Friday 3rd April

I'm an old man, and she's gone now. So don't worry, okay?

Watch this clip of time travel. It comes from a famous story about time travel called The Time Machine by H.G. Wells. The book is set in Victorian times, as you can see from the clothing and furnishings. In fact, the way the room changes around the travelling time machine is similar to the hall changing in Tom's Midnight Garden. This time-traveller goes into the future - way into the future, in fact!

The person who spoke the words above, however, went back in time, as we now know, to save a friend's life and his own. 

In this clip, there are certain similarities to Marcus' story - particularly the picture. It suggests that this lady also may be gone now. 

To complete our theme of time travel, I would like you to imagine the journey that Marcus would have made back - the burn scale , the dome, whatever they may be - and write a final note. This note is a note of farewell to the people he was leaving. Perhaps he would write a note to Miranda who would now also be old. Don't forget that he can't write to Sal, because in this timeline, Sal is dead. At this point, Miranda would be old and remembering her friend Sal, who died after the accident and never grew up. Perhaps Marcus could write to Sal's mother, who would be a very old lady by now, maybe Anne-Marie. Remember his favourite saying - Smart Kid. Perhaps he is leaving his children and grand-children behind to put this right. There are so many things you could include. Just remember which time line you are writing from - the one where Sal died and Marcus invents the time machine in order to go back and change things.

Thursday 2nd April

Today we are going back to the future! Watch this clip from the film. Marty, the hero of the film, has accidentally changed the past so that his parents have never met. In this clip, he has just minutes left before he and his brother and sister vanish from reality for ever. He knows that his parents fell in love, at a school dance, to the song Earth Angel and he knows what he must do... 

Watch the clip to see whether he succeeds and also to listen to a piece of his favourite rock music - something which has never been heard before by the teenagers of the 1950's!

Task

Imagine that you have gone back in time and accidentally changed something in your family's life. In the film, Marty prevented his parents from meeting at the right time. He had to work very hard to make them meet and fall in love.

You will need to talk to a parent, grandparent or other older relative to identify something that happened in their life and how things would be different now if something had been changed. 

Imagine that you went back in time and caused things to happen differently. 

Describe what you changed when you went back in time and how you put it right. 

Wednesday April 1st

The Cabinet of Curiosities

The shop actually exists. It's in the village of Haworth, where the Bronte family lived. It is like stepping back in time, filled with weird and wonderful items at every turn. 

You could write about the following things - or all of them. 

A story about something that happens in the shop after it closes at the end of the day. Perhaps something could come to life, or a child is hiding in there and has an adventure linked to an object; it could be a portal to a different time, perhaps. 

A description of the items in the shop. Perhaps there is one mysterious thing, which is tucked away high on a shelf... 

Tuesday 31st March

Download the document below to see today's activity. Read the 100 word opening, then study the picture. Answer the questions raised about the picture, then write your own continuation of the story. You could use your knowledge of Tom's Midnight Garden to help you. 

Monday 30th March

The World's oldest message in a bottle!

This intriguing video documents the discovery of the world’s oldest message in a bottle by Perth resident Tonya Illman, who stumbled across the missive whilst litter picking on North Wedge Island in 2018. The 131-year-old note was written by a captain of a German sailing ship, and was thrown from the vessel whilst on a voyage from Cardiff to Indonesia.

After watching the video, it’s likely that you will be curious about what happened to the ship and crew – a thought that would make an exciting writing activity.

What do you think happened to the Captain and his boat?

• Did they get to Indonesia safely?
• Or perhaps they were been stranded on a desert island?
• Worse still, could they have been attacked by a giant octopus?!
• Write a Captain's diary entry to describe the journey and what happened that day. Remember to write in the first person. This message is 131 years old so you will need to write in an old-fashioned formal style.