Santa's Visit to the Walking Bus
I've been working on our December e-newsletter today. Of course there has to be a Santa story this month so I put in a bit about when Santa came to visit our Walking Bus last year.

The kids loved it especially as our junior conductors were his helpers and helped give out free wristbands to those who took part. The press also came and took photos (Santa stories in December somehow seem to attract journalists). We had some new recruits, some of whom even came again when Santa wasn't there.

I think any walk to school scheme can do with a publicity/promotion boost like that every now and then just to keep the numbers up and help keep the profile high within school and to the wider public.

The only problem was we used a bit of a cheapo 'beard' - it didn't take the kids long to notice the elastic at the sides but at least they were impressed with the rest.

Where are the Cybermen and Welsh Dolls in Cardiff?

For the last couple of days I've been at a conference in Cardiff showing off our BrightKidz high vis wares to lots of school travel advisors (people who work for the council and help you start walk to school schemes and school travel plans etc).

I was also there as a speaker to talk about informal Walking Bus schemes and how they work. They were a friendly crowd so it was a good couple of days (and not too scary speaking as it is a subject I am passionate about).

Of course souvenirs were required for the kids. To them, Cardiff means Doctor Who (as filming is based there), so a model Tardis and first hand description of a meeting with David Tennant and a cyberman would have been first choice. Failing that a Welsh doll for my daughter (black hat etc) for a bit of tradition.... but I couldn't find any of those... and just had to make do with magazines.

High Vis Fashion Parade for Assembly

As part of our 'Be Bright Northants' project I went to Victoria Infants School in Wellingbrough to do an assembly last week. Here are some of the kids kitted out in BrightKidz fluorescent, reflective clothing etc for the 'mini fashion show' at the end.

We talked about different jobs where people wear fluorescent, reflective clothing and why they need to be seen. Walking to school is high on the agenda for the school so it was also a good chance to plug walking to school and the 'park and stride' idea which the school is trying to promote.

It's not that difficult to explain to four+ year olds that reflective (shiny) shows up at night and fluorescent (bright colours) show up in the day (I wish adults would understand it that easily). And yes, I know 'fluorescent' is a very long word for a 4 year old - but it is surprising how keen they were to learn it once I told them lots of adults don't know what it means!

Will the Alien Keep Cars off Pavements Outside School? Well, not exactly an alien...... more like a face on a box on a stick, stuck into a traffic cone with a speech bubble saying 'This Is Not A Car Park' and 'Pavements Are for People'. This was my Sunday morning burst of creativity to persuade parents not to park on pavements outside school at pick-up time. They are such a hazard as parents with buggies can't get past, children have to step on the road, children can't see round them, other drivers can't see children and worst of all sometimes the pavement parkers start to manoeuvre, reverse and drive off with children right next to them. Rather than direct confrontation (not my style, I prefer tact), my 'alien' will appear on the pavement outside school one day soon. Hopefully good use of an old Rice Krispies box and the Saturday magazine ad photos. I'll let you know how it goes!

Today is Social Enterprise Day As BrightKidz is a social enterprise we should really have marked today in some way. Last year children from a local school came to visit us for Social Enterprise Day, tried on lots of products and learned a bit about what a social enterprise is (and that business doesn't have to be just about making money). This year we're so busy packing orders that we had to give it a miss!

I went over to Gretton Homes near Corby this morning to pick up some zip clips which had been assembled by some of the residents. It's a care home for people with Prader-Willi Syndrome - an old house in a gorgeous setting, especially beautiful looking across their garden on a crisp autumn morning like today.

I heard about them a year ago on the radio as they put out an appeal to local businesses to give them paid work to occupy the residents, eg assembling jobs. I thought it was a brilliant idea so now we've set up paying them to put together our zip clips and some reflectors...... which is actually one example of what social enterprise is about.

Lambeth JRSOs
Here's a great photo of Junior Road Safety Officers getting kitted out with BrightKidz gear at the London Borough of Lambeth launch of their JRSO scheme. Looks like they enjoyed their high vis fashion show. (Photo courtesy of London Borough of Lambeth Road Safety, reproduced with permission).

Rain, Rain Go Away
June has been a washout as far as the weather is concerned and we've had flash floods here in Northants. The ford in the village was closed - a wise move as last January a car was washed under the bridge and down the river (luckily the driver was rescued by some TV aerial repairmen with their ladder). Who says nothing happens in sleepy villages?

Our BrightSportz golf umbrellas are proving handy for the Walking Bus and after school when I walk back with my own children. If storm clouds that are brewing start to burst... we're all covered.