Next weekend Ruth happily becomes Granny as she visits grandson Nicholas in London. Well, Nicholas, Rebekah and Isaac, but guess who has become star of the show?
She will take along gifts of course, including a Thomas the Tank Engine book and one of the latest engines. If you aren't in the young kid loop -- we certainly weren't until Nicholas -- you might not be aware that this is a passion bordering on a frenzy for many little ones. Nicholas turned two at the end of January but he can name every star in the Thomas constellation without hesitation and at lightning speed.
Ruth was curious enough to do some research and discovered that Thomas isn't just a recent fad. He's had staying power, invented by the Rev Wilbert Vere Awdry (June 1911 – 21 March 1997) a British Anglican cleric, railway enthusiast and children's author. Thomas the Tank Engine is the central figure in his acclaimed Railway Series.
The characters that would make Awdry famous and the first stories featuring them were invented in 1943 to amuse his son Christopher during a bout of measles. After Awdry wrote The Three Railway Engines, he built Christopher a model of Edward, and some wagons and coaches, out of a broomstick and scraps of wood.[Christopher also wanted a model of Gordon; however, as that was too difficult Awdry made a model of a little 0-6-0 tank engine. Awdry said: "The natural name was Thomas – Thomas the Tank Engine". Then Christopher requested stories about Thomas and these duly followed and were published in the famous book Thomas the Tank Engine, released in 1946.
I suppose that it is fitting that the son, grandson, and great-grandson of clergy loves Thomas and the gang. And you never really know where or how the clergy types are being creative in the world!
Comments?
Thomas has been around for years. My son who is 28 this year loved Thomas when he was young. We still have all the trains, books, puzzles,videos, Dvds, clothes,etc. It was hard to find Thomas stuff back then in Canada, but having grandparents in England made it easy to get stuff from there. Every year we went over we would get a bag full of Thomas stuff. It has been interesting to watch how Thomas has changed over the years. Names have changed etc. " The Fat Controller" became "Sir Top and Hat" My nephew who is 6 is a big Thomas fan. Have fun with Thomas!
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