Alumni News
FP Creates Humorous ‘Official Map of Lockdown’ Annalisa Morrocco, 58, is the daughter of famous painter Alberto Morrocco. During lockdown, she produced a humorous vision of a ‘Lockdown Island’, gently poking fun at the rigours of everyday life in the face of coronavirus. The Class of 1979 alum left the UK for a life in France approximately 30 years ago with her latest work allowing her to reconnect with her home. Upon moving abroad, Annalisa built a successful reputation as an Illustrator in the publishing and advertising industries. Her father lived and taught in Dundee for much of his life and is seen as one of Scotland’s most important 20th century artists. Her ‘Lockdown Island’ began as an assignment for the college class she teaches in Rennes, the capital of the French region of Brittany where Annalisa now resides. She loved the project so much that she felt she too had to get involved. The finished piece parodies stock piling, daily exercise, quarantine as well as the hunt for a vaccine. In an article with The Courier over the summer, Annalisa mentioned how she wanted to introduce a little bit of humour during such an uncertain time. Painting the map, she says, brought back memories of growing up and attending school in Dundee.
FP Joins Volunteer Community Helping in Aftermath of Australian Bushfires In August 2019, Class of 2016 Former Pupil, Benjamin Braid, decided to take a year out from his Sports Coaching degree to take up a coaching placement with BlueFit, a Leisure Facility Management Company in Sydney, Australia, moving between facilities in the New South Wales capital city and Newcastle. In addition to his coaching commitments, Benjamin also trained as a Swimming Instructor and gained a Lifeguard qualification. When Covid-19 necessitated a lockdown of all sports facilities, the work stopped abruptly. As a result, Benjamin found a voluntary position working with BlazeAid, an organisation coordinating the bushfire recovery program in Australia. Being from a farming background himself, helping communities to rebuild after natural disasters held much appeal for Benjamin. He was fortunate enough to move to a camp in Wingham, NSW, just prior to complete lockdown. Despite enforced Covid-19 restrictions, the BlazeAid Teams were still able to operate on the farm sites in the Bush. The Camp where they stayed however was locked down and they were not able to leave, with supplies instead being brought in. Each day they were driven to the site they were to work on, and in some cases, they could be on these sites for many weeks. The team’s main tasks included cleaning, maintaining and organising all the equipment. Onsite they cleared the ground, debris, and burnt fencing. It was very important to save what they could from the fencing to be reused as all resources were vital. New fencing and strainer posts were put in and strung with barbed wire with any surplus wire rolled up to be used again. Any burnt posts not suitable for re-use were set aside for firewood. The farmers were so very welcoming to the volunteers and made them feel at home. Benjamin was on one site for almost 6 weeks and the owners, Geoff and Marilyn Spence, wrote personally to the parents of each volunteer expressing their thanks and appreciation. Whilst at Wingham, Benjamin was also interviewed for the local newspaper, the Wingham Chronicle, and national radio about his involvement with BlazeAid.
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