HENRY IS GREEN

It's time for an apology.

Yesterday, when talking about my inaugural trainspotting trip, I mentioned that I had almost shouted, "Oh, it's Gordon!" while the glimmering green 60163 Tornado steam engine rattled by. I was pleased that I hadn't blurted it out, as Chris (a real trainspotter) would probably have despised me for it. There's another reason too.

Had I thought about it (or had any small children myself) I would probably have realised that it's actually Henry who is green - green with red stripes in fact, while it was pompous old Gordon who was blue in the stories. I was wrong.

So, to all you Rev. W Awdry fans out there, I offer my sincere apologies for getting Gordon and Henry mixed up. It won't happen again.

How did he do it, the Rev. W Awdry? What did he tap into that has captured children's imaginations for all these decades? Is it the simple personification of engines as easily recognisable characters? Is it a little nostalgia trapped in a sort of post-war bubble? Is it the plucky little tank engine at the heart of the stories, who reflects childhood so well?

I don't know. Like all the best stories, there's some indefinable magic going on; you can't bottle it.

I actually think there's a lot to be said for the simplicity of the Reverend's writing as well - short sentences are so effective. It's almost as though the lack of detail leaves oceans of room for the reader, or the listener, to insert their own imagination. There are no comma-bound clauses, no lists or side-winding parentheses or rhythmic alliterations. The Reverend leaves all that to the likes of Hardy and Dickens. It's all about using simple, adequate, concise sentences that do the job. Short sentences eh?

I could do with learning that lesson.