Feathers in the Wind Read Online Free
Author: Sally Grindley
she grumbled. ‘Nobody goes there any more, anyway.’
Even she began to enthuse, though, as they played with robots, entered a lunar capsule, found out what it was like to work in a TV studio and saw how a satellite operated. At every new interactive station, Joe found himself revising what he wanted to be when he grew up. When they went upstairs to the Hall of Science, with its multitude of handles to turn, buttons to press, peepholes to look through and experiments to perform, he was determined that they would come back and spend a whole day in this amazing place.
Once outside again, at Aesha’s insistence they made their way to the musical dancing fountain. Joe’s jaw dropped when he saw it. This was nothing like he had imagined. Reading from the programme, Peter informed them that it was composed of 113 water jets with 2,073 nozzles. The pond area was massive and the water, which was lit by 935 coloured lights, spurted up as high as a ten-storey building. The water was choreographed to ‘dance’ to music and light and the whole thing was run by a computer.
‘Now do you see what’s so great about a musical dancing fountain?’ Peter asked Joe.
Joe nodded. He was completely dumbfounded. He took as many photographs as he could, but he knew that none of them could possibly do justice to what he was seeing in front of his eyes.
‘Mum would love this!’ Aesha cried. ‘It’s a-ma-zing! I wish I could swim in it.’
‘If you do, I won’t be the one to fish you out,’ chuckled Peter. ‘And don’t worry, we’ll most definitely come back. And now, to finish off a brilliant day for all of us, I think it’s time for one of those death-defying simulator rides, don’t you, Joe?’
Joe didn’t need to be asked twice. He raced ahead in the direction of a large bright-red metal capsule. A short wait later and they were seated inside it, listening to the noise of engines revving loudly. Joe found himself gripping the arms of the seat as they plunged into a volcano at breakneck speed through plumes of smoke and fire. He heard Aesha scream and the squeals of several younger children. It was all so realistic, it was difficult to believe they weren’t really surrounded by red-hot lava. Joe turned to his father for reassurance and saw that his father’s face was tense as well, which made him want to laugh.
When, after what seemed like hours, the trip was over, they staggered out of the capsule and made their way to where Ravi was waiting for them.
‘Have you had a good day?’ he asked.
‘Exhausting,’ Peter replied.
‘Brilliant!’ Joe and Aesha said.
‘I have one more thing to show you,’ their guide told them. ‘It’s on the way home.’
They settled back into the comfort of the Wolseley. Joe struggled to keep his eyes open, even though he was desperate not to miss any of the sights they were passing. He was drifting off to sleep when he felt someone tugging at his sleeve and realised that the car had stopped.
‘Look up in the tree,’ his father said.
Ravi had got out of the car and was pointing upward. ‘Vulture,’ he said proudly. ‘Always there.’
Joe leapt out of the car, clutching his camera, and stared up through the leaves. There was a large nest of sticks embedded in the fork between two branches and on it sat a vulture.
‘Wow!’ he exclaimed. ‘It’s so big!’
He aimed his camera and fired off several shots, just as a blast of warm air peppered him with dust.
‘That’s an occupational hazard,’ observed his father, who was taking his own photographs from the other side of the tree. ‘Rain, sun and wind can all wreak havoc in a photographer’s life.’
Joe pulled a face and played back the shots he had taken. In one of them, the vulture’s wing feathers were displaced by the breeze, making it look curiously misshapen.
‘ Feathers in the Wind ’ , Joe thought to himself. That’s what I’ll call that photo .
‘I still think they’re ugly,’ Aesha muttered, as
Even she began to enthuse, though, as they played with robots, entered a lunar capsule, found out what it was like to work in a TV studio and saw how a satellite operated. At every new interactive station, Joe found himself revising what he wanted to be when he grew up. When they went upstairs to the Hall of Science, with its multitude of handles to turn, buttons to press, peepholes to look through and experiments to perform, he was determined that they would come back and spend a whole day in this amazing place.
Once outside again, at Aesha’s insistence they made their way to the musical dancing fountain. Joe’s jaw dropped when he saw it. This was nothing like he had imagined. Reading from the programme, Peter informed them that it was composed of 113 water jets with 2,073 nozzles. The pond area was massive and the water, which was lit by 935 coloured lights, spurted up as high as a ten-storey building. The water was choreographed to ‘dance’ to music and light and the whole thing was run by a computer.
‘Now do you see what’s so great about a musical dancing fountain?’ Peter asked Joe.
Joe nodded. He was completely dumbfounded. He took as many photographs as he could, but he knew that none of them could possibly do justice to what he was seeing in front of his eyes.
‘Mum would love this!’ Aesha cried. ‘It’s a-ma-zing! I wish I could swim in it.’
‘If you do, I won’t be the one to fish you out,’ chuckled Peter. ‘And don’t worry, we’ll most definitely come back. And now, to finish off a brilliant day for all of us, I think it’s time for one of those death-defying simulator rides, don’t you, Joe?’
Joe didn’t need to be asked twice. He raced ahead in the direction of a large bright-red metal capsule. A short wait later and they were seated inside it, listening to the noise of engines revving loudly. Joe found himself gripping the arms of the seat as they plunged into a volcano at breakneck speed through plumes of smoke and fire. He heard Aesha scream and the squeals of several younger children. It was all so realistic, it was difficult to believe they weren’t really surrounded by red-hot lava. Joe turned to his father for reassurance and saw that his father’s face was tense as well, which made him want to laugh.
When, after what seemed like hours, the trip was over, they staggered out of the capsule and made their way to where Ravi was waiting for them.
‘Have you had a good day?’ he asked.
‘Exhausting,’ Peter replied.
‘Brilliant!’ Joe and Aesha said.
‘I have one more thing to show you,’ their guide told them. ‘It’s on the way home.’
They settled back into the comfort of the Wolseley. Joe struggled to keep his eyes open, even though he was desperate not to miss any of the sights they were passing. He was drifting off to sleep when he felt someone tugging at his sleeve and realised that the car had stopped.
‘Look up in the tree,’ his father said.
Ravi had got out of the car and was pointing upward. ‘Vulture,’ he said proudly. ‘Always there.’
Joe leapt out of the car, clutching his camera, and stared up through the leaves. There was a large nest of sticks embedded in the fork between two branches and on it sat a vulture.
‘Wow!’ he exclaimed. ‘It’s so big!’
He aimed his camera and fired off several shots, just as a blast of warm air peppered him with dust.
‘That’s an occupational hazard,’ observed his father, who was taking his own photographs from the other side of the tree. ‘Rain, sun and wind can all wreak havoc in a photographer’s life.’
Joe pulled a face and played back the shots he had taken. In one of them, the vulture’s wing feathers were displaced by the breeze, making it look curiously misshapen.
‘ Feathers in the Wind ’ , Joe thought to himself. That’s what I’ll call that photo .
‘I still think they’re ugly,’ Aesha muttered, as
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