Date: March 12th 2012.

Site: Basket full of stories

What I’ve done: The wheel rolls aground for one final turn as I gather our discoveries together back in Kolkata. Back to the beginning, the hidden shelves of the book shop, the woven songs in the flower garlands and the tailors transforming your imagination into a suit fit for a king. Time has come for me to make sure that I have everything I want to return to the UK with. I’ve been touching base with the people who gave me missions to complete, whilst meeting fellow artists such as Ansuman Biswas (you can find his work at www.ansuman.com) who is working in the University and schools of Shantiniketan. Oh and all is happening in temperatures twice as hot as those in the UK.

What you’ve done: The UK students have been drawing up ideas for our final workshops together when I return to school next week and the staffs at Life Vision Academy have been dreaming up future adventures for us. All the ideas sound very exciting. Everyone back at ground control will help in putting what we will create together up on the site, before we take our final bows.

What I want you to do for me: It will be very exciting for me to return the schools and Seven Stories back in the UK. It will be fun to exchange our stories too. To remember what we have done take a look back at the website via the calendar at the bottom of the home page. Hopefully the articles are an inspiration and just imagine how we will use the stories and what we will be creating together soon! You could also start to collect interesting materials which we can use in the workshops. If you do then you could put them in the treasure chests in your classrooms for safe keeping till I return.

Where next: It’s the giant metal bird for me, back through time and across the seas, dodging flying carpets and rocketeer’s on the way. A massive thank you to: Bengal, Nagaland, Assam, Sikkim and Nepal for sharing your stories with The Fairy Tale Hunter.

See you all in the UK soon.

Site: Outside with Tagore

What I’ve done: Great time’s afoot fairy tale hunters. I arrived in the country town of Shantiniketan in lower West Bengal just in time to catch the Spring Full Moon Holi! Can you guess what that might be I wonder? This is a mission that I have carried in my bag for over three months and involves discovering the home school of Rabindranath Tagore. Can you remember the book shop of Kolkata that gave it to me back in December? Find out just what happened to me and how I was covered head to foot in magical colours in the day of the drama play Mayar Khala.

What you’ve done: Your teachers will have been telling you about Rabindranath Tagore in class. Maybe you have tried an outdoor classroom storytelling experience for yourself. If you have any photos of your outdoor classes send to me at the control centre. We have all travelled a very long way in our imaginations and very well done for all your hard work and enthusiasm. The stories will stay with us all for a lifetime!

What I want you to do for me: To all fairy tale hunters of the world! I only have a few precious days left away from home so keep sending your messages to me and any final missions for me here and in my final week in Kolkata. I wonder how you are doing with starting to write an article about the Fairy Tale Hunter’s adventures in the Himalayas. If you have started remember to ask your teachers to send it to me at andy@yetifairytales.com.

Where next: After such a long-long time away next week I will return to Kolkata and then jump aboard the giant metal bird. I’ll see you all back in the UK very soon. It will be gone in just a blink of an eye.

Date: March 1^st 2012.

Site: Mountains of Darjeeling

What I’ve done: Goodness me! Round and round in circles I’ve been. Folk saying “go here and go there”. Lost in the jungle and rescued by monks. Sent fluttering after wild goose chases and scuttled down blind alleys. So much so that I’ve missed sending you a mission blog, so I better catch up quick.

Out in the jungle I delved into my bag of tricks and drew out a mission that was given to me a long time ago, whilst in the sky over the Indian Ocean. I was told to go to the ancient Tibetan trading route city of Kalimpong in Darjeeling, for there I may just find travellers stories from the mountains in the old “Haat Bazaar”. So I heaved my artist bag of tricks and my treasure chest onto the roof of a passing bouncing jeep and here I am!

I’ve already noticed that there are people here from many different places, talking many separate tongues, some even whispering about the yeti whilst munching on their spicy “momo’s” for dinner. If you look on your maps you can trace how I got here. Try following the roads from Gangtok (via a spinning-tale netting trip to Ravangla) to Meli and then up and up and up to the top of the mountain.

What you’ve done: Thank-you to the teachers of Life Vision Academy for your email about how you enjoyed our work together (I’ll show the certificate to everyone when I get home). It is great to know that you are following us, even though you have no electricity for eighteen hours a day, so you have to use a cyber café to communicate to us! I’m looking forward to receiving your latest work to show the children in the UK.

