{"id":30947,"date":"2020-11-13T16:12:08","date_gmt":"2020-11-13T16:12:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.potentialplusuk.org\/?p=30947"},"modified":"2020-11-13T16:12:08","modified_gmt":"2020-11-13T16:12:08","slug":"the-hlp-diaries-betty-books-and-the-pirate-problem","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/potentialplusuk.org\/index.php\/2020\/11\/13\/the-hlp-diaries-betty-books-and-the-pirate-problem\/","title":{"rendered":"The HLP Diaries…Betty Books and the Pirate Problem"},"content":{"rendered":"

Slightly Mad Mummy: Entry 6<\/span>
\n<\/strong><\/p>\n

Written just before Lockdown 1.0, Betty Books discovers that it always pays to be prepared when battling a band of black-hearted buccaneers at the beach!<\/p>\n

\n


\nIt was red hot midsummer, all the kids were off school
\n<\/span>And the beach was the place they all went to keep cool
\n<\/span>Yet the sun was so hot and the rays were so strong
\n<\/span>That people just flopped; they snoozed all the day long
\n<\/span>Except, though, for Betty, did I forget to mention?
\n<\/span>She did what she liked because of her invention.<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

It kept her ice cool, it provided nice shade
\nThis contraption of Betty\u2019s was lovingly made
\n<\/em>In her shed by her bed, which was handy as ever
\n<\/em>So now she can roam, whatever the weather.
\n<\/em>It was called the cold shoulder, did what it said on the tin
\n<\/em>Kept her chilled as the ice caps (pre-global warming).<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

So Betty was there; she was fond of the coast
\n<\/em><\/span>But her beachwear and antics were different to most
\n<\/em><\/span>For one she was clothed in fine cloth pantaloons,
\n<\/em><\/span>And was up on the cliffs overlooking the dunes
\n<\/em><\/span>She was working on plans, had research to deliver
\n<\/em><\/span>That took her up on the crags, and \u2018cross fields and down river’,
\n<\/em><\/span>So as people snoozed on the beach until late
\nBetty wrote up her notes in quintuplicate.<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

Now as an aside, but something I should say
\n<\/em><\/span>Betty had an unease that would not go away:
\n<\/em><\/span>A downside to her brain being in such a hurry
\n<\/em><\/span>She thought way too much, and she tended to worry
\n<\/em><\/span>In addition, she was stubborn with all of her fears
\n<\/em><\/span>So grown ups\u2019 reassurances fell on deaf ears.
\n<\/em><\/span>It was like this with Putin, feared he had ill intent
\n<\/em><\/span>To snatch her from her room, when to bed she was sent
\n<\/em><\/span>Her mum thought this was one of those really safe bets
\n<\/em><\/span>Where she could prove the unfoundedness of Betty\u2019s frets
\n<\/em><\/span>But \u201cI believe in statistics\u201d, Betty\u2019d say \u201cand statistically
\n<\/em><\/span>you can\u2019t ever 100% reassure me.\u201d
\n<\/em><\/span>\u201cAnd what\u2019s more,\u201d she added to her mum with a grin
\n<\/em><\/span>\u201cIt\u2019s Putin and you never quite know about him\u2026\u201d<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

Now the plus side of worry, it has to be shared
\n<\/span><\/em>Was that Betty was never knowingly under-prepared.
\n<\/span><\/em>She had prepped for flood, famine, fire, apocalypse,
\n<\/span><\/em>All packed in a holster tied tight round her hips.
\n<\/span><\/em>People\u2019s reactions to this ranged from scoffs to surprise
\n<\/span><\/em>But today was the day that her preps proved quite wise
\n<\/span><\/em>Because just out to sea was a ship, and what\u2019s more
\n<\/span><\/em>It was stuffed full of pirates and heading for shore\u2026
\n<\/span><\/em>Betty looked down at the beach, all the people were hidden
\n<\/span><\/em>(it was all they could do, and not strictly forbidden)
\n<\/span><\/em>They did think of fighting with nerf guns and light sabres
\n<\/span><\/em>But knew it would be the most fruitless of labours
\n<\/span><\/em>The pirates were armed with much scarier fayre:
\n<\/span><\/em>ammunition from Argos just could not compare.<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

