Transcript

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Let's have some fun 

with things that rhyme

welcome Kids 

it's poetry time!

Hip Hip Hurray!

Welcome everyone to Kids’ Poetry Club, with me, Little Dazzy Donuts. I’m at home right now preparing to head off to the Club. It’s a very special day today as it’s the local home and garden tour. This is when a few homes in the area are selected because they’re so pretty or innovative, and they are opened up so that people can look around the houses and their gardens. Now, normally this is all done in-person – however, this year, it’s going virtual so that people can take the tours from home. It’s a real honor for us because the organizers selected the garden behind the Club to be included in the virtual tour. It’s wonderful recognition for Queenie and Chicken who have turned a patch of unused land all overgrown with weeds into a thriving vegetable garden complete with a unique home for Chicken. Well, Queenie and Chicken are over there now getting everything set up ready for their virtual tour, and I promised that I’d join them to help.

SOUND (Phone)

Oh, I bet that’s Queenie now. Hi, this is Little Dazzy Donuts.

Queenie: Hi, Little Dazzy Donuts – it’s Queenie!

Hi, Queenie – how’s it going getting ready for the virtual home and garden tour today?

Queenie: Well, I think we’re almost ready. We’ve got everything looking neat and tidy – I even went up on Chicken’s roof and polished her solar panels. They’re so shiny now that you could check your hair in them. We’ve done everything we could to get ready as, apparently, there are prizes for the best homes and gardens.  

So, how’s it all going to work?

Queenie: Well, we’ve been given a fifteen minute time slot for our video tour, and it all happens live. It’s so exciting!!! I’m going to take everyone around and tell them all about what we’ve done, and so I’ll be in front of the camera – you know, as a sort of on-screen TV personality. Then, Chicken is going to operate the camera.

That sounds wonderful Queenie. So, what can I be doing to help?

Queenie: Well, that’s why I called. It seems silly that this is the garden at Kids’ Poetry Club and yet we’re not doing any poetry as part of the virtual tour. We can’t have that now, can we?! So, I was wondering if you’d be willing to bring along recordings of a few poems from the Summer competition on the topic of Home? We can then play them in between the tour segments. You know, once I’ve shown people the lettuces, you can play a poem while the camera crew and I move over to the wild flower garden.

What a great idea, Queenie. I have some recordings right here that would be perfect, and so I’ll bring them along and play them over Chicken’s loudspeaker system. It will add a certain gravitas to your virtual tour.

Queenie: You’re right – it’s important to add a certain gravy train. Okay, well we’re on in a few minutes, and so I better learn my lines. I’ll see you soon, Little Dazzy Donuts.

SOUND (Click)

Okay then, let’s put these poems into my bag, and head over there now.

SOUND (Door & Gravel)

Well, this is such a nice day for the virtual tour. The sun is out, and so the garden will look at its best for all of the people watching at home. Okay, I’m at the Club now – let’s head around the back and see where Queenie is.

SOUND (gate)

Queenie: Hi Little Dazzy Donuts.

Oh hi Queenie.

Queenie: We’re just about to start. As soon as Chicken tells me we’re live, I’m going to launch into my welcome speech for everyone watching. Could you go and hook up your recordings to the speaker system so that you’re ready for the end of the first segment.

Sure. I’ve selected six wonderful poems - your viewers will love them!

SOUND (Chicken)

Queenie: Oh … that’s the signal. Okay … we’re on in three, two, one.

Queenie: Hi everyone around the World, and welcome to the Kids’ Poetry Club garden. I’m Queenie, and I’m here with Chicken, who you can’t see as she’s operating the camera for us .. and also with Little Dazzy Donuts. Over the next few minutes, I’m going to take you around our wonderful garden. We’re also going to play you some recordings of poetry. Doesn’t that sound lovely?!

Queenie: So, Chicken, can you pan the camera around the garden quickly so that people can get a sense of what it looks like.

SOUND (Chicken)

Queenie: Isn’t that cool?! Well, just a few weeks ago, this was all overgrown with weeds and grass. Now look at it. See, over here we have our vegetable patch. We have lettuces, cabbages, radishes, a golf ball, some cucumbers, beans …. Hang on … what’s that golf ball doing there? Sorry – please forget that I said golf ball. That’s definitely not a vegetable. Next, I’d like to show you our irrigation system, but first let’s hear a poem. We have selected some wonderful poems to play for you  … and here to introduce them is the man with the flan, Little Dazzy Donuts.

Thank you, Queenie. You know, I think the saying is “man with the plan”.

Queenie: Not man with the flan?

No, “man with the plan.”

Queenie: So, who has the flan then?

I’m not sure who has the flan – in fact, there may not even be a flan. Oh well, let me play the first poem for everyone. All of the poems today have been sent in as part of the Summer competition on the topic of Home, and the first we’re going to hear comes from Sofia in Scotland, with her poem called Safe. It’s all about how safe her home feels, and why that’s particularly important right now during periods of lockdown. Let me play the poem for you now.

