Online Digital Content – Kirk Broon (scroll to the end for the world premier!)
In your blog you will be making a online piece of digital content for either: A UFO sighting (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9q7tN7MhQ4I), or a Unexpected fashion trend (https://www.vogue.co.uk/fashion/gallery/unexpected-celebrity-trends).
- Firstly decide on your platform, insta, TikTok, podcast, you tube etc.
- Secondly create two mind maps, one for the narrative expressing the story and events and one for the storytelling expressing the technique and style.
- Mind map creation tool: https://www.canva.com/design/DAGdVIn30EY/GJpb5NYiR-JWA2EYrh8tiQ/edit?referrer=mind-maps-landing-page
I decided to start by defining the difference between narrative and storytelling which after reading the dictionary (OED Online) and a few articles on Google, I would define as follows:
And so on to the task:
Task 1
•Create a digital content piece on any platform you like, using any medium you like with the content showing one of your journeys to ARU in the morning.
•How do you make this exciting, different, intriguing, mind bending, anarchic, mundane or informative.
•Add a link to this on your blog.
•In your blog explain in one paragraph why you created it, who your audience is and what platform and medium you used and why
I have never been accused of being fashionable and I have very little interest in fashion – at least as far as clothing is concerned. While my interest has grown in recent times, I don’t have enough of a handle on the subject to be able to create something interesting on the subject.
That left me with UFOs – or flying saucers as they were known in my day. I thought for a moment – I have enjoyed the podcast sessions in the Thinking Digital module and maybe this was another opportunity but as I have a podcast series to make following the interviews I conducted on that module, I decided to try something different – but I wasn’t too sure what.
As I often do in situations of puzzlement, I Googled a few things that might help me to alight on a project for this task. I entered UFOs and Edinburgh (my home city) and I was met with an amazing array of UFO stories …
… and it was fascinating to see that there had been so many UFO sightings in 2025. This led me to think that this would be my story. Edinburgh the UFO capital of Europe? Maybe. And then I began to think that this is not a journalism course and even if it was, these stories have already been told. It is about digital content CREATION! And so, I’m called to be creative.
Cycling back from ARU to the car, I passed Waterstones and there were a few children’s books on display in the window. It struck me that while I have never written a story for children (or indeed adults for that matter), maybe there was something in the UFO ‘genre’ – is it a genre, I don’t know – there was a story I could tell about Edinburgh, about UFOs that might turn into a bedtime story for kids. As a child, I always liked bedtime stories, I have a slight Audible addiction now and I definitely loved reading bedtime stories to my son when he was a child – more years ago than I’d like to admit.
So an idea was born. In this video, I tell the tale about how Kirk Broon arrived in my mind:
The cartoons in this video were created using Midjourney, with the following (slightly cheekly) prompt: May I have an image of a man, chubby but handsome, aged around 58 in an orange hi-viz tapping furiously at a key board with Google on the screen. He’s looking for some information. It should be cartoon-like
I decided that I would add all my research documents – including the stories of UFO sightings into a notebook on Notebook LM so that I could have easy access to the links and to interrogate the information when I needed to and I began to out line a story. As I was sitting half-watching TV, I tapped away on my phone. This is what I wrote:
In 2025 Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland, became the most important city in the world – or more precisely, the greatest place in the universe. This ancient, windy, place on the east coast was where alien life chose to visit earth.
Edinburgh was already famous on this planet – thousands, even millions, of people from every corner of the world visited each year. Some came to see the Castle sitting above the city on an extinct volcano, others came for the festival when singing, dancing and fun filled every hall with laughter spilling out onto cobbled streets. More recently, Edinburgh had become the place where everyone from the furthest tip of Africa to the most Northern point of the arctic came to welcome the new year. The last day of December 2024 was no different, every hotel was full, every restaurant booked, as darkness fell Princes Street Gardens filled with celebration and hope for a better year ahead. All across town, children were allowed to stay up quite a bit later than normal.
The fireworks from the castle rock were especially spectacular that night. This year they fizzed and cracked and banged louder and brighter than ever. Except: the fireworks weren’t fireworks at all – it was a squadron of drones that took to the air, climbing and diving, swooping and rising with the brightest colours ever seen in Scotland’s dark winter skies.
Kirk Broon stood at the very top of the famous castle, just underneath the blue and white flag of Scotland that fluttered furiously in the breeze as the drones swished and whizzed past, each taking their place in spectacular designs unimaginable just last year.
It was Kirk’s job to give the signal to the drones – some tiny and agile, others large and powerful – to take off. A few months earlier, they’d won a competition on the local Facebook page, Holyrood Hogmanay, to name the app that kicked off the whole magical display.
