We'll
Weather the Weather
or
The
Weather Wages War On ....
(insert
name of town you are working In)
Explanation
Throughout
the ages humans have represented natural phenomena as
people in order to help understand them. Thunder becomes
Thor; Ardena was the goddess of woodlands, hence the
forest of Arden - the forest is Ardena; the rumblings
beneath the ground become Trolls; miners listen out for
the Knockers, sprites that give a warning when there is
to be a mine disaster (actually the timbers groaning).
Process
- Imagine
the weather as a warrior. See that warrior in
your mind's eye.
- List
words that describe that warrior e.g.
fierce/wild/mad/berserk/crazed.
Create similes to describe that person e.g.
berserk as a rabid terrier.
- List
words that describe bad weather e.g. snow, rain,
sleet, blizzard.
- Make
another list of the kind of weapons that a
warrior might have e.g. swords, spears, arrows,
bullets (the kinds of weapons will depend on the
warrior visualised).
- Now
combine words from the two lists e.g. swords of
rain. Be bold in the combinations.
- Draw
up a list of local place names e.g. Western Lane,
Old Woods.
- Put
the parts all together, e.g. "Marching rain,
wild as an angry boar, along North Street";
perhaps reorder it "Rain as wild as an angry
boar marches down North Street".
- Start
on the outskirts of the town and move towards the
centre as if it was being invaded. Describe
different military scenarios for the different
parts of the town. What might an invading army
do? Set up roadblocks, perhaps - this could be
snowdrifts. The wind rips the flag from the
flagpole. Use the language of the military. Fog occupies
the town square.
- Once
the first section has been established we can
look at how the population (us) respond. Perhaps
we fight back.
- Look
at the weapons we can use to resist the invasion
of bad weather. Gloves, scarves etc. Again make
lists. A possible outcome might be 'We armoured
ourselves in mittens'.
- Think
of the ways that we can retaliate. Clear off the
path or the drive; put salt down (lay traps of
salt) e.g. 'We dug out the car and reclaimed the
streets one by one'.
- The
ending might show that we have triumphed over
adversity, perhaps with a statement along the
lines of 'And slowly we won back our world'.
© Dave
Reeves 9/2000
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