Martin Rapley brought his unusual collection of friends to meet Year 7 on Friday, the climax of Science Week. Catching up with him just as he was introducing them to Dave and Eric, two ENORMOUS cockroaches, was perhaps not my best judged entrance. I missed the hissing cockroaches, mercifully. However, 7J were absorbed in counting the legs of the huge African millipedes (280 in all, if you’re wondering). They enjoyed meeting all the insects, but Lucy, a Mexican red-knee tarantula, proved a particular favourite. (Did you know that a baby spider is called a spiderling, by the way?) Louisa and Alice had the excitement of holding waxworm treats for Colin the chameleon, whose impressive tongue shot out to grab them. As Martin explained, he’s been training Colin to feed from hands for about 3 weeks. Colin can turn black and white when he’s with a ‘lady’, showing off like crazy. Anna and Simi were hooked. “He’s really soft underneath,” they cried. I sense several additions to the Christmas wish-list. Thank you, Biology department.