GRESLEY STATUE VERSUS HARRY POTTER? NO CONTEST

I frequently pass through King’s Cross station, and I find it interesting to see how the statue of Sir Nigel Gresley rates against the Harry Potter display just yards away on the main concourse. There’s no competition. I was observing the Gresley statue one September Saturday morning, just before the end of the summer holidays. I saw no more than a dozen people walk up to Sir Nigel to read the plaque, and I guess that some of them had only encountered it by chance on their way to the ticket office, or the fast food and coffee shops. The fact that it blends into its background obviously helps to keep the numbers down. Contrast this with the Platform 9¾ notice outside the Harry Potter shop. There were a hundred or more people there, all forming a noisy but relatively orderly queue to pose for photographs. Of course, Sir Nigel never appeared in a movie blockbuster, but he did design some quite significant locomotives. Considering the current media interest in Flying Scotsman, could a sign be put up above Sir Nigel’s statue announcing that he created some magnificent machines? For education to be effective, it has to be exciting and entertaining. Alfred Willoughby, York