Grainne, Author at JUMP! MAG

Events

Send a Story – Story B – Part 4 – Liceo Chiabrera School, Italy

This is the fourth part of STORY B of our #sendastory project. You can read the entire story so far on this page. This chapter was written by the pupils of Liceo Chiabrera School in Italy.

Liceo Chiabrera is a high school specialising in Modern Languages and the Classics. The Modern Languages studied are English, French, German and Spanish. We are in the centre of Savona, a town situated in the north west of Italy. We are on the coast but surrounded by hills and then quickly into mountains so we have a range of landscapes from beaches to country villages to mountains. The students who have taken part in this project are in the third year and so are 16/17 years old.

On hearing the name “Lady Franklin Bay”, Marc opened his eyes wide and a shiver ran down his spine.

As the wounded man started to tell his story, Marc remembered his grandmother some years ago taking a small, golden key, which nobody was allowed to touch, from the mantelpiece. A key which opened a chest with the letters “L.F.Bay” engraved on it…..but the wounded man had started his story so Marc forced the memories of his grandmother out of his mind and focussed on the present…

“…well, you know, in the 17th century the West Indies Shipping Company owned a ship, called the “Lady Franklin Bay”. It was one of the largest ships ever built. It used to sail all over the world, especially to England and South America, bringing back gold, silver and precious materials to the Crown.

One day during one of several expeditions, sailing near the shores of South Africa, the Lady Franklin Bay was attacked by pirates who killed all the crew except for a young boy who had hidden in the ship’s galley, but they didn’t manage to steal the gold.

The young boy’s name was Charles Henry, and he was one of my ancestors. He retrieved the gold and made his way to Naples where he set up a famous pizzeria called “Lady Franklin’s”. But the West Indies shipping company thought Charles Henry was one of the pirates so he was arrested and he lost everything except for a small wooden chest which contained the recipe for the special Lady Franklin pizza and most of the gold from the ship!”

The more Marc listened, the more he was sure his grandmother possessed the chest he was talking about!

Marc leaned towards the man, and whispered excitedly: “So, tell me how I can help you…”

Events

Send a Story Around the World – STORY A – Part Six – CIR School, India

This is the sixth part of STORY A of our #sendastory project. You can read the entire story so far on this page.

This chapter was written by the pupils of Chinmaya International Residential School in India.

Chinmaya International Residential School (CIRS )is situated 30 kms from Coimbatore the Textile city of India, in serene, salubrious and sylvan surroundings. It nestles at the foothills of the western ghats, spreading over sprawling area of 80 acres. Chinmaya International Residential School is not just a School. It is a movement wherein every child is encouraged and assisted to integrate the body, mind and spirit. We have a strong vision programme called Chinmaya Vision Programme which gives a balance of values, critical thinking, emotional development and physical development incorporating international mindedness.

My first instinct was to probe behind those closed doors. But, a tentative step towards the shaft of light under the door proved to be a mistake as a dilapidated hidden trapdoor sent me hurtling deep into the bowels of the earth.

As I tumbled down the dark passageway and downloaded with tremendous bit rate, I seemed to break ground into a drop box. While soaking in the heavenly warmth of the box, the increasingly intense light illuminated the different hues around me, making it possible to distinguish the glassy surface on which I was sliding… a sea of pen drives!

I opened the sea gates leading out of the box, to find a huge wall post which read Electrik-City. Using the innumerable Photoshops outside, i-tuned into the tube which had a baritone reverberating “you-tubed…you-tubed..”

The minute I got out of the tube, a Google drive pulled up in front of me offering to take me on a safari. As I looked out of the windows all I could see was a vista of the chrome city embellished with orchards laden with apples and blackberries. Throngs of children of all sizes and shapes were swarming around lofty stores selling jelly beans, ice cream sandwiches, ginger bread and kitkats.

All of a sudden the ground shook and a pack of Firefox rushed past my Google drive. As I stepped out to get another peek at these eerie creatures, thousands of the colossal retina displays mounted on the walls flicker-ed all at the same time in flares of red, blue and green. It gave me the shock of my life to see my face-booked on those flickering retina displays. This kindled the reels of my memory as it raced to the old oracle who had positioned me here.

With a flash of light, in quick time the oracle flashed before me and he said “You are in my space”.

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Events

Send a Story Around the World – STORY A – Part Five – ACG Strathallan, New Zealand

This is the fifth part of STORY A of our #sendastory project. You can read the entire story so far on this page.

This chapter was written by the pupils of ACG Strathallan in New Zealand.

The school’s name is ACG Strathallan. We are a co-ed independent school of around 1000 students. We are situated in Southern Auckland and the school is set on a stunning peninsula in an area called Karaka. Karaka is a beautiful, rural area which is famous for horse breeding. Auckland is the largest city in New Zealand.

