Tomas and Thomas

I'm afraid that one of my strengths and weaknesses is that, when something comes along that I take an interest in, I tend to go in boots and all. I fear that this sometimes means losing a sense of perspective. For who, when wandering amongst trees in a dense forest, does not sometimes lose sight of the sky?

Thomas the Tank Engine. An unlikely candidate, I grant you, for an obsession. But with Tom almost 6 months old and me thinking about our times to come playing together, I started looking for train sets. It's true that, given my own train deprived childhood, this might me my own version of acting out of the childhood I never had.

So I set about looking at kits, and pricing sets (very expensive, by the way) and zooming hither and thither between one on line toy shop and the next. I found a heavily discounted set at Pee Dee toys in Australia and, after joining ebay au, won another smaller set in my first auction. I think that I should stop now, but the temptation to add to the small railway we now have is almost irresistable. But resist I must.

Well autumn is almost here. There are telltale signs in the air, a mere zephyr of cooler wind, a few early leaves on the path. Its still hot, mind you, but its turning, ever so slowly.