White Cliffs of Dover

A few years ago I read (and blogged about) a book by Julian Baggini called 'Welcome to Everytown'. In it, he described spending a year in the postcode which apparently had the most 'average' characteristics of any postcode area.
It turned out to be the postcode where I was born and brought up, to the east of Rotherham.

Julian has now moved on to another place which has resonance for the people of England. He spent a week in August as writer-in-residence at the White Cliffs of Dover.
In an article for the Times, he talks about the various views that people have about the cliffs. Are they a supportive icon of Britishness, or a symbol of exclusion ?
What do they mean for different people ?
Julian has also written this piece in The Guardian which is worth reading.

This would be relevant for the lesson 'Living on the Edge'.

Image by Flickr user HBarrison and shared under CC license, for which many thanks...

Comments

Making Space for Sand

Making Space for Sand is a project I was made aware of recently. The ‘Building Community Resilience on a Dynamic Coastline by Making Space for Sand’ project (also known as Making Space for Sand or MS4S) is one of 25 national projects funded by DEFRA as part of the £200 million Flood and Coastal Innovation Programme (FCRIP). The programme will drive innovation in flood and coastal resilience and adaptation to a changing climate. The project website has an excellent section outlining the formation of Sand Dunes, particularly within the located context of Cornwall. Sand Dunes are an important part of the coastal defences in the locations where they are found. I am particularly familiar with the dunes on the North Norfolk Coast at places like Holkham. I've previously carried out fieldwork on those dunes with both GCSE and 'A' level students, and also Atkins has provided GIS support and created some visualisations of future landscapes.

Landscape in a Box - more student examples

Thanks to Jack Marsh for sending me some examples of 'landscapes in a box '. Landscapes in a box is one of the ideas that seems to have gone down the best of the things that I've shared over the years. The basic idea is to create a landscape within a box, perhaps a burger box (but could also be a shoe box) This was featured in 'Teaching Geography' in 2009. Jack used the activity with his groups, and has sent me three excellent images of contrasting images from the students: an Antarctic scene, New York's Central Park, and Paris... Outstanding work !! If you've used Landscape in a Box, why not share your students' work too...

Landscape inspiration

I take a great deal of pleasure from the images shared by Henry Rothwell. This is a wonderful image by Jane Madgwick. 'Downland Storm', Jane Madgwick, mixed media, 2017. pic.twitter.com/xgz3k3l3PR — Henry Rothwell (@HenryRothwell) October 15, 2022

"Look at it this way"

Search This Blog