Predictably, many who’d commented had gone for Droney McDroneface. Kirk thought most of the suggestions sounded pretty rubbish. They had nothing to do with these brand new flying objects and Kirk knew a lot about flying objects – especially ones that no-one could identify. The youngster looked at UFOs with the sensible, thoughtful mind of one much, much older. His Grannie said she’d never known a child so logical.
As Kirk thought about a winning name for this new app, Grannie’s words sprung back to mind. Logical. UFO. Drone … it came in a flash as bright and sparkly as the finest rocket from last year’s final firework display, UFOlogical. And so on New Year’s Eve Kirk was standing at the very top of the most recognisable place in Scotland with the shiny new tablet he’d won along with the task of pressing the button on the UFOlogical app that would herald the end of one year and the beginning of the next. It was the most exciting thing ever … at least it was then.
Kirk smiled at the memory of the winning idea and looked out on the fireworks display that included not a single gram of gunpowder. Some of the colour had faded and Kirk realised that Edinburgh’s famous haar was descending on the Castle obscuring the view and dulling the vibrant colours.
In seconds it was so foggy that no-one could see more than a couple of metres ahead, the sky looked grey and the brightly coloured drones had become invisible.
I realised that there was a story that I could tell about Kirk Broon and I began to look at refining and improving my research. Currently, I’m on the fourth draft of the story and I think it is coming on nicely. It’s time now for me to leave this blog and start working on the story. I’ll end with a slight misquote for the 70s TV show Jackanory. “If you are sitting comfortably … then I’ll depart”.
Sources:
Here is a simple list of the sources provided:
- Daily Record: “‘UFO’ spotted in sky above Edinburgh leaving Scots teenager and pals stunned”
- Cairngorms Dark Sky Park: “10,000 Years of Scottish Star Gazing” (David Newland, 2020)
- Perranporth School: “Bedtime roleplay (large cushions, duvets, pillows, night-lights, cud”
- Edinburgh Live: “Edinburgh dad spots ‘reappearing strange UFO lights’ beaming over his home”
- Reddit (r/Scotland): “Edinburgh from the top of Blackford Hill, at 4am”
- Reach plc/Edinburgh Live: “Edinburgh woman spots UFO in night sky while ‘closing living room blinds’”
- Daily Record: “Historic Scottish village dubbed the ‘Falkirk Triangle’ is country’s UFO sighting capital”
- Police Scotland: “Incident Stats – UFO Sighting – Cumbernauld/ Airdrie – 31/10/2025”
- NUFORC: “UFO Sighting 186347”
- Book: “Patricia Monaghan Encyclopedia of Celtic Mythology and Folklore 2004”
- Edinburgh Live: “Remembering the West Lothian UFO encounter that had police and forensics stumped”
- Kiddle Encyclopedia: “Robert Taylor incident Facts for Kids”
- Summary Report: “The 2025 Edinburgh UFO Incident Reports”
- YouTube (The Hidden Underbelly 2.0): “UFOs Sighted Over Livingston In Scotland November 7, 2025”
- Edinburgh Live: “West Lothian man captures ‘mind-boggling pulsating UFOs’ over housing scheme”
- Edinburgh Live: “West Lothian man perplexed after spotting UFO hovering above town”
- Street Historians: “What is Haar? Edinburgh’s spring fog”
- Eventbrite: “scottish ufo & paranormal conference 2025”
Secondly create two mind maps, one for the narrative expressing the story and events and one for the storytelling expressing the technique and style. I tried to use Canva and Adobe for this but (as usual) I found the apps impossible to use. As a result I referred to my notes stored in Notebook LM and prepared the mind maps using prompts for Google Gemini as follows:
The Narrative Arc – Kirk Broon
Generated by Google Gemini using this prompt:
Mind Map Prompt 1: The Narrative Arc
Goal: Visualize the plot, characters, and chronological events of the Kirk Broon story.
Central Node: Kirk Broon and the Celestial Visitors (Hogmanay 2024/2025)
Branch 1: The Protagonist: Character: Kirk Broon, a schoolboy living in Edinburgh.
- Living Situation: Lives with his Grannie in a flat near the Meadows.
- Traits: Loves stars and UFOs; keeps a scrapbook of rocket ships.
- Personality: Described as “logical” regarding UFOs.
Branch 2: The Setup (New Year’s Eve 2024) - The Context: Edinburgh is a world-famous location for Hogmanay celebrations.
- The Change: The city replaces traditional fireworks with a new drone display.
- The Competition: A contest to name the app starting the display. Kirk wins with the entry “UFOlogical”.
- The Prize: A shiny tablet, a warm blue coat, and the honor of pressing the button on Edinburgh Castle.
Branch 3: The Inciting Incident - The Launch: Kirk presses the button; drones swarm up like “giant fireflies”.
- The Obstacle: The Haar (a cold sea mist) rolls in from the Forth, obscuring the view and silencing the city.
- The Anomaly: Kirk notices extra dots on his tablet screen that shouldn’t be there.
