Tuesday 22 June 2010

A geographer in New York...

Back in Feburary, at half-term, it was far colder than it is now, and I was standing in a [very long] queue with a bunch of sixth form historians to go through super-sensitive metal detectors to get on a ferry to Ellis Island (woohoo - it must be named after you Miss!) and the Statue of Liberty. Partly, I was concerned about whether a certain student would be allowed through security with her very attractive leg splint and walking stick, but mostly I was hoping that the Battery Park Busker would not pick on me next... Luckily, he didn't - that leg splint and walking stick were far more interesting topics for the next song.

Several months later, I had some nice memories of the USA trip, and am hoping to go and visit again soon, but had forgotten all about the Battery Park Busker until I heard he'd been tracked down on YouTube and identified as Freddy Harrington. There are various videos of Freddy and his songs on YouTube, but I was particulary interested to find this one, in which he is interviewed, and he talks about the fact that he is a teacher, and about teaching his daughter about USA geography, and about our increasing connections with the rest of the world... If I go to New York again, and Freddy is there, I'll be sure to have a chat to him about some geography!

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