Nelson 'n' Deck and Friends
How the Adventures Began
by
Book Cover & Preview Text
When they arrived at the station, Grandpa Humph gave each child a special blue ticket - called an Oyster card, which can be used for travel in and around London on different types of transport. One by one, they pressed their cards onto round yellow sensors, to make the metal gates open so they could walk through to get to the trains. They carefully stepped onto some moving stairs, called an escalator, which led down to the platform where they would wait for the train. They each stood on the right-hand side of a step and held on tightly to the black rail as the escalator moved downwards. When it got to the bottom, they carefully jumped off. Along the platform was a very long yellow line, which they had to stand well behind so they didn't get hurt when the trains entered the station. Today, they were going to travel along the Piccadilly Line, which is coloured dark blue on the London Underground map, and head southwards to get to Grandpa Humph's work in Covent Garden. It wasn't long before a train, which looked like a big long tube, arrived. "Mind the gap! Mind the gap!" boomed out over the loudspeaker. The children held Grandpa Humph's hands tightly as they waited for the doors to slide open so they could step onto the train -- making sure they avoided the gap between the platform and the train. Once aboard the train, the children sat down, and the doors slid shut behind them. Within a minute, the train whooshed away into a dark tunnel as it headed towards the next train station. They had only five station stops along the way before they got to their destination: Covent Garden tube station. As they arrived at Covent Garden, the train came to a stop, and they got up from their chairs and waited for the train doors to slide open. Again holding onto Grandpa Humph's hands, they carefully stepped off the train and headed for the exit. They went up the escalator, through the gate barriers and out of the station exit.
"Can you see the museum yet?" asked Grandpa Humph cheekily as they walked around the corner into a big, busy square which was full of shops and market traders. Along the way there were clowns, mimes and other street entertainers all performing mini shows for lots of people crowded around to watch. The children looked around to see if they could spot the museum. The children looked to the left and to the right, and then Jack shouted, "There it is! It's right under our noses!" They could now see the entrance to the museum. Once inside the museum, Grandpa Humph checked the children through at the main reception gates and then took them through to the staff room for a drink. After they were all refreshed, Grandpa Humph told the children that he had one hour before he started work, so he would take the children on a very personal tour of the museum. As they all went around, the children saw an amazing collection on the history of public transport -- one of the very best collections in the world. Hundreds of thousands of items were on show, from posters to photographs, uniforms to models, and many different types of vehicles. All which provide an excellent historical record of public transport in London over the last two hundred years. The children had never seen anything quite like it before and loved every minute. They finished their private tour with Grandpa Humph just ahead of the last public tour that was happening on that day. They returned once more to the staff room for some afternoon biscuits and lemon squash. Before long, the public visitors' tour was over and it was time for everyone to leave the museum so that Grandpa Humph could lock up.
"You two go and play while I go around and make sure everyone is out and everything inside is locked up. As soon as I finish, I'll come and find you so we can go back home," said Grandpa Humph. "Don't go too far. Here is a torch in case it gets dark in any of the rooms. And make sure you don't touch anything, okay?" The children ran off together to explore the museum on their own. They went back to revisit some of the displays they had previously seen and enjoyed. They jumped inside some of the vehicles, pretending that they were actually driving them and wishing that they could. While they were looking around the back of the museum, they spotted a big door that was ajar and seemed to lead into a very big room. It looked fairly dark inside, with only moonlight shining through some of the high-up windows providing some light. The children decided to investigate. "It's okay, we've got the torch with us," said Jack, reassuring Keira because he knew she was afraid of the dark. The large door creaked slightly as they crept inside. They saw many different types of motor vehicles all lined up. "Wow, this is amazing! Let's go explore some more," said Jack. "Shouldn't we go back and tell Grandpa Humph that we're in here?" whispered Keira. "Nah," said Jack. "Come on, follow me. We'll only be a few minutes." They were in a large warehouse where there were old buses, new buses, taxis, trams, cars and trains. It was an amazing collection of vehicles, some from a very long time ago. As they ventured further into the room, they both thought they could hear some noises coming from the back that sounded like a combination of voices and distant engines rumbling. "Do you hear that? Someone is in here -- we should go back," said Keira, tugging on Jack's arm. "Shhh. This is too exciting to miss," Jack whispered as he quietly turned off the torch. He bent down behind a hundred-year-old bus and slowly crept closer.
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Book Details
About the Book
This book is aimed at Primary School Children ages 4-11
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London. When you think of London, what thoughts immediately jump into your mind? Do you think it's just a busy place filled with lots of people and tourists? Or is it where you or your friends live or go to school? What about somewhere where dads and mums go to work each week? Do you picture in your mind Big Ben? Or Buckingham Palace? The Thames River? The London Eye? Or even the Tower of London? The list can go on and on, couldn't it? Well, whatever you thought, you'd be totally right, but…did you also know that it is a place full of amazing surprises and adventures? If you know the right places to look that is! London is a magical city with big, bright lights and wonderful, historical, places and sights to visit and enjoy all year round. These are the stories about an eleven-year-old boy called Jack and his ten-year-old sister, Keira, who moved to London with their parents and discovered a magical world that only a few lucky people ever get to see and experience. By chance one day, they met a funny-looking pigeon and a big, red, old, open-topped London Routemaster bus on a visit to the London Transport Museum. It was the beginning of lots of wonderful adventures for them, and along the way they got introduced to many great, new friends in London. Do you want to find out what happened? Okay, all you have to do is buy a copy of the book and then join me as we find out how their adventures began.
About the Author
Chris Gillott is the owner of Star789 Limited, a company set up with the aims of making London fun for kids and supporting children’s charities and the fantastic work they do. The original idea for the Nelson ’n’ Deck and Friends series of books occurred to Chris in late 1999/early 2000. The series is based on the author’s very fond childhood memories of visiting the many wonderful sights of London year round with his parents, grandparents and close family. Ten years after having the original idea, the author wants to bring the many wonderful events that happen every year in London to life with his Nelson ’n’ Deck and Friends characters and adventure stories. He hopes that children and their parents and grandparents can all enjoy them — at home and while visiting or staying in London. Chris was born in London at the University College Hospital near Euston. He grew up in Hertfordshire and regularly visited London during his childhood. During his early career he worked for British Telecom (BT) based in London and later in life he lived for a couple of years in Streatham, South London, during which time he worked for a media communications company which had offices near to the Bank of England. Chris is married and lives with his wife, Michelle, and their three young girls in Northamptonshire. He visits London almost every week as part of his job which is helping companies to deliver their corporate strategies and business goals through Information Technology and Services. Look out for all the other books in the Nelson ’n’ Deck and Friends series! Please visit our website at www.nelson-n-deck.co.uk to sign up via email to receive all the latest news and updates on what we are doing.