18th
January The Last of the Teenage Idols SAHB
- The Sensational Alex Harvey Band
There were only three pupils
when I began; Harry, Amy and Tony Mason who had a broken leg from a skiing
accident. On being questioned, all three interestingly thought that Climate
Change was not human enhanced but part of a natural cycle. Yet all three agreed
that it is more in the news now and that people are taking more notice of it. I
wonder how they feel about it now. More students came into the room, having
finished an exam, including another girl named Jade, who was keen to share her
opinions. With each of the four rows of chairs arranged in a square now full and despite the food and drink, the debate became livelier as the PowerPoint proceeded.
“It
needs to be stopped before we can’t stop it.”
“Lots
of people waste energy. My Mum has just bought energy saving light bulbs.”
I left the school later than
expected, having enjoyed immensely this first Eco School visit with such
forthright, intelligent students.
The next school to visit, Strood
Academy, had to be on two sites, didn't it? Having chosen the wrong site and on
receiving directions for the correct one, I pedalled like the clappers and was
not too late. At least the greeting was not of the “where have you been?”
variety. Instead a class full of thirty or so sixteen to eighteen-year olds
were waiting patiently. Now I had been told that this was a tough school but it
just shows that you should not believe all you are told and find this sort of
thing out for yourself. The session was fabulous. I am sure that all present
enjoyed the visit. The same PowerPoint started things off but the students soon
took more control as they asked questions, gave their own opinions, added jokes
and comments and generally were superb. Shelbie, Head boy Ross who's cousin is
Kenny Samson, the old Arsenal player, and Deputy Head Boy Ben, Lydia [now that
was worth a rendition of Groucho Marx's Lydia – Lydia, oh Lydia say have you
met Lydia, Lydia the Tattooed Lady …... all join in now], Becky, Brook and Francesca;
all were intelligent and lucid young people. Their questions included: -
“Why
birds?”
Response
- They are everywhere and they fly! They have such a variety of shapes and
colours, behaviours and names. They have freedom!
“What's
your favourite bird?”
Now
that would be telling but I will give you a clue. Once a youngster takes off
from the nest, they do not land again for three years. In other words I have a
passion for Swifts.
Questions
concerning Climate Change came next:
“What
difference can a tiny country like Britain make? [Lydia]
“We're
too late. [Becky]
“Ban
ordinary light bulbs!” [Brook]
The session sparkled thanks to
these wonderful young people and the allotted hour or so went quickly.
Outside
the school entrance afterwards the students took photos. Ben, an Arsenal fan,
poor thing, said quietly to me, “you weren't what we were expecting.” Come to
think of it what would a hard-looking teenager expect when told by his teacher
that a bloke who loves feathered birds and is cycling around Britain is coming
to give a talk. Probably thought that a twee little man with a long flowing
Dumbledore beard with binoculars and a Snowy Owl on his shoulder was coming. I
am glad I did not ask him to say exactly what he had expected and accepted what
he said as the compliment he meant it to be.
And so onto Bligh Junior School,
getting there a little early, I drank a nice cuppa in an almost empty
staffroom. “So you're the bird-mad man.” was the welcome from the office. Now
my plan for entertaining a Junior School was vastly different to the Climate
Change PowerPoint. To start with the bike was positioned at the front of the
school hall, fully laden with the 'lads'; Barnaby Bear, Albert the Albatross
and Sid the rainforest frog, all tucked away out of sight in a pannier.
In came around two hundred or so
pupils and sat in neat rows with their teachers on chairs to each side. An
introduction from the Head, Rob and then a quick request for a volunteer from
me. Charlotte was chosen from the forest of raised hands and she had to put her
hand in the pannier to retrieve an animal, after having been told that there
were three wild animals of vicious intent inside. To the strains of a hastily
taught refrain, all the children sang 'They bite. They scratch. They make an awful
fuss. It’s no use stroking them and saying Puss, Puss, Puss,' [Bonzo Dog Doo
Dah fans will recognise the lyric.] Charlotte pulled out Albert the large RSPB
albatross, bought the previous autumn from the RSPB shop at Dungeness.
