Freedom

Welcome to the curiosity of a child.

Episode 15 yeah, once again from isolation. So how are you coping you doing alright with?

It yeah, I'm good. I sort of like in some ways, but in others I don't really like it at all.

Yeah, it's different, isn't it?

But I think we are keeping OK an I hate pool. If you are as well.

So what have you got in store this episode?

For my feet, Ryan going to do a little bit on the Guernsey Literary Festival, right? Stuff will explain what that is a little bit later, and I think you're doing something about vultures and vulture poo.

Yeah, I'm gonna be talking about folks is yeah, including their poo.

Seychelles with Jay.

Yeah, on with the show.

For the past few years in Kenzie, there's been the Guernsey Literary Festival, which unfortunately this year was cancelled due to coronavirus. They get some really high calibre authors from kind of around the world to come and talk in stairs fiction. Non fiction. There's children Storey tip into someone's.

Having remember some of the people signing my books as well as really exciting.

This day illustrator we, his teachers have to draw.

I am still. We still got that picture.

We do and part of the festival is the right stuff. Competition which is a 300 words Storey for local school children and it's good competition and unfortunate through my job to be involved with that. Each year we put together the website which is a great fun project. Yeah, and you vented before, haven't you?

Yeah, I've actually won before.

You did buy Monster Cakes you intention again since no, but what we're going to do is look at some of the entries from.

This year's competition Army and the theme was freedom, and I think that's pretty chosen because it's how many years since the Liberation of Guernsey.

75 years.

That's right, yeah. So there's three age groups as the primary group, the intermediate group, and this senior group. So we're going to look at the winner of each. So should we start to the primary winners? Yeah.

Okay, so we play little clip of each Storey and then we give some Var thought Summit. So this is called a letter that will live on.

A letter that will live on.

My dearest Silvia, I cannot believe I haven't written since we were evacuated. Time has flown and you've missed my birthday. I'm sure my present is on its way. I'm missing you dreadfully and I hope you and mother are safe. And I bet you aren't having as much fun in Devon as I am in Windsor. Guess who I met on Wednesday, Queen she was opening a youth centre and I nearly tripped trying to curtsey. She asked if I missed my home. I told her no. Of course not, and I then stupidly confessed that every weekend I cycle 26 miles to London to see Father.

The Queen was shocked. Oh, but my dear, she said you are next generation. We must keep you safe. Some snitch told our house mother and she made me swear I wouldn't cycle until the war had ended.

So what did you think of this Storey?

I liked it because it was a little bit cheeky and away in a bit funny. For example, the bit where it says about the umbrella are we gonna get blown to smithereens? I didn't care cause I had my umbrella that was funny.

It's actually letter that the grandmother rates when she was young and now her granddaughters reading it back to her. Many many years later, isn't it?

Yeah, I really like it and I like really different events that happen in it as well. On all of them are written with some pretty good.

Detailed descriptions.

Yeah, definitely I enjoy it. I think it's got a bit of a cheeky charm, yeah?

To go into the next Storey? Yeah, so is the intermediate one, so this is suffragettes freedom to women.

Suffragettes freedom to women.

Starvation racked her stomach as ice cold water lapped her toes leached of warmth seated on a hard metal bench. She barely felt it.

The hose responsible is the least of our problems, smirking devilishly the prison guard delighted in her panic. Suddenly the tide was as high as her knees, hips, chest, despite her lack of energy, she kicked upwards towards air.

Adrenaline kicked in, so did mania lungs set to bursting legs burning. She thought this is it.

What did you think about?

I quite like that was quite extreme as well in a little bit sad, but it definitely well when you read over it, there's quite a bit of emotion as well in there and lots of different description words. Lots of different types of description.

Yeah, I think it's quite somewhere around at the beginning of it. You don't quite know what's going on, but it's.

But are very good. Again, wasn't it? Yeah, now we've got the senior winners and this one was called a way to escape.

I particularly like this one.

But what are books I asked?

Perched precariously on my grandmothers knee looking up into her watery blue eyes.

