Spanner Squad Project Newsletter #4: Spanner Squad Locations
Greetings to our Spanner Squad Followers!
For those of you who have wondered out loud … “What do you need from me?” Well, here is where the rubber hits the road! Keep on reading and see how a testimonial from you may contribute to taking The Spanner Squad to the next level!
In the last newsletter I promised some example stories that are candidates for our first development efforts. I decided to send you the proposed locations of the stories first, to give better context to the stories.
Therefore, to keep the newsletter to a manageable size, the next newsletter (soon, I promise!) will have the seven or eight stories we have fleshed out so far.
Latest Project News
In the time since the last newsletter was sent, a number of positive things have happened with the Spanner Squad project.
Firstly, we now have an aboriginal cultural liaison person who has agreed to join the project. Cameron Leon is a Kalkadoon/Kalkatungu man from Mt Isa in western Queensland. He is involved in cultural education in Mt Isa and also medical care for aboriginal people with chronic disease.
We have also commissioned artwork from Juliet De Valter, a Kalkadoon woman who lives in Townsville. Juliet has agreed to paint the gecko story. The gecko itself will be duplicated in The Spanner Squad as Simon’s tattoo. This tattoo and the Kalkadoon/Kalkatungu story behind it is a strong part of Simon’s personality and is a source of pride for him and his sister Keely.
Juliet may also provide some sketches for artwork to decorate the ‘Share House’, a Spanner Squad location. If you are interested, Juliet’s website is https://www.juliet-devalter-art.com/
These steps are key to us proceeding with any government-based funding application for further development of The Spanner Squad here in Australia. If a project seeks to have indigenous aspects to it, we are obliged to have a cultural liaison person embedded in the project. Now that Cameron is providing his cultural knowledge to the project, we have decided that we will progress immediately with our funding application with Screen Queensland.
What We Need from You!
Another requirement for an ’early-stage’ funding application is that we need to demonstrate evidence of market interest.
How will we do that? You!
Having an Advisory Board comprised of 45 women from around the world is a fantastic asset for any project. We think it will also represent ‘market interest’.
So, a task for all our wonderful Advisory Board members (that’s you!) … could you please send us a short testimonial, or a comment, which can provide evidence of market interest for our funding application.
An example may be:
When I first heard about the Spanner Squad project, I knew that it would be a fun, and interesting way to attract more young girls to aviation technical careers!
Or perhaps:
I think the idea of The Spanner Squad is a good one, that is why I am interested in contributing my ideas and opinions. I can see girls around the world being drawn to the stories and the colourful action of the airport. And who doesn’t love a mischievous cat??
I won’t insult you by suggesting any more syrupy words. But, if you agree, you are most welcome to write your own version of a short testimonial and send it to us at denis.manson@tenhammers.com.
It would be preferable if you put your name and perhaps your job title and country of location. But, as a minimum, please just sign your testimonial with your country of location.
Feedback
In the same vein, we thrive on your feedback, so keep it coming!
Thank you to everyone who has contributed feedback on the project so far. As members of the Advisory Board, this is the most valuable thing you can give us, your opinion on what you think is interesting, and what needs rethinking.
Some comments recently:
I’m loving the developments on the characters so far! So cool that they’re inspired by real life people.
Keen to be involved in anyway I can
I am very committed to your approach that the Spanner Squad represent normalizing the positive.
The characters are great, I really enjoyed diving into their stories and genuinely curious to get to know them. Fantastic!
Thank you so much for allowing me the opportunity to be a part of this project for the next generation.
To assist with feedback, these newsletters are now posted to the website www.spannersquad.com as blog posts, so everyone has the ability to post comments against each post (scroll down to the bottom of each post).
Spanner Squad Locations
Airport Locations
- Hangar
- Airport Passenger Terminal
- Golf Club
- Beach
- Share House
- Hue’s family corner shop
- Fishing spot
1. Hangar
The hangar is where most of the action takes place. It is a large aircraft maintenance facility with taildocking facilities and plenty of ground support equipment. At the back of the hangar is a workshop where Noriko has her office. Upstairs at the back of the hangar are offices which have windows overlooking the hangar. Bossman and CEO offices are in that area. The hangar doors face south-east, so there are often panoramas of morning sun streaming into the hangar. Close to the hangar there is grassland where birds and other animals can be seen, especially in the morning and evening. Sometimes foxes and rabbits at night.
2. Airport Passenger Terminal
Passenger terminal with parking bays, gates, aerobridges etc. Some of the action takes place here.
3. Golf Club
Golf club is the closest place for socialising after work. It is not often used for stories or action, but it is referred to in discussion. It is also the place to go for birthday parties.
4. Beach
This is a small beach on the bay, but is within the airport perimeter, so closed to the public. There are picnic tables and a barbecue. Airport staff can go there to eat lunch, lie in the sun etc. Swimming is not encouraged but people do it anyway. Pilots can see the beach from the cockpit when they land, or when taxiing past.
5. Share House
Share house in a suburb adjacent to the airport. With minimal traffic, it takes 7 minutes to drive from the staff car park to the share house. Simon’s sister Keely is the leaseholder of the share house. She is strict but, as an international flight attendant, she is often away. The share house becomes very well known for parties and for friends to have an emergency place to sleep. Tenants in the share house are Keely, Simon, two other cabin crew, and Hooligan the kelpie dog. Simon often needs to get home to feed Hooligan, and he claims a loose ownership of the dog, although the dog really belongs to the household. Leo sleeps at the share house sometimes. He sleeps there for 2 weeks when he first starts work at the maintenance hangar. The house has a large backyard for barbecues and a washing line. Hooligan sometimes digs under the fence and wanders down to Hue’s family shop, where they also treat him like family.
6. Hue’s Family Shop
Hue’s family shop. Hue’s family is Vietnamese. Hue does not live at the sharehouse, but lives upstairs at her family’s shop, so she often visits the sharehouse. Sometimes Hue works in the family shop.
7. Fishing Spot
This is a place at the end of a runway, in the bay, where Noriko and Catwa go fishing some evenings. Usually they go there on Noriko’s bicycle, around the airport perimeter road. Noriko’s bicycle has its own ADS-B and can be seen on Flight Radar apps and the tower etc. The airport staff all know Noriko and sometimes give her a lift, putting the bicycle in the back of their ute. Pilots sometimes see Noriko bicycling down the perimeter road adjacent to the runway. The fishing spot is a great area for Noriko to reminisce about her grandfather. She sometimes swims there while Catwa wanders down the rocks to bother the crabs. There is a long narrow jetty, where the runway lights stretch out into the bay. Shot from under the water looking up at the sunshine and an aircraft landing overhead.
Other Locations
Kalkadoon Country (Simon and Keely’s home town)
- Mt Isa airport
- Local cultural sites
- Simon and Keely’s parents house
- Cousin’s house
Japan
- Noriko’s fantasy/dream world
- Real life Japan
Other
- Leo’s family home
- Trent’s apartment
- Helsinki airport (to show Paivi’s story about winter on the tarmac)