The world is locked down due to the coronavirus pandemic. And while all of us are getting restless, imagine how much more restive and fidgety the kids would be getting due to the quarantine.
To bring some much needed joy to these kids under lockdown in Britain, Andrew Baldock, a martial arts teacher for children in England, has come up with a very innovative and unique idea.
He and his friend Jason Baird dress up as the superhero Spider Man, utilizing their one hour of allotted exercise time per day stipulated by the government of the United Kingdom to wear their costumes and run across the streets. They wave to the hordes of children locked into their houses because of the pandemic, bringing much happiness and excitement to them.
Baldock has already been doing this for a week now, visiting neighbourhoods in the city of Stockport in England.
“I’ve had [the Spider-Man costume] for ages because I used to work in retail. I used to work in computer games so when games were released I would always go in dressed up so I have been various characters throughout the years from Batman to Darth Vader,” said Baldock.
The friends have become so popular that there is now a Facebook page called ‘Stockport Spider Men’ in their names. The page already has over 3,000 members, many of whom have been putting in requests for the men to visit their neighbourhoods.
The children also put up posters across their windows with messages of ‘Spiderman, Stop Here!’ to ensure that they get a good look at their superheroes.
“It’s fantastic. Absolutely fantastic,” said Baldock. “It makes it worthwhile. You get a little bit hot, a little bit sweaty in it. You’re running around and you’ve got a mask but you don’t even think about how uncomfortable you might be in it because you go around and you just see these families and they are just happy. It is what we need. Right now it is what we need. Definitely warms your heart.”
But, it is not just children that have taken a fancy to the Spider Men. Quite a few adults are also enjoying being paid a visit by these two.
And, being the inspirational superhero that they are, the Spider Men follow the government protocols around the coronavirus and maintain social distancing.
Isn’t this a remarkable and heartwarming way of bringing in smiles to the faces of community members in this time of distress?
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