Thought For The Day – Wednesday 20th May 2026
Take Care
The first men’s football Premier League Championship for Arsenal since 2004, has delighted their supporters.
It has been a testament to belief and resilience of the club, staff, and team year after year after year.
This moment, no doubt, is all the sweeter as a result.
The former Vice-Chair of Arsenal, David Dein M.B.E., a visitor to T.B.S.H.S. for many years, will also be very happy indeed.
It will be particularly emotional for many supporters whose family members look down from Heaven.
One person who would have thrilled at Arsenal’s achievement is Mr. Mike Franklin, who passed away on the 22nd of May, this coming Friday, in 2022.
Mr. Franklin was a Caretaker of T.B.S.H.S. Mr. Franklin was a wise, good-humoured and passionate “citizen of the world”. A Renaissance person, Mr. Franklin was a linguist, reader and supporter of Arsenal Football Club.
Mr. Franklin devoted many hours to The Bishop’s Stortford High School, through the week and at weekends, over his near twenty-three years of service. He helped and supported all. Mr. Franklin is pictured below.
Mr. Franklin enriched our previous London Road site through, for example, gardening and horticulture. At this time of year, a season of “Flower Shows” of course, flowers he planted, and nurtured, would bloom. A picture of one of his arrangements, from June 2022 at our London Road site, is reproduced above.
Mr. Franklin was also a devoted and highly knowledgeable ornithologist, often travelling miles in his spare time to see “the birds of the air”. 
There is great inspiration and solace birdsong in the morning, in the afternoon and in the evening.
This is a wonderful opportunity to pay tribute to, and to thank, our caretakers. For Caretakers take care of the School (a phrase Mr. Franklin often used). Including when everyone else is on holiday. The Caretakers at T.B.S.H.S. have been wonderful in, and with, our new School facilities.
We have a moral duty to make their lives, and that of the cleaners, easier by taking responsibility, and care, too.
And it is a good lesson for our lives that, in any place, it is the humble people behind-the-scenes that are absolutely vital. Indeed everyone in life is vital, whatever seemingly humble job they do.
This is also a very good opportunity to thank all the Support Staff at T.B.S.H.S. These great citizens are “the team behind the team behind the team”. For any club needs people to keep the club going. Without them, quite simply, there is no organization.
It was, for example, very interesting that, after their final home league game on Saturday, the whole staff of Arsenal Football Club experienced a team photograph in front of supporters.
