Primates Have Talent
28 August, 2013 § Leave a comment
Hello lovely monkey people,
Sorry for my silences. I recently got a full time job, in both theatre and education too! I have been away from computer and my brain filled with other things. That said, we have a MASC event at Beale Park this weekend. It is a new event so if you are free then come down and see us in the Toy Museum area. Primates Have Talent is a talent show where you will be taught 5 facts about a primate of your choice and then you can do whatever you like as a talent and answer the question. We will have people on hand to help you create your talented performance and support you all the way!
Monkey Hugs
Conservation in a vacuum
14 May, 2013 § Leave a comment
When we went out to Morocco, Sian asked us to find some Vitamin E oil or similar for reducing scarring. This was for a young girl in the village of Lahcen where they work who had had some hot oil splashed on her face and hand the previous week. The woman had approached Sian and Ahmed to help and of course they rushed her to hospital and made sure that she was admitted and got the right treatment. Sian wanted to make sure that the girl had the minimum scarring from the incident, especially since the wound was on her face.
The whole affair made me think about in situ conservation projects and their interaction with the local people. I think all too frequently conservation projects focus on the animals or the habitats without considering the impact on the local people. Without building a positive relationship with the people whose lives are impacted by both the wildlife and the efforts to protect it I feel success is limited. While we were driving around with Sian and Ahmed we often picked up shepherds and school kids and families and gave them a lift to wherever they were going. We stopped to talk to everyone and everyone recognised the monkey bus and waved. Without this kind of relationship with the people how much success can conservation achieve?
I found it incredibly inspiring to see the respect and affection that the project has for the people and the people for the project. I look forward to having a chance to work with BMCRif in the future.
This is the view from the BMCRif house in Lahcen in the morning!
A brilliant week – Thank you everyone
5 March, 2013 § Leave a comment
Last week we did three different events that brought funds into MASC. We did an after-school session of Monkey Biscuits at Alto Lounge in Caversham. Children decorated biscuits, masks and entered the colouring-in competition which we ran all week.
On Sunday we had two different things. Firstly MASC was the charity that had the collection after Meeting for Worship at Reading Quaker Meeting House. We raised a whopping £315.93! That is not including GiftAid which we will be claiming where we can. An enormous thank you to not only those who were so generous with their money after Meeting but all the wonderful people who came up to me and had kind words of support and encouragement. I felt so privileged to be supported like that.
In the evening we had a pub quiz at the Alto Lounge where we had 77 participants, which is one of the highest they have ever had for a pub quiz. The questions may have been a little hard but I think most people had a good time. A particular thank you goes to the people who came to support and amongst those the people who came from Reading Meeting to take part. As always, I am humbled by the kind and generous things that people have done for me and MASC.
These three things resulted in us taking over £400 for MASC last week, which will help us get to Morocco!
Much monkey love to all
Speak up for the rainforest
5 March, 2013 § Leave a comment
The Sumatran Orangutan Society are asking people to write to their MP to prevent the government giving subsidies to bioliquids for fuel since it is predominantly palm oil and to grow it in the necessary quantities will endanger even further critically endangered species like orangutans, leopards, Roloway monkeys, insects, plants, and lots of other good things! You just need to find your MP and use the template letter to ask them to help.
Please do, we can have power when we all stand together to stop this ‘greenwashing’ where we replace the harmful fossil fuels with far more planetarily destructive bioliquids.
Empowered monkey hugs
And we’re off!
27 February, 2013 § Leave a comment
We went to scope out the pub quiz at the Alto Lounge on Sunday and enjoyed listening to the quiz and seeing how many people were there enjoying the fun. We saw this on the wall so we know the competition is begun.
Kyle, Aoife and I have been through all the pens and pencils to check they are all working and sharp. I amazed myself with this amazingly long sharpening! I was really impressed, small things I guess.
Really looking forward to tomorrow. Off for late-night baking now.
Hope to see people tomorrow between 4 and 6 at the Alto Lounge in Caversham for Monkey Biscuits and masks
Monkey hugs
Amendment – 27th of February Wednesday
21 February, 2013 § Leave a comment
I put the wrong date in the last post. It is the 27th of Feb!
MASC pub quiz
20 February, 2013 § Leave a comment
Two quick notices on the 26th of Feb and the 3rd of March we are doing events at the Alto Lounge in Caversham. On the 26th we are going in after-school to run some activities with children. We will do colouring-in (a new competition) and masks between 4 and 6 on the Wednesday so please pop down if you think your kids might enjoy it.
On the Sunday (3rd of March) we are doing a pub quiz from 8-10ish. It is £1 per person and teams of 2-6 people only. Come down and test your primate knowledge.
Oh and we booked the flights for Morocco yesterday! We are really going