Gordon ... and James

OK, as you may have seen yesterday I said that my rules for this year were a photo each day and less of kids and landscapes. Sounds easy enough, and I am off work this week as well. But then my three year old boy didn't want to go out, light was fading (I love natural light and rarely use flash) and he wanted to play with his trains. And ... he wanted Daddy to play with the trains as well.

So ... I compromised. We played trains, and eventually I cajoled him into allowing me to get both of these subanthropomorphised trains into the engine shed to take the picture!

In case you don't know - the blue engine on the left is Gordon. He is a big blue tender engine and was the second engine to appear in The Railway Series written by Rev.W.Awdry. He is train number 4, painted blue with red stripes. Gordon has always viewed himself as the most important engine, mostly because of his size and strength, and that his main task is to pull the Express.

The cheeky wee one of the right is James, a tender engine who also featured in The Railway Series. James is engine number 5, coloured red with gold stripes & dome, and is a mixed-traffic engine, which means he can pull both coaches and trucks. While James is one of "the big engines" (a trio with Gordon and Henry), he is certainly the most junior member of this clique.

Lewis loved James, until he got Gordon for Christmas from Father Christmas. James now feels a little neglected...