Branch 4: The Encounter - The Visitors: Silver, round, and triangular ships appear through the fog.
- Interaction: An orange beam of light reaches down to Kirk; it feels warm and friendly, not scary.
- The Problem: The aliens communicate via images/trembling shapes on the tablet; they are lost and confused by the drone lights.
Branch 5: The Climax (The Sky Dance) - Kirk’s Solution: He uses the app to rearrange the drones into a star map.
- The Formation: He creates An Sealgair Mòr (The Great Hunter/Orion) and Am Madadh Mòr (The Big Dog/Sirius).
- The Reaction: The UFOs recognize the map, change colors (pink, green, gold), and dance with the drones.
- Atmospheric Phenomenon: The “Merry Dancers” (Northern Lights) appear and join the display.
Branch 6: Resolution - Departure: At midnight bells, the ships merge into a brilliant sphere and ascend to the Sgrìob Chlann Uis (The Milky Way).
- The Message: A telepathic voice thanks Kirk for showing them the way home.
- The Aftermath (2025): Sightings continue throughout the year over the Pentland Hills and Leith.
- Theme: Kirk knows they return because Edinburgh is a safe place for “difference”.
The Storytelling Arc – Kirk Broon
Generated by Google Gemini using the following prompt:
Mind Map Prompt 2: Storytelling Technique & Style
Goal: Visualize the literary devices, cultural themes, and stylistic elements used to tell the story.
Central Node: Storytelling Anatomy of “Kirk Broon”
Branch 1: Genre & Tone
• Genre: Contemporary Bedtime Story / Urban Fantasy.
• Tone: Gentle, wondrous, and safe (emphasizing the aliens are friends, not invaders).
• Target Audience: Children (references to cocoa, stickers, schoolboy protagonist).
Branch 2: Cultural & Geographical Grounding
• Setting the Scene: Specific Edinburgh locations anchor the fantasy (Princes Street, Arthur’s Seat, Leith Docks, the Castle).
• Local Weather: The Haar is used as a plot device to isolate the protagonist and facilitate the magical encounter.
• Modernization: Transitions from traditional fireworks to modern drone technology.
Branch 3: Linguistic Elements (Gaelic & Scots)
• The Haar: Used to describe the sea fog specific to the east coast of Scotland.
• An Sealgair Mòr: Used for the constellation Orion (The Great Hunter).
• Am Madadh Mòr: Used for the star Sirius (The Big Dog).
• Sgrìob Chlann Uis: Used for the Milky Way.
• Merry Dancers / Na Fir-Chlis: Used for the Aurora Borealis.
Branch 4: Thematic Pillars
• Logic vs. Wonder: Kirk is defined by logic (“UFOlogical”), yet this logic allows him to solve a magical problem.
• Communication: The story focuses on non-verbal communication (lights, shapes, images on a tablet) rather than spoken language.
• Inclusivity: A core message that Edinburgh is a place where “strangeness could be safe” and “different is safe”.
• Connection: The bond between the terrestrial (Kirk/Earth) and the celestial (Aliens/Sky) symbolized by the beam of light.
Branch 5: Narrative Structure
• The Frame: The story begins with the sightings in 2025 before flashing back to the origin event on New Year’s Eve 2024.
• The Secret: The narrative relies on dramatic irony—the crowds think the UFOs are part of the show, but only Kirk knows the truth.
• Cyclical Ending: The story concludes by returning to New Year’s Eve a year later, reinforcing the lasting friendship.
Kirk Broon and the Visitors from the Sky
A Bedtime Story set in Edinburgh
If you prefer to read along, here is a PDF version followed by just the text:
Kirk Broon and the Visitors from the Sky v5 FINAL
A bedtime story set in Edinburgh
Page 1
All through the year 2025, people in Edinburgh looked up.
They saw lights that moved where the stars should stay still.
Round ones. Triangles. Bright silver streaks that slipped through the clouds.
“Drones!” folks said.
“Tricks of the light!” others whispered.
But some shook their heads and smiled.
“Maybe they’ve come to visit our city,” they murmured.
“Maybe they’re looking for Kirk Broon.”
Page 2
Before those visits ever began – on the last night of 2024 – a schoolboy named Kirk Broon stood proud on top of Edinburgh Castle.
Kirk knew almost everything about UFOs.
He kept a scrapbook full of sky stories, pictures, and stickers of rocket ships.
His Grannie said, “Yon lad’s head is in the heavens – and his feet somewhere on the roof!”
Page 3
When the city announced a competition to name the app that would start its new Hogmanay drone display, Kirk’s pencil flew.
He wrote just one word: UFOlogical.
“It means,” he explained, “I’m logical about UFOs!”
Kirk’s name was chosen.
He won a shiny tablet, a warm blue coat, and the great honour of pressing the button to begin the show.
