For comments on Mr Beetle's Watery Adventure click here

Thank you for the exciting day That you shared with us as Mr. Beetle. Both staff and children from Reception to year 6 not only enjoyed your performances but gained a lot of scientific information about the beetle. It was a most enjoyable day.

Mrs. L. A. Stephenson, Binley Woods Primary School, Coventry

Thankyou for your contribution to Children's Weekend. I was impressed by the beetle costume & my colleagues tell me that the Wildman was excellent too. Your approach to educating children about creepy crawlies obviously went down very well with our visitors. Gabriela MacKinnon, Curator (Natural History), Birmingham Museum & Art Gallery.

Thank you so much for bringing the Green Man to Coventry's Heritage Open Days. Hope you enjoyed the day as much as the public seemed to enjoy your presence.

Hilary & Carly, Coventry & Warwickshire Promotions.

Thank you very much indeed for all your efforts & enthusiasm during the four sessions.You certainly had the children enthralled. The Katy story was absolutely terrific & very much enjoyed by my colleagues who were your 'secret' listeners in various nooks & crannies of the gallery....I hope that we shall be able to use your services in the future. Sue Christian, Museums Education Officer, Derby Museum & Art Gallery.

Thankyou very much for your transformation into Alexander Beetle at the Museum. I enjoyed the performance greatly & it went down a treat with the audience.

Debbie Newell, Museums Officer (Education & Events), Gloucester City Museum.

 

I am writing to thank you for the superb show that you put on for the children and parents on Monday 11th February over the school half term holiday. The public response was very good, and personally I found the event to be both educational and entertaining, and you definitely had the public captivated by your show and your presence. Clayton Shaw, Events Officer, Herbert Art Gallery & Museum, Coventry.

Thankyou so very much for all your help over the weekend, your versatility, your flexibility, your reliability, well for being you really. I had a great time working with you.

Angie Corbett, Leamington Peace Festival

 

Thankyou very much for all of your hard work with the Travelling Discovery Centre, which has been a great success for the Art Gallery & Museum. Your performances at the opening & on Saturday mornings were a great addition & attracted a lot of interest from visitors. I would particularly like to thank you for your time & effort at the opening event & for dealing with the television crew so well. Kate Brindley, Museums Assistant, Leamington Spa Art Gallery & Museum.

A magical & inspiring experience. It got the importance of trees across in a way which was easy to understand & held people's attention, especially children. Adults stayed to listen when they could have drifted off. Links the present to the past.

Gill Goddard, London Borough of Lewisham, Nature Conservation Section.

 

The Wild Man of the Woods was one of the highlights [of the Operation Hawk Country Playscheme] & provided an enjoyable & celebratory end to the week. I would thoroughly recommend the performance, it was inspiring, magical & fun for the children. The stories explained very clearly the conservation message, providing the right level of information for young people. Charlotte Deason-Barrow, Environmental Outreach Officer, London Borough of Waltham Forest.

Brilliant! Wild!

Dawn Eckhart, London Wildlife Trust.

 

You were able to communicate with all levels & were not bothered by their "non-communication" if they were unable to speak to you... The pupils who have language remembered a good deal of information & were engrossed in your performance. Jane Watts, Leyland Special School, Nuneaton.

Thank you for all your hard work & effort in February. Mr Beetle's Watery Adventure proved to be extremely popular & we had lots of positive feedback from both visitors & staff. I hope that you enjoyed it as much as we did.

Thanks again. Your enthusiasm was much appreciated. We look forward to working with you again soon.

Bobbi Searle, Education & Programmes Unit, The National Museum of Science & Industry.

 

He is an excellent communicator & has the ability to quickly establish a rapport with children of all ages & across the full spectrum of abilities. He has a passion for natural history which is complemented by his sound scientific & teaching backgrounds. This forms the basis of his skill in inspiring children to explore, interpret & enjoy natural objects. He will probably be best remembered at the Museum for his role as "Wild Man of the Woods". In this role Barry fostered links between the Museum & local community schools which have culminated in enchanting events involving music & storytelling. Margarita Petri, Discovery Centre Co-ordinator, The Natural History Museum, London.

Not only are you spectacular to look at but your stories are so interesting & really educate the children to care for living things.

Geraldine Arterton, Arts Liason Officer, Northampton Museums.

 

The storytelling with Barry Patterson was far more than its title implied: a mesmerising yet highly entertaining look into time & change, it drew from the young audience's own answers to Old Father Time's questions a commentary on the creative & destructive processes inherent in nature & in art. The viewing of Gustav Metzger's work & the link with biological & physical change made clear the connection between man's knowledge of science & creation of art. & it was great fun with plenty of jokes & lively participation from an audience with a wide age range. Visitor to the Museum of Modern Art, Oxford, writing to the British Association.

Barry Patterson - alias the Wildman of the Woods brings a whole new dimension to environmental education & increasing awareness of our natural world. From the moment of his dramatic entrance to final closing words, adults & children alike are held spellbound by his wonderful costume & enchanting tales. A natural storyteller with a gift for inspiring environmental awareness in all ages!

Izi Banton, Senior Ranger, Sherwood Forest Visitor Centre.

 

There is no doubt that you antics added an extra dimension to the event & contributed to the [Greener Living] Show's success by lending an atmosphere of fun & entertainment. Frances Robertson, Environmental Co-ordinator Stratford upon Avon Local Agenda 21.

The "Wildman of the Woods" is a wonderful way of communicating with children about the environment & ecology. The combination of music, story, activity & of course the wildman's spectacular appearance is memorable. I would happily recommend the "Wildman of the Woods".

Johanna Crossley, Assistant Keeper of Education, Warwick Museum.

 

Thank you very much for your excellent performance at St. Benedict's Primary School on Wednesday. The whole day, including the songs, tree dressing & environmental wishes was thoroughly enjoyed by all. Will Pride, Education Assistant, Warwickshire Wildlife Trust.

I wanted to write to you on behalf of everyone at the William Morris Gallery to say how impressed we were with your performance as "Wild Man". You looked & sounded incredible & the audience were obviously enthralled throughout the afternoon. Both Children & adults clearly found your mixture of "green" songs & stories entertaining as well as thought provoking. I particularly appreciated your flexibility regarding the change of performance space due to the unexpectedly large audience, & your "ad-libbing" abilities when we lead the group round the gallery at the end of the session.

Liz Woods, Assistant Keeper, William Morris Gallery.

 

Thank you for your fantastic performance at Cotter Force. The whole project has gone extremely well & especially with your input as the Wild man of the Woods. Everyone enjoyed the day, the kids, staff, parents, teachers, Millennium Commission & even the farmer who said: "He's rit good int he." Alison Quigley, Community Environment Officer, Yorkshire Dales Millennium Trust.

The magic & mystery of your show will remain vivid in the children's memories for a long time. The children learnt history, botany, science & folklore without realising it - a marvellous achievement. The combination of music, costume & drama was enchanting. For forty-five minutes we were taken back to a time when the forests were the homes & providers of food for everybody. Sheer bliss as the modern world receded away.

Martha Lambert, Young People's Services Librarian, London Borough of Waltham Forest.