But Betty stayed calm, used her old telescope
\n<\/em><\/span>For she had calculations that would help her to cope
\n<\/em><\/span>From the distance to shore she could work out first-hand
\n<\/em><\/span>That the ship was too large to get right to the land.
\n<\/em><\/span>Now this gave her a chance, gave some light in the bleakness
\n<\/em><\/span>For they\u2019d have to jump ship, and therein lay their weakness
\n<\/em><\/span>A dinghy wouldn\u2019t be such a safe and strong bet
\n<\/em><\/span>So she kicked off her plan, the best of them yet.<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

She ran down the cliff and straight onto the beach
\n<\/em><\/span>And down to the water: there were lessons to teach
\n<\/em><\/span>She splashed out to sea, it was no time to slack
\n<\/em><\/span>Then she pulled on the string hanging from her rucksack
\n<\/em><\/span>Out popped a dinghy (it was auto-inflate)
\n<\/em><\/span>But with super-materials that made it so great
\n<\/em><\/span>Ceramic weave to be strong, aerogel to stay light
\n<\/em><\/span>(She knew science would help her to win the good fight).
\n<\/em><\/span>So she felt quite secure that her boat was protected
\n<\/em><\/span>From attacks on her boat if they were so directed
\n<\/em><\/span>But better than that she concocted a scheme
\n<\/em><\/span>That, if calcs were correct, would work just like a dream.<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

They were heading for Betty, their swords were aloft
\n<\/span><\/em>But they were in for a shock if they thought Betty was soft
\n<\/span><\/em>Any Betty-like person doesn\u2019t need to be told
\n<\/span><\/em>That a pen is more valued than myrrh or than gold
\n<\/span><\/em>And so Betty kept with her at all times a great haul
\n<\/span><\/em>Of prized pencils and pens (she loved them, one and all)
\n<\/span><\/em>So you\u2019ll find in her bag many things for her writing
\n<\/span><\/em>That double up nicely as weapons, for fighting\u2026<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

The people peeped out, behind dunes, behind breaks
\n<\/span><\/em>And saw Betty charge bravely, for all of their sakes
\n<\/span><\/em>She went out towards them, they set out for her too
\n<\/span><\/em>Little did they know they\u2019d soon be in the blue
\n<\/span><\/em>She got out her pens, put them into a sling
\n<\/span><\/em>And shot at their boats, her skill astonishing
\n<\/span><\/em>And that\u2019s when their plans all began to unravel
\n<\/span><\/em>Because no one expected her pencils to travel.
\n<\/span><\/em>The battle it raged, it became rather heated
\n<\/span><\/em>But at last all the pirates were wholly defeated
\n<\/span><\/em>Their dinghies were punctured, were in quite a state
\n<\/span><\/em>They haemorrhaged air and began to deflate
\n<\/span><\/em>She thought about screaming, about having a laugh
\n<\/span><\/em>Shouting \u201cEureka!\u201d (but without the Greek bath)
\n<\/span><\/em>She boarded the ship, but more crucial than that
\n<\/span><\/em>She rescued the fluffiest tabby ship\u2019s cat<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

The coastguard they came, with more force on their tail
\n<\/span><\/em>And took every last pirate to pirating jail
\n<\/span><\/em>By this time Betty had got back to the shore
\n<\/span><\/em>To the sounds of great cheers of \u201churrah!\u201d and \u201cencore\u201d
\n<\/span><\/em>They were all safe and sound and were all in accord:
\n<\/span><\/em>The pen is indeed mightier than the sword!<\/span><\/em><\/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\u2019d love to hear from you: email focus@potentialplusuk.org<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Slightly Mad Mummy: Entry 6 Written just before Lockdown 1.0, Betty Books discovers that it always pays to be prepared when battling a band of black-hearted […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1002852,"featured_media":30954,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"give_campaign_id":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[196,40,464,218],"tags":[579,216,42,213],"class_list":["post-30947","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-focus","category-high-learning-potential","category-viewpoints","category-the-hlp-diaries","tag-betty-books","tag-fiction","tag-high-learning-potential","tag-poetry"],"yoast_head":"\nThe HLP Diaries...Betty Books and the Pirate Problem - Potential Plus UK<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/potentialplusuk.org\/index.php\/2020\/11\/13\/the-hlp-diaries-betty-books-and-the-pirate-problem\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_GB\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"The HLP Diaries...Betty Books and the Pirate Problem - 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