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Although Tony Barratt may have been one of the main authors of SEAN's TEE materials, many will be interested to know that Tony's wife, Peggy, has now written a book, Humming Bird Nest, published May 2003, which will be of considerable interest to those who'd like to know more about the Barratt family, not least for its look behind the scenes of early SEAN.
Peggy Barratt, mother of five, lived with her husband Tony for thirty years in South America. These were the days of revolutions and dictatorships, guerrilla bombs and government purges – and the dictatorships of Stroessner in Paraguay, the Military in Argentina and Pinochet in Chile. For years, scarcely a day went by without news of revolutionary murders and the repressive counter measures of people disappearing in the night. In spite of this, they did their best to serve the people with their educational, medical and spiritual work in some of the lesser-known corners of the continent.
Tony, a contemporary of James Herriot (Alf Wight) of ‘All Creatures Great and Small’, started his career in the veterinary profession. This proved to be invaluable in passing on elementary aspects of animal health to the Mapuche Indians in Chile.
From Paraguay, their family musical group, ‘The Humming Birds’ (‘Los Picaflores’), toured the UK, USA and Canada. The Paraguayan harps and acoustic guitars attracted large crowds in such places as St. Paul's Cathedral, Coventry Cathedral, and major concert halls. The press began to call them the new Von Trapp family (‘The Sound of Music’). They had television appearances, locally and nationally, including twenty sets for ‘Stars on Sunday’ with an estimated audience of nine million each time.
Perhaps their most rewarding experience came in Argentina where Tony and his team were able to develop a new kind of self-instructional teaching material that has since been translated into many different languages and countries around the world, lifting tens of thousands of academically deprived people to new heights of achievement.
Through all this, their children were involved in each new
phase of their work. There is nothing like living among the ordinary people
of another country to acquire a real insight into their mind-set and culture
– especially if your children go to the local schools and pick up all the
gossip!
As author, Peggy has made her account light-hearted, despite the tough life
and almost non-existent resources, especially in the beginning. Certainly, for
a mother of five, her story is one of wonderful preservation ‘through many
dangers, toils and snares’!
Humming Bird Nest is a 256-page 195x128 commercially produced paperback selling at £6.99 sterling plus p&p (£3.00 in the UK, £5.00 outside the UK) and available from SEAN UK. Please make cheques payable to SEAN UK amd order from SEAN UK, Weycroft Hall, Axminster, Devon (UK) EX13 7LL. Substantial discounts are available for bulk purchases (in units of 56) – please email admin@sean.uk.net (or phone 0[+44]1297 630104) for details.
And there's good reason for SEAN users to buy this book, as profits will go towards helping poor countries buy or print SEAN courses. Why not buy two, and pass one on to a friend, especially if they're not familiar with TEE? This book might make them think twice! And, of course, it will make an ideal present for any number of friends.
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