As he placed the map in my trembling hands a bright, almost blinding light overwhelmed my vision. A powerful force pushed against my chest, pounding at my heart. As my senses fought to recover themselves another unfamiliar scene revealed itself and I found myself alone again. A lonely, gothic looking mansion loomed over me, beckoning me and repelling me at the same time. A dull roll of thunder echoed above, throbbing in the darkened sky and robbing me of my courage. Suddenly, a pearly mist emerged to restore my spirits. It swirled and danced around one of the turrets of the gloomy building like a twinkling ribbon of dust.

I took a glance at the map. It was the outline of the old mansion that stood before me. A bright turquoise light towards the side of the page appeared, illuminating the page. I could see that it came from a beautiful, blue little star, almost imprinted on the map. It marked the entrance to the building. As I inspected the map more closely my attention was drawn to an almost iridescent pink rose which marked the distant tower of the mansion. To my astonishment the little blue star moved with me as I trundled into the vast and dilapidated porch area. It continued to trace my trembling footsteps as I trespassed through vacant galleries, forlorn living spaces and abandoned hallways. The star was me, and my sole comfort.

I kept walking forward. Eventually a soft beam of light appeared. It was seeping out from under one of the worn doors. The rose shone more and more brightly until the light almost smoldered around the map. This must be it I thought, this must be the tower.

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Events

Send a Story Around the World – STORY B – Part Three – I K. Brodziński Senior High School, Poland

This is the third part of STORY B of our #sendastory project. You can read the entire story so far on this page. This chapter was written by the pupils of K.Brodziński I Senior High School in Tarnów, southern Poland.

K.Brodziński I Senior High School in Tarnów. Our school is the oldest one in our town with more than 830 ambitious, enthusiastic and open-minded students, age 16-18. Tarnów is located 78 km from Cracow and has a population of about 110 thousand people.

All of a sudden he heard a sound of fluttering wings, turned round and saw an ebony–dark raven flying towards him. The bird passed just above his head and then out of the corner of his eye he noticed that the face from the window faded away.

Following the raven, Mark approached the fjords. It seemed to him that he beheld the blink of the green light, and in front of his eyes a huge ship ‘U.S.S. Proteus’ appeared. He caught the blood – chilling raven’s screech, whirled and saw there was nothing else but a newly erected fort.

Hardly had Mark moved into the food storehouse, when he spotted an emaciated figure of a man creeping along the wall. It was obvious that the rogue was about to steal some food.

The moment he reached for one of the sacks, the door were battered down and two men barged into screaming: “You’d promised it would be the last time Charles Henry! You know what Adolphus Grey does with scoundrels”. The scuffle broke out. And then… all started to vanish into thin air. The last thing Mark perceived was a dim gunshot.

He opened his eyes and saw a repulsive man with clotted blood on his temple. Mark realized that the face from the window and the thief were one and the same person.

To his surprise, Mark heard a hoarse voice of the man murmuring: “I need your help. But first you must hear the story of Lady Franklin Bay Expedition…”.

Events

Send a Story Around the World – STORY A – Part Four – St Andrew’s School, Argentina,

This is the fourth part of STORY A of our #sendastory project.

You can read the entire story so far on this page. This section was written by the pupils of St Andrew’s School in Olivos, Buenos Aires, Argentina.

St. Andrew’s Scots School is in Olivos, Buenos Aires, Argentina. We are are really big school, with kindergarten, primary and secondary areas. Olivos is a peaceful suburban town near Buenos Aires city and our school has been here for many years, although not since its foundation, which was 175 years ago. St Andrew’s is one of the oldest schools in Argentina, it was once a boarding school for boys but now it is a day school for both girls and boys, most of them Argentine and Spanish speaking.

Confused and terrified, I stood up in the forest in the humid soil. I shook off the dead leaves and moss from my clothes. Feeling a sharp pain in my temples, I blinked hard to try to adjust my eyes to the darkness and looked around me.

Suddenly, a match lit an old-fashioned lamp. A strange old man was holding the lamp and watching me closely. My head wasn’t playing games: it was the man from the shack.

‘What is happening to me? What are you doing to me? Who are you?’ I quivered.

‘I won’t hurt you, but the less you know about me, the better for you,’ he answered, breathing heavily. His voice was raspy and deep. ‘We haven’t got much time. Everything is falling apart.’ He handed the photo of the girl to me.

‘Who’s the girl?’

‘She is the one you must help. You must find her and save her,’ the old man insisted. There was a note of panic in his voice.

‘How?’

The old man took out a battered roll of what seemed leather, tied with a red ribbon round its middle. He unrolled it carefully on the ground and I saw it was a map.

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