When I came into my classroom on Tuesday morning, I found a shiny golden reindeer sitting on my desk. Not just any reindeer - a white chocolate reindeer! There are not many things that excite me as much as chocolate, especially when wrapped up as a shiny reindeer - alas, it must have been forgotten by one of the Year 8s that were registering in the room. 

It took me another 24 hours to find out it was actually mine! 24 hours of anticipation and excitement made it taste even better than it would have anyway. It turned out to be Thank you for the fact I helped some of our fabulous students to prepare an assembly on Divali. They did an amazing job - dancing, explaining, sharing their faith and traditions - and I did very little. And yet, I was the recipient of a shiny golden deer.

Divali is all about bringing the light into the darkness of our world - showing that good will always win over evil. To demonstrate this, the students darkened our chapel and handed out little lights to shine brightly into the apparent darkness by which we were surrounded.

Light travels a long way - and a tiny light can have a massive impact.

It can transform a place and enlighten the people who see it. It can bring hope and happiness and make us feel comforted and protected in otherwise dark places.

The students sharing Divali with us brought light into a dark day - and those lucky enough to receive a little tea light continued to bring brightness straight out of their blazer pockets into the rest of the day and the week. 

My own personal ‘light in the darkness’ was a shiny golden chocolate reindeer, which brought a huge smile to my face. However, in the Ramayana (the story of Divali) the golden deer is rather a devious character - so, naturally, it had to eat it up quickly.

But only after it had brought light into my day. 

With Love From The Chapel