Photo by Clarissa
Clarissa was beginning to get tired of sitting on her own and having nothing to do: once or twice she had peeped at her twitter account, but it had no mentions or direct messages in it, “and what is the use of a twitter account,” thought Clarissa, “without mentions or direct messages?”. Fortunately, she did not have to wait long before she was joined by a group of London occupational therapists.
‘OTs in London’ organisers (left to right): Clarissa, Rachel, Charlotte
The Wilton Arms pub was filled with bottles, with the words “DRINK ME” beautifully printed on them in small letters (or perhaps the words were “KNOW YOUR LIMITS”; the occupational therapists were too busy discussing conferences to notice). As the drinks were sponsored by London Region BAOT, the occupational therapists ventured to taste them, and finding them very nice, they very soon finished them off.
The occupational therapists marched off to Hyde Park; but alas! the gates were shut for a short time as the event had reached maximum capacity.
They were indeed an ordinary-looking party that assembled next to the wooden huts in The Wonderland. The first question of course was where to get food: they had a consultation about this, and after a few minutes it seemed quite natural to sample the German BBQ, located near the tall decorated tree (labelled “CHRISTMAS TREE”).
Photo by Clarissa
Their hunger dampened, the occupational therapists ventured on through the park, singing along to the music playing in the distance, and noticing that many others were doing the same.
The occupational therapists then bravely entered the Funhouse. The chief difficulty they faced was in navigating the maze of mirrors. There seemed to be no sort of chance of them ever getting out again. They then tried the effect of remaining on the left-hand side of the maze at all times. Suddenly they spread out their hands, made a snatch in the air, and exclaimed with relief, “we made it!”.
After shopping at various stalls and stopping for churros and hot chocolate, the occupational therapists happened across DJs Mikey Mike and Michael R. Leavy Jnr. The band caused a remarkable sensation among the party. Their soulful voices and humorous approach captivated the audience and the people in the Bavarian Village sang and danced to familiar 90s songs they had almost forgotten.
The occupational therapists began wrapping themselves up, remarking, “I really must be getting home: the night-air doesn’t suit my throat and I can no longer feel my feet!”. It sounded like an excellent plan, no doubt, and very neatly and simply arranged; the only difficulty was that they were enjoying themselves far too much to leave. Their resolve waning, the occupational therapists sang along enthusiastically, discovering just how well they remembered the lyrics. They danced with all their might in an effort to generate heat, and hoped for the Fresh Prince of Bel Air rap or a song by the Spice Girls.
Then, the band announced that they were taking a break. This seemed to the occupational therapists a good opportunity for making their escape: so they set off at once, and walked until they were quite tired, and till the upbeat music of The Wonderland sounded quite faint in the distance.
Thus grew the tale of Wonderland:
Thus slowly, one by one,
Its quaint events were hammered out –
And now the tale is done.
Please note: the majority of the above text is quoted or adapted from Lewis Carroll’s ‘Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland’
OTs in London 