Page 4
That New Year’s Eve, the city sparkled from Princess Street all the way to the Forth.
People counted down – voices bright as bells.
“Ten! Nine! Eight!…”
Up on the castle rock, below the flag of Scotland, Kirk pressed the glowing button.
Page 5
WHOOSH! went the drones – hundreds of tiny lights!
Blue and gold and ruby red, dancing and swirling like giant fireflies.
Down below, everyone cheered.
High above, the lights became patterns – hearts, thistles, stars.
But then the sea sent its breath ashore.
Page 6
The Haar came creeping.
A soft, wet fog rolled over the rooftops, swirling round the castle stones.
The city grew quiet.
The lights dimmed, then vanished.
Kirk peered at his tablet.
Every drone had a bright dot – but now there were extra dots.
Four… five… six dots that shouldn’t be there at all.
Page 7
Through the mist, something glowed.
A slow, silver shape slid across the sky – smooth as glass, round as a coin.
It hummed with a sound like sleepy bees.
Around its middle twinkled a ring of coloured lights.
From beneath, a warm orange beam reached down – straight towards Kirk.
Page 8
He didn’t run.
He knew what he saw.
A UFO, he whispered. A real one!
The orange light bathed him in a gentle glow.
It wasn’t cold.
It wasn’t scary.
It felt like someone saying hello.
Page 9
On his tablet, shapes trembled – strange diagrams of stars and arrows.
Kirk understood without words:
“They’re lost,” he breathed. “They don’t know where to go!”
He could help!
He tapped his screen, calling the drones back into the air.
Page 10
The drones shimmered through the fog, finding one another again.
Kirk moved his finger across the screen –
and the lights formed The Great Hunter, An Sealgair Mòr,
and beside him, Am Madadh Mòr, his faithful dog.
A glowing map across the sky.
Page 11
The UFO drifted closer.
Its lights changed – pink, green, golden.
It began to dance !
Round and round the drones it spun, tracing Orion’s bow, looping past the dog star.
Then another ship joined in.
And another.
Three shining visitors twirling over Edinburgh.
Page 12
Below, people clapped and sang, believing it all part of the show.
But Kirk Broon knew the truth:
tonight the earth and the stars were dancing together.
From far to the north came shimmering green ribbons – the Merry Dancers, the Northern Lights.
The UFOs weaved through them, painting the Haar with colour.
Page 13
The great clock struck twelve.
Bells rang across the city.
A voice filled Kirk’s mind – soft as wind in grass:
Thank you, Kirk Broon. You showed us home.
The three ships joined their beams into one brilliant ball of silver light,
and slowly soared upward, higher and higher, until they vanished among the stars of the Milky Way.
Page 14
The fog settled again.
The drones drifted back to their nests.
Kirk pressed “land,” and one by one they blinked goodnight.
He tucked the tablet under his arm and walked down the castle steps, smiling in the quiet.
Above him the stars seemed nearer than ever.
Page 15
All through the year 2025, when people glimpsed shining shapes in the Scottish sky, Kirk would smile.
“They came back,” he’d say softly.
“They know they have friends here.”
Because in Edinburgh, different is safe.
And friendship, even between worlds, lasts a long, long time.
Page 16
When New Year’s Eve came round again, Kirk sat by his window with cocoa and a biscuit.
He looked up through the mist. No ships tonight – just the friendly stars.
He set down his mug, yawned, and whispered:
“Sleep well, everyone up there.”
Outside, the Castle slept.
The city slept.
And soon Kirk Broon slept too, dreaming of lights that floated softly across the sky.
Goodnight, Kirk.
Goodnight, Edinburgh.
Goodnight to the friends who visit when we dream.
And finally …
Final task for the week: In your blog explain in one paragraph why you created it, who your audience is and what platform and medium you used and why
I am really enjoying creating content in this course – each of the modules – and, in particular ‘making things’ as I have never been good with my hands or practical so this work enables the inner creativity to escape. I decided that I did not want to do something serious – my knowledge isn’t sufficient to be scientific or serious about the ins and outs of either fashion or UFOs. I know significantly less about fashion than UFOs and so I chose the latter topic. And then I decided to stretch my creativity to see if i could create a piece of work that could do something and eventually decided on a UFO based bedtime story for children. Even when my own son was a child, though I enjoyed reading stories, I never created any despite the occasional urge to do so. The video at the start of this blog entry explains the creative process. Once created, I made the images using Midjourney and added both the story pages to PowerPoint where I also added a narration. Once complete, I uploaded the story to YouTube. I created the story partly to demonstrate to myself that it would be possible and also with young people in mind – I like to think I’m a storyteller and wanted something modern and involving modern technology – specifically tablets and drones that would be relatable to young people. I chose the YouTube medium because it is a good place to store and share a video.
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