The Tiny Family Go to the Funfair

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2:04are tracking her trip to make sure she's actually on her way. Or Sam, who never goes anywhere without her roommate knowing exactly where she is. Some journeys are meant to be shared. Share your ride in real time with Share My Trip on Uber. One more way Uber is putting safety at every turn, learn more on the Uber app. Welcome to Get Sleepy. Where we listen, we relax, and we get sleepy. My name's Thomas. Thank you so much for being here, as we make our return to one of our best loved series on the show. But don't worry if this is your first time coming across this charming set of characters. In just a few minutes, we'll rejoin the pocket family, as they embark on an adventure like no other. Tonight, they're heading to the tiny fun fair. An amusement

3:07park built for people just like them. And as always with this series, it was written by Joe and will be read by Simon. If you enjoy listening, and you're on a platform where you can do so, then we'd love for you to leave us a comment. Perhaps you'd like to share an idea for a future adventure that the pockets might enjoy. Well, you may simply wish to send some gratitude to Joe and Simon for their lovely storytelling. But of course, you can wait until the morning once you've had a good night's sleep. Before we begin, let's just take a brief moment to ready ourselves for rest. Find a position that feels comfortable and close your eyes. Bring your attention towards the breath. As

4:18you breathe, experience it with curiosity. Follow the breath's journey as it enters through the nostrils and travels down your throat into your chest and stomach. Let the breath clear away any thoughts and calm the senses, resetting the mind and body for rest. Now, you can simply relax and follow Simon's soothing voice. We're ready to join the adventures of the tiny pocket family. This is where our story begins.

5:29The family comprise, mar and power pocket, their children, Joe and Matilda and their sausage dog Hercules. It's an apt surname for a family so small they could fit very comfortably into a coat or trouser pocket. Being tiny allows them to stay hidden, even from the humans that they share a home with. Miss Granger and her daughter are oblivious to the existence of their miniature housemates. The pockets live in a dollhouse behind the living room sofa.

6:29There are three floors and the rooms are all beautifully decorated with sleek, modern furnishings and a lift at the side. The pocket's prior residence was an old tissue box located at the back of the kitchen cupboard. Thus, their move to the palatial dollhouse is something of a rags-to-rich story. Not that this has changed them in any real way. True, they drive about in a dazzling pink convertible and dine by the light of a battery-operated fireplace. But they're as cheerful and down to earth as they were before. They're the kind of family who could make the best of any situation. But making the best of it won't be difficult today because the pockets are headed to the tiny fun fair. Built and

7:37run by miniature people, it's an entire amusement park with rides, games, food stalls and other entertainment. The fun fair travels from place to place, setting up beneath the floorboards when it comes to town. Amusements are made from equipment the workers bring with them, as well as bits and pieces found in the locality. This keeps things interesting for all involved. No two tiny fun fairs are ever quite the same. The family look forward to their yearly visit as much as birthdays and Christmas celebrations. They count down the days until they can see this year's rides and daydream about the games and food on offer. It's an opportunity

8:40to get out and have fun as a family and a chance to mix with other tiny people. This includes their relatives and next door neighbors who live in the semi-detached house attached to the Granger's property. Mr. Jacket Pocket or Dad Z, as he's known, is Parr's brother and best friend. His wife, Mum Z, is good friends with Ma and their two children are Joe and Matilda's cousins. The Jacket Pocket children are a boy and a girl like their cousins. But whereas Joe is the elder of the Pocket siblings, with the Jacket pockets, it's the other way around. There's Cassie, then her younger brother,

9:41Billy. Joe and Cassie have lots in common. They both love ice cream and television. And share a passion for fish and sea life. It's hard for anyone else to get a word in when the pair are together and chashing about such things. Matilda and Billy couldn't be more different. Their opposites in nature and have different interests. What they do share is curiosity and a good sense of humour. The human-owned houses in which the tiny families live are separated only by a single thick wall. When they meet, as they do on occasions throughout the year, they usually do so in the wall cavity between the buildings. Coincidentally, the

