British Wildlife Centre Visit

Gathered in the car park of the British Wildlife Centre, Newchapel on Friday 12th November 2010 fearing the rain and hoping for a cup of hot coffee, the adults of the Golden Lion Children’s Trust soon forgot about both as their guests for the visit arrived.

Excited pupils from Newick House School, Burgess Hill; the special unit of Lady Margaret’s School, Ifield and from Manor Green Primary School had arrived to see many of the animals and birds indigenous to the British countryside.

Dividing into two groups, each with their own escort from the Centre, the children from Lady Margaret’s school set off to the ‘Theatre’ to examine the fascinating life (and death) of the Vole. The remaining children went with their guide for the day, Laura, into the Barn to meet various rats and mice, and to be completely won over by a beautiful Barn Owl. How many lucky youngsters (or adults) can say they have stroked a delightfully soft Barn Owl?

As a contrast to the Owl, there was the opportunity to touch a hedgehog - which amazed everyone at how prickly it actually was!! Laura then showed them a cast off antler from a red deer, which again fascinated children and adults alike.

With a pocketful of hazelnuts, Laura guided the group into a walk-through area to see the red squirrels. They ran from everywhere as they realised they were to be fed, and darted under people’s feet, along the railings and up the wire netting to reach their snack. What a sight!! As someone promptly remarked - “I could stay here all day just watching these beautiful creatures”.

After lunch the group wondered why Laura was clutching a blue bucket. The reason became clear when she climbed into the fox enclosure and was surrounded by five foxes who were soon tucking in to their lunch of chicken. Just next door were three enclosures occupied by wildcats, which she fed rather carefully, as they seemed very agile, very quick, and rather hungry.

The group passed by a polecat and a mink, pausing to watch some otters have their lunch, then walking on to the jetty which extends out into the deer park.

Laura swapped her blue bucket for two large black ones filled with bread, and we knew we would soon be feeding the Red and Roe deer communities. The deer also knew that the approach of humans meant feeding time, and were soon right up against the fence. The children all took great delight in throwing the bread, some of which attracted some nearby ducks.

Yet more otters to see, followed by a search in the foliage of various cages for owls of different sizes, and then, as the rain which had threatened for a while began to fall, the group returned to the shelter of the Visitors centre.

The second group of children with their guide Izzie saw the same animals and birds, and were entertained with the same degree of enthusiasm and professional knowledge as Laura had for the first group.

This was an amazing outing !!! What a fascinating display of our British wildlife !!! What charming and knowledgeable hosts !!! Thank you to the British Wildlife Centre for a most interesting visit and a huge thank you to our generous sponsors who made this visit possible.

Credits:
Photography - Larry Bray Photography

Bluebell Railway 'Santa Special'

On Tuesday 19th December 2009 Golden Lion Children’s Trust were able to invite almost 250children and staff from nine special needs school in Sussex to enjoy a morning on the Bluebell Railway Santa Special thanks to the kindness of one particular Lewes Rotary Club.

Alan Jackson very kindly nominated the GLCT as the President’s charity during the year that he held office – and he and his fellow Rotarians raised the funds to pay for this project. We were delighted that Alan could join us for the event and see for himself the fun everyone had.

Helpers with the project included staff from PricewaterhouseCoopers’ Gatwick office; Ashdown Park hotel, West Sussex Fire & Rescue Service as well as regular Friends of the GLCT. Guests were entertained by a clown, an accordionist, magicians and hand-painters while waiting for Santa himself to walk through the train giving presents to each child.

One class teacher summed up the visit by describing it as 'a truly magical experience’ ......... and that is just what the GLCT believe it should be!

A trip to remember

An invitation from PricewaterhouseCoopers to travel to the Peacock Theatre, London and watch their own company‟s pantomime society production of "Sleeping Beauty‟ was met with great delight. On 30th January, when other people may have forgotten about Christmas, 52 GLCT guests boarded the Turbostyle coach with much excitement, and headed for an evening at the theatre. What great fun. We were looked after so well throughout our visit by Susan Persaud and her team from PwC. The hospitality was terrific, and the gifts of chocolates and drinks were much appreciated. The fantastic performance was a great treat, and the GLCT corner were reliably vocal when required throughout the production. More excitement followed when the children had the opportunity to meet cast members and collect autographs (a special page giving space in the programmes for these was an extra bonus for the children). So much fun was had on the coach journey home, with everyone comparing autographs – thrilled to count who had the most, and groaning disappointedly if they had missed meeting a favourite character from the pantomime.

Another brilliant event for everyone, summed up by one Mum who wrote afterwards:

“Going all the way to London was exciting enough for the children – London at night with all the beautiful lights. ........ A brilliant time was had by so many children and adults alike. It was greatly appreciated.”

Thank you to Graham Lambert and all PricewaterhouseCoopers‟ staff involved in making such an evening possible for some very special children, most of whom had never enjoyed a trip to London, or in many cases, had not been to live theatre before.