You've told me what they are.

But you haven't told me why they're special.

Why do we need them?

Books were something from long ago.

Before we discovered everything there is to know before we were trapped underground by the nature.

Fire rained down on us, hiding and destroying our beautiful cities.

At least that's what they said.

I never saw that.

I never saw the skyscrapers that prevented the last traces of green from creeping up again, like a villain from one of those books.

So what's the general gist of this Storey then?

This one's more about books and kind of what books are like, explains with a bit more thought compared to our books are just pieces of paper.

Yes, but the power outputs can. Holden can maybe the power of storeys and the granddaughter she wants to know kind of busy seem to hold these secrets to past of longer.

Then kind of like describing how you can escape to another world through books exactly.

And.

Like it carries war, I think was in this one.

And that I'm sure quite a few.

People have read that before.

It's about like a bombing sort of thing and then the devastation and stuff and.

Arcuation life really.

Okay, do you want to move on to the next one? Yeah, so this is my bike.

I love riding around the island on my bike.

But I didn't always have one.

I used to waste my money on games and I thought it was really cool.

There is a teenager on our Rd who had a slick CR80 Honda motorbike. I was so jealous of him.

One night he left the garage door unlocked. My brain was sane going there. Walk it out, steal it, ride it off.

This one I really, really like. It's a bit kind of.

I always know see the person is naughty and they get put in prison for a few minutes, yeah?

So I think.

They cover different types of freedom, isn't there? And there.

Like the freedom of our original, his original freedom was he wants to go on the bike and then.

Near the end of the Storey, he was free from prison, really, so it largest freedom of not being in prison.

I think all the storeys that there all diverse. I think everybody who entered the competition, particularly as winners they should be.

Kind of really proud.

Of items that they are fantastic.

If you listen to the full storeys on the Wright Stuff GG website, you get a better idea, but there's all different types of freedom isn't there? There's kind of in that. Last on my bike this two types of freedom. There's the exciting freedom of thinking I'm going to kind of break the rules and do what I want this bike. And then there's softer, more, instant freedom, just sort of being safe and not being in trouble. Isn't there yet? Like you said, in a way to escape with the Pops, it's like freedom of storeys and actually being able to escape from maybe your reality.

Yeah, I'm getting some. I think they've actually won.

Before the year that I won.

And the suffragettes freedom to women that was about me struggle, wasn't it? There people were fighting for liberties in the right to vote.

And then a letter that will live on. But interesting there is in that Storey near the end.

Let's have a look at it again. One second I yeah, that grandmother says you reading this letter reminds me of a time when I was truly felt free. So even though the grandmother was evacuated away, yeah.

I think just being somewhere new and kind of away from her family.

Maybe being like just happy generally interpret, been really miserable because you're getting bombs dropped onto your head.

Then she's carefree at that time. So there I think all the storeys reflected all different sides of freedom and what it can mean to people.

Just good, it's interesting.

Now a couple of years ago when you are in year three, you enter the.

Competition, didn't you? Yeah, and that year was the theme conflict. The opposite. You actually won the primary age.

Group, didn't you? Yeah, I get a bit of stick about this, but obviously I'm involved.

With the website, but I'm in no way involved in the judging or anything to do with the competition will be done to merit. This will anonymously marked and judged.

You're not going to read your Storey, aren't you? Yes, so Are you ready? I think so.

A change in emotion by Antonio Pedro near 3 my school.

How do you feel about going?

Home to your real parents. Now the war.

Is over said Lacey?

I feel worried you're the only mum I've ever known. I said with a tear running down my face. I had been with Lacy for five years.

I didn't even know.

What my parents looked like, I thought and I'd missed the smell of the countryside.

Lazy smiled, but her eyes started to well with tears. Give me a hug, said Lacey softly. It will be all fine, she whispered.

The next day I was nervous because I was seeing my parents again.

We were meeting at the train station. Well, miss you said Lacey, I replied or visit every week.

