The weekend we moved from Milton Keynes to London, we walked from Shepherd’s Bush to SoHo. (AKA walking 5 miles of London moving from West to East, north of the Thames for those who want to get good at their London geography.) It took hours and I loved it. We walked through Kensington, got coffee on the way to Kensington Gardens and Hyde Park, wandered through Chinatown and toured the West End theaters. We ended at Hamleys, The Finest Toy Shop in the World, where we watched the singing and dancing at the entrance while dousing ourselves in nostalgia. As we walked I realized: I want to go back to Neverland.
Let’s start at the end and go backwards. This is a small portion of the entrance show to Hamleys. The whole time we were there, two or more someones were dancing at the door. They went through Disney songs, Paw Patrol, and other TV shows I’m too old to recognize. You can watch some of the happenings and get a peek at the store here. There were so many toys for young and old alike ranging from LEGOs to Harry Potter to stuffed dinosaurs. Safe to say, it was magical. I didn’t want to take too many pictures of the merchandise, but I couldn’t resist getting a few shots of some of the LEGO creations.
Rewinding further takes us to the statue of Peter Pan in Kensington Gardens. He’s hidden amongst the other statuary residents of Kensington Gardens and Hyde Park. Someday soon we’ll go back and find the other statues, but Peter was the first one we wanted to see. He’s tucked away in a small garden overlooking the lake, off to the side of the path. The statue itself is great, but what we found tucked into the back was even more special.
Above is a letter from Bea. Here’s what Bea wrote, spellings and all: “Dear Petr come to (their address) at the Back of the house! the window is open! your friend Bea is there! love Bea Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx.” It’s adorable. This child had enough imagination to believe that Peter might actually get a letter if it was left behind his statue in the park. It’s been a long time since I wrote to fantasy characters, but I agree with Bea. Let’s get out of here.
Can adults still find neverland?
I imagined going to a lot of places and being a lot of people when I was a kid. I’m sure I imagined I found a way to Neverland to play with the lost boys and fight Captain Hook. I’m equally sure that it’s been a very long time since I let myself imagine such adventures. These days I’m imagining what’s going to go in my new kitchen or how to decorate the guest bathroom. My time is spent thinking about what I’m going to write about or what I should post on social media. I’m thinking about how to regain my income now that I’m in a new place and no longer teaching regular lessons. I spend time trying to figure out where I’m going to get groceries from and on what day. I’m dreaming about ways to put myself out online in the hopes that I’ll start teaching again or that something new will cross my path.
But those are limited dreams. They’re limited by time, money, and energy. It’s been a long time since I let myself dream limitless dreams about flying away to Neverland. I’m hopeful that the longer I am here making a new life for myself the better I will be about dreaming again. I’m not sure I will be able to fly away to Neverland anytime soon, but I just might be able to imagine something new.