Glamping Apple Tree House

# No matter if you're young or old

# With good friends you'll never be alone

# Shining light on our joyful world

# Ain't nothing going to beat that place

# We call home

# First days, new days

# All the very best days

# New things to discover

# New people to meet

# Fun days always

# Playing with your friend days

# Life is for the living down at Apple Tree House. #

Arrr! Arrr!

Raarrr!

I'm Pirate Mali.

This is my pirate cave full of treasure.

And mine's Apple Tree Castle.

There'll be no pirates in MY tent!

And I'm Princess Bella and I am glamping.

You're what?

-Glamping.

-What is that?

Glamping is posh camping.

It's a mixture of the two words glamour and camping.

-It's probably what the royal family do.

-I like the sound of that.

Ah!

Princes and princesses, kings, queens don't just camp -

they like to enjoy nature with a bit of luxury, don't you know?

I think they even put red carpets down on the mud

to make it feel like home.

-MUM:

-Bella, Bella, it's time to come home now!

Right, everyone, Bella's needed at home, it's getting late,

so time to get packed up.

Aw, but play tents are so much fun.

-IN POSH VOICE:

-Yes, it was frightfully delightful.

Ooh, maybe we can do this tomorrow.

Well, I'm sure we can.

IN POSH VOICE: but do we have to talk like that?!

-TV:

-'As the weather turns colder in the region, there is concern

'for children facing the winter months

'with nothing more than a tent for protection.

'With numbers growing, aid agencies are making calls for donations.'

-Oh, look.

-'..blankets and clothes to distribute to families in camps.'

Aw, were those children playing camping?

Well, not camping exactly.

But they are living in tents.

How do you mean? Do they live in tents all the time?

Not ALL the time, no.

-They've lost their homes.

-Lost, why?

-Because...

-Sometimes people and families have to move away

from their homes because of bad weather or flooding,

because of earthquakes, and sometimes it's safer to move away

if people are fighting.

-That's not fair.

-No, it's not.

Why are they on the television?

Well, so that people know they've lost their homes and can help.

A news reporter was talking about the need for help -

people and charities lending a hand by sending clothes and blankets.

That's really sad.

We've got a nice home AND lots of clothes AND blankets.

-We should help.

-That's very kind and thoughtful but I'm not sure

me and your mum can make a lot of difference.

Hmm. Then we should think of something!

Arrr! Princess Bella, where are you?

Are you coming to the pirate cave?

-No.

-Come on, camping is fun.

No, not always.

Bella, are you OK?

No, not really.

Oh.

Last night, I saw some children camping,

but Mum and Dad said they weren't doing it for fun.

They looked sad.

They should go glamping and make tent castles

and pretend to be kings and queens and THEN they'll be happy.

Hmm... No, it's not safe for them to stay in their real homes

and now it's getting cold.

They need, um, clothes, blankets and tents to stay warm.

Bella, was this on the TV?

-Yeah.

-We should send our tents.

-But it's MY tent.

I don't think our play tents - not even my saggy old gazebo -

-would be of much use.

-But we need to help.

How?

Well, my dad said he didn't think we could make much of a difference.

Well, he could be right but, you know,

even the tiniest drops of water can shape the biggest stones.

It just takes persistence.

-Persistence? What does that mean?

-Let me put it like this -

even the smallest things can make a big difference.

What's the serious face about?

We were talking about the people living in tents

-that Bella saw on the news.

-Ah, I just read about that.

It's very sad.

How can we get them warm clothes and blankets for winter?

Grandma, can you help us get solving?

Well, I remember near our old flat,

there was a clothes bank next to the garages.

I go to the bank with my dad to pay in my pocket money,

but we never take clothes.

GRANDMA CHUCKLES

No, a clothes bank is a bit different.

It's like a big container with a big letterbox on the front.

It's a place where all the neighbours can donate clothing.

You open up the big letterbox on the front

and place inside all the things you can't use any more.

