievous School Captain in 2004) is currently working in Redmond, USA, as the Principal Researcher on Number Theory and Cryptography for Microsoft, and to quote his introduction when he gavea TED talk (definitely worth listening to), "Craig uses Mathematics to secure the digital world, both against the threats that exist today and those that may exist in the future." We invited Craig to respond on video to some questions about his time at All Saints and we delighted as one in those responses. His lovely Mum, Marita, was present to see her son on screen, along with his equally lovely sister, Brit, whose two children attend All Saints. It proved to be such a pleasant wander down a lane that holds precious memories for so many of us. I thought it might be interesting to share Craig’s responses to the questions I asked.
A chat with Craig Costello (Class of 2004)
Craig, you had five critical years at All Saints. Did those years change you and if so, how?
Are there any moments that stand out from your years at All Saints?
What motivated you to contact Reverend Nairn after 20 years?
Do you have any funny stories from your time at All Saints?
If you could encapsulate your All Saints experience in three words, what would they be?
Photos from Foundation assembly