Well, what can one do with a
large cuddly toy of a black-browed albatross? Fly like one of course! Charlotte
had to look at Albert carefully and then fly the way she thought Albert would
fly across the front of the hall. Now why do all children flap their wings when
pretending to be an albatross? Charlotte was no exception. She flapped her
'wings' up and down as she enthusiastically made her way across the front to
the delight of all the laughing school children.
“No! No! No!” I cried out
pantomime dame-like and explained that the school needed to help her with the
real action of an albatross by singing a tune.
La la la, la la la, la la la, la,
la, la. Like a demented waltz, the children sang and Charlotte, bless her,
glided around with her wings outstretched and straight, cresting and troughing
as only a huge, long-winged albatross would.
“Now you can all do that.” I said
to the children and as they all stood to do so, I noticed that the teachers
were still sitting. “Wait a minute! We are not having that!” So teachers were gently
persuaded to join in with the children, a hall full of over two hundred or so
albatross took to the air to a waltzy tune. You had to be there!
Next up was a Leah, who pulled
Sid the rainforest frog from out of the pannier. Now why do children always
'ribbit' and hop when they are asked to behave like a frog?
“No! No! No!” I pedantically and
theatrically exclaimed once more. Now just before leaving home, a David
Attenborough nature programme had shown the life cycle of a tree frog. This
frog had climbed a forty-metre-tall tree in order to deposit one egg inside a Bromeliad's
pool, like someone of my stature climbing the Empire State Building. Having
done so the brave little frog then climbed down again to collect the next egg
and repeat the process.
Leah was to pretend to place an
egg on her back and begin to climb the tree, whilst I took the final vicious
wild animal from out of the pannier, Barnaby Bear, the real one donated to me
for the journey by The Geographical Association. This Barnaby Bear was a glove
puppet and together he and I answered questions in a ventriloquist sort of way,
asked by the children and staff, whilst the tree frog Leah climbed.
Finally, having one exhausted tree frog
collapse in the corner of the stage, I asked questions of the children after
having explained the significance of each animal. Albert was for a campaign to
Save the Albatross by the RSPB. Sid was for the RSPB campaign in Sarawak, the
Harapan Rainforest reserve, as well as for the Wildfowl & Wetland Trust and
Barnaby Bear was along for the ride. Oh how he would regret that later in the
year! Actually Barnaby, as I have already stated, is an incredibly famous bear
with Primary-aged children across the country. Ask a child of Primary school
age who Barnaby is and you may get an answer. Do not confuse him with a
marmalade sandwich eating bear from Peru of equal fame.
Prizes of RSPB stickers and
Barnaby Bear books were given out to the children and then it was off to two
classrooms in order to answer more questions and also to share with the
children and staff thoughts about Eco Schools and Climate Change. First it was
with year three and then year five with children drawing my route for a
geography lesson with Mrs King, their teacher. Very sincere thanks to Rob the
Head Teacher and everyone there.
Later I went down into Strood
centre to look for a cycle repair shop. On finding it, I the owner told me that
a better one was to be found at the far end of Rochester. I soon found it and
left the bike for overnight repairs.
The supermarket Morrison's reputation for
reducing food to extremely cheap prices as the 'eat by' date approaches was shown
to be deserved as I bought two spice bun loaves for 29p each, a whole Camembert
cheese for 25p and two 'bootiful' Bernard Matthews' turkey slices packs for 15p
each. Adding a too large carton of pasta salad and a tub of margarine, I made
my way back to the same hotel as the previous night. It cannot have been as bad
as I had previously said. It was but then this would be luxury compared to
sleeping quarters enjoyed later in the year.
A different sort of day indeed
and one that had been a privilege and an absolute delight.
The additional toy, Phoebe the Blue-headed Parrot, well she joined me in 2018 but the story of that amazing Peruvian Biking Birder adventure, Biking Birder IV, is for another day.
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