10:49path to the funfare also begins in this very spot. The families have arranged to meet in the wall cavity and make the journey down together. Now, tiny people tend to keep their own time. They adapt their routine based on what the humans are doing. If Miss Granger and her daughter are busy inside the home, the pockets might find a spot to nap or take some downtime. Equally, they plan adventures around the house and garden mostly for when the humans are out or asleep. However, neither is the case right at this moment at a quarter to eight on a Friday evening. The humans are in

11:51but busy upstairs. As is usually the case at this time of night, the seven-year-old girl is getting ready for bed. It usually takes around 20 minutes for her to wash, brush her teeth and change into her pajamas. For all the while, her mother wanders from room to room, closing curtains, dimming lights and pulling back the covers of her daughter's bed. She'll tuck her in once all else is done and send it asleep with a bedtime story. Often, the pocket children will sneak up stairs and find a secluded spot on the girl's bookshelf. They love to listen to Miss Granger read aloud. Her voice is soothing like a lullaby and yet full of expression.

12:58Her tone really lends itself to bedtime stories, particularly the fairy tales that her daughter is so fond of. The way she whispers the words only adds to the magic of the adventures. Tales involving dragons, knights, witchcraft and royalty. Of course, there's no time to listen to such stories tonight because the pockets are living out their own adventure. Currently, they're standing outside the dollhouse, their own private mansion behind the sofa. In the living room, the blinds have been shot. The room is still and the lights dim and sleepy. The terracotta walls are now a shade of sunset. While a tall lamp

14:05stand beside the sofa casts a sheen of gold across the furniture and floorboards. The brown leather sofa, along with the armchair and coffee table, all look as if they'd been sprinkled with gold dust. So do the wooden floorboards, which are so glossy in places that they reflect the light bulb. Joe points out that it looks like the sun, like a golden orb shining on the woodwork. The pockets are performing their final checks, making sure that they've packed any equipment they might need. Matilda secures hercules with a lead of cotton thread. He wags his tail happily at the prospect of a walk.

15:08With par at the front and mar at the rear, they set off walking across the floorboards. It's a short walk from the dollhouse to the back wall and then up to the right to wear the scurting-bore's meat. Just a few strides to most humans, but significantly more for the pockets' tiny legs. For the most part, they walk in silence, listening to the movements of the Granger's upstairs. The sound of curtains being drawn is comforting and familiar, in part because it signals that the humans are winding down, and that the pockets will soon be free to roam the house. They reach the wall behind the sofa in just a few minutes. Here, they turn right and continue on towards the corner of the living room.

16:18By now, the little girl must be tucked up in bed and her mother nearby, an open book on her lab. It's not long before the pockets arrive at the corner where the scurting-bore's meat. Ah, uses his walking stick, a toothpick, and wedges it into the corner where there's the thinnest of gaps. The scurting-bore is a little bit loose, so the space widens with a few nudges of the stick. One by one, the family enter the passageway. Ma is at the front and Pa at the back. Now that they're inside the wall cavity, they move towards their meeting spot between the buildings. It's very dark inside the wall, but Ma lights the way with her tiny torch.

17:24It was a prize in a Christmas cracker that the humans had no use for, something that has since proved invaluable to the pockets. The path within the wall is scattered with obstacles. It wouldn't be easy in the dark. The family must dark beneath the warm pipe sub radiators and dodge out of the way of dangling electric cables. As well as enabling them to see where they're going, the torchlight enhances all that it touches. Dusty walls and floorboards sparkle white and silver, making the pockets feel as though they're walking among the stars. Hercules is curious and keeps sniffing at the floor, until he inhales so much dust that it causes him to sneeze.

18:28Everyone laughs as he shakes his little head, eyes wide and long ears flapping. From then on, he's easier for Matilda to manage, needing fewer tugs on his lead to walk without being distracted. And so, it isn't long before they reach the meeting point within the wall, where the jacket pockets are ready and waiting. It's always a happy occasion when the families get together, especially when they have plans like todays. Suffice to say that there are very merry lot as they hug, shake hands and exchange the warmest greetings. Jokes are made and backs padded while Hercules is fussed over again and again.

