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It was my Grandson’s third birthday and a special outing was required.
The choices were attractive. Anfield to see Liverpool vs. Arsenal, Cheltenham Racecourse to have a flutter and see if Mon Mome could reproduce his Grand National triumph or, er, A Day Out with Thomas at Didcot Railway Centre. Dilemma? No!
Thomas, naturally, was the clear choice.
My guests were to be two experts on the subject of Thomas the Tank Engine and Friends. Oliver, the three year-old and my son Alfie, six years old. Strangely enough, on the Island of Sodor, Oliver is a 0-4-2 Tank Engine and Alfie is “a really useful Excavator” whose motto is “More help means more dirt; more dirt means more fun.” Not that different from real life then.
I have visited Didcot Railway Centre many times over the past few years and every visit has been interesting and fun. Their unique collection is of Great Western Railway steam engines, coaches, wagons, buildings and small relics, all based around the original 1930’s engine shed. In addition there is the exciting interactive Science, Learning & Railways Exhibition, a reasonably priced café and a modest gift shop. I love it.
In addition to the Steam days, when the locomotives pull and push coaches up and down the branch lines which are very exciting for both the children and the grown ups, Thomas occasionally makes an appearance. At such a time, there is an exponential growth in excitement and attendance. This is hardly surprising since, according to that august and reliable journal The Sun, over 100 million Thomas books have been sold worldwide putting the Oxford educated Revd. W. Awdry on a par with J.R.R. Tolkein and J.K.Rowling! Oh, and since you ask, the “W” stands for Wilbert.
Literally hundreds of children were ahead of us, but as usual with the DRC, the day had been meticulously planned by the staff and we had all been allotted a time to arrive. The excitement on the boys faces when they saw the familiar visage of Thomas was palpable. Somehow in real life this short stumpy tank engine managed to convey the cheekiness that comes across in the books and on screen. To have the opportunity, in addition to seeing Thomas, to travel in a carriage pulled by him - what on earth could be better than this?
Well, there was a surprise in store for the boys. The support act was Father Christmas! To six and three year olds, this was a bit like paying to see Thom Yorke and his Abingdon mates and finding Mick Jagger as a surprise guest vocalist. They had the best of days.
In addition to the rides behind ‘Thomas’ and 'Duck' there were lots of other entertainments for the children including magic shows, Punch & Judy shows, circus workshops, balloon model makers, colouring competitions and ‘spot the character’ competitions. Each child received a gift from Father Christmas and also a souvenir Junior Engineer's certificate signed by Sir Topham Hatt himself!
It was all done to perfection. That is, everything in the management’s control. We did have a couple of inches of “rather cloudy” to contend with and some delays on the main line to Oxford, but everything else was such fun it didn’t matter. The Fat Controller, who was supervising Thomas’s visit, was surprisingly svelte in his adiposity and he was convivial for all. He made me laugh anyway.
Oh, and for the record, Arsenal beat Liverpool 2-1 and Mon Mome came third at 20-1.
For details about Didcot Steam Days and A Day Out With Thomas™ check out the website below.
Reviewed by Victor Glynn |
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