My Love for the Story of Peter Pan

Today, I thought I'd write about something that has held a special place in my heart ever since I was a little girl. I'm sure there is something out there that makes each of you feel the exact same way, something that puts a smile on your face and brings back all of those happy memories. For me, the story of Peter Pan the boy who never grew up does just that! The well-known classic has always captivated me and taken me away to the wonderful world of Neverland-it's simply magical!
As I've probably mentioned in one of my previous blog posts I have spent a lot of time in London over the years at Great Ormond Street Children's Hospital having treatment for the physical disability I was born with. Some of you may know that J.M. Barrie gifted the rights of his book Peter Pan & Wendy to GOSH (Great Ormond Street Hospital). This meant that all of royalties whether they came from book sales or a stage production of Peter Pan & Wendy would go straight to the hospital's funds and help make a big difference for each of the children under the care of GOSH. I really admire that J.M. Barrie for doing this, as his kind gesture has helped make such a positive impact. Whilst his story has brought so much joy to so many of us; it has also played a big part in Great Ormond Street Hospital's history and helped make it the special place that it is today.
Hospitals are not the most pleasant of places for anyone to find themselves in but as a child it can be extremely daunting. However, in this instance there was always a little bit of magic around every corner at GOSH thanks to the help of J.M. Barrie and of course the beloved character he created, Peter Pan. Inside GOSH there are numerous Peter Pan memorials hidden around the hospital. These small touches always helped make my hospital experience and I'm sure many other's who have also been under the care of GOSH a little easier to endure.
At the hospital's main entrance there was a little patch of greenery on the left hand side just before you reach the main doors. Hidden amongst the greenery is a life-size statue of Peter Pan and a miniature statue of his trusty pixie friend Tinkerbell, resting on the tip of his finger. If you didn't pay much attention and walked straight ahead; it could easily have been missed. Whenever we walked past the statue, despite how rubbish I sometimes felt during my time spent in hospital, it never failed to put a smile on my face and cheer me up.
Up until a few years ago I never knew that like me, J.M. Barrie was actually born here in Scotland. I discovered this in primary school when my class studied Scotland as our class topic. As a part of our topic we were each asked by our teacher to produce a personal project on a famous Scot of our choice as homework assignment.
I then found myself in great deliberation on who exactly I should choose to conduct research on. Me being my usual self didn't want to pick one of the popular Scots that a lot of pupils in my class had already opted for. With this in mind I spent hours searching the internet browsing through lists of famous Scots in hope that inspiration might struck. Eventually, I spotted J.M. Barrie's name hidden amongst one of the lists and was surprised to discover he was actually born here in Scotland. So in the end it only seemed fitting to choose to write my project on J.M.Barrie's life as his work has had such a major impact on my life.
As a young child I remember being absolutely mesmerised with the 1953 Walt Disney production of Peter Pan. It brings out the child in each and every one of us! Just like each of the Disney films we all know and love; Peter Pan is a classic. It's timeless and I'm pretty sure will be loved just as much in coming years as it is today!