The Imagination Architects

Chapter one:

The sea breathes in and out, to the rhythm of happy hearted people making summer time memories. 

If you were to ask the kind hearted crabs, or the sweet natured seashells, about how the seaside feels on a sunny day with the dancing patters of children creating their day, they would most likely tell you that children’s days at the seaside and the memories that they build in the sand, create towers of magnificent sand castles in their minds that are built within them forever more. 

That’s why the sealife call the children Imagination Architects. 

It is a commonly known fact that the presence of children’s Imagination is the vessel of the seaside’s happiness and keeps the oceanic wonder a deep, happy blue colour all year round. 

Architect is a funny word, but it is just another way of describing people that build all sorts of magnificent buildings. So, an Imagination Architect is a way of describing YOU! A builder of the magnificent thoughts that exist in your mind. 

Thoughts of your Imagination are a magical power every boy and girl has. Who else could think lovely things about the lovely places you have seen other than you? Take a moment to think about your favourite place if you like. 

Is it sunny, is it snowy? 

Is it near, is it far? 

Have you been, or is it only a place known to you and your mind? 

There is nobody who knows what it’s like to Imagine your lovely thoughts other than you. 

Some magnificent thoughts are built in a day, some are made over weeks, months, even years. Some magnificent thoughts are built by the Imagination Architects who sleep, who dream. 

Every Beach is a friend to one another. Here at Carese Beach in Cornwall, and every beach you could go to, the seaside water has a special sort of potion that helps things grow. 

The water feeds the playfulness of the sand, planting seeds to grow the mind of every child, like a wonderful flower.

The flowers form with silky petals of the imagination that unfold at the bay, harvesting new life as the children engineer a magnificent world that is only known to them. 

What’s quite remarkable about Mother Ocean is that the human pulse is connected to her waves.

It is known by the sea life and the children that visit the beach, that the echoes of the footsteps of human life, that playfully drum on the sand, help the sea feel connected to life other than herself. 

It’s a heart beat the ocean can listen to, to keep her heart beat going too, instead of a pump, her heart glistens with the tide going in and out.

When we go on our journey’s on the train, near or far, young or old, with family or friends, we are usually used to the train conductor looking like us; two eyes, two legs, a grown adult. 

But what if when we got on the train, there was something rather than somebody taking us on our adventures? 

Chapter two:

One summers day, two brothers, Walter and Oswin, and their younger sister Audrey decided to investigate the seaside. 

They had spent many of their summer holiday’s in their few golden years here on Earth at this beach, but they decided today they wanted to have the biggest adventure they had ever had. 

All morning, on a joyful Saturday, they had worked together to build a small village of sand castles.

Walter built a sand castle where he baked fresh pastries for Mummy and Daddy, Oswin built a sand castle where he painted his adored brother and sister, and Aubrey built a sand castle where she kept horses and foals munching on carrots. 

With the crab net between their finger tips, and the sand between their toes, off they went to find all sorts of wonderful slimey creatures to inspect, maybe even to befriend. 

When they arrived at their favourite tunnel of water in the sand, they saw something you might find tricky to believe.

Something that they will never forget.

Walter, Oswin, and Audrey wanted to tell you all about it. 

To the sandy suprise of Walter, Oswin and Audrey, there were little sea shells and crabs that looked them straight in the eyes as they approached the water tunnel. 

The crabs were dressed in suits and dresses made out of fresh scraps of sea weed and pointy copper shells, and bits of abandoned ice cream cones placed on the tip of their heads like top hats.

The sea shells were dressed in very beautiful dresses made out of fresh and old scraps of sea weed, not fresh and slimey, as that had gone out of fashion. 

They liked wearing their old scraps as they had lived through lots of memories. 

They greeted Oswin and Walter with a shy wave, but Audrey had already become aquanted with a sea shell called Suzie that wore a long dress made out of sand that she could not quite see the end of.

Suzie had told her the dress is three miles long and she has to wear it all the time, otherwise Mother Ocean will have nobody to lean on. 

Suddenly, there was an animated scamper from what looked like the chief crab. ‘‘Oh! You must be today’s Imagination Architects. Nice to meet you. You can call me crabby conductor. I drive the imagination train all the way from the beach through all the stops of your Imagination then to the destination of your calling. So, if you could just give me your tickets, then we can get going.’’ 

