Adventures

James Tubb was sixty four years old and had never been away from his home town of Flodsem. He had been born there, had gone to school there and was now working there. On Flodsem railway station, to be precise. His title was senior porter. When he had started at the station he was a junior porter and his duties included sweeping the platform, washing the waiting room windows and making the senior porter’s tea. Now he was the senior porter but due to cut backs had no junior porter under his tutelage and so carried out all the said duties himself including making his own tea.But nothing was too much trouble for him. The passenger’s comfort was his main aim

He carried their cases, helped them on and off the train and was always able to give them the necessary information for their journeys.

James lived by himself in a little thatched cottage in Flodsem which had been owned by his late mother and father and bequeathed to him upon their demise.

There were little gardens at both the front and back where James grew flowers and vegetables respectively.

Monday morning was quite busy as quite a few parcels arrived for the residents of Flodsem. The ticket collector and guard on the 7.15 am would pile them in a cage which was then taken to the luggage office to await collection. James was up and out of bed by 6am on a Monday so he was ready for the delivery.

After the busy period was over James would snap the kettle on and after it boiled make himself a good strong cup of tea which he would drink while sitting on the platform watching all the passengers getting on board or alighting from arriving trains. Often, if he saw someone struggling with cases, he would put his cup down and go off to help them; often as not the cup of tea was cold by the time he got back!

Some of the passengers would come across and pass the time of day with James. Telling him of the exotic places that they were going off to. A holiday to France or Thailand.

Sometimes some of the more thoughtful of them would send James a postcard addressed to him at the railway station. He would carefully pin them to a board in the office to allow him to study them at his leisure and to provide material for his day dreams.

For James did dream of just going off to foreign climes, but he had been in Flodsem for so long that he secretly feared to leave his predictable and safe life.

The 7.15 am had just left and James made his way to his office for a welcome ‘cuppa’. As he moved across the platform he was conscious of a dull ache coming from his left arm. He had felt a nauseous when he had risen that morning and made a mental note to see Dr. Brabham, the local GP as soon as possible.

Switching on the kettle, James sat down and his gaze drifted to his collection of postcards. In them all, the sun shone brightly in a blue sky with large wispy clouds. The foreign places looked so inviting that he was tempted to book up for a holiday right away. But then the doubts arose and as he stirred his tea he realised that he was safer just staying in Flodsem.

The 8.30 train pulled up as James left his office feeling a bit better after his cup of tea.

The doors of the carriages swung open and soon the platform was a moving mass of bodies as the passengers hurried to leave the station. Soon all but one person remained and she was an elderly lady struggling with two large suitcases.

“Can I help you madam?” asked James politely.

The woman looked up and started to smile then her whole face changed and became serious.

“Oh dearie!” she said. “You are not well.”

“Oh, I’m alright, just a little indigestion.”

James reached for the two suitcases and began to walk towards the station’s exit. When he had gone only a few yards it felt as if a belt had been tightened round his chest.  He staggered and the cases fell to the ground. The old lady rushed to his side and took his arm.

“Do you have an office, where you can rest?” she asked kindly.

James pointed at the door to his room and together they struggled towards the office.

The old lady insisted on making James sit in his chair while she made him a cup of tea.

“You spend so much time looking after your passengers that no one looks after you.”

As James sat and drank the tea the tightness in his chest began to reduce.

“Thank you madam,” he said. “You are too kind.”

The elderly lady was looking at James’ postcards.

“Have you been to all these places?” she asked.

“Oh no,” he replied. “Some of the passengers sent them to me from their holidays.”

“Have you never gone on holiday?”

“No…I prefer to stay at home.” James said concentrating on finishing his tea.

The old lady stared at James for a few minutes and then seemingly having made a decision said.

“I think this is the exact time for you to go on holiday,” she said and began to search in her large handbag.

“No, madam…” spluttered James. “There is no one to take my place. I can’t afford it. The …..” The excuses ran off his tongue.

“Nonsense,” she said. “You need to get away….now. Here take this!”

James was handed a very strange looking ticket. It was like a piece of gold foil and had ‘World Adventures’ printed on it. It was perforated in the middle which divided the ticket into an ‘Out’ and a ‘Return’ section.

“Now!” said the lady. “Look! Your train is at the platform waiting for you. Off you go!”

Sure enough a train with carriages sat in the station. It was a very strange looking one as it was coloured red and had gold ornamental rails and decorations covering the train and carriages. It looked like a train fit for a king.

“But I haven’t got any clothes to wear. I haven’t even got a suitcase!” James protested as the lady helped him over to his elegant transport.

