Orkney pupils bid farewell to class goldfish at ‘Viking longship burial’
TWO goldfish have been given a flaming Viking burial boat send off by Orkney primary schoolchildren.
Primary 3 and 4 pupils at Papdale School in Kirkwall gave Bubbles and Freddie a traditional Norse ceremony to start their journey to Valhalla.
The fish became class pets for Christmas but both died recently. The children, who had been studying the Vikings, wrote down their memories of the fish and read them aloud before the boat set sail.
The school blog revealed they “decided to send our fish to Valhalla with a Viking style burial in a longship we made that day”. Both fish were pushed out to Valhalla in longships that the kids made out of cereal boxes and egg cartons in small groups.
class also wrote and read out memoirs in tribute to their fish friends.
The boats were then set alight in a traditional Norse ceremony as they floated across the stream – though one ship almost capsized as it burned.
Teacher Mrs Corey Eddington said she surprised the class with the goldfish as a Christmas present – but they died last month.
She said: “The pupils loved the fish and thought they were so fun. They took turns cleaning the water. They believed the fish had their own little personalities too. Freddie was greedy and fat – he would always get to the food pellets first. Bubbles was shy. She would hide in the plants. We were gutted the day they died. It was a really sombre day.”
Mrs Eddington said it was one of the pupils who came up with the idea to give the fish a Viking send-off.
She added: “They asked if we could all ride in a big boat behind them – but I think that was a bit ambitious.
“Now when we ask what Valhalla is, the pupils say ‘That’s where Freddie and Bubbles are.’”