An unforgettable 'pinch me moment'

Working and living in the UK and especially Oxford, a thousand-year old city where history and history-making go hand in hand everyday, you see some extraordinary sights and meet some extraordinary people. I call those times, 'pinch me moments'.

One of these moments was seeing the Tower of London poppies for myself. The sea of red within the moat and cascading down the walls of the Tower of London was beautiful and terrible all at the same time. Taken together, they seemed a single vivid slash of colour. And yet, each of the 888,246 ceramic red poppies represented one British or Colonial serviceman killed in the Great War.

Beyond the visual assault on my senses, the thing I remember the most was the muted voices of the other spectators. Library-hushed sounds. Church-whispers. We all knew that we were in the presence of something other-worldly. Something important. Something unforgettable.

One of the masterminds behind the display was Tom Piper, a former pupil of Magdalen College School. I met Tom when he came to install the school's 50 Tower poppies, which commemorate the 49 former pupils and one master who were killed in that war. I was tasked to hand the poppies up to Tom as he carefully placed them into the display. It's not often that you feel part of history. I did that day.

Tom is coming to speak at the Oxford Festival of the Arts on Thursday 27 June. It's a fantastic opportunity to hear about the behind-the-scenes of not only the Tower Poppies but also his award-winning 30-year design career in theatre, museums and architecture.

Tickets can be purchased here: https://www.artsfestivaloxford.org/whats-on/speakers-and-discussions-1/tom-piper

For MCS OWs, the school has 30 free tickets on a first-come-first-served basis. Please contact [email protected].