Walter Carrington, when referring to Time in connection with ourselves, doesn't talk about TAKING time, but instead of GIVING ourselves time. To him Time is relative, personal and individual. He says that only we can give ourselves time, and if we feel there is not enough of it, it is our fault! To anyone who knows Walter, it is obvious that he is at every moment giving himself time, whether he is talking on the telephone, reading a letter, or in the centre of a busy Training Course.

Walter has devoted so much of his time so far to teaching the F.M. Alexander Technique, that it is impossible to write about him without also writing about his work. To him the Technique is about Time, and above all present time. So I would like to start with a look at how he is teaching now, then go back to trace some of the past, and finish with giving you some of his thoughts regarding the future.

While watching Walter give Master Classes at the Second International Conference last year [Ed-1988], I had the opportunity to observe the effects his qualities of calmness, clarity and strength had on the people he was working with. His years of experience of giving himself time (inhibition) and space (direction) add up to a powerful combination which is capable of overcoming most of our resistances! Some of the teachers he demonstrated on at the Conference, none of whom he had ever worked with before, were at first, naturally enough, a little nervous. But as soon as Walter's hands were on them they began to calm down. When they were calmer they were able to think more clearly, this showing itself especially in the expression of their eyes. Without exception their eyes became more alert, more alive, more - and here's a word we've used before - more PRESENT. Then what happened? Expressions varying from pleased surprise to frank disbelief at what they were experiencing flickered across their faces - giving way later to relief, joy and gratitude. It occurred to me at the time that they looked as if they were being given the most wonderful present. Which of course they were - in all senses of the word: The gift of being present in the moment.

Walter Hadrian Marshall Carrington was born in Yorkshire on May 4th, 1915 - the only child of the Reverend Walter Marshall and Hannah Carrington, but he has lived most of his life in and around London. He remembers going away to boarding school at the age of nine as the only difficult adjustment in an otherwise extremely happy childhood. He became a Chorister of All Saints Church, Margaret St, London W1., where he stayed for the next six years, leaving at the age of fifteen (by this time having been made Head Boy) to attend St. Paul's School, also in London.

Three lifelong interests - music, horse-riding, and reading - date from this early age. His love of music was probably developed during the Choir School years; he began taking riding lessons at the age of fifteen (he now has his own horse and rides at least three times a week); and, encouraged by his form master at St. Paul's, he became an avid reader on many subjects.

If his form master at St. Paul's, W. H. Eynon-Smith, had not been a man of wide knowledge and varied interests, who concerned himself with the welfare of his pupils, Walter's life might have followed a very different path. For it was through Eynon-Smith's discovery of "Man's Supreme Inheritance" that Walter got first introduced to the Alexander Technique. By this time Walter's mother had become seriously ill with chronic digestive troubles, and Eynon-Smith lent Walter Alexander's book, hoping that perhaps the Technique could be of help to her. The result was that she took a course of lessons with F.M. and quite soon completely recovered her health and strength. Then Walter also took some lessons, which led him to eventually joining the Training Course for Teachers, and gradually letting go of his former intention which had been to join the Order of the Jesuits.

He qualified in 1939 and started giving private lessons and, with other teachers, helping with the Training Course in Alexander's teaching premises at 16 Ashley Place, Victoria. In August 1940 he married Dilys, who had been having lessons at Ashley Place from F.M. and other teachers. She had recently acquired a degree in General Science from Bedford College, London. Later, she also joined the Training Course, and has since made her own significant contribution to the work. They have three sons: Christopher, now a Wing Commander with RAF; Richard, working as a Civil Engineer in Kenya; and Matthew, who combines banking with being a Member of Parliament. Dilys and Walter are now proud grandparents to four adored grandchildren.

After receiving his call-up papers in March 1941, Walter joined the RAF. He was initially laid up by a severe attack of pneumonia, but soon learned to fly, getting his 'Wings' later that year, eventually becoming a pilot in the Pathfinder Squadron. Luckily he and his crew all survived when, in August 1944, while flying on a mission over what was then Hungary, their plane was attacked and shot down. They were all taken Prisoners of War, but Walter, because of his injuries - a deep cut over one eye and broken jaw, collar bone and pelvis - was sent to a military hospital. Some months later he was released and repatriated by the Russians. Forty-four years later (1988) Walter and his crew were invited back to the village near where their plane crashed for a grand reunion with the local people who had helped them at the time, and in a formal ceremony they were all made Honorary Members of the Partisan's Union of War Veterans.

After the war, Walter was soon back teaching at Ashley Place, giving private lessons and helping out on the Training Course. He once said that he did not know which day was happier, the day he left school or the day he left the RAF! After Alexander's death in 1955 he continued with the Training Course, first in premises off Tottenham Court Rd and later at his present home in Lansdowne Rd, Holland Park.

Over the years he has taught innumerable private pupils and trained a considerable number of teachers, consistently developing and extending the Training Course. He has written several widely circulated pamphlets, and together with Dilys has made many teaching trips to Europe, Scandanavia, America, and more recently, Australia.

I would like to finish this section with some thoughts on what Walter DOESN'T do! In no way does he set himself up as any kind of Authority Figure, Fount of Knowledge, 'Guru' or even Master Teacher! He never makes anyone feel foolish or stupid, doesn't have 'favourites', and never makes us feel rushed or forced to change quicker than we are able to. He never suggests that any silly question we might ask is anything less than intelligent, and if we excitedly tell him of our discoveries, he refrains from pointing out that this is exactly what he has been telling us for the past several years. (This happened to me!) He does not allow us to become too serious and intense about our problems, and if there is a danger of it, he can always make us laugh with a joke or story. A word about his 'stories': He doesn't usually directly criticise us or tell us where we are going wrong, but if we learn to listen to the stories he tells us, there is often in them a germ of truth exactly appropriate for us - if we can bear to hear it.

He is not afraid to contradict himself, because he is not fixed. And especially with regard to the Technique, he considers it very important we do not get fixed on its past history. And although he is always giving himself time to be in the present, he points out that later that year, eventually becoming a pilot in the Pathfinder Squadron.

There is also a danger of getting fixed in the present, because that can lead to 'like an ostrich with its head in the sand' not really facing the future. 'And we must look to the future', he says, 'but remember that the future is the unknown and the first problem to overcome is fear and anxiety. Then we must be observant and reflective and practise inhibition and direction, but above all be experimental, and seeking to identify the wrong thing, not trying or expecting to be able to establish what is right.' He goes on to quote the famous phrase: "Reasoning from the known to the unknown, the known being the wrong, and the unknown being the right.'

We should be grateful to Walter and the other Senior Teachers for so devotedly carrying on teaching the Technique, and trust with him that it is only a matter of time before Alexander's work is recognised for what it is, a unique contribution to human development: the possibility of giving ourselves Time.

ABOUT THE WRITER

Mary Holland

C/- The Haven
Chipperfield Common
nr Kings Langley
HERTS WD4 9BL
UNITED KINGDOM