"The question is, are we happy to suppose that our grandchildren may never be able to see an elephant except in a picture book?" - Sir David Attenborough
This week's CST session focused on the animal kingdom. This was because Wednesday 4th October was 'World Animal Day'.
We began with introductions and asked members to say what their favourite animal is, which they have seen or would most like to see, which impresses them the most and so on.
IDIOMS
We asked members to complete the following phrases ...
- A bird in the hand is worth - TWO IN THE BUSH
- Ants in your - PANTS
- The birds and the - BEES
- Cat's got your - TONGUE
- Chicken - OUT
- Clam - UP
- Copy - CAT
- Dropping like - FLIES
- Eager - BEAVER
- Fishy - BUSINESS
- Hold your - HORSES
- Get the lion's - SHARE
- In the dog - HOUSE
- Kill tow birds with - ONE STONE
- Let the cat out of - THE BAG
- A little bird - TOLD ME
- Nest - EGG
- Pig - OUT
- Put the cat amongst - THE PIGEONS
- Rat - RACE
- Red - HERRING
- See no - EVIL, Hear no - EVIL, Speak - NO EVIL (THREE WISE MONKEYS)
- Straight from the - HORSE'S MOUTH
- Take the bull by - THE HORNS
- Until the cows - COME HOME
- While the cat's away - THE MICE WILL PLAY
'The quick brown fox jumps over the - LAZY DOG?' - IT CONTAINS ALL THE LETTERS OF THE ALPHABET
NATIONAL ANIMALS
We asked members to think about which animals are synonymous with particular countries, i.e. regarded as National Animals.
- Australia - RED KANGAROO
- Canada - NORTH AMERICAN BEAVER
- China - GIANT PANDA
- France - COCKEREL
- India - ROYAL BENGAL TIGER, KING COBRA
- Japan - KOI CARP
- Mauritius - DODO (extinct)
- Mexico - GOLDEN EAGLE
- Nepal - COW
- New Zealand - KIWI
- Russia - EUROPEAN BROWN BEAR
- Scotland - SHETLAND PONY
- South Africa - SPRINGBOK
- Thailand - ELEPHANT
- United Arab Emirates - PEREGRINE FALCON
- United Kingdom - BRITISH BULLDOG, LION
- United States - BALD EAGLE, AMERICAN BISON
- Wales - RED KITE, RED DRAGON :-)
MUSIC & PICTURE QUIZ
We then moved on to our Music & Picture Quiz ...
ROUND 1. Record breakers
1. The world's largest animal is what?
Who wrote 'Moby Dick' in 1851?
2. The world's tallest land animal is what?
How tall does a male one grow?
(They are HERBIVORES - Their long necks allow them to reach leaves, seeds, fruits, buds and branches high up in mimosa and acacia trees. They get most of their moisture from the vegetation they eat.)
3. The world's tallest dog, 'Zeus', was which breed?
How tall was he?
4. The smelliest animal in the world is what?
How far can it spray?
(Does anyone remember 'Pepe Le Pew'?)
5. What is the largest domesticated cat?
How many years have humans lived with cats?
6. What is the longest living land animal in the world?
What was the name of Charles Darwin's ship which sailed to these islands in 1835?
7. The world's biggest land animal is what?
How heavy does it get?
(African ones have larger ears; Indian ones have smaller ears.)
8. SONG. 'Nellie The Elephant', Mandy Miller - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jIuvhz4SfCE
Show the following video clip - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P66mUNV3rKY
Which children's TV show was this on?
ROUND 2. Danger
9. The most deadliest animal in the world is what? (Aside from Humans!)
What disease do they pass on?
10. The most poisonous animal in the world is what?
(They are NOT found in the UK, though 'Portuguese Man O' War' are sighted in UK waters, with increasing regularity.)
11. The biggest land predator is what?
Which hemisphere are they found in?
12. The only venomous snake in the UK is what?
(They rarely fatally bite humans, but are a frequent killer of dogs.)
Who banished snakes from Ireland, according to legend?
13. Alligators can live up to how many years?
Complete the phrase, "See you later alligator...
14. True or false. The colour red angers a bull?
What is the name of a Spanish bullfighter?
15. True or false. You are more likely to be killed by a popping champagne cork than a poisonous spider?
A fear of spiders is called what?
16. True or false. Hippos can run faster than humans?
The TV sitcom character who imagined his mother in law as a hippopotamus was who?
17. According to the old adage, how many feet are you from a rat at any one time?
Which actor was famous for saying "You dirty rat!"?
18. 'Ben', Michael Jackson - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TvGEZ4S_SuY
What was the name of his chimp?
ROUND 3. Speed
19. The slowest swimming fish in the world is what?
True or false. They can change gender?
20. Which bird can run faster than a horse?
How fast can it run?
21. The fastest animal in the world is what?
How fast can it run?
(Tarzan had a monkey named after this animal.)
(Ask members if anyone can do the 'Tarzan yell'?)
22. The slowest animal in the world is what?
How fast can it move?
What are the 'Seven Deadly Sins'?
23. Hummingbirds beat their wings how many times a second?
Why are they care called 'Hummingbirds'?
24. How many times per second can a Woodpecker peck?
Can members make the 'Woody Woodpecker' call?
