RaW

Adults were asked to write a children’s story of between one and two minutes long using at least one of the characters from the RaW activity pack and series of books Max and Lara’s Amazing Travelling Space Circus.

There was an overwhelming response to the competition.  The standard was really high, the judges we’re impressed by the imagination and creativity of the entries.

One of the judges, author Julia Jarman said:  "I was knocked out by the creativity of the writers.  Just think, all those wonderful ideas were locked inside people's heads, till writing and drawing released them from captivity to give us so much delight!"

Sharon from Leigh-on-Sea was of the winners from the East.  Since the age of eight, Sharon has enjoyed writing short stories and poems.  She found out about the RaW competition on a visit to the library, and attended the workshop at Southend Library in the autumn which was run by Sue, one of the library assistants.

Sharon has been helping goddaughter Katie with her literacy.  The booklet of Max and Lara’s Amazing Travelling Space Circus has been a great resource for them.  Together they wrote two stories for the competition, however, Sharon wrote her winning entry on her own, inspired by a documentary on the Routemaster bus shown in the autumn.

Sharon's been bitten by the writing bug and is still writing short stories, and comic poems and intend to set up her own business writing poetry for people.

Read Sharon's story

MR SCATTERBRAIN AND THE STORY OF ROBIN THE ROBUST ROUTEMASTER

Mr Scatterbrain was tired and his jet-powered unicorn, Ulysses, had indigestion after eating purple carrots for tea.

"I can't sleep Mr Scatterbrain.  Please tell me a story."

"Once upon a time, there was an old number 23 bus that lived in London.  He was sleek and shiny, with a big red mouth and two smiling eyes.  He enjoyed taking tourists by the Thames.  His journey began when he crossed Tower Bridge.  Sometimes, he would toot his horn when a boat went under the bridge.

The story of Robin the robust Routemaster

He drove past the Globe theatre where he enjoyed hearing the plays.  At Waterloo station he crossed the river again and drove to Westminster to hear Big Ben.  Then he stopped at the Wheel for his tea break.

One summer day the number 23 wasn't polished.  The oil wasn't replaced.  The upholstery wasn't cleaned.  He was very worried.  Instead he was loaded into a large truck and had no time to say goodbye to his friends.

The big truck stopped at the scrap yard.

'"Maybe I'm going to find new parts for my rusty body,"  he thought.

But the truck dumped him amongst damaged cars, vans and other buses.

Weeks passed.  Months passed.  Crunch, crunch, crunch went the giant metal eating machines.  He was very frightened as more and more cars disappeared. 

Then on Christmas Eve a tiny red star appeared in the snowy sky. "Maybe Father Christmas and Rudolph are coming with my present?"  Thought the old bus.

The light got brighter and brighter.  Soon he couldn't see.  Then it disappeared.  Suddenly a smaller light was shone over the front of the grill.

"Max, this is what we're looking for," said a girl’s voice.

"Wow! That's a number 23 Routemaster Lara" Max gently touched the peeling paint.

"Help me get the chain out," said Lara, and soon the number 23 was hauled into their spaceship.

After ten days in the garage, he reappeared with the latest gas space engine. His red body had been repainted, and on his side in silver letters were the words 'Robin the Robust Routemaster.'

And he was given a new route.  He collected the children from the furthest corners of planet Billy Smart to attend the Amazing Travelling Space Circus shows during the summer.  In the winter, he was wrapped up in blankets and sent to planet Cotton Wool for hibernation."

Mr Scatterbrain sighed, and wiped a tear from his eye, then smiled when he heard Ulysses snoring.