Then, a charity empties the container

and makes sure those clothes and things can be used by other people.

Brilliant!

But I've not seen anything like that

since we arrived at Apple Tree House, have we?

No.

A clothes bank?

Now, that can make a big difference.

-Just like those tiny drops of water.

-Can we go play now?

We can, but how about thinking

-about where we might find a clothes bank first?

-OK.

Deal.

Sorry to have kept you waiting but Bella came to see me in my office

and we've just had a very exciting conversation.

-About?

-About a clothing collection for her class.

-Oh, really?

-I thought it was such a good idea,

and Bella even convinced me to make it a whole-school project -

our very own school clothes bank collection.

Well done, Bella!

I think your class, all the children,

are going to be very excited.

A whole-school project!

Wow! Well done, Bella.

I'm really proud of you.

But how did you manage to convince the head?

Well, I was like a drip of rainwater.

Drip, drip, drop.

KNOCK AT DOOR Oh, come in.

-Hi, Kobi.

-Hey!

Hi. Bella has a surprise.

I spoke to Mrs Barratt about the camping children,

and how we need to help by collecting warm clothes.

And guess what! It's going to be a school project.

A proper clothing collection for the whole school, no less.

Wow!

Well, I'll tell YOU something.

I've got a surprise.

And it's just outside.

Ta-da!

Wow, it looks like you've BOTH been determined to find a way to help.

-What's that?

-It looks suspiciously like a clothes bank!

Correct!

And we should use it for the big clothing collection we're going

-to do at school.

-What a wonderful coming together of two plans.

Come on. It looks like we need to think about our own donation.

But, Gran, I like this one. Do I HAVE to give it away?

You haven't worn it since you were little.

-But I really like it.

-You know you'll never wear it.

-But look.

-We can't hang on to everything,

otherwise we'll have nothing to give away.

-Hello!

-Hello, Kobi.

How are you?

Right. HE CHUCKLES

Wow, these are amazing.

These are some old shirts made from...kente.

-Kente?

-Kente starts as silk and cotton

and is woven into a special fabric. It's an African fabric, from Ghana.

The cloth originally came from the Ashanti Kingdom

and was worn by kings and queens.

Over time, the fabric was adopted by people all over West Africa.

I brought these shirts back from Ghana and now it's time for them

to find a new home, because they're all, well, a little bit snug now.

And there's no point them

sitting at the bottom of the cupboard, doing nothing.

Excellent. Thank you.

What do you think - will you donate these?

Sure, if it helps someone else.

-And this one.

-Well done, Mali.

Now all we need are clothes from the rest of the neighbours.

Yes!

JAUNTY MUSIC DROWNS OUT SPEECH

There you go.

These are lovely and warm.

Afghan patu blankets and pashmina shawls.

I've never felt anything so soft.

They're worn in the mountain regions where Mali's grandad lived,

where it gets cold at night, even in the summer.

-Wow!

-Did you know, pashmina means soft gold?

-Yeah!

-Football shirts?

This is my World Cup collection.

You've got Brazil, Italy, Cameroon, Germany, France and, of course,

-# England! #

-Are you sure?

Yeah. About time I helped make a difference.

Someone else can benefit from these now.

-Shall we take them down the clothes bank?

-Yeah!

-Put yours in here.

-Including your football shirts.

-I'll keep hold of these!

Our project today will be to write some goodwill gestures and draw some

-pictures...

-Yessss!

-..to go along with the clothes, but first,

I want to say how proud we are that our clothes collection

was a huge success.

Well done, everyone, for your support, and of course,

a special mention and a big congratulations to Bella

for her initiative and determined efforts.

GIGGLING

I hope those children keep warm this winter and return back home safely.

I hope the clothes make them feel remembered.

I thought Bella was brilliant.

She's a tiny thing, but she can make a BIG difference.

Like a drip of water on a rock.

-You're a good friend, Mali.

-And you're a great friend, Sam.