Once the train stopped, it was absolute chaos. People were running in all directions as their families were together again. Look very appearance. Lacey pointed suddenly my eyes lit up and my tummy felt good. My body forced me to run to them with joy.

I was so happy.

But sad at the same time.

Bye see you soon. I called over my shoulder to Lacey.

Mom bent down to hug me and I saw we had the same Brown hair. Then Dad picked me up, threw me in the air as our eyes met. I saw they were the same greenie blue as mine.

Now I remembered what my parents looked like.

We caught the train home.

When I was soon to my room, I saw my favourite toy truck I had when I was two.

Even now I'm seven. I still love it.

It was bedtime. I asked Mum to read to me, and when she'd finished I fell asleep. I was home at last.

I get I remember reading that on the.

Local radio station.

So what was your idea behind your Storey then?

Again, the evacuation.

But I'll sort of thinking.

Well, I just wanted to be in the countryside somewhere because previously I had read a book a little bit on the evacuation and I I did it kind of based off those events and everything and I was and I thought I.

It would be more exciting if I met my.

Parents again as well.

And actually, some of the description like.

Mummy has Brown hair and then you've got the same greenie blue eyes.

And I thought to.

Myself say that's true and at the time of seven and then five years away from my.

Parents, I was two at the beginning that all fitted in well.

Yeah, that's pretty much what I thought. Yeah, so you were like a very young child who sent away. So you answer your parents say long didn't even know how how they looked, yeah?

Yeah, that was kind of a bit of your inner conflict. That must be odd.

Cool, so do you think you're going to write stuff next year? So now you like writing storeys and I cakes into it, I might. I'll see what the topic is. I probably will. Yeah, I think you should.

But once again, well done to.

Prevent it and.

Lots of fantastic storeys and you can read the mould.

Or listen to the mall at.

Right stuff that's WRITESTUFF dot.

Gg.

And then yeah, take a look fantastic work. Then you can also read storeys from all the previous years on the website too.

OK, so should we move on to our next feature then where?

I am looking at vultures.

Yes.

Vouchers didn't have the best reputation and they.

Definitely not on many people's top 10.

List of animals are? They know they're not exactly pretty.

Birds, they seem to spend their days circling high Eva the dead and dying hard bringers of the ultimate death. Then they pick up corpses kind of eating rotting, indicating flesh.

Yeah, and then they got their.

Featherless heads which.

Kind of red and stick with blood, aren't they even?

Their name vultures come to have negative connotations now, so here's a couple of.

Definitions so a.

Person or thing that praise especially gredley or unscrupulously. the Vulture would sell out his best friend or a personal organisation that is eager to win advantage from other people's difficulties or problems. When a company is in crisis like this, the vultures are always hovering, so not great, is it?

Ready.

We're going to find out if that's fair or not. Yeah, I've got a couple of pictures here. Vultures and.

How would you describe them? Well, the first picture, its mouth is dripping with blood a little bit on its head. Looks pretty bloody and sticky. And Ann, how do the ISEN things looks quite mean doesn't?

It well, the.

Eyes they look mean but kind of nice at the same time. Their sons.

You know mediaeval doctors, what they could or the plague.

Doctors, yeah, their head looks a little bit like that. Yeah, it does. Actually, doesn't it? And you.

Can see that from some sort of.

Fantasy mediaeval drama where you want some sort of slightly sinister people, this.

Is a bearded vulture. How does that look to you?

That looks quite.

Nice, yes, quite grand, isn't it? Yeah, it's kind of got. It's got her and it says, yeah.

And then I think it looks like it didn't Henson creation.

Batman got too much hair.

On its head.

Like a Rockstar or something from the 80s.

Yes, there's actually different types of vultures, and they're not all related, so you have Old World vultures in New World vultures, and also the bearded varieties, and they're not genetically that closely related. So do you know what I mean by old World and New World?

Sort of so.

Like Roman period Old World, modern period. New old no yeah.

I say the new.

World would be Americas in the Old World, did we?

Say Europe, Africa, Asia. Don't worry about being wrong.

There, that's why we do this. It's to learn.

