After day 2 of path work in Roslin Glen I am taking a well earned rest at my lap top this morning. I was looking at the Midlothian Advertiser on line and noticed this article about confidence boosting activities at Roslin Primary School. This is such a good idea. I decided to post a short comment to the article to register my interest and desire for the future of tourism in Midlothian. I think my year away in the States focussed my mind on the tourism potential here in Midlothian. We have so much to offer the tourist but we don't see it. What we need though (and I hate business jargon) is some joined up thinking for the bigger picture. If we could harness the energy, enthusiasm and potential in our younger generation to become accredited tourist guides (there's a blue badge scheme I think in England) at the same time as documenting all our tourist information in a more tourist friendly manner then I think that Midlothian could become a centre for excellence for tourism. It's not just our built heritage - I am thinking about our walks throughout the county or even through our parks and villages. Since co-writing 11 walk articles for the Advertiser I have become so aware of our local history and the wealth of information in the heads of a few folks. Even if not all factually based there are some great stories out there.
Maybe I should write to Mr Salmond? or Midlothian Council?
Chapel guides
ROSLIN: Rosslyn Chapel. Some of the new group of Roslin Primary pupils hold their first junior tour guide session. LtoR Jack Hamilton, Katie McLeish, Rory Stewart, Connor Maclean & Josh Hutchison
Published on Monday 5 March 2012 12:00
A confidence boosting project is continuing between a local primary school and a world-famous Midlothian landmark.
As part of the Curriculum for Excellence, P7 pupils at Roslin Primary are working in partnership with Rosslyn Chapel to run guided tours for primary schools in the area.
The children learn by doing real jobs – giving a performance, giving short talks to adult and child visitors, learning about the booking system, as well as marketing and press. In addition, they are gaining knowledge about local history.
Chapel education manager Fiona Rogan said: “Our latest group of guides were very shy at first. One girl, in particular, always had her head down and shoulders hunched. She looked terrified. Yesterday I saw her striding on to the presentation area with her head held high, speaking in a clear voice to an audience of over 50 adults and children. The confidence she has gained will benefit her in all areas of her school work.”
Comments
susangoldwyre
Wednesday, March 7, 2012 at 09:30 AM