Goddish
Things
T
he boys in Year 1 were waiting in
the Dining Hall for the arrival of a
music teacher to play the piano. I
walked past the window and one of the
teachers inside said to her boys, “We
could get Father John - he could play the
piano for us, couldn’t he?” And young
Edward replied, “No - Father John does
Goddish things.”
Now that’s a good word - Goddish! It
sounds like it belongs in an aquarium,
but it smells of incense, looks Godly,
feels good, tastes cutting-edge and can
probably suit a number of occasions. I
thought this may be the birth of a freshly
minted word but I looked it up online
and found it has already been used in a
crossword, and on a tee-shirt, and in an
awful computer game. But it has never
been used yet in a film, (I can hear the
movie title already - The good, the glad
and the Goddish! ) and this is the word’s
first outing in a King’s publication!
I dedicate this article to Goddish things at
King’s and far away.
A faraway Goddish moment took place
recently on a lakeside marae in Rotorua
during the annual Kapahaka weekend stay.
There was great hospitality and warmth,
and more food than we knew what to
do with. And on the first night with the
boys on their mattresses in the wharenui,
Mr Britton stood holding Joe (think of a
stuffed toy in King’s uniform and a string
piupiu). Everyone had to say something
about themselves while holding Joe, and
all had to listen. Joe was passed from
speaker to speaker until all boys and staff
had had their say. We heard the most
amazing stories that tapped the deepest
feelings. We heard of tragedies of the
passing of pets and parents and marriages;
we heard of challenges met and hurdles
overcome; we heard of fun times and
hopes for the future. There were pauses
while speakers thought; some pauses
were long, and there was a time when a
boy couldn’t go on - but all stories met
with the profound and respectful silence
of attentive listeners, and all on a Friday
night. I think we had taken a step into the
territory of the soul, and this was Goddish!
And now to another Goddish thing much
closer to King’s: In the corner of our
bedroom in the Chaplain’s house is a stack
of 65 colourful blankets made up of 2080
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