Things OK, yes.

The American vultures.

Aren't really related to the European ones, so why do you think their heads are featherless?

Um, so their feathers.

Don't get too sticky. That could be part of it, so it helps keep them clean and it's.

Also good for Thermo regulation.

So you know what that means like.

You can get heat comes soon as but like heat is it. Yeah yes. A Thermo is kind of heat. Like someone matter, yeah exactly yes it's helping them to keep cool.

And you know how else they keep himself cool?

Pee on themselves yes ohh yeah actually.

They will be in their legs, but I personally find that warms me up. Yeah, wait, you've done it regularly. Thank you.

No.

Anyways, we move on.

We already know that maybe vultures?

On people's favourite animals, but they've not least being viewed this way, so I.

Thought let's go do a bit of time travelling again so you really get into The Time Machine. Yep, you again this evening. I've even upgrades it now so we've got a cop older each. No yeah, before we had to share one which is a bit weird. It was yeah yeah.

I can't share drinks.

Hey so strapped in click.

And can you plug in the coordinates please? We want SE Anatolia in Turkey 9000 BCE.

Do you know where?

We are, as you just told you, but maybe the time travel media? Forget no, I don't, OK.

This place is called gobekli.

Tepe, A and it was only rediscovered.

Actually in 1996, but seems like 1000 by nine 10,009 older than that.

Maybe 12,000 years old, this site says.

It's very ancient and.

It's kind of push back. Our understanding of human culture and that it went back further in time then maybe everybody appreciated before hand. So you do know why we're here.

The first kind of drawings or pictures.

Or sightings of vultures or just?

Vultures follow me, come and have a look at this stone. Can you see what's carved into it?

Ohh yeah, there's like almost bird.

People you know Sphinx kind of them.

With bird heads instead.

In a way, yeah, this is called the Vulture Stone.

And also not far from here, but one of the oldest cities that ever discovered.

Will be found in a couple of 1000 years time.

And called Chantelle huvec

And there they also found very similar kind of carvings and things of vultures on the walls, yeah?

Now it's thought that these ancient people may have believed that vultures helped to carry somebody sold to the afterlife, or to the next World, because kind of their ability to each the dead.

Survive kind of made them like a barrier between life and death.

They kind of.

A good reputation there at the moment. Sort of seen as important kind of part of a spiritual kind of understanding of the world made with people so.

Then archaeologists discovered Sky burials, where the bodies of the dead are being laid down and picked.

Up by vultures.

I actually think many of the skeletons were headless and then they can tell by looking at the bones that this.

Kind of marks.

A vulture would leave and.

Vultures also really good leaving the ligaments in place. There may be other creatures wouldn't, or so the curtains.

Are still kind of.

Anatomically formed or correct, so he recalled.

Here you just get everything about the makeup, it's.

Still getting their tendons headless, skeleton puppet, maybe now the price of Sky Burrows is still perform.

Today, by Tibetan Buddhists and sorry Austrians, sometimes seems like a sign.

Of renewal or rebirth? Yeah Okay we better.

Move from here though please. I think our modern.

Day clouds are going to look a bit suspicious.

Here on May and.

Are wierd behaviours so let's get back into The Time Machine for a little whistle Stop tour some other vulture beliefs, shall we?

Okay, our next stop is going to be ancient Egypt. Do you want to plug in the coordinates please?

So one of the Egyptian goddesses was never bet, Yep.

We practised a bit annotations before hand and I still get them wrong.

And she was a goddess of Upper Egypt, and she was also the goddess of childbirth and the protector of the pharaoh is pretty important role there.

And she was often depicted as a woman.

Wearing either a vulture headdress or even.

Sometimes with the head of a vulture.

And her coat was linked to.

The eternal cycle of life and death.

In the vote, shares may be that in between stage between life or death, these fronts amused either eaten. But then the Vulture.

Kind of takes on their life or.

Maybe helps to carry out some soaring into the Sky.

And carrying off marriage, the guards death Messenger.

Now the Egyptians understood that vultures that she look after their young a lot longer than many other words do sometimes.

