Oh my goodness what a wonderful thing the "Travel the World" event was at Louie's school last night. I had taken the gauntlet and said I would "man" a table and do England and the Isle of Man. That thought lasted about a nano second when I realised that I was going to cover over a 1000 years of history. Ok I'll back up for a second.
The idea is that there is a table dedicated to a country and the children visit each table and learn about the country and maybe try some food that is traditional to that place, then they get a flag sicker for their passports...............actually what happens is that they charge up to the table covering all the display boards with their precious bodies thus learning nothing! and ask you the questions........"what's this?" and you explain everything on the display boards........in my case over a 1000 years of history and no it is't England and Oh I'm sorry you don't know where England is, let me show you, ok, never mind here's the sticker...................
The grown ups were even better...............no amount of convincing had an impression on them that the Isle Of Man is indeed independent from the UK or Scotland or Ireland. We seemingly belong to them all. A special mention must go to the large man that pointed at me as I spoke and said but you are speaking English...............ah yes indeed I was. I was in fear of slipping into a deep depression after his visit...
To be fair there were some very interested parties and they did manage to listen to me drone on about the Isle Of Man. But I did scared a lot of peeps with the volume of information. Plus my next door table kept complaining about me showing off..........I like to call it pride in ones country. She also chastised me for not serving food with a plastic glove on. But she wasn't too bad in showing off...she had a hot plate and was making food there!!!! Picture the scene...tables set up for each country. Most people had a map of the country and props. Some had display boards. One with scant information on and then you have the Fozards..........Louie in kilt, Damian in, 'Fozard Team' t-shirt (yes we have one with three legs emblem on it! we have four just one was worn!), I in a Super Manx apron, Isaac also in Super Manx t-shirt. In addition we had super back up in the form of Nana and Grandad. I had a table groaning with tea towels, Loghton sheep, Manx tweed, Manx blanket, books, Manx monopoly, two displays crammed with interesting facts and not forgetting bunting and flags.
A lot of stuff!
I didn't photo the other stalls as that seemed mean. We added to the table scones (both currant and non) with jam and whipped cream, plus pasties...Damian talked about miners. With the food Mum did suggest Bonnag.......well I've never made it and didn't want that to be the first time and my scones seem to be enjoyed................lots of people came for those and the pasties and practically all were gone................we made enough to feed an army.
The moral of my tale is that I am very proud of the Isle Of Man and all of it's wonderful heritage. There is no way that I would have been able to do England as well..............and that would have definitely confused the multitude that thought we are English any way (so that was a good move to drop them!) . Being next to the Armenian table with an equally excitable person such as myself and competitive to boot, meant that she challenged me to "same time, same place! next year!!!"..............
What's that adage about pride and the fall...............I almost fell but really and truly seeing Louie dance the night away with the kilt flipping and flapping people enjoying our food and hospitality. Me educating the world one person at a time about the wonders of our small home land and the Independence and pride we feel for it, was worth the hours I put into the boards and the gathering and baking that was undertaken, to show people where we are from.
Totally groovy dances, they were amazing and doing a modern Indian dance.
Louie is right there taking it all in!
Now for the learning part. They tried to teach the kids.When they had finished, he grooved around the DJ till it was dark. He was so happy dancing the night away and had a blast!
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