What I want you to do for me: I’ve not long left now till I return to the UK, so it would be fun for all of us to look back at all the wonderful work we have done over the winter. You could even write a special review of the Fairy Tale Hunter’s adventures in the Himalayas, and ask your teachers to send it to me at andy@yetifairytales.com.

Where next: See if you can discover who Rabiindranath Tagore is and where he used to live, because that is where I’m off to next. I’ll give you a clue; it’s on my way back to Kolkata and the giant metal bird.

Bye for now fairy-tale hunter visitors to Seven Stories, the hunting teams at Life Vision Academy, Old Hall Drive and Hylton Red House and all the fairy tale hunters across the world.

Site: Disappearing into Sikkim

What I’ve done: This is the first of two weeks in Sikkim, as we conclude our hunt for fairy tales in the Himalaya. It has taken me quite some time to travel across from Nepal and I’ve journeyed via the capital of Sikkim, which is called Gangtok, to the north and finally arriving in the “fairy-tale” home land of Dzongu. I was given a mission by two researchers from Japan and the owner of the Hidden Forest in Gangtok. The mission was to find the Lepcha people, because they are the guardians of the ancient stories of these mountains. To find out what happened and how I met with another school, take a look at the latest articles I’ve sent you all.

Guess what! I’ve tracked down some more story books; they are full of amazing tales, even some about the yeti! See if you can find out about the Lepcha people and just why they are so special to our quest for fairy tales of the yeti. You can find Sikkim in between Nepal and Bhutan on your project maps.

What you’ve done:

I wonder how the yeti theme project is going at Old Hall Drive in Manchester; hopefully you are having lots of fun creating art about mysterious stories in the wild snowy mountains. Also I bet that the teachers at Hylton Red House, in Sunderland have discovered some secret reassures of their own to show you. Your latest art work is already on the web-site so take a look for yourself and tell all your friends.

What I want you to do for me: It has been a very long time since I saw you all in the UK. Hopefully you are all full of amazing stories of your own. It would be brilliant to read them, so send your fairy tales to andy@yetifairytales.com. Keep asking your teachers for any news about how to send your stories, pictures and articles to me so I can put them on the web-site. It is wonderful to see your work on display.

Where next: To the west of Sikkim. I wonder where I will be going? Perhaps you could suggest a place and send me a mission.

As ever I look forward to hearing from you soon. Don’t forget it won’t be long before I must jump aboard the giant silver bird back over the oceans and across the world to the UK so if there are any last special treasures you think I will need to bring back in my treasure chest, let me know. Bye for now fairy-tale hunters of the world.

Site: Last week in Kathmandu.

What I’ve done: This is the final week in Kathmandu. I have concentrated on working with the children of Life Vision Academy. There was one final mission set by Kesar Lall (do you remember him), which was to follow a local annual story festival that has involved telling one story for the last month. To find out what happened during our final workshops, take a look at the latest articles I’ve sent you all.

I have also tracked down several story books, which I can’t wait to share with you. It does make my bag of tricks very heavy though! I have a couple of meetings planned as a result of a bonus writing event for the project, it concerns the Himal Magazine based in Kathmandu. They have asked us to do an article about the project, which they will publish. If you think that sounds fun you could email your ideas and try looking for them on the internet for yourselves.

What you’ve done:

The “kid’s cave” on the web-site is looking great and I have received a lot of very good comments from visitors to the site from all over the world. So keep your ideas coming. The children of Life Vision Academy send their extra special thanks to the schools in the UK for their connection in the project together. Life Vision academy would like very much to stay in contact with you all in the future and now they will rely on accessing the internet to follow me for the next month (until I return to the UK).

What I want you to do for me: It would be great if the UK students could let me know what you would like to say to Life Vision Academy as I will be leaving soon.

Thank you teachers in Nepal for all your hard work in supporting me and I look forward to your next mission for me to complete. It may even be in Sikkim!

Where next: Sikkim! I will arrive in Gangtok next week and dive straight into finding the local fairy tales to send back to you. I will be there for two weeks. To get there I will travel for two days by bus. Try looking at your maps to follow me on my journey over the boarder via Siliguri, in West Bengal, India.

I hope that the students in the UK will enjoy their half term break and that the weather is ok as I hear over skype that it is snowing with you as well! I look forward to hearing from you soon, bye for now. 