Up to three months.

Yeah, and they are also very protective and very nurturing their children so you can see there why. Maybe they were seen as the protector of the Pharaoh? Yeah, so there maybe this creature that's able to transcend the boundaries between life and death is perfect for protecting the Faroe, yeah?

Okay, so we're going to travel a little bit more in time now to the founding of ancient Rome. Feel quite long time ago. Still quite long time ago you right? Yeah, so can you pop in the coordinates please?

Okay, so do you know?

The Storey of how Rangers founded no, but you've had a promise, and Remus haven't you know? Yes, yes, yeah okay. I've kind of had that was quite a while ago, but I've heard of it. So be on the look out for some arguing Twins please in the Hills.

Over there.

Yes, that's them. Yes, okay, there's room. Listen Remus fighting about where they should find the city here. Unless he wants to build on the Palatine Hill. But Remus prefers the Aventine Hill.

And they can't decide to actually going to ask the gods for assign. Now, as you know from Discworld, the guards can sometimes be a bit.

Naughty can't they? Yeah so rather than a clear signal they seem to.

Send two so firstly they send six vultures to circle the Aventine Hill, which Remus is after. He spotted them first, but then this in 12 around Romulus is Hill.

So they basically made one.

But you know?

Who won in the end? Rhenus watch the city called.

Oh right, right.

This one that's right, he kills his brother, doesn't he? I think in the end, yeah again, another sign of voters being important messages for the guards. How about popping over to South America for a little bit?

Now we've been to these jungles.

Before haven't we were looking at. The Mayans are actually kind of in.

Further South now in Brazil, that's fairly.

Familiar for us?

Now there are several storeys of.

Vulture guards many of the tribes believed that vouchers actually.

Kind of controlled daylight. Yeah, they're a little bit naughty. I'm actually stopped. The light from the sun kind of reaching the earth so the world is in the eternal darkness.

And he kept it all for themselves.

Now in one tale there too brave brothers ie and cat and they wanted the light from the butcher you robots and and he was a God keeping the land in perpetual darkness. Yeah, so do you know how the brothers thought they could steal the light from him?

Not really what they did actually hid in the carcass of a dead animal.

And they waited for the bird to arrive. And then when he landed catch, he grabbed Michiru buttons leg and it was unable to escape.

Agreed to compromise with the brothers and kind of ask them what they wanted, so they said that they wanted daylight. Yeah, it was agreed that they would share. It's a night and day with me about the same length, and there's another Storey.

For another tribe, where the.

Vulture, it would capture the daylight and it kind of wear it in jewels and crystals and diamonds and things around its neck. Please remember that picture of Australia had the lovely yeah had loads of.

Jews and Julie around my head like bright Golden plumage, yeah, white plumage round its neck, tint it.

Now we got one final hot before we returned to the present day, so we need to go to the.

Middle East now please.

In some Muslim traditions, the Vulture is seen as sacred because it is believed that says Mohammed from the.

Attack of a giant Golden eagle in the desert. So very brave scorn Eagles are massive and powerful creatures only.

Have a Storey gazed at the Prophet.

He blessed the.

Bird with eternal life and white plumage. As symbol of wisdom and courage. Nice yeah.

Okay, so she returned back to the present time now, yeah.

I just feel funny after that time hopping Dany.

And let's hope we didn't change any history.

Yeah, like killing a butterfly.

So the dinosaurs are still around, yeah, and he's got larger foreheads now. So we get into actually why I started.

Looking at vouchers in the 1st.

Place okay, it was to do with poo funny.

Now I see most folks as they prefer to eat fresh meat, but many are still happy to consume rotten meets if that's where is around. But watching me isn't good for you, is it? No is if you eat in Minecraft. What happens?

You start losing foodstuff and getting poisoned and dying. Yeah, and in real life it's not good for you either. Okay, but somehow voters seem to getaway with it.

Actually kind of them eat their eating their meals. It's full of bacteria that would kill most other animals, so one study it discovered. This is taking swamps.