19:29The sausage dog's tail waxed to and fro with contentment, even as the family begin walking again. With part at the front, the group head back towards the pocket side of the wall. They walk past landmarks that they've all seen before. The terracotta paint chip and the mound of sawdust, and that one creaky floorboard, which they know to avoid. The spiral stairway, which leads down beneath the floorboards, lies just beyond the rusty nail in the wall. It's made of a tall tube with buttons glued around its sides in all different shades and sizes. A single hairpin has been bent into shape and wrapped around the tube to form railings for the stairway.

20:34It's a cool metal baluster for tiny people to rest their hands on as they descend the stairway one by one. You'd be forgiven for thinking that this colorful stairway was one of the amusements or even a ride. The plastic buttons, every color of the rainbow, appear neon in the glow of the light beneath the floorboards. Just a few inches high, this area is what a human might call a gap rather than a room. But to the pin-sized pockets, the opposite is true. It's an underground world beneath the floorboards. Each step down with reveals more of the room. There would enjoyists that reinforce the floorboards form beams across the ceiling.

21:36They're latticeed in a grid of rectangles with foam insulation inside. A network of fairy lights dangles just below the ceiling. In places, the cord has been sewn to the insulation. The fluffy white foam looks like clouds adding to the dreamy atmosphere. And the soft illumination of the fairy lights casts a veil of silver across the space, forming pools of platinum on the floor below. It highlights the support beams that run floor to ceiling, transforming them into marble columns like those of ancient Greece. It's a beautiful space, even when empty, and nothing short of magical as the setting of a fun fare.

22:42Up on the stairway, the size and scale appear breathtaking. It really is a sight to behold. It's as much a town or village as it is a fairground, though you'd struggle to find a town as colorful as this one. Roof tops made of sweet wrappers and paper cocktail umbrellas, house food stalls and game stands. But it's the rides that really catch the eye, from the loop-hearing ferris wheel to the roller coaster made of spiral straws. A child's soft toy forms a plush bouncy castle, where tiny children are laughing and squealing with delight as they spring up and down on the pink belly of an elephant. Thrills seekers among the party might enjoy a ride on the waltzer,

23:49its carriages made from plastic bottle caps, or they can wander into the matchbox with the words haunted house written on its front and discover the source of spooky noises coming out of its doorway. Those who like their rides, that little bit calmer, might prefer to slide down the giant plastic spoon or take a ride on the swing chairs. The seats are the caps of acorns, attached via tooth floss to the figure of a ballerina. This particular ride is closest to the stairway, so it grabs everyone's attention once they reach the floor. Intrigued, the two families stand and watch as a pair of tiny workers turn a lever

24:49at the base and set the swing chairs into motion. A lovely ballerina and the motor that powers her are the kind that once stood in the centre of a jewelry box. This becomes obvious as the figure begins turning and a twinkly piece of music plays out from invisible speakers. A handful of people are seated on the chairs, legs dangling from gaps in the acorn caps. Their smiles grow wider as their seats fly higher, suspended in the air. Hercules barks full of excitement as if he's going to chase the flying acorns. But Matilda soothes him with a head pat and though he waggles his tail, he settles down.

25:50In any other place, they might worry about the noise. But today, Hercules can bark to his heart's content, even though misgrain your back downstairs. He's right above them, in fact, on the living room sofa. As she often does, once her daughter is asleep, she's relaxing on the couch and watching TV. There's no chance that their antics will be heard beneath the flooring with the television on and its speakers blaring. What's more, there's the insulation beneath the floorboards, acting as a sound barrier between the two worlds. The foam padding absorbs the noise of the television above and the music and merriment of the fun fare below. Another benefit of the insulation

26:54is that it prevents heat from escaping and keeps the space warm and cozy. It also traps a range of mouth-watering scents, the smell of chips, popcorn, donuts and sweets. Joe is already salivating at the thought of eating chips, but his mother advises him that it might be wise to wait. It's probably better to enjoy some rides first, before filling one's belly with food. In fact, it's decided that the group will split up and meet back in an hour to visit the food stalls together. They'll meet at the Ferris wheel. It's the perfect meeting point as it's impossible to miss. Next, there's a quick discussion about who wants to do what, with like-minded individuals,

