SCHOOL EDITION 22 MARCH 2023 - Flipbook - Page 29
FARMFAMILY
FARMWEEK
JANUARY 28 2021
29
Kathleen launches first book of farm characters
K
ATHLEEN McPolin, a past student
of SERC, has written and published
her rst children’s book and is on
the road to making her star characters
household names.
Kathleen, from Castlewellan, is no
stranger to further education and
has completed courses in Early Years
Childcare and Educations before going
on to complete her Assessors award.
She also recently achieved an NVQ in
Computerised Accounts at the college’s
Newcastle Campus.
Kathleen currently works as a Speech
and Language Therapy Assistant in
Downpatrick SureStart.
Part of her work over the past 12 years
has involved facilitating rhythm, rhyme
and story time sessions for babies and
preschool children with their parents
and guardians.
Kathleen’s book, titled Boomer
and Blanky On the Farm, follows the
adventures of the main characters
Boomer and Blanky as they try to bring
water back to Hollybush Farm.
The beautifully illustrated book has
been written and designed to entertain
and educate young children.
LEFT: Boomer and Blanky on the Farm
introduces Kathleen McPolin’s main
characters and a delightful story to
young children.
Kathleen said: “Children love to see
the same characters appear regularly
in their books. They become familiar
with the characters and enjoy the new
vocabulary in each story.
“My stories are intentionally short with
the aim of retaining the child’s interest.”
Kathleen, who also helps on the family
farm with husband John and their three
boys, is very excited about the next
stage of Boomer and Blanky.
She said: “The plan is to release
further adventures featuring the main
characters and I have recently secured
support through InnovateUs and
Southern Regional College which will
help me develop my characters into soft
toys.”
The book has been well received and
Kathleen is delighted to have received
a large order from the speech and
language therapist led Help Kids Talk
programme.
Boomer and Blanky On the Farm is
available at Smyth’s Musique, Newcastle,
JR’s in Castlewellan and Downpatrick.
It can also be ordered online
through Shanway Press, Amazon and
Waterstones.
n Visit www.serc.ac.uk to nd out
how you could be #BetterOffAtSERC
#OnlineAndOpenForBusiness Find us on
Facebook, search SERC.
ABOVE: Castlewellan woman Kathleen McPolin has
written and published her first children’s book and is
on the road to making her star characters, Boomer and
Blanky, household names.
Edward Carson and his part in the
fall of fellow Dubliner Oscar Wilde
O
NE hundred years
since the founding
of the state,
Edward Carson is
remembered as the
greatest leader of unionism
and as the “Father of Northern
Ireland”.
He was also renowned as the
most brilliant lawyer of his
generation.
Like Edward Carson, Oscar
Wilde was born in Dublin. He
is best known as an AngloIrish novelist, playwright, poet
and critic, and a celebrity in
late 19th century London.
In Edward Carson And
The Fall Of Oscar Wilde on
BBC One Northern Ireland,
Monday, February 1, at
10.45pm, Merlin Holland tells
the story of the epic court
clash at the Old Bailey in
1895 between his grandfather
Oscar Wilde and Edward
Carson.
It was the most scandalous
court case of Victorian
times and led to Wilde’s
n Monday, February
1, BBC One
Northern Ireland,
10.45pm.
n Also available on
BBC iPlayer from
January 22.
imprisonment and ruin.
However, does Carson
deserve his reputation as the
man who destroyed Oscar
Wilde?
Producer Damon Quinn
from the Hole in the Wall
Gang, who made the lm for
BBC NI, says: “This lm is a
personal and unique insight
into the story of Wilde and
Carson told by Wilde’s direct
descendant.”
The one hour documentary
lm also features
contributions from Rupert
Everett, Simon Callow and
Gyles Brandreth.
It is part of BBC Northern
ABOVE: Edward Carson
and Oscar Wilde.
Ireland’s Season Of Arts.
Go to Season Of Arts in the
Northern Ireland category
of BBC iPlayer to discover
more content.
ABOVE: Merlin Holland,
grandson of Oscar Wilde, at
the statue of Edward Carson
outside Parliament Buildings
in Belfast during filming for
Edward Carson And The Fall Of
Oscar Wilde.
RIGHT: Actor Simon
Callow talks to Merlin
Holland about Merlin’s
grandfather Oscar Wilde.
Grisly tale of mystery and murder in BBC Two’s Afeared
I
N the rst of three programmes in a new
Ulster-Scots series entitled Afeared for
BBC Two Northern Ireland, historian David
Hume and writer Darren Gibson investigate
the true events behind the ghost stories
associated with one of Ulster’s most haunted
houses, Sharon Rectory in Donegal.
The pair unveil the story of a double
murder at the site in 1797 and go on to
uncover why this violent event became such
a dramatic ash point in Ulster-Scots history.
Using original newspaper archive from the
time and the testimony of current residents,
David and Darren piece together this grisly
tale of mystery, murder and rebellion with
some unexpected results and altogether
spine-tingling revelations.
During the second programme, David
Hume and Darren Gibson visit Galgorm
LEFT: Sharon Rectory in
Donegal.
Castle to investigate the life of one of its most
infamous owners – a clergyman from the 17th
century named Alexander Colvill, who was
plagued by rumours of witchcraft and devil
worship.
In their quest to seek the truth behind
these tales, they discover
amazing, primary evidence
from the time shedding new
light on this mysterious part of
Ulster-Scots history.
While visiting Galgorm,
Darren speaks to the current
owner of the castle about
Colvill’s life and the ghost
stories that continue to linger
around this original plantation estate.
And in the third and nal programme in
the series, Darren Gibson and David Hume
join together to investigate the ghost story
that is associated with Ballygally Castle on
the Antrim coast and the real woman who
has inspired this tale for generations, Lady
Isabella Shaw.
Their journey takes them to Ballygally
Castle itself and to the ‘ghost room’, which is
rumoured to be haunted by Lady Isabella.
David and Darren also delve into the
archives to nd out more about her life in
Ulster after settling here from Scotland in the
17th century.
On their journey they make a very exciting
discovery and shake up the narrative that
has existed for centuries in Ulster-Scots
folklore about the life and death of this
fascinating woman.
n Afeared begins on Sunday, January
31, BBC Two Northern Ireland at 10pm,
and is an Alleycats TV production, made in
association with the Northern Ireland Screen
Ulster-Scots Broadcast Fund.