A loud screech echoes in my ear as I step off the ferry at last- but I can't tell if it's seagulls or if it's Wendy.
"Gosh we're finally here!" She says loudly for the fifth time.
"I know- it's great," I reply. I jump as a creak is heard from the sky, but when I look up, I see a crane with...a face? It said 'Cranky' on the side of it. It certainly looked cranky.
Many other passengers swarmed off the ferry and immediately made their way towards a long line of coaches.
I step off. I look around curiously. I notice a red engine on the line ahead, with a yellow number '5' on its tender. I wonder if the engine has a name too.
Wendy grabs my arm impatiently and hauls me on board a coach excitedly. For someone who tried to persuade me Hawaii was a better option for holiday, she seems to be especially enthusiastic.
...
As we sit together on the train, we discuss what to do for the time we are on holiday. I have brought my camera with me, and I am looking forward to taking pictures of all the engines we encounter.
"So, what shall we do first?" Wendy asks me, having finally calmed down.
"You can choose first, Wendy- I made us both come here." I decide, in an attempt to be liberal, and hand her a brochure I picked up earlier about Sodor.
"Okay. Well, there's a beach by Tidmouth Hault- wanna go there?"
I shrug. "If that's what you want, Wendy."
...
We manage to get to Tidmouth by train, and are instantly dazzled by the line- it looks...amazing! It looks very efficient too, so we shouldn't have trouble.
I hope.
Thankfully, we embark on a train pulled by a green Great Western engine- though I am lacking in my knowledge of locomotive models, so I wasn't sure what model he was. But it didn't matter- the holiday was off to a great start!
When we arrive at Tidmouth Hault, I decide to at least get a picture of the locomotive, so I tell Wendy to go on- I'll catch up- and then I weave myself through the increasingly knotting crowd of holidaymakers and tan- addicts.
"Excuse me!" I call, running over to the front of the train at long last. The engine stares at me, puzzled.
"What are you doing at this end of the train?" He asks me, in a noticeable West Country voice.
"I just wanted to know if you minded having your photo taken." I ask, holding out my prized camera sheepishly.
'This is ridiculous- I can't possibly be having a conversation with a GWR engine! This is absurd! And even worse, I'm asking for his photograph! What kind of fool am I?'I wonder.
Surprisingly, the engine gave me his permission. "I don't mind- take as many as you like." He tells me, with a big grin.
Relieved, I deftly hold my camera to my eyes and snap a couple of pictures of the tank engine. "So, do you have a name?" I ask, to which he snorts in indignation.
"Of course I have a name! Every engine here has a name!" He retorts, loftily. "Just ask any steamie or diesel you find here on this Island!"
"Well, would you care to indulge my curiosity as to what yours might be?" I ask, coldly.
"Oliver," He answers. "And there's no need for that tone." He adds.
"Fine...Oliver." I reply, sourly, but then I decide I am getting nowhere. "Well, thank you for taking us down the line, sugar." I tell him, to which I suddenly blush. 'Where did that come from? Oh wait- my grandma says nicknames like that all the time!'
Abashed, I suddenly decide to look for Wendy, when...
"Is everything all right, Mr Oliver? We need to be going soon!" A voice calls from the back of the train. It was a nasal voice, and it sounded concerned, plus a little worried.
"Hang on to your brake lamp; I'll be ready in a minute Toad." He says in annoyance, before looking at me. "That was Toad- my brakevan." He explains, sheepishly. "He's a bit of a fusspot about being late sometimes."
However, I feel puzzled by what Oliver has said. He doesn't need a brakevan- he has two auto coaches, both of which are fitted with brakes. I address it to my GWR companion- but he just laughs.
"Oh, I know I don't need a brakevan! I just left him by accident. I had a goods train this morning but the coupling holding Toad to my last truck snapped. I was just rescuing him."
"I see." I tell him. "Well I better scram."
So I say goodbye and thank you, and then I dash to join Wendy to have some time on the beach.