Donkeys'n'Drama covid-friendly school project

Webmaster • November 21, 2020
Dear Friends and Supporters,

THE BAD NEWS...
...Last year was our tenth year at Tabernacle on the Hayes... Fantastic - and such a tribute to all of you who have given, in so many different ways. (Especially Tab!)
However, I probably don't need to tell you that we can't be there as usual this year. ... And nor can our puppet Nativity project go ahead.

THE GOOD NEWS...
   Instead, we are taking our project out to the schools....

DONKEYS'N'DRAMA is a Covid-friendly project which can happen in school halls or in the playgrounds -- much needed and very welcome.
We're taking Toby and Thomas, and their pen to primary schools for three weeks in December.  
We'll also be taking a giant and very beautiful crib scene... using the puppets we have had made for the venture at Eglwys Dewi Sant. 
There'll be a soundtrack with music and a simple retelling of the story.  
We'll also be taking along some costumes to add to the school's own nativity hoard, so that each child can have a Christmas photo to take home. 

We've been working like crazy to make sure it can happen. For a start we've made replicas of eight puppets so that we don't have to worry about them getting damaged as they get moved from school to school over three weeks. We've had music composed for the soundtrack, and a fresh re-telling of the story scripted and narrated - in both languages, of course. And we're videoing it (the puppets will perform limited movements of their heads and hands, to bring the scene to life.)

Skills have been given freely to enable all this to happen - and that's not all that's been given. 
We'd love the entire project to be free to schools - as it has always been - but without a presence in the city centre to enable us to attract donations, that isn't possible. We will have to charge the schools for this (£175 for half a day) because our donkeys need proper transportation, insurance and supervision. This meant that schools serving the very poorest areas of our city would struggle - until a friend, who for many years had been a single parent, surviving on her wages as a shop assistant, heard about it and handed me £500 to help subsidise schools in deprived areas. Since then another £250 has been added to that pot by a variety of generous souls. Every pound given is a pound off the amount that these schools will have to pay. What a blessing... 
   Oh, and in addition, a church school has offered us the use of a large people-carrier to move our kit around!

Our video of the crib scene will be available for all churches to use this Christmas. Any church that would like to put display a crib - using existing figures or making their own - outside their own church building, can use our soundtrack to go with it. 

We'll send you more details, and lots of pictures, as all this unfolds over the next couple of weeks. 

And with the vaccine in sight, we can look forward to next year... This new project has re-energised us - demonstrated that there are all sorts of ways we can get this wonderful story out into our city at Christmas - even when ther are trillions of viruses rtying to stop us!

If you've got a sewing machine and you'd like to help sew costumes for the younger children in schools... get in touch. We're only doing Mary and Joseph costumes - and they'll be easy peasy - I promise.!!

God bless you all. This is a Christmas like no other... I cannot tell you how much your loyalty and support has meant over the past decade... 

May God be with you all,

Love Sally
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