“Pshaww!” she said and when James looked down he was dressed in a smart charcoal coloured suit, white shirt, multicoloured tie and black shiny shoes. He had a smart looking leather case in his hand and a rolled umbrella in the other!

The old lady stood on the platform waving to James as the train pulled away.

“Have a lovely time!” she shouted. “You deserve it.”

No sooner had the town of Flodsem vanished in the distance, than a steward was at James’ elbow offering him lunch. A large menu displaying various meals and drinks was handed over and James licked his lips as he read the delicious list.

After a very heavy meal James returned to his carriage and due to the rhythmic rocking of the train, soon he was sound asleep.

“Train arriving at Paris!” a porter shouted rousing James from his slumber.

“What??” he stuttered looking out at the elegant platform where passengers dressed in very chic European clothes moved about, talking and laughing.

“Monsieur, you must get off now and enjoy the delights of gay Paree!” said an elderly lady who had been one of the passengers who had shared the compartment. She looked very familiar, but James just couldn’t think why.

Paris was wonderful. A taxi awaited for him outside the station and whisked him away to a very stately hotel. When James tried to pay, he was told that it had all been taken care of. His hotel room was large ‘light and airy.

For several days he would have breakfast then leave the hotel to walk along the bank of the river Seine, or climb high up to the top of the Eiffel Tower or just sit drinking in the atmosphere while he sipped a coffee.

Too soon he found himself climbing on to the gold and red express. James was positive that he had gone to bed the previous night and after he had fallen asleep he had awoken to find himself stepping onto the train, dressed in a very sporty looking suit with a bow tie. A pair of chestnut coloured shoes completed his dress.

The waiter arrived once again at his elbow as the train pulled away from the station and James noticed that there were different selections of food listed.

After the meal when he re-entered his compartment an old lady with a very tall hat offered him her newspaper to read.

“Thank you very much madam,” said James. “Don’t I know you?”

The lady laughed quietly and shook her head.

“Train arriving at Agra!”

James opened his eyes and bent to pick up the newspaper which had fallen off his knees when he had fallen asleep.

“Where is Agra?” he asked to two people who were sitting in the carriage with him.

“You must get off. You are in India. You will have a chance to see the beautiful Taj Mahal. It is one of the Wonders of the World!” said a very old lady who was wearing a string of beautiful pearls.

The taxi, as before, sat waiting outside the exit from the station. James was driven to the Palace Hotel where he was informed he would be staying for a few days.

“But I must pay you for the room and any meals I choose to eat in your premises…” James started saying, but the manager politely interrupted him.

“Sir, please excuse me, but everything has been taken care off. Just enjoy yourself.”

Visiting the Taj Mahal in the evening was a truly magical trip. The Moon hung high in the sky amongst jewel like stars. The white walls of the beautiful edifice catching and reflecting the moonlight.

A walk by the mighty River Ganges as it made its way through the country. James watched the holy men lie on beds of nails and climb ropes up into the air where they suddenly – vanished!

Life passed like a dream for James. His train took him to Austria where he skied on the snow covered Alps. He visited  London and saw the Tower of London and Buckingham Palace. He visited New York and climbed up the Statue of Liberty. He sailed down the canals in Venice in a gondola. Ate rice and noodles in a cafeteria in Tokyo.

The whole experience was almost surreal had it not been for the solid feel of the world’s landmarks beneath his hands. Each place the train stopped was a real place and James knew he had been there.

One night lying in a large four poster bed in the Regal Marco Polo Hotel in Thailand, James suddenly felt tired. He had been on the move continuously and his feet were beginning to hurt with all the walking. But, the sights he had seen, the people he had met and wonderful meals he had eaten. A trip of a lifetime.

But know he longed for the peace and solitude of  Flodsem with the duck pond and old mill. He thought of the station and finally of his little cottage. Home sweet home.

“Well James, have you had a lovely time?” the elderly lady asked as she stepped out of the shadows. “ It was your reward for all the good deeds you did for people who passed through your railway station. Now sleep, sleep…”

James’ lifeless body was found seated in his office in Flodsem station. It looked as if he was looking up at his postcard display which he had affixed proudly to a notice board above his desk.

In his hand he clutched a ticket made out of gold foil that had ‘World Adventures’ printed on it. The policeman who came to check out James’ death said that it was unlike any of the station’s ordinary tickets which were made of cardboard.

The other strange thing about James’ ticket was that both the‘Out’ and the ‘Return’ sections had been punched with a little heartshaped hole.

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