28:02group together. Cassie, Joe, Ha and Dadsy make up the more adventurous group. They're a lively forceome as they wave their goodbyes and head directly for the soaring rollercoaster. Billy and Matilda, with hercules alongside them, set off too. Mar and Mumsy are close behind. They're an easy going lot, happy to go with the flow. Their first point of call is the nearby swing chairs, which are grinding to a halt as they approach. The music slows down along with the ride, and gradually the chairs lower until they stop completely. As people often do when waiting in line, the group watch the faces of those who've gone before them.

29:06It's surely a good sign that they all look happy. Some are laughing, while others just seem relaxed. Once the passengers have exited the ride, a member of staff invites the group to take a seat. He points them to a spot where they can leave belongings, and says the dog can ride too, so long as he's with an adult. Hercules wags his tail as if he understood what was said, watching closely as Mar takes his carrier from her backpack. She straps it to her chest and slides the dog into his seat. Hercules pours and head stick out through gaps in the fabric. Soon enough, the others are in a similar position,

30:08legs dangling from holes in the acorn cap chairs. The seats have been cushioned with fabric, and have a rope of twine for people to rest their hands on. Billy, Mumsy and Matilda all get a chair to themselves. Mar, on the other hand, is very happy to share with hercules. He sits facing forward, strapped to her chest with his paws resting on the rope. Next, the workers call out to one another, announcing that it's safe to turn the lever. The chairs begin to wobble as the ballerina turns, and the music of a harpsichord plays out from below. Initially, the chairs float parallel to the figure, like a vertical swing in a playground.

31:10But, as the ride picks up speed, the seats climb higher and higher, fanning out in the air until they're near horizontal. The tiny people feel as if they're flying, and all from the comfort of a plush seat. There's a lovely combination of feeling safe, yet free, and though they're moving quickly, it's like they're gliding in slow motion. Better still, is that although they sit alone, they can see each other in front and behind. The children find it hilarious to see their mother's wide-eyed expressions. They look so young and playful, flying through the air. It's hercules, as usual, who gets the most attention.

32:10Not only from the family, but from strangers down below. Look, they say, a flying sausage dog pointing out mar and hercules to their amazed companions. He does look particularly amusing, with his long ears flapping wildly, and his mouth stretched into a great smile. Clearly, the dog is in a world of fun, and he isn't the only one enjoying himself. At the other end of the fairground, the more adventurous tiny people are about to take a ride on the giant roller coaster. They've walked to the entrance at the top of a soaring bridge. It's based a lollipop stick with bent paper clips for railings. The speed straw, as it's called, is made up of drinking straws glued together.

33:14Some twist it into coils, like the shape of a corkscrew. It's raised at different heights on cotton buds and wine corks. The passenger cars resemble mini bobslays. They're made from the lids of ballpoint pens, with tin foil at the bottom. The plastic carriages have been painted in many bright colors, and cut out in places, allowing the riders to see through the windows. Cassie, Joe, Pa and Dadsy are welcomed to the speed straw by a friendly worker. She explains that all four can ride together, but that the heavier people should sit towards the back. This will make their journey even faster and smoother, even that the roller coaster runs on gravity alone.

34:19With smiles on their faces and excitement in the air, the group take their seats in the rocket-shaped car. The chassis has been painted with scarlet red nail polish, and has white racing stripes along its sides. Joe goes at the front, followed by Cassie. Dadsy goes next, with Pa at the back. Each has their own bar to rest their hands on, and cotton wool seats to cushion the ride. The passengers lean forward, like cyclists on a racing bike. Then, the worker behind them gives the car a good push. It sets off slowly on a flat section of straw, the tin foil base sliding easily along the plastic.

