Introduction and Storyland
Hello and welcome to Once Upon A Time in Luton!
My name is Emma Waterford and my name is Bernadette Russell, and we have been working with Luton Primary School:
“Team Seal Year Four Luton Primary School”
and Kingfisher Primary School:
“Hello, we are Owl Class Year Five from Kingfisher Primary School”
And last but not least these lovely people:
“Welcome to the Victory Care home”
So, join us and our guide Feather’s the crow, as he follows the route on the magical map, flying through Luton and beyond, visiting the streets and green spaces, and discovering 12 incredible stories on the way!
Between stories you can travel in your own way- in real life or in your imagination!
When you hear Feather’s the crow like this:
Crow cawing
you know it is time to move on to the next stop. Our first story is about the library. We hope you enjoy it….
Here we are outside the library. This place, they say, is full of magic… and if you don’t believe that - just ask someone who works here, like this nice lady:
“Hi, my names Rachel and I work at Luton Library, and there’s definitely magic here in our library, through the books and in the people”
Here is just one of the stories about the magic of Luton library.
Once there lived a pigeon called Fancy, who got her feet all tangled up. Poor Fancy, it hurt a lot and she didn’t know what to do. She heard from all the other birds that the people in the library were kind and that they would definitely find a way to help her. So, Fancy waited outside the library window, near the desk where the library assistants Jess and Mandy worked, hoping they would notice her. After a while they did notice her, and they got some sunflower seeds for her to eat, and a man to come and untangle her feet from the strings that had wrapped around them.
Fancy felt better very soon. She visited the library every day after, and there was always a little pile of seeds left for her to eat by the window.
She watched as people came to get help with forms or computers, and they’d get a cup of tea and a biscuit too. She watched as toddlers came and did something called Shake and Boogie, and there was a Lego club and knit and natter, and Fancy saw how people’s eyes lit up and how they smiled as they read the books. There was definitely magic here, in the people and in the books, she thought to herself.
Time passed, and everything was good.
But then… Giggle Gob, a very small and very mischievous Goblin turned up. No one knew where he came from, but you know, they do say that every library has a goblin. As soon as he arrived, he started moving the books about, and hiding them, and putting them in the wrong places. He tipped over teacups, crumbled biscuits into the carpet, left lids off felt tip pens so they dried out, made the lights flicker, made tea go cold by blowing on it, he scribbled on very important pieces of paper and even froze the computer when you were in the middle of something extremely important!
He would do it as soon as the library assistant backs were turned.
The library assistants shouted: GIGGLE GOB! We know you are in here! Please leave us in peace! We just want to keep the books in the right places and have a nice cup of tea! Is that too much to ask? They could hear Giggle Gob giggling away but they could not see him. It was very annoying.
Fancy the Pigeon found out about Giggle Gob and she decided to help her library friends to pay them back for the good deed they had done her. She had an idea.
“Giggle Gob” Fancy whispered one morning when Giggle Gob had been particularly naughty and used a biscuit as a bookmark, “Would you like to go on an adventure?”
Giggle Gob snuck out from his hiding place behind a hardback of the History of Medway and asked, “what kind of adventure?” Fancy said: “you can fly on my back, and we can be explorers! We can soar in the clouds, swoop around rainbows, and see Luton, Medway and even the whole wide world from above! What do you think?”
Giggle Gob was gobsmacked. He nodded with great enthusiasm. Fancy knew that all goblins love an adventure, and that Giggle Gobs had been naughty mainly because he was a bit bored and restless. She also knew that all pigeons have an amazing sense of direction and can always find their way home, so that together they would make a very good team.
So she said “Ok then Giggle Gob. You can fly with me as long as you promise to stop causing mischief.” Giggle Gob said “I promise.”
So, it was decided. Giggle Gob made a saddle for himself out of an old teabag and tied it with a piece of wool that the knitting group had left and off they went.
They say they are still flying about now, and if you look up, maybe you’ll see them. Sometimes they come back to visit the library to tell everyone all about what they have seen. And because Giggle Gob was busy on his adventures, all the books stayed exactly where they were supposed to be, and everyone was very happy. Peace was restored to the library.
Now you’ve heard the story – I wonder - if you could fly like Fancy and Giggle Gobs, where would you visit? What would flying feel like? What would you see?
Oo, time to travel to the next stop, Feathers is calling… follow the map and we’ll see you there.
