0:00:23 > 0:00:25This story belongs to Leon
0:00:25 > 0:00:26and his gogo, Thabby.
0:00:28 > 0:00:29Gogo means grandmother
0:00:29 > 0:00:30in parts of Africa,
0:00:30 > 0:00:31which is where
0:00:31 > 0:00:32Gogo Thabby was born.
0:00:35 > 0:00:38It's a tiny tale about how children, just like you,
0:00:38 > 0:00:41lived in the olden days, over 300 years ago.
0:00:44 > 0:00:47They're looking for pebbles on the beach.
0:00:47 > 0:00:49- Oh, there's another one.- Good.
0:01:02 > 0:01:04Do you want to play a game, Leon?
0:01:04 > 0:01:06- Yes.- I'm going to show you a game
0:01:06 > 0:01:11that is played in Africa called oware.
0:01:11 > 0:01:12First, they dig some holes.
0:01:14 > 0:01:17Then they use pebbles as play pieces.
0:01:17 > 0:01:19This game can be played on the sand
0:01:19 > 0:01:22or on special carved boards like this.
0:01:22 > 0:01:26Oware was first played by families in West Africa a very long time ago.
0:01:27 > 0:01:29People had different rules for playing it,
0:01:29 > 0:01:31but they had great fun together.
0:01:31 > 0:01:36- One...- Two, three, four.- Four.
0:01:36 > 0:01:38And it still looks fun today.
0:01:40 > 0:01:43- Did you enjoy the game? - Yes, I loved it.
0:01:43 > 0:01:47We can play it next time we come to the beach.
0:01:47 > 0:01:52I know a story of a little boy who came from West Africa,
0:01:52 > 0:01:56who lived in Scotland a long, long time ago.
0:01:56 > 0:01:58His name was Scipio.
0:01:58 > 0:02:02Scipio worked here at this castle as a servant.
0:02:02 > 0:02:05Would you like to find out more about Scipio, Leon?
0:02:05 > 0:02:08- Yes, please!- OK, let's go!
0:02:11 > 0:02:15Leon and Gogo Thabby are going on a journey of discovery.
0:02:15 > 0:02:18Together, they are going to find out what life was like
0:02:18 > 0:02:20over 300 years ago.
0:02:21 > 0:02:24This is Culzean Castle.
0:02:24 > 0:02:26It's been rebuilt and made bigger over the years,
0:02:26 > 0:02:29so it would have looked different when Scipio worked there.
0:02:29 > 0:02:35Leon and Gogo Thabby look very grand, don't they?
0:02:35 > 0:02:38What do you think of your costume, Leon?
0:02:38 > 0:02:42- I like my hat and my waistcoat. - That is great.
0:02:42 > 0:02:47This is the kind of clothing that Scipio would have had to wear
0:02:47 > 0:02:51when he first came to this castle as a servant.
0:02:51 > 0:02:58Scipio worked as a lady's page for a woman called Lady Jean.
0:02:58 > 0:03:03And Lady Jean would wear something like this.
0:03:03 > 0:03:06That was the fashion in the olden days.
0:03:07 > 0:03:09Scipio worked hard every day,
0:03:09 > 0:03:12doing lots of different jobs for Lady Jean.
0:03:12 > 0:03:15He rang a little bell to let the other servants know
0:03:15 > 0:03:17that Lady Jean was on her way.
0:03:18 > 0:03:21Wealthy people often dressed their servants in fancy clothes
0:03:21 > 0:03:24to show how rich and important they were.
0:03:34 > 0:03:37In Britain, some of these people became rich
0:03:37 > 0:03:41by making other people work for them as slaves.
0:03:41 > 0:03:44The slaves were not paid and had no freedom.
0:03:44 > 0:03:48They were bought and sold by masters, who owned them.
0:03:48 > 0:03:49Isn't that horrible?
0:03:49 > 0:03:54In Scipio's time, many people were taken from Africa as slaves.
0:03:54 > 0:03:58Some of them were children. Scipio was one of those children.
0:04:11 > 0:04:17Leon, would you find Africa on this globe?
0:04:18 > 0:04:23- There.- That's great. That is Africa.
0:04:23 > 0:04:26Which members of our family come from Africa?
0:04:26 > 0:04:28You and my mum.
0:04:28 > 0:04:31Well done. Do you know which country we come from?
0:04:33 > 0:04:36- Zimbabwe.- Yes, it is.
0:04:36 > 0:04:38There is Zimbabwe.
0:04:40 > 0:04:45Now, Scipio came from West Africa.
0:04:45 > 0:04:48The whole area was called Guinea.
0:04:51 > 0:04:54Guinea was a big and powerful place at the time,
0:04:54 > 0:04:57with many great cities, towns and villages.
