TRACK 1B THE CHALLENGE of DELIVERING GROUND-BREAKING PROJECTS

This track involves complicated issues, which inevitably arise when humans begin blasting huge holes in the ground. As the saying goes, ‘you can’t make a new omelette without breaking a lot of eggs’.

The content is served up in multiple bags of images and text, for grown-ups, and was first developed with help of a local Team of 5 in the Ashtorre Rock Community Centre at Saltash. Outside the centre 7 benches may be found and each is used as basis for a short debate. The questions are linked back to a set of challenges faced by the Cornwall Railway Company and (when he joined them as project manager) by Brunel, in constructing the magnificent Royal Albert Bridge, still impressive and delivering around £9bn of benefit to the region every year.

With a little warning we can provide whatever you fancy, however you will need to plan ahead and bring enough real money e.g. coins and notes. With children in mind our usual bananas, buns and cake will be cut up, small; apple juice will have warm water added to reduce the sugars. For adults, cold drinks are usually elderflower or similar cordials; hot drinks are a variety of tea and coffee bags, but no sophisticated Latte and Cappuccino choices! It is help yourself, quite basic, but with a range of gluten free, plant-based and other choices, given sufficient notice.

Juice, small biscuits, cubes of buns, occasionally marshmallows are given out like rewards during the stories, in return for 50p pieces in the bucket. Adult hot drinks are £1.50.

STORIES in SOUND and/or PRINT

The picture also refers to an old mobile phone. We need lots! If you can donate that would be great. Initially we can only load stories onto your own old phone to take away and play on a walk, or to your class at school or wherever. In the future, if we can build a bank of phones, then there will also be an option to pay more for the 2 things together. In any case, to qualify for stories you will be asked to sign a Guarantee of Respect (refer to the Home page for explanation).

Further details for all the sets of stories coming available will be in the Catalogue from January 2026.