Column 294

Leo, Roving Reporter
Report from: My desk
Story filed: Life Music

Hi people, it's Leo here. I'm sure you all know the music app Spotify. It's what's been getting me through the lockdown. Like books, music can transport you somewhere else. Listening to music is really useful, especially when I'm doing school work. But, I know that when we will be back in my physical school, I won't be able to list to my music whenever I want to. Last term, sometimes I would list to music during class (not when the teacher was talking but when we were working) and I loved it. All in all, listening to music while studying or working is great because you can choose what you want to hear. It really has been my lifesaver.

Until next time 
Leo Roving Reporter

French cat

 

Video art

 

Column 293

Leo, Roving Reporter
Report from: My desk
Story filed: Bubble time

Hi people, it's Leo here. Maybe you've heard of this new freedom that the government has initiated, it's called a friends bubble. It lets you see two of your friends as it's three people bubble for kids only, But I bet most of you know this already. My family and I didn't know about this until I was invited to my friend's house and after not seeing a human being (that was not my mum and dad) for a very long time, it was a blast. I definitely recommend doing this, it's great.  The only downside is that you can only have one bubble which means you can't go and visit someone else, you can only visit the same three people. It does suck a bit because of that one condition but I guess it's for our protection in the end, so if anything is contracted we don't spread it. Definitely do this bubble thing or maybe you're already doing it - either way it's great. 

Until next time 

Leo Roving Reporter

Column 292

Leo, Roving Reporter
Report from: My desk
Story filed: Box Brownies

Hi people, it's Leo here. Wow, it's the last week of the school term already. Is it just me or is this year going by quickly? I'm really excited for the school holidays, a time to just sit back and relax. On the weekend my mum and I bought two old box brownie cameras. They're super cool, a bit under the weather age-wise but they look like they might still work (I'm hoping that they do). One of them even came with a camera case. Now I can add them to my small but interesting collection of old cameras. Maybe in the holidays I can see if all my cameras still work, Sadly the film required for old film cameras is very expensive, so that's something that I'm going to have to save up for. The first camera is a bit worse for wear as it's a bit rusty, the lenses are dirty, the front covering is missing but we do have the back covering which has come off. but we can fix all that. The back covering says it was made in Rochester, New York. The second camere has that classic box brownie look and is in better condition then the first. It also came with a camera case with a leather strap. It's a Japanese made Kodak camera and it's really cool.

Until next time 

Leo Roving Reporter

column 291

Leo, Roving Reporter
Report from: My desk
Story filed: The Qin Dynasty

Hi people, it's Leo here. Not much has been happening at this end with the lockdown upon us, but even in lockdown we all have at least one thing to do. For me, it's my history project. The task is to create an artifact from Ancient China, and it's been a blast so far. I'm right in the middle of building my artifact.  I have chosen a soldier's helmet from the Qin Dynasty, as found in the mausoleum of Emperor Qin Shi Huangthe along with his terracotta army. Did you know that originally the terracotta army soldiers were brightly painted? But when they were being excavated and the paint came in contact with the air, the paint shriveled up and peeled off the statues in more than two seconds. 

That's one of the reasons why archaeologists haven't unearthed the rest of the terracotta figures, in fear of losing all the amazing paint on them. I'm not far from finishing my helmet and if I have time I will build the ancient Chinese warrior sword and try to include my replica Chinese copper coins also from the Qi Dynasty.

Fact: Ancient Chinese armor included protective garments made of overlapping leather or metal scales. Ancient Chinese soldiers used a great variety of weapons, including swords, daggers, spears, crossbows, and battleaxes.

Fun fact: my helmet and sword are made from cardboard

Until next time 

Leo Roving Reporter

Column 290

Leo, Roving Reporter
Report from: My desk
Story filed: Now what?

Hi people, Leo here. Today I am going to talk to you about life as I know it. Well, as you probably know we all are now in a state-wide lock down. So, lots of indoor time I guess along with online schooling and working from home. There are certainly ups and downs to all of this and to list just a few downs we will be seeing a lot less of our family and friends and going out and about. People that have been in lockdown for some time now must really be missing their people. We are lucky to be going into lock down just now because some people have been in lockdown for months. But back to the ups and downs, some ups can be more alone-time, more finally-I-can-finish-that project-I've-been-wanting-to-do time, and some people like working from home or doing their school work in the comfort of their own place. My classmates and I have been sent home for about a week but things might change. We will all know soon enough. This photo is from Michael's Cats on Twitter. Says it all.

Until next time 

Leo Roving Reporter