Sofia: At my home, it is safe. I like it here, it is cost and warm. I love my mummy, and daddy, and my little brother. I love my bed and my ubercorn teddy in my bed. And I love my pillow that I take on holiday. I feel happy and also a little bit sad, Because I have to stay here for a long time. I’d like to be outside as well. Something really weird is happening in my brain right now. I want to be inside and outside as well at the same time. Going out right now feels strange. Everyone is wearing masks and at a distance. What can I do about it? I really want to help. So I have to stay safe in my house.

Well, I do like Sofia’s poem – thank you so much for sending it in. Your home definitely sounds safe, and full of love too. Even though the world is a strange place right now, and people are looking and acting differently when outside, your poem shows how great it is to know that we can stay home, or return home, and be safe. That’s such an important message, and a nice feeling too.

Queenie: Ooohhh, I liked Sofia’s poem too. Okay, well let me now show you our wonderful irrigation system. Here we have some rain barrels. These collect rain off the roof of the Club, and also off the roof of Chicken’s home. The water stays stored in these barrels, and then travels down these pipes into hoses that run along the ground through all of the rows of vegetables. Now, take a look at the hose closely … Chicken can you zoom in with the camera please … great. See, the hose has small holes in it … and the rain water drips slowly out of those holes right at the base of the plants, providing them with a constant source of water. Isn’t that fantastic? Okay, next I want to show you our compost. But first, how about another poem?

Thanks, Queenie. So, next it’s Amelia from England, with the poem Grandma’s House. You’re going to like this poem, and the sound of Grandma’s House too. Let me play the poem for you now.

Amelia: Hidden warmth in plush velvet sofas, A garden abounding with sweet vivid flowers, Akin to the comfort of a familiar friend. Memories huddle over every wall, Adventure awaits as you clamber the winding stairs, Up to the rooftop carrying swirling clouds. A wealth of cosy rooms for hiding, Dark burrows create distinctive dens, Guarded by a tiger with the softest purr, While the laughter of cousins resounds from the nursery. The razzmatazz red wardrobe is a pocket of style and fashion, An explosion of colours, shapes and icons. Grandma owns her own look. Grandma’s pantry is like no other. Piled high with Penguin Bars, Quavers and Kit Kats. A harmony of sweet delights. You can never feel alone at Grandmas House, Your head is full of happiness. Nothing is quite like Grandma, She’s completely wonderful.

Well, I do like Amelia’s poem, and I love the description of Grandma’s House. Given the chance, I think I’d like to go there, meet the tiger with the softest purr, and also dig around in the panty to find all of those sweet goodies. Thank you so much, Amelia, for writing and recording your poem for us.

Queenie: Wonderful – thank you, Amelia. I think I’d enjoy going to gradma’s house too. Okay, so here is our compost. Now, if you haven’t seen a compost like this before, let me show you the layers. Chicken, can you zoom into here for me please? Great, well, now you can see there are alternating layers. So we have a  layer of brown materials – things like dead leaves - a thin layer of soil, and then a later of kitchen scraps. We top it with more soil, and water it occasionally to keep it from drying out. We started it two months ago, and we now have a wonderful compost pile. It’s so good for our plants, and we spread it around so our vegetables benefit from all of its yummy nutrients.

SOUND (Chicken)

Queenie: Ah yes … as Chicken reminded me just then, there’s a piece of this that involves her poop. But, seeing as this is a family tour going out around meal time, I think we’ll quickly skip over that. Okay, Little Dazzy Donuts, it’s time for another poem.

Thanks, Queenie – you’re doing a grand job here. Okay, so who’s up next? Ah yes, we have Chloe from Australia, and her poem is called Coming Home. It’s about what it’s like to be waiting for someone you love to return home. Let me play the poem for you now.

Chloe: I couldn’t wait to see him, In arrival bay, I can’t wait to get there, I’d been waiting all day. I’m impatiently waiting, Ready to see the one I miss, But when the huge doors open, I can’t see the one I want to hug and kiss. I’m as sad as a lonely seal at sea, As I’m waiting in dismay, Then I look up and wonder, I’d wish I’d waste away. Then I see a man with short blonde hair, I have been dying to see, He carrying a guitar, And is smiling at me. Dad’s come home from the army, From one long year away, It felt like forever, And I’ve missed him everyday. Dear Dad, I really love you, Can you please stay, I really don’t want you to go, Please don’t go away.

Wow, Chloe – what a wonderful poem. You’ve done a great job of showing how a home is made up of the people inside of it, and so to be without one of those people means that the home is not the same. It must have been tough waiting for your Dad to return, and I’m so glad he got home safely. Thank you, Chloe, for your poem and for recording it for us too. Back over to you, Queenie.

