Pontypandy

Over Christmas break Chaplin discovered a TV program called Fireman Sam. All the characters have a lovely Welsh accent as the show takes place in a Welsh community Pontypandy. Chaplin is enamoured with the show and now promotes fire saftey to me daily. "mommy it's dangerous to leave items around the stove top. Mommy don't leave your curling iron on. Mommy only adults can turn on irons..."

Today we got to see real Fireman in action...

Our friend Jan works for the Merseyside Fire & Rescue Service and she invited us out for a very special day. She picked us up and had a surprise for Chaplin : a fireman costume and a fireman Sam back-pack!

When we got to the Fire Station training centre Chaplin put his suit on and we were in for a real treat. The Merseyside Fire & Rescue runs a youth program called The BEACON Project. These kids learn all about team work, community spirit, and of course learning what it takes to be a Fireman. The program runs for 12 weeks and today was their graduation where they got to show the public what they've learned and receive their certificates. It was loads of fun to watch.

The kids perform like true firemen.

Chaplin is watching a fire truck approaching.


The leader asked if Chaplin wanted his picture taken with the grads.
So Jan took him into the middle and I could see about 100 other cameras taking pictures!

Chaplin got to sit inside a real fire-truck and turn on the siren!


He got to hold the hose and pull the lever back to release the water.
you should have seen the smile on his face.

This is a real fireman helmet, and it's heavy!
(You should have seen my face)


Fireman Lambanana.
Inside the station we had tea, then watched the award presentations and then had lunch. As you can tell from some of the photos - it really started to rain during the program. But I didn't hear one complaint out of Chaplin, he was a really good boy the whole day.


Jan even took us over to her mom Marg's house for another cup of tea and a visit. Chaplin got a kick of this dog, who unlike our dog, actually plays with a ball.

His name is Hector, and he's scary large, but really really kind.