‘‘Tickets? But all we have is our Buckets and Spades.’’ said Oswin, confused. 

‘‘Those may come in handy. But who said you need to bring anything?’’

Now Crabby looked confused.

His answer looked like him.

It was rather crabby indeed. 

As the children stepped onto the Imagination Train, they looked at their new sealife friends that sat on the carriage.

Crabs and seashells read newspapers that looked smaller than a thumb nail, called The Seaside Times.

Some crabs were filing their claws. ‘‘There is nothing wrong with tidy looking nails I suppose’’ Oswin whispered frantically, but was met with a nudge from Walter, reminding him not to be rude to their new friends. 

These bright and sudden thoughts walked them excitedly to their seats. 

With one swift but meaningful look, Crabby Conductor checked the trail of their footprints of the children on the sandy floor of the train, and gave them a nod. ‘‘You are good to go.’’ 

‘‘Off we go!’’ sang crabby conductor, and with one quick scratch of his antenna, and one swift look back at his map that sat with the crabs and the seashells with timid smiles, off they went. 

The pitter patters of bright and loving infant feet fossilise their ticket passes on board, and seaweed make dresses of pearled and coppered seashells that fall so freely, protecting them like seatbelts. 

With the pitter patter on the sand, the miles on this particular train, gather behind them.

There is no pollution made, infact the only trace on the environment on this particular train is the trail of joyful sand that paves the way to the water trail for the sea train to drive upon. 

The seaweed and the sea gems, harness their safety over their bodies, by gifting them comfort and excitement.

The seaweed seat belt harnesses them with excitement for the day, as the orbit of travel is a little different to what we are used to when we are passengers on busy roads. 

Sea and roads have common traits, they both welcome destinations.

On this particular train, the journey makes safety more exciting, not only in physical safety but in the exploration of our minds. 

Our minds need not be restrained, that is the seatbelts responsibility. 

While the sea waits patiently, crabby conductor fills up the train tank every so often, with buckets of sparkly sea salt and water and laughter from the sealife and the children. 

As the train learns of the crabby conductor’s map, that is led by the destination of the children on board, the water that feeds the tires under the train made out of cemented sand also feeds the playfulness of the sand of the trail.

Planting seeds grow the garden of the imagination.

The petals of the mind unfold at the bay, harvesting new life as the children engineer worlds of wonder that are only known to them. 

Chapter three:

The first stop is to visit the sand lions. 

The Imagination train parks in a patch of sand carved out like a car parking space, and one by one they step out to be greeted by the sand lions. 

If you haven’t heard of them before, the sand lions are made when there are lots of new memories being created at the beach. Their fierce roar’s as the children, the crabs, and the seashells walk nearer, are not something to be afraid of. 

In fact, the sand lions roar is the same as saying hello and how are you, like us humans may say to each other. 

With a few hearty roars, the sand lions fiery manes shrink down a bit, as they don’t want to frighten the imagination architects. 

‘‘What do you do sand lions?’’ whispered Aubrey. Everyone could tell that she was a bit frighthened, but her curiosity for these unusual beasts felt pressing. 

‘‘Come with us, to the sea, and you’ll find out.’’ 

‘‘But all we have is buckets and spades!’’ Said Walter, Oswin, and Aubrey all at the same time, quietly and a little bit shamefully. 

‘‘Who said you’ll need buckets and spades?’’ chuckled the sand lion. Walter, Oswin and Aubrey smiled warmly towards the sand lions. 

One sand lion guided the children and the crabs and the sea shells towards the sea, and they stood in front of them for a moment like statues the imagination architects had seen at the national history museum. 

As they approached the sea side front, the sand lions turned and looked at them for a moment. ‘‘Oh no’’ whispered Oswin, is this the part where they eat us?’’ a shudder ran down Oswin’s veins, and Aubrey and Walter nudged Oswin slightly, as if to say ‘‘don’t be so silly!’’ 

But to the relief of Oswin, the sand lion began to monologue. ‘‘Every smile, every giggle, every water fight and every memory children and their families make here, on the beach create us. We could not exist without the joy of the humans we admire so much. We are made out of ripples of the sand from the joy of happy dancing feet that give us heart beats. Every wonderful day at the beach means a new sand lion can exist.’’