Date: January 30th 2012.
Site: River tales. Nuwakot Valley.
What I’ve done: After receiving a new mission from Mr. Kesar Lall (Nepals most famous Yeti Tale Hunter) I decided to go on an adventure following the Trishuli River Valley in the shadows of Gosain-kunda and the Langtang Mountain range. Perhaps you can find these places on your maps? To find out what happened, including humming birds, owls and bananas, take a look at the latest articles I’ve sent you all.
I hope you are having fun creating new fairy tale stories in Hylton Red House and Old Hall Drive. I look forward to reading them on the web-site. There will be three final workshops at Life Vision Academy.
What you’ve done:
Thank you for your “WANTED” posters from Old Hall Drive and extra special thanks to Liam from Hylton Red House for your email home work. Liam is now a full member of the Guild of Fairy tale Hunters. Well done Liam I am very impressed with your hard work. All the work you are doing is being sent to the web-site by your teachers so check-out the “kid’s cave” on the site.
What I want you to do for me: Please tell me if you like the books you are reading in class about fairy tales. What do you think fairy tales tell us about the world? The children here do not study art, music or drama, can you imagine school with-out those subjects? I look forward to articles about them.
Thank you to your teachers for all their hard work and I look forward to your next mission for me to complete.
Where next: I think I said I was working on the 5th January by mistake (!!!) in my last mission blog…of course I meant to say February (…how time flies by so quickly when we are out adventuring). So to re-cap I have 3 final art workshops over the next week, here in Kathmandu. So “get-your-skates-on” UK students, if you want to send the students of Life Vision Academy any final messages!
I’m taking shelter from massive thunder storms back in Kathmandu for my last week here then I will travel across the mountains past Everest and on to Sikkim. Why do you think I am going there?
Bye for now.

Date: January 30^th 2012.

Site: Kathmandu Valley.

What I’ve done: After receiving a new mission from Life Vision Academy I decided to stay in striking distance Kathmandu Valley. To remind us all, the “blog mission” this week was to “Go find Artists” who work about the Yeti. I have met a musician, three visual artists and a famous folk lore author! They all took quite some finding (and took-took rides) I can tell you. I’m writing away now to tell you what they showed me so have a look at the articles I’ve sent you all.

Also I called in to everyone else’s school web-sites, as usual to say hi. The workshops are going very well in Life Vision Academy and I hope you are having fun creating stuff in Hylton Red House and Old Hall Drive. Keep checking the web site for ideas of what you can do to help the adventure.

What you’ve done:

Thank you for wonderful creative tales, all the artists here think they are GREAT! The work you have done is being sent to the web-site by your teachers so take a look at them for yourself in the “kid’s cave” on the site.

What I want you to do for me: You could see if you could find the books on the web-site book shelves. Who knows, your stories may be on my shelf too. I look forward to articles about them.

Thank you for your ideas and I look forward to your next mission for me to complete.

Where next: This week I will visit Life Vision Academy again on 5^th February for our what will be are last but one workshop. If the schools in the UK want to say something special to them send it to me on the web-site. After having some fun with the art I will head to Gosainkunda. See if you can find that on your maps.

It will be travelling to Sikkim soon. You could of course, if you have time, start to check-out Sikkim to help me in advance, See if you can find the road I will have to take to get there from Kathmandu.

I’m over half way through my time away from the UK! So keep your messages coming. Bye for now. 

Date: January 20th 2012.
Site: Gaunshshar, Besishahar, Lamjung.
What I’ve done: I followed the new mission given to me by Life Vision Academy and went in search of a king’s castle, to see if a king had a yeti in his dungeon. It took seven days to get to the land of the ancient kings of Nepal, via Bandipur in Tanahu. See if you can research where the kings are from. You could start by looking for Gorka on Google maps. I trekked up a mountain with over two thousand steps, and found a school called Diamond Hill Academy in a village called Gaunshsgar. There I found the principle of the school, Shamser Thapa, who took me to the ruined castle, in the forests of the snow leopards. You can find an article about this latest adventure on the website.
I’ve found a lot of clues to help our search. See if you can find them (maybe they are somewhere in my bag?). Can you help me, by working out what they are?
What you’ve done: I am very excited to see the video of “We’re going on a yeti hunt” by Old Hall Drive in Manchester, England. Also I am very impressed by the homework stories from Old hall Drive. Take a look at them for yourself in the “kid’s cave” on the site. Thank you for all your hard work. Your stories are a great help to me as I can show them to the children I meet as we hunt for fairy tales across the world.
What I want you to do for me: It would be great to read some articles about the stories you are reading in class. I would like to find out what happened to the characters in the story books, which Seven Stories sent to your school. I think that these books might will me when I am asking questions in schools here.
AND OF COURSE…….Please send me my next mission.
Where next: This week the children of Life Vision Academy have asked me to find art and songs about the yeti, so I will try first by going to the capital of wood carving in Nepal. I wonder if you can discover where that is. I will visit Life Vision Academy again on 30th January for our next workshop and to collect more missions.
Happy new Chinese Dragon year! Bye for now.

