Monday 7th September
Extract from an interview with Thor Pederson https://www.onceuponasaga.dk/
I set myself three rules. First, I had to be in each country a minimum of 24 hours, but then I could stay as long as I wanted. Second, I couldn't return home until I reached the final country. It had to be one journey. And lastly, no flying for any reason whatsoever. So if I was evacuated in an airplane, I'd have to reset, and start all over again.
There were also three side rules. I couldn't pay any bribes the whole way. I also had a budget of an average of $20 a day…and the third rule was I couldn’t eat McDonald’s.
At its heart, my journey was about people. My motto was, “A stranger is a friend you’ve never met before.” Thousands of people had their hands in this project. People who would pat me on the back when I had a bad day, or give me a meal, a place to sleep, or just point me in the right direction. People would help with translations and connections. I was never alone—people around the world were helpful, funny, and generous.
Good morning, everyone
It is really good to be here together again, and I hope you are all feeling relaxed, refreshed and ready for a new term after the summer. Many of you will be used to coming to Routh each Monday morning, while for others, this will be a new experience. Routh Assembly is named after a long-serving Headmaster, Mr Robert G. Routh, and it used to take place in Routh Hall – now the music department - although the Senior School is now too large for us all to meet there. The purpose of these occasions is to share information, celebrate successes, reflect on how we live and, importantly, to come together as a community.
Today, I would like to take the opportunity to welcome everyone to a new school year at Bromsgrove. For some, this will be another year in the Senior School; for others, it will be their very first. Some are joining a new school, some are boarding for the very first time and some are experiencing their first day at school in the UK. Whatever your personal circumstances, I hope the year ahead is happy and fulfilling, filled with new friendships, new opportunities, the discovery of new talents, and achievements beyond anything you currently imagine possible.
As I have said before, those of us who are already part of the Bromsgrove community have an important responsibility to support those who are new. Whether in tutor groups, houses, lessons or co-curricular activities, the unfamiliarity of a new environment can make people feel nervous or uncertain. Let us all make a conscious effort to ensure that everyone feels welcomed, valued and part of the Bromsgrove family as quickly as possible.
That goes for new teachers too. I am delighted to welcome:
We hope they thoroughly enjoy their time at Bromsgrove and, of course, we will do our very best to help them settle in.
As you will know, Bromsgrove is a large and diverse school. This morning, we could look around the Arena and think that we are surrounded by strangers or, perhaps more positively, recognise that we are all different but connected by the School: a union of different kinds.
Not only do we have different talents, interests and aspirations, but this year there are 78 nationalities represented in our community. Just think how much we can learn simply by living, working and learning alongside people who are not the same as us.
I wonder whether you have come across Thor Pedersen, the Danish traveller who, in 2013, began a project he called Once Upon a Saga – which is where the extractyou just heard came from. Shortly after becoming engaged, and with the agreement of his fiancée to postpone their wedding, Thor left Denmark with the aim of visiting every country in the world without flying and without returning home until his journey was complete.
He expected the adventure to take four years. In fact, it took ten. Travelling by trains, buses, ferries and cargo ships, he visited 203 countries and territories. Along the way he faced numerous challenges including the COVID pandemic, which left him stranded in Hong Kong for almost two years. Yet he refused to give up and finally completed his journey in 2023.
You can read much more about the trip online on the site: Once Upon a Saga but for now, looking back, Thor learned several important lessons.
First, worthwhile achievements are rarely easy. Success often comes not from talent or intelligence alone, but from hard work, practice and persistence. Thor succeeded because he kept going when it would have been easier to stop. He found ways around the problems he encountered, just as we will have to from time to time this year.
Second, none of us achieves anything entirely alone. Thor himself said, "Thousands of people had their hands in this project." We all need the help of others, and we all have a responsibility to help others in return.
Third, he set himself clear rules from the very beginning and remained faithful to them. All of us need standards by which we choose to live our lives – ideally imposed by us
And finally, after meeting people from every corner of the world, he came to a simple conclusion: A stranger is a friend you haven't met yet.
In a school with 78 nationalities, that is worth remembering. Every conversation, every friendship and every new encounter is an opportunity to learn something about someone else and perhaps something about ourselves.
So, as we begin our journey through the next three terms at Bromsgrove, be ambitious and be prepared to tackle problems; be ready to ask for help but also be quick to help others; set high standards in all that you do; and be ready to learn from others, especially those who are in a different House, a different year group or come from a different background.
Because, as Thor discovered after travelling the world for ten years, a stranger is a friend we haven't met yet.
Thank you