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Memories of my grandmothers brown Bakelite ‘Wet & Dry Battery’ valve radio of the 1950’s, were vividly revived again today, on learning that singer Dame Vera Lynn had passes away this morning, aged 103 years.
Her family confirmed today that the inspirational and iconic singer Dame Vera Lynn had sadly passed away, surrounded by her close family.
Video shown above contains just one of Dame Vera Lynn’s most famous songs, “We’ll Meet Again” was released in 1939 and as war progressed it increasingly resonated with the British public. In Vera’s own words; “It’s a good song as it goes with anyone anywhere saying goodbye to someone.”
Fondly known as “the forces’ sweetheart” due to her down-to-earth style, quickly established her as the public’s favourite antidote to both the misery of the blackouts and her often morale-boosting visits to front line troops during World War II.
Born in London’s East Ham in 1917, daughter of plumber Bertram Samuel Welch (1883–1955) and dressmaker Annie Martin (1889–1975), who had married in 1913, she left school at age 11. She made her first solo recordings, which included “Up the Wooden Hill to Bedfordshire” and “The little boy that Santa Clause forgot” at the age of 19 years, and just some of her better known and much loved hits include; “A Nightingale Sang in Berkeley Square” and “There’ll Be Bluebirds Over The White Cliffs Of Dover”. By the age of 22 years she had sold more than one million records.
A huge part of her appeal during wartime came from her BBC radio programme “Sincerely Yours”, which ran during 1941 and 42 taking the form of “A letter to the men of the Forces, in words and music”.
In 1941, Dame Vera married Harry Lewis, a clarinettist and saxophonist whom she had had met two years previous. They had a child in March of 1946, Virginia Penelope Anne Lewis, (now Lewis-Jones). Her husband sadly passed away in 1998.
In 1976, Dame Vera received an honorary Doctorate of Laws from the Memorial University of Newfoundland. She received the Freedom of the City of London in 1978 and in 2000, she received a “Spirit of the 20th Century” Award in a nationwide poll in which she won 21% of the vote.
Requiescat in Pace.
Newly published National Educational Psychological Service (NEPS) Guidance Materials provide helpful information on supporting 6th class pupils transitioning to secondary school during these unprecedented times.
Transitioning to secondary school is a big milestone in everyone’s life, but for this year’s sixth class finishing primary school and moving onto secondary school has been significantly impacted by the Covid-19 school closures.
In response to this, the National Educational Psychological Service (NEPS) has published guidance material for supporting 6th class in their transition to post-primary education (to access guidelines view HERE).
The NEPS guidance materials outline how supporting resilience during this time is important and is helped by: –
(1) Promoting a sense of safety.
(2) Promoting a sense of calm.
(3) Promoting a sense of self-efficacy (belief in one’s own ability to do something) and of community-efficacy.
(4) Promoting a sense of connectedness.
(5) Promoting a sense of hope.
The NEPS guidance materials provide further information and ideas on how these five areas can be promoted. Parents, teachers and schools are sure to find these guidance materials helpful and informative.
Learn about fish, water and angling with the help of the Irish educational programme ‘Something Fishy’.
‘Something Fishy’ is an Irish educational programme developed by the Central Fisheries Board (CFB) and Blackrock Education Centre (BEC). It is aimed at primary school pupils aged 10-13 years and teaches about fish, water, angling, and the overall environment.
The ‘Something Fishy’ programme comprises a ‘Kids Zone’ (View HERE), ‘Teachers Zone’ (View HERE) and ‘Resources Section’ (View HERE).
The eight lessons supported across the kids, teachers and resource zones enable children to learn about water; the life cycle of a salmon called Bradán; fish and nutrition and how to be a responsible angler, conservationist and environmentalist.
To learn more about the ‘Something Fishy’ programme visit HERE or contact ‘Something Fishy’, Inland Fisheries Ireland, Anglesea Street, Clonmel, Co. Tipperary, by phone on +353 (0)52 618 0055 or by email at contact@fisheriesireland.ie
Help conserve our Irish waterways and protect our fish. Do remember you can report pollution or poaching 24 hours a day by phoning: 1890 34 74 24.
Go on a “Virtual School Tour” of the following famous international destinations.
Once you have finished your virtual school tour of famous Irish places (see earlier post by viewing HERE), why not cross the continents and visit some of these famous international destinations.
NASA, USA.
Learn about space by visiting the NASA Glen Research Centre (View HERE) or the Langley Research Centre (View HERE). Take a tour of inside a space shuttle by viewing HERE. If you are feeling really adventurous why not take a tour of Mars (View HERE)?
The Anne Frank Museum, Amsterdam.
Learn about the life of Anne Frank and discover the stories behind a collection of original items that are connected to her history. To visit this museum and the secret annex where she lived during WWII, view HERE.
Clearwater Aquarium, Florida, USA.
Clearwater Aquarium in Florida, is not your typical aquarium. They are committed to environmental preservation and the aquarium is dedicated to the rescue, rehabilitation, and release of marine life. Why not visit some of the animals currently under their care including pelicans, dolphins, turtles and clownfish (View HERE).
Pompeii, Italy.
In 79AD the ancient Italian city of Pompeii was buried under volcanic ash after Mount Vesuvius erupted. Rediscovered in the mid-18th century, the city was perfectly preserved and is nothing short of a historical marvel. (View HERE)
The Great Wall of China.
The Great Wall of China is an ancient wall built between 1368-1644 to protect the north of the empire of China from enemy attacks. It is the longest structure ever built by humans measuring an estimated 21,196 kilometres long. To visit this incredible structure view HERE.
Rainforests of Borneo.
Go HERE to visit the rainforests of Borneo, along with other wonders of nature including coral reefs in the Pacific Ocean and the diverse ecosystems of Columbia and Peru.
Parks and Wildlife, Western Australia.
Take a virtual tour of Western Australia’s parks and wildlife by viewing HERE.
Some of the amazing places to visit include Granite Skywalk, Danguu Geikie Gorge, Yanchep National Park and Black Rock Falls.
Go on a “Virtual School Tour” of famous Irish places.
The annual school tour is always a much loved end-of-year activity for pupils from all primary schools. Now with home schooling while schools remain closed and with travel restrictions in place, why not take pupils and indeed the whole family on a virtual school tour to some of these famous Irish tourist destinations named hereunder.
Dublin Zoo.
Children will love watching the elephants (View HERE); penguins (View HERE) and animals of the African Savanna (View HERE) with the help of Dublin Zoo’s Webcam.
No. 29 Fitzwillian Street Lower.
Take a step back in time and experience life in a Georgian house in Dublin [Georgian era: 1714–1837], with the help of the No. 29 virtual experience, by visiting HERE.
Long Room Trinity College, Dublin.
The Long Room at Trinity College Dublin is considered one of the world’s greatest and most beautiful libraries, built between 1712 and 1732. Visit HERE and see why.
Some 65 metres in length, it is filled with 200,000 of the Library’s oldest books, including the Book of Kells. Did you know it also served as the inspiration for the Jedi Library in Star Wars?
National Gallery of Ireland.
The National Gallery of Ireland houses the national collection of historic Irish and European fine art and is a must visit for art lovers. (View HERE.)
National Museum of Ireland.
Travel across Ireland, with the help of the National Museum of Ireland, explore natural history (View HERE); the history of country life (View HERE); archaeology (View HERE), or decorative arts and history (View HERE).
The Titanic Experience.
Take a trip to Cobh and experience the last port of call for the tragic Titanic ocean liner. (View HERE).
Enjoy your armchair travelling
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