And with the warmest graze on their shoulders, the sand lions put their paws on the shoulders of Walter, Oswin and Aubrey in a way that said thank you from the bottom of their heart. The children soaked up this moment with their whole beings, when would they ever get to hug a sand lion again? 

‘‘Now, would you like to meet our dear friends, the sea lions?’’ 

Chapter four:

The imagination architects also known as Walter, Oswin and Aubrey gasped. ‘‘There are more lions? In the sea?’’ Aubrey asked, in total shock. 

‘‘Well obviously, the crabs and the seashells will lead the way, you can sit on our backs and enjoy the view.’’ The sand lions said in almost disbelief at their question. The sand lions couldn’t imagine life without the sea lions. 

So with that, Walter, Oswin and Audrey were, what felt like, miles high up in the sky, with the lions swimming underneath them, their hands gliding through the water and admiring the water sparkle under the sunshine, soaking what felt like the whole ocean up. 

Their hands were going to be more wrinkly than any time in their life they had gotten out of the bath. 

This was like an extaordinanary boat trip they had been on with mummy and daddy, although the boat was a lion made out of sand. 

The sea water and the sunshine must be friends, thought Walter, because the water felt like a warm, comforting bath, the sunshine must have given some warmth to the sea as a kind gift to the sea for being a good friend. 

They stopped for a moment or two in the middle of the sea. When were the sea lions going to appear? 

And before they could even ask that very question to sand lions, a small tornado of a wave swirled around them and the sea lions emerged. 

A tunnel of water gushing beneath the train track of the imagination train, poured up and the sea lions floated like floats on the surface of the water. 

They looked like ice sculptures, only with more water droplets forming their shape as oppose to sharp ice. 

The sea lions explained that they live and multiply because of the imagination architects who make memories in the sea. With every splash, and every laugh, the sea lions become their happiest self, all because of the children’s happy memories they make on the beach. 

And the sea lions and the sand lions hugged joyfully, every wonderful memory of children playing in the sand, and every wonderful memory of children playing in the sea, warmly entwined for a moment. 

After a moment of astonishment, crabby conductor snapped out of it and thanked the sand lions and the sea lions very much for their time. 

And one by one, each crab, each sea shell, and the imagination architects said thank you warmly, each meaning it with all of their heart. 

Onto the next stop, thought crabby conductor. 

Chapter five:

As the train choo choo’d over sand dumes and under water tunnels, crabby conductor finally parked up. 

They had finally made it to the sea shell art gallery. Upon arrival, a very sparkley sea shell picked up a microphone, made out of grey and blue seashells and addressed the small crowd of sea shells, crabs, and the imagination architects. 

‘‘But all we’ve brought is our buckets and spades.’’ thought Walter, Oswin, and Audrey all at the same time. 

Crabby Conductor and the very sparkly sea shell looked at them, as if they said don’t worry about that in one very kind but tired look. 

Each sea shell that had been sleeping on the sand, emerged and sat up, as the very sparkly sea shell with the sea shell microphone began to call them by name. 

It was safe to say, Walter, Oswin, and Audrey had never seen anything like it. 

Their buckets and spades looked up at them in awe, not believing that the sand castles they usually made were nothing quite like the visions the imagination architects were creating today. 

One by one, each sea shell sat up, like dominoes, only instead of falling, they shot up in magnificent timing, each sea shell catching the eyes of the crabs and the imagination architects. 

Every sea shell had a story to tell. 

Some sea shells were once almost collected by a human, along with their other sea shell friends, but had fallen through their fingers.

The imagination architects couldn’t decide if that made the sea shells feel sad or glad. 

But at least they still had plenty of sea shell friends that were still here. 

‘‘I have never been chosen’’ said one quiet sea shell. ‘‘My edges are crooked and my shape is like an oyster, people think i am an oyster shell, and I get so excited at the prospect of them picking me, for their sea collection, but then they realise i am just a funny looking sea shell and put me down again, with a careless throw.’’ 

The sea shells looked at her with a sympathetic sea shell smile. 

Most sea shells, however, felt relived to be here in their birth land. At home forever with their millions of sea shell family members. 

This made the imagination architects feel quite relieved. 

It would be a rather sad feeling going to the seaside in the years to come, thinking that all the sea shells were sad. 

The sparkley sea shell continued to talk about the different sea shells. ‘‘Every sea shell you meet knows each other and looks out for one another. Some even go swimming on sunny days together and some go shopping to the sea shell sea food market.’’ 