Date: January 10^th 2012.

Site: Kaushaltar, Bkatapur.

What I’ve done: I followed the mission given to me by Life Vision Academy and went in search of a child’s picture of the yeti in the mountains around Everest. It took four days to get there via Nagakot, Bhaktapur and Charikot. I trekked up a mountain in the falling snow and found a village called Kury. It was in the clouds below Kalinchowk and there I found something. You will have to read the article on the web site to find out more.

I met with a teacher called Erik who is working in a school in the mountains in the West. He told me that that area is full of amazing stories from the snow lands and has invited me to Gaunsahar. It is near Besisahar and it will take me a week to get there and back from Kathmandu. I am taking this as my next mission as some of the children in Life Vision Academy also come from that area and told me that they would really like to hear stories from there too. I wonder if the children in England can find this village on their maps of the world.

What you’ve done: I expect that the schools in England are back from your winter break now and the teachers in Old Hall Drive have told me (via email) that their children are starting a project about the yeti. Seven Stories will be starting their special Monster Project for the English Cultural Olympiad 2012 as well, so look them up via the links section on this web site. Hopefully there will be some pictures sent to the web site from the children who visit Seven Stories during this time.

The teachers in Nepal have told me that they have contacts in the country that is next door. It is called Sikkim and they are contacting their friends there. They think that I should go there when I leave Nepal, to continue to look for fairy tales of the yeti. I think I will go there half way through February and stay there for two weeks.

What I want you to do for me: See if you can find my journey on your maps of Nepal I know that the children here have enjoyed searching for where the children in England live.

We are half way through the time I have in Nepal so try to plan your time left with care so that your next missions for me, articles about your schools, videos and pictures of your creations can be uploaded to the website in time for me to work with them while I am away.

OH YES…….Please don’t forget to send me my next mission.

Where next: I will visit Life Vision Academy on 15^th January for our next workshop and to collect more missions. Then I will travel to the western mountains and the school in Gaunsahar until next weekend.

Happy new 2012 year! Bye for now. 

Site: Kaushaltar, Bkatapur.

What I’ve done: Here in Nepal I have completed five workshops so far, working on themes from classic Nepalese fairy tales like The Wood Cutter and The Fish daughter. Fairy tales here are very hard to find written in English so I have had to visit many book shops. I also collected lots of colourful paper, scissors and pens for the school to use, oh yes and some torches.

The children here asked me to go to the only children’s library in Nepal, in Kathmandu. There I found some fairy tale books from many countries. You can listen to the librarian reading The Fish Daughter in Nepalese in the articles section of the website, along with the artwork that the children from Life Vision academy made.

We have enjoyed playing with using the video camera on my phone. It is very easy and we have started to act out some of the fairy tales we are creating.

I have started to take the children from Life Vision Academy to an Internet/cyber café in small groups as they have no internet or computers in their school. We go in groups of four at a time as there is very little room, and we can only go if the café has electricity because of the power cuts. The children here are amazed at the possibilities of the internet and they have enjoyed looking at the pictures from the schools in England.

What you’ve done: I hope that you have enjoyed following the website during your holidays and that you have created some brilliant new stories for the website.

The children from Life Vision academy have given me a mission to go to the mountains where Everest is. There I must find a picture drawn by a child of the yeti. I will be gone for one week so wish me luck!

What I want you to do for me: I would like both schools in England to send me a time table that tells me when you will be available for skype calling. I will try to match these times with when I can skype you live in your classes. It will be great fun to speak to you live, tough remember that I am six and a half hours ahead in time to you and I have up 14 hours a day power cuts that change every day.

The children in Nepal would really like to communicate with the schools in England and they are looking forward to your articles, videos and pictures.

We are nearly half way through the time I have in Nepal so I look forward to more messages, articles, videos and pictures from England.

OH YES…….Don’t forget to send me my next mission.

Where next: To begin creating art work and finding fairy tale stories with the children of Life Vision Academy. I will also show the children in Nepal the work of the children in England.

I hope that you enjoyed your holidays. Bye for now.