Page 66 of Winter Magic on Railway Lane

‘Except her godfather’s nephew looks just like the nutcracker!’ finished Libby.

‘It’s a very traditional story actually,’ said Maggie. ‘You know, according to German legend, nutcrackers bring good luck and protection to a family and its home.’

Ethan’s immediate thought was that luck and protection was exactly what his family needed at that moment.

‘Then that’s our theme,’ announced Eddie, with a nod.

Ethan looked at him on the camera and smiled. ‘Okay, Grandad. It’s your show.’

Paddington the dog thumped his tail on the floorboards as if he too was confirming his agreement for theme and everyone laughed.

‘So it’s going to beThe Nutcrackerstory?’ asked Ryan, who was frowning. ‘How are you going to fit all that on the train?’

Ethan shook his head. ‘It doesn’t go inside the train, dummy,’ he told him. ‘We can decorate the banks either side of the tracks and light them up into individual scenes.’ There was a gasp of surprise around the table, to which Ethan rolled his eyes. ‘I’m a lighting specialist,’ he reminded them.

‘Oh!’ cooed Libby, her eyes lighting up. ‘So there’ll be a show outside of the train that everyone in the carriages can look at?’

Ethan nodded. ‘That’s the idea.’

Libby screwed her face up in thought. ‘But what about the Kingdom of the Sweets?’ she asked. ‘That’s quite a big bit to fit alongside the railway tracks.’

There was a brief pause where Ethan began to doubt himself. Perhaps it wasn’t right after all. But the talk of protecting one’s family and bringing good luck had struck home with him.

‘The old abandoned station,’ said Eddie, into the short silence.

‘At Cranley? Oh, that’s a great idea, Dad!’ beamed Bob, nodding enthusiastically at the phone.

‘Oh, that would look so pretty all done up!’ said Katy, clapping her hands.

But Libby was frowning. ‘But how are we going to decorate all of this?’ she asked.

‘Mainly with miles of lights but also many assorted decorations. Plus a lot of elbow grease,’ Ethan told her. ‘I need someone to explain to me the various stages of the story so we can plan what it can look like. In a simplified version, of course. Libby? Can I count on you for that?’

‘Yes, sir!’ she said, with a mock salute.

A smile twitched on his lips before he carried on. ‘Someone else needs to check out that old station to see if it’s safe.’

‘We can do that,’ said Bob, looking at Maggie, who was nodding her head in agreement.

‘I’m still not sure what the story entails,’ said Ethan. ‘Not being a great lover of the ballet, that is.’

‘Me neither,’ said Ryan, frowning. ‘So how will any passengers understand what’s going on if they don’t know the story either?’

‘A handout with a description?’ suggested Bob.

‘How will they read it in the semi-darkness?’ replied Libby. She suddenly gave a small gasp. ‘There are speakers in the carriages, aren’t there?’

Ethan nodded. ‘Yup. Why?’

Libby broke into a smile. ‘Then how about we get someone to read out a simplified version of the story over the speakers as the train moves along? It can be pre-recorded so it tallies up with whatever’s outside of the window at the time.’

‘With some of the music playing as well!’ added Maggie, to more murmured agreement.

‘That’s a great idea!’ said Katy. ‘Who’s going to read the story?’

Libby gave them a sheepish smile. ‘Actually, I was wondering if you’d mind if my dad gave it a trial run? He was always good at reading aloud.’

‘That’s a grand idea,’ said Eddie. ‘He was always the narrator at our school concerts. He’s got a smashing voice for that kind of thing.’