Of bacteria from.

Their faces it discovers almost 13,500 different types of bacteria in their face is quite a lot. Yeah yeah, and these included bacteria course. Things such as Botulism gangrene, tetanus septicemia, and anthrax.

So this is something you like most deadly things. We nicely Botulism.

It's when the most toxic substances in the world, but when they examined their poo.

Yeah, the scientist this is.

How many species of bacteria do you think surviving them? Not looking at my notes.

I don't think as many um, fulus about half maybe a little bit. Nessun ha 6000 or something. Then something like that.

Wrong, it's.

Actually 1500 come on, that's a lot gone, isn't it? Yeah, so got quite hear from.

Gary graves. He's the creator of birds at the National Museum of Natural History in Washington DC.

They come into contact with almost every kind of pestilence you can think of, and apparently they're fine. So what's happening in the guts of these birds?

So what is happening in the guts of these birds? Don't know but seems a few things are okay. The first the stomach acid in the Vulture is up to 10 times stronger than ours. Wow, I must get bad heartburn. Sometimes that must be annoying, but there poo in vomit is actually creating a radio tower on the US Mexico border.

Stay strong feelings. Here's what some functions will do as well if their threatened or something that they will vomit toward African. See, it's quite deadly weapon. Yeah, now they've also got lots of antibodies that will help fight off some of the infections, including those that cause Botulism.

Then I'll say.

Vouchers it seems that they got some special nerve endings which are actually resistant to neurotoxins.

So they're not even affected by them, so it's probably don't like millions.

Of years of evolution.

And it's kind of very special indeed, yeah?

So they got the right niche in the food chain, haven't they?

And it's actually a really important one.

And they doing something other animals can't.

Do you consider other things they might?

Scavaging those bodies and the dye.

Yeah, so you could. You actually imagine what part of the world would be like without them.

Smelly, rotten and dead. Yeah, there's say in America I think there's kind of thousands of deers killed every year on the roads, so they are important part of cleanup rate, current things. Yeah you need to get rid of these bodies. You might think voters are horrible or disgusting, but.

Is much better with and without them, isn't it?

In India, where there's been a drug introduced, I think.

Into cattle, I think it was.

That's actually poisonous to the vultures this.

Like the Castle in the cows.

The dead cows. And then the vultures.

Died because the cows are given the drug exactly. Yeah yeah, and that's also led to an increase in rabies there.

Because there be wild dogs will go into the era.

Britain, which infected with.

Rabies, so there's more wild dogs there, and they've been biting people and spreading rabies through that. So there's so many.

Knock on effects for me.

Yeah, fetch, kind of.

Ecosystem.

But then there are hopes that made with a.

Better understanding of how vultures survive.

And are able to kind of keep with all these.

Different bacteria and disease and things that we may be able to find treatments who cures and then going back to graves again for another quite.

We need to find out what genes are associated with resistance to Botulism, for instance.

If we can do that, then we can find out if there are any genotypes in humans that can.

Confirm this type of immunity.

Eventually, that might lead to gene therapies or genetic engineering in humans, to the point where we could eat rotten meat if we wanted to.

I'm not sure if I want to eat rotten meat even through.

Amazing genetic engineering are you? I don't see why I'd need to very often. Yes, it's an interesting idea I think would be better off unless you want to be a superhero called.

Rotten meat man, rotten meat, yeah.

Went wrong sometimes.

If you do it in the same place.

It's an.

Interesting idea which I'm not Daisy.

Convinced by myself, but he's right on the idea that maybe we'll be able to find things.

Out from vultures that actually help us with some medical things.

Particularly with.

Published with like modern Day antibiotics becoming less effective.

So how do you?

Feel about vultures now are they more like some of the ancient storeys where they were gods and kind of worships? Or are they more like the modern meaning of like these strategy?

Features that praying.

This O old special.

Things really and.

Then some some of them look really.

Awesome and keys annoying like the.

The bed voucher as well.

One that had really, really, really strange kind of hair stuff. Orange feathers on my hair, yes.