35:20And then, the vehicle descends down a steep, straight drop. There are many happy noises of exhilaration and glee, as a rush of cool air flows through the carriage. The rocket-shaped car glides at speed before traversing the section of coiled straw. The passengers feel weightless as the car loops around the track, once, twice, three times altogether. The ride is utterly magical, and they relish every moment. The feeling of air flowing through their clothes, the coolness of the metal bar that they hold as they ride. The sound of the foil undercarriage sliding over plastic, and the happy

36:24exclamations of their loved ones. It's one of those experiences that so out of the ordinary, that every marvellous detail seems etched onto the mind. And yet, at the same time, it's over very quickly, because once the car has made its final loop, it travels upwards and begins to slow down. At the top, it takes a corner and comes to a stop, right back at the point where the journey started. The four sums faces are a picture of joy, as they greeted by the same woman who saw them off. Dad see in power laugh so cheerfully, so freely, that they almost look and feel as youthful as their children.

37:25It's a feeling that will continue over the next hour and beyond, as they wander about the fairground. Trying all kinds of rides. They sit together in the bottle cap waltzer, whooping and laughing as their carriages spun. And they have two go's each on the spoon ride, sliding down from a great height, waving their arms in the air. In the haunted house, a ghost made of tissue causes everyone to jump in fear. Then, they fall about laughing, feeling rather silly. And these are just some of the stories they have to tell, when the families meet up at the Ferris wheel later. Equally, they get to listen to what the others have been up to, once they've visited the food stalls and settled down to eat.

38:25They sit at picnic tables made from lollipop sticks, within the giant marquee of a cocktail umbrella. A piece of toffee coated popcorn provides a feast for the whole family. They eat pick-off pieces, chatting between mouthfuls. Matilda, Billy, Mumsy, Mar and Hercules have been just as busy having fun. Though Billy explains that only he and Matilda bounced on the belly of the pink toy elephant. They all rode together on the Lego pirate ship, which utilizes the mechanism of a pendulum clock. They sat at the back, feeling weightless and wonderful as the stern lifted. Billy impressed everyone with his accuracy on the gamestand,

39:27by throwing rubber bands onto cocktail sticks from a great distance. And Mar revealed a surprising competitive streak, throwing beads with such force and precision that she hit every gummy bottle at the candy knockdown table. Is Mar that the group have to thank for their meal? Her prize was this kernel of delicious toffee popcorn. Once they've finished eating, Pa and Dad Z bring them drinks, and exquisite rose nectar mixed with morning dew. The nectar must have been collected from the Granger's Garden. The pockets recognize the scent. The sweet, fragrant water is served in rolled-up rose petals, ruby-red drinking cones with the texture of velvet.

40:30The group sips slowly, not wanting to rush. They savor the moment as much as the drink. At least half of the party still have their rosecaps with them as they ride the Ferris wheel, 10 minutes later. The wheel itself is a single hoop hearing. Spokes made of fishing wire fan out from its centre. A blue pushpin acts as the axle and allows the wheel to turn while remaining stationary. Silicon thimbles have been cut in half and secured around the edges of the giant wheel. They've been decorated with curls of ribbon along with the jewels of a charm bracelet,

41:35the kind that jingle like bells. Each carriage has the space for two tiny people, Billy and Matilda, Cassie and Joe, Mummazzy and Dadsy and Marron Parr. Although Alasse is actually a threesome, including Hercules in his carrier. He's as happy as ever in his pouch by Mars Chest. The sausage dog loves the feeling of air on his face, as workers below turn a crank to make the wheel move. Just as his companions enjoy their seats in the thimbles, padded as they are with lovely feathers. The passengers sip from their rose petals and look out at the view, occasionally waving at their relatives in other carriages.

42:42The charms clink and jingle as the wheel moves smoothly. From the top, they can see right across the fairground, the people below shrink to the size of dots. Meanwhile, the very lights above twinkle like stars, and the music from the swing chairs plays on in the distance. Mar plants a kiss on the sausage dog's head, then reaches out to hold Parr's hand. She tells him that she's having the most wonderful day. And while the attractions, games and food have been lovely, they're not what has made today so special.

43:43By far, the best thing has been getting to spend time with the family. A laugh and have fun with those she loves.