‘‘What you humans might like to know, is that there is a huge downstairs sea shell art gallery beneath what we can see with our eye. All of the sea shells who are shy like to stay there, and don’t really like to be trampled on or picked up by strangers.’’ 

‘‘If you’ve ever dropped anything on the sand and shells when you’ve been at the beach, then don’t worry, it’s in safe hands. There is an exbidition that takes place once a year, where every sea shell is invited to admire possessions that clumsy humans have donated kindly to us, even if they don’t know that. Every necklace, or watch, or bracelet or small toy or painting, is hung and framed in the gallery for all of us seashells to admire.’’ 

‘‘We love to see your teddy, Bernie, at the gallery Audrey. He wanted to say hello to you, so here we are passing on the message.’’ 

Audrey’s eyes welled up. 

She had missed her beloved Bernie Bear so much, but was happy that he was living this extraordinary life with the seashells. Clearly they were taking very good care of him. 

Chapter six:

The next stop was the museum of crabby conductor’s. 

Every crab, of every imagination train, remembered and admired by crabby conductor, the sea shells and the imagination architects. 

Crabby conductor had learned so much from the Crabby conductor’s that served before him. 

He always learnt, that it is not just his responsibility to drive the train, but every child and every sea creature has to feel that they are using their wonderful ideas to make the imagination train go to beautiful places. 

There were Granny crabs, Grandad crabs, baby crabs, and crabs like him. 

Some had visited every beach in Cornwall, while others enjoyed staying place here at Carese Beach. 

Crabby Conductor had visited lots of beaches and driven lots of imagination trains, but this beach was his favourite and most like home to him. 

Crabby conductor loved wonderful ideas, and every imagination architect he had met, millions of them, stayed in his heart and mind forever. 

He knew every name of every imagination architect he had met. 

Chapter seven:

The next stop was to hear the seaside choir. This choir was so special, because it involved the children and the crabs and the seashells too. 

The choir began to play as soon as the imagination architects, the crabs, and the seashells arrived at bay. 

‘‘But we can’t make music as all we have is our buckets and spades.’’ Said Oswin, tiredly now. 

‘‘All you need is your voice, and who said you can’t make music out of the way you use your buckets and spades?’’ Smiled Crabby Conductor. 

The ocean engulfed the play, the pattern, with a knowing bass, while the children and the sealife graciously shared their wonder in soprano, creating a wonderfully chaotic yet synchronised melody. 

The sea is a bit like a choir, the musicality is heard from all over, with different pitches and roles that help us remember that willful wash of the waves rolling in and out on a drizzly day somewhere far.

‘‘The seaside choir has members scattered all over, yet the sound rings so close that if you were to put a seashell to your ear, you can listen to the creation of the day, the morning song, like tuning in to hear the morning news updates on the radio’.’ 

The imagination architects thought about their mummy and daddy listening to the radio at home. 

They wondered if they ever heard the sea life bringing in the morning news of the world. 

The imagination architects, the crabs and the sea shells sang for a long time, and they made music by trailing their spades across the sand and hitting the buckets with their spades like drummers as the sea swept underneath. 

After listening and making wonderful seaside music, it was time for the last stop.

Chapter eight:

They looked around them and waited for Crabby Conductor to herd them onto the imagination train. 

The imagination architects looked at each other. 

Then they looked at the crabs and the seashells. 

Then the crabs and the seashells looked at them. 

‘‘We are already here at our last stop!’’ chirped Crabby Conductor. The Imagination Architects looked at each other, quite confused. 

‘‘And all you need is your buckets and spades.’’ Smiled Crabby Conductor, ever so warmly. 

‘‘We want to see your creations! Your sand castles, the ones you made earlier, and the ones we will build together now. Now us crabs and the seashells can be Imagination Architects too! 

Walter, Oswin and Audrey were simply delighted and they built sand castles and showed them there proud creations from earlier. 

Crabby Conductor, the seashells, and the crabs visited Audrey’s sand castle a very tall castle, where she was queen, and they visited Walter’s sand castle where he owned his own magnificent art gallery, and they visited Oswin’s sand castle where he had a huge restaurant where he would make pizza and pasta for everyone who came.

