Earthquake Day

In Search of Hope – by Sam Gannon

Seconded to the parish of Tililngdon, the Reverend Dolores has been presented with a challenge.

She’s living in an antiquated house and she’s cold. Furthermore, her new Bishop, Bishop Alice does not approve of ‘showgirls in dog collars.’

Determined to prove the Bishop wrong, she sets about warming her house – who cares if it smells of horse! There is the crochet club, jumble sale, and soup run to organise. And this year, the church bells will ring, no matter what threats are made. Even more so, the newly formed choir will spread a little joy this Christmas, even though they can’t sing – yet! And with a little help from Phil, her bassist, this year could be full of magic.

However, she has a fight on her hands as the townies out in Knob Hill – she must stop calling it that, are trying to stop her from ringing her bells. When Krystal with a K decides to do some volunteer work, Dolores sets out to see just how committed she really is.

Up to her ears in granny squares and squawking choristers, Dolores is revving up for Christmas, yet a deeper darker secret is beginning to emerge!

A secret that could blow the whole parish apart and put Dolores in danger.

(available from Amazon)

With Mount Etna erupting and Iceland preparing itself after hundreds of earthquakes for another big volcano eruption, tomorrow the 14th of November is significant, as it is ‘School Earthquake Day or Earth Tremble Day.’ Starting at 11:14 the safety drill will take place across all schools within the Autonomous Region of Madeira. This initiative, promoted nationwide by the National Civil Protection Authority (ANPC), seeks to draw attention to seismic risk and the importance of simple but life-saving behaviours that citizens should adopt if a sizeable earthquake occurs.

The Regional Secretariat for Education, Science, and Technology (SRE) and the Regional Civil Protection Service, within the scope of their partnership project entitled “Education for Safety and Risk Prevention,” promotes this initiative at a regional level. Also in this context, a pedagogical video was made of the self-protection measures that should be adopted in this risk situation. This video was made by the Insular Association of Geography, also a partner in the aforementioned project, with the collaboration of SRE.

Eighty public and private schools in the Region will participate in this initiative, involving a total of 15,660 students from various levels of education. Basic earthquake emergency behaviours will be taught and practiced, especially inside building training. The three stages taught, are: LOWER, PROTECT, AND WAIT. The exercise will last 1 minute.

Students will also be reminded that, in an earthquake situation, if they are outside, they should not enter buildings, but rather look for wide open spaces with little risk of falling structures (buildings and trees). After the last earthquake in the region, this exercise is of increased importance, with the participants being more sensitive and motivated to take part.

This activity works on citizenship issues associated with natural and technological risks, with teachers assuming a fundamental role in promoting a growing culture of safety within the school community.

Samantha Gannon

info at madeira-weekly.com

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