Missing Patch The · The Missing Patch is a distance learning project by Global Grooves in association with The Vale and Cabasa Carnival Arts We need a new patch, quickly! Can you

by

Missing PatchThe

Unusual things happened at the spot where the mill once stood.

I’d seen strangely dressed figures riding snails in formation, and a dragon blackening the abandoned doors with its fiery breath. When I’d seen the Tyrannosaurus Rex chained to a stake I thought I was seeing things, but it had been the talk of the town for weeks. Everyone was too frightened to venture closer.

So I wasn’t really very surprised when I came through the tunnel on one of my daily walks to see a hot air balloon tethered to an old staircase. The balloon was half-inflated, sagging on one side as though it was harbouring a wound, but it still managed to block out the sunlight.

A pair of corduroy legs were folded over the side of the basket.

‘Darn!’ There was a man’s voice, muffled, but I could still tell he was rather cross.

‘Hello?’ I said. Perhaps I could help.

The legs sank down to the staircase. A jacketed torso appeared, followed by a face. He was wearing a hat.

He didn’t say hello back but grumbled and muttered, then peered back into the basket.

‘I don’t suppose you’ve seen it, have you?’

I could tell he was the kind of man that didn’t like to lose things and didn’t like other people to find them for him. But he had no other options.

‘The missing patch. The blooming thing, excuse my French, has disappeared.’

He rooted around in the basket.

‘Missing patch?’ I asked.

‘Yes, yes,’ he said, as if I should already know. ‘That’s the reason we’re here and not at Carnival.’

‘Carnival?’

‘Do you only talk in questions? Here,’ he flapped his free hand towards him. He pointed at a missing rectangle in the balloon’s skin. The air was escaping. The balloon wallowed like a sick bird.

‘Where did you lose it?’

‘Questions, questions! We don’t have time for questions! Can’t you just get me a new patch? Then I’ll be in Rio in no time!’

‘Okay,’ I said. ‘I’ve got some friends that can help.’

Can you help us with the missing patch?

The Missing Patch is a distance learning project by Global Grooves in association with The Vale and Cabasa Carnival Arts

We need a new patch, quickly! Can you help us?There are three ways you can get involved.

1. Request a batik patch kit We will send you a kit containing fabric, wax, dye and instructions

to make your very own batik patch. When you’re happy with your patch, you can send it back to us using the enclosed self-addressed envelope. We will be collating all finished patches and stitching them together to create a hot air balloon skin – or envelope, as they’re technically called – ready for Carnival.

The best way to request your pack is to fill in the form on themissingpatch.org or you can email [email protected] with your name and address. If that’s not possible, please give us a call on 0161 870 6895.

2. Scan us a picture of your own creation If you don’t fancy batiking but you do want to get involved, then

we’d love to see your own creations! Take a dinner plate and draw round it to make your patch (don’t worry, we accept all sizes!) and decorate your patch with whichever materials you like best. Crayons, pastels, paint, fabric, washi tape, diamante… the choice is yours! Scan or take a good picture of your creation and email it to [email protected] or upload it at themissingpatch.org

We will then print your design onto fabric, ready for assembly into the hot air balloon envelope.

3. Don’t fancy making something? Then no worries! We would like you to tell us what happens next

in the story. How does the strange man get hold of his missing patch? What happens to the characters in the story? Does the balloon make its way from Tameside to Rio in time for Carnival? What happens along the way?

Send your poems and stories to [email protected] and our artists will create a digital book about our hot air balloon and its journey to Carnival.

What are you waiting for? We need your missing patch – and quickly!