« When in doubt...stay home. | Main | Can you keep a secret? »
December 03, 2005
Now it feels like Christmas!
The village of Haworth lies a few miles away, and is famous throughout the literary world for being the home of the Bronte sisters, (Wuthering Heights, Jane Eyre and Jaws) but all that pulp fiction in lace is all blah, blah, blah to a five year old. The real big deal about Haworth is that it is the true home of Thomas the Tank Engine!!!
So we show up to an unusually busy platform to find out that today was appointment only day as it was the day of the Santa Special, and we of course, were appointmentless. In true Christmas style we find out there is no room at the inn on this packed train of mirth.
Not to be bah humbugged out of the gig, I quickly coach Ursula in the fine art of heart string pulling, and armed with the dewy eyed and pouty bottom lipped little girl we melt station master into a puddle and get us onto the train...bingo.
What a time!!
The steam engine wheezes into the station, and we clatter off down the track. The train is full of kids singing jingle bells etc. then Scrooge comes through telling all the kids to be quiet and stop having fun and is greeted with a fusillade of boos and raspberries. Minutes later Santa and the elves come down the train giving wrapped presents to all the kids to be followed by more elves with mince pies and sherry for the grown ups. As if it couldn't get better, I find the bar carriage, notice that he has a bottle of Highland Park single malt, and in the true Christmas spirit buy one for myself and the barman, who then repays the courtesy by seeing off the last of the bottle between us. Instant karma.
As evening fell (3.30pm in these latitudes) we go into Haworth where we find morris dancers doing their thing at one end of the lane, a bagpipe band in the middle and a brass band at the top of the lane. It feels like we have entered some Christmas nirvana, and the atmosphere is cracking with the sort of vibe that all these wannabe Dickens Fayre events dream of... but this is the real thing!
I turn around to find Ursula has been given the jingle bells by the brass band conductor, and is working the crowd hard for more of the little angel routine. Big "ahhs" all round.
Then just as we get set to leave, because it just can't get any better than this, the band breaks into John Lennon's "Happy Christmas, War Is Over", and the whole lane breaks into song... and I bawl my eyes out.
"Happy Christmas John... happy Christmas Yoko."
Posted by Andrew at December 3, 2005 10:24 AM
Comments
Oh my god. You trip is amazing! I do hope you'll remember your old pals back in California and return some day. :)
Posted by: thedude at December 3, 2005 04:50 PM
These photos are great, Andrew! We want to be there in the cold holiday weather and get away from the 70's here in California. Love Ursala's boots! She didn't bring her ruby red's for this trip? :-)
Posted by: Kelly Pire at December 3, 2005 05:01 PM