0:04:57 > 0:04:59Buildings often had walls made with wet mud.
0:04:59 > 0:05:03It would dry hard as stone in the hot African sun.
0:05:03 > 0:05:06Many buildings are still made like this today.
0:05:06 > 0:05:13We don't know if Scipio lived in a big city or a small village,
0:05:13 > 0:05:18but he must have lived with sisters, brothers, cousins
0:05:18 > 0:05:20and a big family.
0:05:23 > 0:05:26Scipio must've been so sad to leave his big family.
0:05:28 > 0:05:32In Guinea, Scipio would have spent a lot of time in the hot sun
0:05:32 > 0:05:34doing jobs to help his big family.
0:05:34 > 0:05:37Like the children in this modern film.
0:05:37 > 0:05:38He might have fetched water
0:05:38 > 0:05:40or helped look after animals like goats,
0:05:40 > 0:05:42which were kept for their meat and milk.
0:05:44 > 0:05:48Women and children would pound a hard grain called millet.
0:05:48 > 0:05:51This breaks it up so it can be cooked and eaten,
0:05:51 > 0:05:53often as a type of porridge.
0:05:53 > 0:05:57In Guinea, Scipio would have heard this sound every day
0:05:57 > 0:05:58from a very young age.
0:06:05 > 0:06:08And he would have heard another sound too.
0:06:12 > 0:06:15These musicians are playing a kind of African music
0:06:15 > 0:06:18that Scipio would have heard in Guinea as a young boy.
0:06:18 > 0:06:20This is a djembe drum.
0:06:22 > 0:06:24People in West Africa have been playing djembe drums
0:06:24 > 0:06:26for over 800 years.
0:06:26 > 0:06:28- BOTH:- Yay!
0:06:36 > 0:06:39Leon is using another instrument called a shaker.
0:06:39 > 0:06:41What a wonderful sound.
0:06:48 > 0:06:50But when Scipio was taken to Scotland...
0:06:52 > 0:06:54HARPSICHORD PLAYS
0:06:54 > 0:06:57..he would have heard classical music, like this.
0:06:58 > 0:07:01What do you think of this music, Leon?
0:07:01 > 0:07:05It's different to the African music we heard.
0:07:05 > 0:07:08It reminds me of kings and queens.
0:07:08 > 0:07:11Many, many things were different now for Scipio.
0:07:11 > 0:07:15When he was made a slave, he had to learn to speak English,
0:07:15 > 0:07:18instead of the African language he would have spoken with his family.
0:07:23 > 0:07:25And he had to get used to a new name too.
0:07:26 > 0:07:30Scipio wasn't his original family name.
0:07:30 > 0:07:32When he lived in Guinea,
0:07:32 > 0:07:37he would have had an African name given to him by his family.
0:07:37 > 0:07:43But slaves were not allowed to keep their own African names.
0:07:43 > 0:07:44When he came here,
0:07:44 > 0:07:48he would have had to be given
0:07:48 > 0:07:51a slave name by his owner.
0:07:51 > 0:07:55I wouldn't have liked it if I had to change my name.
0:07:55 > 0:07:57It must've been very strange for Scipio,
0:07:57 > 0:08:01having a new name and having to speak a whole new language.
0:08:01 > 0:08:04But he was really good at learning new things.
0:08:04 > 0:08:08This is some of Scipio's handwriting.
0:08:08 > 0:08:09The writing is very curly.
0:08:11 > 0:08:15Scipio must've been very clever to read and write.
0:08:15 > 0:08:18Old-fashioned writing does look quite curly and squiggly,
0:08:18 > 0:08:20but most ordinary people in Britain
0:08:20 > 0:08:22couldn't read or write in those days.
0:08:22 > 0:08:27So Scipio must've had to work really hard to learn these skills.
0:08:27 > 0:08:29Well done.
0:08:41 > 0:08:44Scipio had to learn to do lots of different jobs in the castle.
0:08:46 > 0:08:49Gogo Thabby is going to pretend to be Lady Jean,
0:08:49 > 0:08:52and Leon is going to serve her pretend tea.
0:08:53 > 0:08:56I would like a cup of tea.
0:08:56 > 0:08:58Taking tea became very popular at the time
0:08:58 > 0:09:00when Scipio was working here.
0:09:00 > 0:09:03It was fashionable to serve tea in your very best room.
0:09:03 > 0:09:05A pageboy, like Scipio,
0:09:05 > 0:09:07would have had to have been very careful
0:09:07 > 0:09:11not to drop the precious china or spill the hot tea.
0:09:11 > 0:09:13Oh, the teapot is very heavy.
0:09:15 > 0:09:17I would like sugar in my tea.
0:09:17 > 0:09:20Sugar became popular at this time too.