Queenie: Thanks, Chloe … and Little Dazzy Donuts too. Well, we’re now over here at our wild flower garden. Isn’t this pretty!?! We have this for many reasons. Of course, it looks wonderful … and the bees love it too … and it also provides a home for animals that help us to control insects that could go to town on our vegetables. So, in here, there are toads, lizards, and ladybugs or ladybirds. Then, the garden also attracts birds and bats. All of those help control pesky insects. We’re also helped by having a wide variety of vegetables and flowers here too. That variety helps nature to control the insects so we don’t have to use nasty pesticides. Isn’t that wonderful! Okay,  I think it’s time for another poem, Little Dazzy Donuts.

Wonderful Queenie. So, our next poet is Azura from England with her poem “Home in Lockdown”. I really like this poem and the way that Azura captures what it’s like sitting in her home, her sensing picking up everything that’s happening around her. Here, let me play Azura’s poem for you now.

Azura: The birds tweet, as the new day arrives, freshly brewed coffee smells delicious, the sweet aroma of flapjack still warm from the oven, the whole family quietly tapping away at computers, the ping of notifications as messages arrive from my friends, the howling of the wind, makes me feel lucky to be in here, my hamster, Cookie, scrabbles away in his cage, the bright glare of the computer screen makes my face glow, my tummy rumbling, makes me wonder what's for lunch, the whole family cramped in one space causes bickering, frustrated by technology, my mum hushes for silence.

A big THANK YOU to Azura for sending in her wonderful poem. I don’t know about you, but I can totally picture what it’s like to be in her home … and I love the thought of a piece of flapjack right now, fresh out of the oven!  Okay, I’ll hand you back over to Queenie.

Queenie: Okay, well I’m at the final section that I want to show you. This is our latest project. It’s our small corner of fruit trees. We don’t have space for many – but we have planted an apple tree, a pear tree, and a fig tree too. Before we did that, we tested the soil to many sure that is wasn’t too acidic or too alkeline. Fruit trees like it like that. We also chose the corner of the garden that has the best drainage as really damp areas that hold on to the water can cause diseases in fruit trees, or rot their roots. Of course, it could be a few years before we have a bumper crop of fruit – but it’s exciting to see these grow. Okay, well I think we have time for two more short poems, Little Dazzy Donuts. Can you play those while I listen out for the phone – the organizers said they’d call me if we’ve won a prize. But I haven’t heard the phone yet.

Well, I’ll listen out for the phone too, Queenie. While I do, I’ll play the final two poems. First, we have Poppy from England,  with the poem Topsy Turvey World.  Poppy, like many children, has been stuck at home and her poem reflects the 'topsy turvy' world people are experiencing, where things don’t work how they used to. Here, let me play the poem for you now.

Poppy: Violets are red. Roses are blue. Hippopotamuses go mew mew. The Earth is flat instead of round. The sun and sky are on the ground. We work and play when it is night. Then go to sleep in broad daylight.

Well, I do like Poppy’s poem. It really does feel like the world is topsy turvy right now with so many things working differently from how they used to work, and normal things feeling so strange. Thank you, Poppy, for sending in such a fun poem that capures all of that for us.

Now, for the final poem of the tour. This comes from Aaniyah in the United States with the poem Dear Flower In My Room.  You know, I really like short poems that tell and story, and Aaniyah does that in just 52 words. Here, let me play the poem for you now.

Aaniyah: Dear Flower In My Room, You sit in my room staring, Never saying a word, I water you and feed you, Yet you still don’t say thank you, One day I came home from school, And you looked very sad, I gave you more food and water, But you never came back.

Thank you, Aaniyah – what a wonderful poem! You know, I’ve had very similar experiences with plants in the garden, and in my home too. It sounds like your flower got plenty of water, and so it’s sad that it didn’t survive. Thank you so much for your poem, and for recording it for us too.

Okay … well, that was our final poem Queenie. Still no call about a prize?

Queenie: No, not yet. I’m listening out though.

Okay then, well, while you listen out, why don’t I thank everyone for joining us for the tour, and also thank our six poets today: Sofia, Amelia, Chloe, Azura, Poppy, and Aaniyah.  Also, I can remind people that they can enter their own poems into the Home competition. You’ll find full details of how to enter on the competition page of kidspoetryclub.com. You have until July 30th, and so there’s still plenty of time. I should also remind you that we’re back with a normal episode on Monday, with a brand new topic, and new poems.

SOUND (ring)

Oh, Queenie …. The phone’s ringing …

Queenie: Oh my gosh … I’m going to answer that. It could be the organizers. Hello, this is Queenie at Kids’ Poetry Club ….. Yes, I am …… Yes, it is our first time ….. Yes, we did have a Chicken operating our camera … Ah – well I understand completely that we didn’t win first prize. That’s okay, we’re just happy to have been a part of this. Thank you for including us ….. Oh, we did …. Really? A new prize for the most organic and innovative garden, oh wow! What an honor. Thank you! I’m going to go tell everyone now.

Queenie: Little Dazzy Donuts … Chicken … you’ll never guess what just happened!

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