Hi ES
I think you could be on to something there - Santa brought that one for Christmas 1961 when I was 6 years old, then the 4a, 5a, 6a, 7a, 8a, over the next few years.
That would mean I have been in fulltime engineering for nearly 62 years
Still going to work every day - we got 1 less stack than the Titanic, but even less sinkable (barring a tsunami coming up the Severn Estuary) - no plans for retirement (as in equity) for the foreseeable future.
My Parents also gave me the full Swallows & Amazon book series over several years - I never thought of it as career advise before, but was there a hidden agenda? - the book Missee Lee left me in good stead when I went into the first Chinese Restaurant that only had chopsticks (in Durban) I just picked them up and started eating. Maybe the Castle
helped. I also managed to find my own "Missee Lee" in Taiwan, before I was given the "Short Goodbye" from UASC in 1983.
I still miss the "sahib 11:15" wakeup call from the Donkeyman and curry for breakfast.