25. How fast can a kangaroo move?
What species are they?
26. 'I Am The Walrus', The Beatles - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-tiPR7SCb2I
How old would John Lennon have been this week?
ROUND 4. Wierd and wonderful
27. What is the only mammal which can fly?
What horror character is associated with this creature?
28. Name this creature, which is a mammal that lays eggs?
29. Name this fish, which is amphibious (can survive in and out of water)?
30. How far can a mole tunnel in one night?
Which group had a hit with 'I Am A Mole And I Live In A Hole'?
31. Name this creature, which can change colour to camouflage itself?
Which group had a hit with 'Karma, Karma .........'?)
32. True or false. A cockroach can survive a nuclear war?
33. What do you call the transformation from caterpillar to butterfly?
Name some UK butterflies?
34. What makes a flamingo pink?
35. What do koala bears eat exclusively?
36. What do pandas eat exclusively?
37. Chimp and human DNA is different by what percentage?
38. The oldest living human ever was how old?
39. Which animals are the longest surviving on earth, i.e. they have been around for millions of years?
How many millions?
40. How many millions of years ago were dinosaurs made extinct?
Which dinosaur is this?
41. SONG. 'House Of The Rising Sun', The Animals - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Fy7opKu46c
Which Bible story has animals saved from floods in twos?
ROUND 5. TV & Film
42. Who is this? He has a new series on TV starting this week?
What TV series was this, first broadcast in 1979?
43. Name the TV series and the vet?
44. Name the film and actor?
45. Name the TV show?
46. SONG. 'Bright Eyes', Art Garfunkel - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cGyQmH9NZcw
Who wrote the book?
47. SONG. 'Albatross', Fleetwood Mac - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QooCN5JbOkU
What is the wingspan of an Albatross?
47. SONG. 'I Know An Old Lady', Burl Ives - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mZnLxqUyFK8&t=59s
How many creatures were named in the song?
ANSWERS
1. Blue Whale
Herman Melville
2. Giraffe
A male can grow to 18 feet tall
3. Great Dane
7 feet 4 inches when standing on hind legs
4. Skunk
10 feet
5. Maine Coon
7,000 years
6. Galapagos Tortoise - 177 years old
'HMS Beagle'
7. African Elephant
7 tons
8. 'Blue Peter'
9. Mosquito
Malaria
10. Box Jellyfish
11. Polar Bear
Northern
12. Adder
Saint Patrick
13. 100
... In a while Crocodile."
14. False
Matador
15. True
Arachnophobia
16. True
Reginald Perrin
17. 6 feet
Jimmy Cagney
18. 'Bubbles'
19. Seahorse
False. The male carries the eggs to maturity, rather than the female. They DO NOT change gender.
20. Ostrich
45 mph
21. Cheetah
61 mph
22. Three Toed Sloth
0.15 mph
Pride, Greed, Wrath, Envy, Lust, Gluttony & Sloth
23. Hummingbird
60-80 times a second
Hence the wings flap so fast they hum!
24. 20 times a second
25. 35 mph
Marsupial
26. 80
27. Bat
Bram Stoker's 'Dracula'
28. Duck Billed Platypus
29. Mudskipper
30. 300 ft
'The Southlanders'
31. Chameleon
'Culture Club'
32. True. They were found living within 1,000 metres of the Hiroshima blast
33. Metamorphosis
Red Admiral, Peacock, Common Blue, Painted Lady, Cabbage White
34. Shrimp
35. Eucalyptus
36. Bamboo
37. 1.2%
38. 122 years
39. Bees
30-40 million
40. 65 million
Tyrannosaurus Rex
41. Noah's Ark
42. David Attenborough
'Life On Earth'
43. 'All Creatures Great And Small'
James Herriott
44. 'Dr Doolittle'
Rex Harrison
45. 'Animal Magic'
46. Richard Adams
47. 12 feet
48. Eight
ACTIVITY
There are plenty of outline animal images on the web to print off for adult colouring. Or there are a couple of apps that I would highly recommend. They are a bit fiddly, in so much as trying to find smaller areas of colour. But there are help tools to assist.
Try out COLORFY - It is more of a 'freehand' colouring book, with people choosing colours to paint on images as they see fit. https://apps.apple.com/us/app/colorfy-coloring-art-game/id1009442510
HAPPY COLOR - Is more of a classic 'painting by numbers' coloring book. Possibly could be described as less detailed than the following two ... https://x-flow.app/
COLOR BY NUMBER ADULT COLORING - Great pictures. A little more like a proper oil painting. https://apps.apple.com/us/app/color-by-number-adult-coloring/id1330926273
Finally, OIL PAINTING: COLOR BY NUMBER (Apple Store only) - Has the most photographic quality/lifelike images. But it is the most 'fiddly' out of all of them. https://apps.apple.com/us/app/oil-painting-color-by-number/id1439776386
Just also to comment, these apps are a great option for members and carers to use at home, together or alone. I find them a relaxing past-time, especially linked with listening to 'Classic FM', or similar.
REQUEST
As usual, I would be so grateful for feedback as to what works best and what doesn't work so well. Feedback helps keep me motivated to keep the Blog going and know it is of some value to people out there.
Please also share the word to build our membership and maximise the benefits.
Thanks
Si O'Donovan
