[Alex Crawford]

Hi,

I don't have any ties with railways at all. I've always watched programmes about steam engines and the like. Last year I had a bleak patch. Call it a mid life crisis if you will. I gave up writing aviation books and looked around for another interest. I found it under my very own nose.

My son is Autistic and has virtually no speach. He has always been interested in Thomas the Tank engine and has nearly all the videos, dvd's and Tomy train sets and trains. When he gets upset he goes to his Thomas stuff to calm down. He will be 13 this year and we don';t have that father/son relationship that other's have. You can't really interact with him due to his problems. He also has a rare heart condition.

In January this year I decided to try and share an interest with him. He doesn't like it when you try to interact with him, but we persevere. I got some N Gauge stuff and started a layout in one of our garden sheds. He now enjoys coming in and having a go at the trains. He actually comes in and takes control. So much so that we have decided to get him a Hornby train set for his birthday. I sold off all my canaries and will now convert the aviary, 13' x 5', into Alistairs very own train shed. It will all be Thomas stuff as that is his main pleasure in life. As with most things it will be added to as and when we can afford it.

Sorry to waffle on but everyone has a different story as to why they do something, and this is ours.

Alex