Crabby Conductor, the seashells, the crabs, and the Imagination Architects made sand castles of all of their favourite moments of the day. 

The Imagination Architects made sand statues of the crabs, the seashells and Crabby Conductor with their buckets and spades, honouring their new friends they had found. 

The seashells made sand castles where the sand lions could visit, the crabs made sand castles where the sea lions could visit, with a little swimming pool so that they wouldn’t miss the sea too much! 

And Crabby Conductor made a sand castle for the Imagination Architects to stay, if they ever missed it here. The Imagination Architects were Crabby Conductor’s favourite memory of the day. 

And although the Imagination Architects had thought this was the last stop, they were wrong. 

Because all together, the Imagination Architects, the seashells, the crabs and Crabby Conductor moved closer towards the sea. A picture like no other and a memory filled in all of their minds forever more. 

With every splash and giggle, the gentle ripple of the sea brought them closer to the sea front, with waves of joy that kept them safe. 

The ocean was so in tune with the Imagination Architects and the sea life, and it made the sea feel less lonely on lonely days when it is too cold to swim in the sea. 

Word of the seashells says, the seaside has ancestors that are brought back to life from the joy of play each and everyday. 

When the sea rests her head on the footprints of dance on the sand, and memories from today and many years ago, are heard by her too like the comfort of an old film played in the heart of the seaside cinema. 

The sea creatures gather their seaweed to graze on like pop corn if they go to the seaside cinema. 

The tickets for the seaside cinema are a bit like our tickets to go to the cinema, only they are made out of seaweed rather than paper.

With every gentle wave back to the sea shore, the children and the sea life became sleepy, their heads bopping over the dazey tide coming in, bringing them closer to the sunset, the sea depositing them back to land, with a gentle fold. 

A bit like how mummy and daddy tuck them in to bed at the end of the day. And what a day they had had. 

And with the waves bringing them back to land, ripple by ripple, so did a call from the mummy and daddy of Walter, Audrey, and Oswin.

Chapter nine:

‘‘It’s time to go home.’’ said voices coming from the beach tent, where mummy and daddy were reading their books and listening to the seaside radio. 

Crabby Conductor, the seashells, and the crabs didn’t believe in saying goodbye, as true memories are always kept with us. So the friends we have made are too. 

And before the Imagination Architects could turn to their friends to say thank you and goodbye, they had already towered onto the imagination train, with the sea rippling as the engine turned on, waving from the window. 

They had left the Imagination Architects a seashell phone, so when the children put the seashell to their ear, they heard the seashells sing in a way that meant goodbye. 

From all of their friends. 

‘‘Bye for now’,’ the Imagination Architects said all together, through the seashell phone, in a way that made them all feel a little bit sad. 

They were going to miss their new friends, but the memories become your friends, if you can’t have your friends around all the time. 

The memories of the seaside that are captured by children and their families become photographed and cherished forever in each and every heart. 

The memories are like little billboards of moments that you may see in cities, but these billboards are special, because the billboards stay up forever, as they picture the days of families and friends forever more, as other families gaze and smile at the joy of strangers enjoying their fun days at the beach, in all seasons of the year. 

And as the children drove away at the wheel of their unsuspecting parents, in a warm coating of total joy and wonder like they had never felt before, they smiled a sweet smile as they drove past carese castle that stands proudly next to the beach. 

The castle where Audrey is queen. 

Castles of wonder that they had made, with the friends they had found in the crabs, the seashells, the sand lions and the sea lions. 

Three imagination architects had built something quite magical that day, and it would last forever, sand castles of extraordinanary memories in their mind sitting boldly next to the castle that lives by the sea. 

The joy of the day had stayed at the beach for mother ocean and the sea life to enjoy. Just as it leaped into their hearts of the imagination architects to take home. 

As the car started to move away, the miles gathered behind them so quickly, a bit like the imagination train, but they didn’t even notice that it was going dark and they were almost home. 

The miles away from the beach didn’t make a difference. 

They always felt that they were still there. 

All this adventure, they could hardly believe, packed in their luggage in the boot of the car, and kept with them forever. 

They were suprised that all of their magnificent memories they had built with their magnificent minds could squeeze into the car. 

They realised that their minds and their memories were even taller than any building, but ofcourse they were, they are imagination architects. 

And so are you. 

And little did they know, all they needed to pack were buckets and spades.