0:09:21 > 0:09:24Sugar cane was grown on huge farms called sugar plantations
0:09:24 > 0:09:26in the Americas and the Caribbean.
0:09:27 > 0:09:29Many of the slaves taken from Africa
0:09:29 > 0:09:32were made to work on these sugar plantations.
0:09:32 > 0:09:35They were treated very badly by their owners,
0:09:35 > 0:09:39who got rich by selling the sugar to people in other parts of the world.
0:09:55 > 0:09:59A walled garden was built at Culzean Castle when Scipio lived there.
0:09:59 > 0:10:02The head gardener Ian is going to show Leon and Gogo Thabby
0:10:02 > 0:10:04some of the vegetables that were grown
0:10:04 > 0:10:06in the castle garden at the time.
0:10:08 > 0:10:10Can you guess what this vegetable is, Leon?
0:10:10 > 0:10:12- A carrot.- Well done.
0:10:12 > 0:10:14And what about this one?
0:10:14 > 0:10:16Erm, onion.
0:10:16 > 0:10:19Yes! Very well done.
0:10:19 > 0:10:22Scipio may not have seen or tasted some of these vegetables before.
0:10:23 > 0:10:25Back in Guinea, Scipio would have eaten
0:10:25 > 0:10:27different fruit and vegetables.
0:10:27 > 0:10:29Like these.
0:10:29 > 0:10:31These look different to these ones.
0:10:31 > 0:10:34Scipio would have eaten these.
0:10:34 > 0:10:37These are plantains.
0:10:37 > 0:10:40And this is my favourite - cassava.
0:10:40 > 0:10:44And these are black-eyed peas.
0:10:46 > 0:10:49Leon and Gogo Thabby are picking a type of pea
0:10:49 > 0:10:52which grows well in Scotland.
0:10:52 > 0:10:53Green peas.
0:10:58 > 0:11:02When he grew up, Scipio became a cook at the castle,
0:11:02 > 0:11:03which was a very important job.
0:11:05 > 0:11:07Scipio learned how to make all sorts of fancy dishes
0:11:07 > 0:11:11for Lady Jean and her husband Sir John.
0:11:11 > 0:11:14Do you think Scipio would have enjoyed tasting fresh things
0:11:14 > 0:11:16- from this garden?- Yes.
0:11:16 > 0:11:20It's very different to his food in Africa.
0:11:40 > 0:11:45Scipio would have looked over the sea all those years ago.
0:11:45 > 0:11:49Do you think he would have missed his family?
0:11:49 > 0:11:51Yes, he would.
0:11:51 > 0:11:57When Scipio grew up, he made a new family for himself here in Scotland.
0:11:57 > 0:11:59He married a lady called Margaret.
0:11:59 > 0:12:03And they had eight children of their own.
0:12:03 > 0:12:05Scipio and his family lived in a cottage
0:12:05 > 0:12:06on the grounds of the castle.
0:12:07 > 0:12:10By this time, he wasn't a slave any more.
0:12:10 > 0:12:12He earned his own money from his big job at the castle,
0:12:12 > 0:12:15and started his own business too.
0:12:15 > 0:12:18So, by learning and working hard as a boy,
0:12:18 > 0:12:21Scipio managed to make a good life for himself in Scotland
0:12:21 > 0:12:24when he grew up. Just like many other Africans
0:12:24 > 0:12:27who came to Britain across the sea all those years ago.
0:12:40 > 0:12:42Did you have a nice time, Leon?
0:12:42 > 0:12:45- Yes, Gogo.- It's been interesting finding out what happened
0:12:45 > 0:12:49a long, long time ago. Can you remember some of the things we did?
0:12:50 > 0:12:53What drink did Leon serve to Gogo Thabby?
0:12:53 > 0:12:55A cup of tea or a milkshake?
0:12:56 > 0:12:58It was a lovely cup of tea.
0:12:59 > 0:13:02What did they pick in the walled garden?
0:13:02 > 0:13:04Peas or noses?
0:13:06 > 0:13:09They picked fresh peas. Thank goodness!
0:13:11 > 0:13:13What did you enjoy most, Leon?
0:13:13 > 0:13:16- The African band.- Yes, it was good.
0:13:17 > 0:13:23- What did you enjoy the most? - I liked you making tea for me.
0:13:23 > 0:13:27But most of all, I like spending time with you.
0:13:32 > 0:13:34What a journey of discovery!
0:13:34 > 0:13:38That was Leon and Gogo Thabby's tiny tale about Scipio,
0:13:38 > 0:13:42who worked in a Scottish castle over 300 years ago.
0:13:42 > 0:13:45Now Gogo Thabby has shared this story with Leon,
0:13:45 > 0:13:48it's time for Leon to start his very own story.
0:13:48 > 0:13:50Do you know someone with a story to share?