{"id":16527,"date":"2019-08-16T16:33:52","date_gmt":"2019-08-16T16:33:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.potentialplusuk.org\/?p=16527"},"modified":"2020-05-04T10:29:25","modified_gmt":"2020-05-04T10:29:25","slug":"the-hlp-diaries-betty-books-and-the-lightbulb-moment","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/potentialplusuk.org\/index.php\/2019\/08\/16\/the-hlp-diaries-betty-books-and-the-lightbulb-moment\/","title":{"rendered":"The HLP Diaries…Betty Books and the Lightbulb Moment"},"content":{"rendered":"

Slightly Mad Mummy: Entry 1<\/strong><\/p>\n

“Sometimes my daydreams work through the hopes, dreams, issues etc. surrounding our HLP children via the medium of painfully bad rhyming nonsense… (we’ve all been there, right?!)”.<\/p>\n

\n

It was late afternoon and all over the town<\/em><\/span>
\nThe kids were not up, they were all sitting down<\/em><\/span>
\nNone were off playing, none had heads deep in books<\/em><\/span>
\nAll eyes were on tellies with zombie-fied looks<\/em><\/span>
\n(For reasons of fairness it has to be said<\/em><\/span>
\nsome were watching shows on their tablets instead<\/em><\/span>
\nBut the point is the same, the gist still is that here<\/em><\/span>
\nThese kids had not one sole inventive idea.)<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

But before I say more there\u2019s something I must do<\/em><\/span>
\nI confess what I\u2019ve said is not strictly quite true<\/em><\/span>
\nFor there\u2019s one little lady, alone in the hall<\/em><\/span>
\nFor which tablets and telly they hold no thrall at all<\/em><\/span>
\nHer name, Betty Books, and she stood lost in thought<\/em><\/span>
\nWhile the others watched small screen debris of some sort<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cBetty\u201d they would call \u201cBetty, come on in here\u201d<\/em><\/span>
\nBut Betty she wouldn\u2019t, she was perfectly clear<\/em><\/span>
\n(That is the thing about Miss Betty Books<\/em><\/span>
\nShe would not to be put off by a few funny looks)<\/em><\/span>
\nThoughts and daydreams she enjoyed having more<\/em><\/span>
\nThan watching TV, which she saw as a bore<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

So apart from Betty (who they all viewed as wrong)<\/em><\/span>
\nThere was little brain power being used by the throng<\/em><\/span>
\nNo brilliant schemes were created that day<\/em><\/span>
\nThe tablets and tellies had got in the way<\/em><\/span>
\nNot one novel thought had been bandied about<\/em><\/span>
\nThen all of a sudden the lights just went out!<\/em><\/span>
\nThe telly went black and the tablets went down<\/em><\/span>
\nThere were murmurs of audible shock in the town<\/em><\/span>
\nSome reacted quite badly, they were visibly shaken<\/em><\/span>
\nThey felt quite abandoned, quite frankly forsaken<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

But one person there was not fazed in the least<\/em><\/span>
\nBetty leapt at the chance of a brainpower feast<\/em><\/span>
\nShe searched her dress pocket for a notebook and pen<\/em><\/span>
\nTo work out how to get all the lights on again<\/em><\/span>
\nShe scribbled her notes and, despite failing light,<\/em><\/span>
\nOut popped a plan that was terribly bright<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

She rushed up to get a few tools from her shed<\/em><\/span>
\n(conveniently located right next to her bed)<\/em><\/span>
\nBetty\u2019s lightbulb moment, well it gave off a spark<\/em><\/span>
\nAnd she knew they would soon be no more in the dark<\/em><\/span>
\nShe\u2019d use pedal power, turn it to energy<\/em><\/span>
\nTo light up the bulbs so again they could see<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

And the plan it did work, it was perfectly suited<\/em><\/span>
\nFor getting the lights and the tablets re-booted<\/em><\/span>
\n\u201cMore!\u201d they all cried, when they saw that first flicker<\/em><\/span>
\nBetty put her head down and she cycled much quicker<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

People from far afield came to stand and to see<\/em><\/span>
\nHer invention in action (though they still favoured watching tv)<\/em><\/span>
\nBetty sensed this consensus quite clearly and thought:<\/em><\/span>
\n\u201cIf no love of brainpower\u2019s there, it could be taught\u201d<\/em><\/span>
\nSo she punctured the silence with just a few words<\/em><\/span>
\nNot a shout, but just forceful enough to be heard<\/em><\/span>
\nShe said to the group gathered round her that day<\/em><\/span>
\n\u201cWhat if you found a really fun way<\/em><\/span>
\nTo stretch all those brain cells, to give it some welly,<\/em><\/span>
\nTo give them more food for thought than just the telly?\u201d<\/em><\/span>
\nThe crowd gave a mumble, then all was quite quiet<\/em><\/span>
\n(well, she hadn\u2019t exactly expected a riot)<\/em><\/span>
\nThen one voice, really soft, timid as a shrew<\/em><\/span>
\nWhispered: \u201cshow us how, please; show us what we can do.<\/em><\/span>
\nBecause I for one, (perhaps others agree?)<\/em><\/span>
\nAm beginning to get pretty bored with TV\u201d<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThen do as I do, except in your own way\u201d<\/em><\/span>
\nWere the words of advice she gave to them that day<\/em><\/span>
\nSo they all got to work thinking up their own plans<\/em><\/span>
\nThat turned them into heroes, not bleak telly fans<\/em><\/span>
\nThey came up with their own ways to add to the power<\/em><\/span>
\nTo keep the lights on for bright hour upon hour<\/em><\/span>
\nSome harnessed the power through skipping and walking<\/em><\/span>
\nThe town was alive with ideas and with talking!<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

So just when the lights seemed to have left them forever<\/em><\/span>
\nThey came back again because Betty was clever.<\/em><\/span>
\nBut more than that she showed them how to be merry<\/em><\/span>
\nBy using their brains not just watching the telly<\/em><\/span>
\n\u201cWell done!\u201d screamed the kids to Betty, \u201cHooray!\u201d<\/em><\/span>
\n\u201cYou really have managed to light up our day!\u201d<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\n

In this series we invite members to share their thoughts and lived experience with us \u2013 perhaps through an article, advice, sharing their careers, a piece of fiction or a poem. The HLP Diaries are fictional tales of parenting children with high learning potential. If you are a Potential Plus UK member and have an anecdote you would like to share then we’d love to hear from you: email focus@potentialplusuk.org<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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