If you're a fan of Harry Potter, then you will recognised the chap above as Jim Tavare, the actor who played Tom the Inn Keeper in "Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban".

Now, here he is reading "Tzu Kingdom: Stanley's Discovery" to his little dog Mr Kippy with his arm in a cast.  Well, how did that come about?

Well, back in March, Jim and Mr Kippy were involved in a terrible car accident in Los Angeles.  For Jim, it nearly ended his life.  It left him with a broken neck, a serious hand infury, broken ribs and punctured lungs.  Mr Tippy was ok, but no doubt traumatised.

Now, this came to the attention of Bailey's mum Karen a month or so later when, against all the odds, Jim recovered and there was a wonderful news item...

Co-author Karen remembered Jim.  She had worked with him 20 years ago when she booked him for a customer event when he was doing his stand-up routine with his double bass.  She had always remembered what a jolly nice man he was and her ears had pricked up whenever she heard his name, especially for Harry Potter for she is a big fan.

So, through the wonder of the modern world, Karen sent a message to Jim's wife Laura, explaining she had met Jim back in the last century (!) and asking Laura to wish him well.  Then thinking of Mr Kippy, she realised they must love cute little dogs too.  Just out of plaster after a major foot operation, she knew exactly what it was like to be housebouond, recovering from surgery and thouht to herself 'I am sure reading a happy, uplifting novella in short chapters would be perfect to aid his recovery'.  As we have always said, this isn't just a children's book, it's a book for anyone with an imagination or someone who loves dogs.

So, Karen parcelled up a signed copy of Tzu Kingdom and sent it to Laura and Jim, c/o his agent in Los Angeles, not really expecting to hear anything else.

But she did, just a couple of weeks later!  Jim and Laura sent a thank you message and then, the bit that made Karen and Gill very proud of their book, the above picture appeared on Jim's personal Facebook page with the caption:

"Thank you to Karen Chilvers who very kindly sent this book she co-authored for me and Mr Kippy to enjoy. Mr Kippy is engrossed."

This was the picture that Jim used to show his thousands of friends that he was on the mend!  The authors were truly touched and honoured.

We are delighted to see that Jim continues to improve and that some great benefit concerts have been held to help him cover his huge medical bill ($40,000 - you can donate here!)  We look forward to seeing Jim return to work and we hope, that if our dream comes true and Tzu Kingdom is made in to an animated film that he might consider being the voice of King Bailey with that kingly beard of his!

So, the final part of Tzus On A Train is here…

Wednesday morning came all too quickly and Stanley was woken by the doorbell ringing. Mama glanced at the clock, it was not even 8am. Stan barked as Mama pulled open the curtains and saw Nanny & Louis waving up at them!

As an excited Stanley ran downstairs Nanny already had the kettle on and was fussing over everyone. Stan loved Nanny, she was everything a nanny should be, just like his own granny he mused as he caught up on the gossip with Louis and a rather bleary eyed Bailey. All the boys went out for a wander in the garden and Louis proudly showed off his purple fairy door.

Sadly, it was soon time to leave, and after a tearful tzu hug to Bailey and Louis, Stan jumped into the front seat of the car and with his fur blowing in the wind they drove towards the station where  Bailey’s mum dropped Stan and Mama both off.

After about an hour Stan was back at Kings Cross Station. Mama stopped off for a coffee and bought a bacon and egg roll which to be fair, Stanley ate most of. At twenty past eleven Stan found himself standing in front of a giant notice board, with Mama staring up at it,trying to see what platform the 11.30am to Edinburgh train was going to depart from.

Suddenly Stanley heard a voice he hadn’t heard before. “Hello, can I touch your dog?”. Stanley turned and saw the cutest little girl staring down at him. Stanley smiled, she was lovely. “Of course you can” said Mama. “His name is Stanley”

The little girl bent down and Stanley felt her little soft hand on top of his fluffy head. She was so gentle and kind. He reminded Stan of Fleur, the little girl they had met on one of their many adventures in Tzu Kingdom. Then Stan heard Mama say to the little girl that they had to go and get their train back to Edinburgh. Stan smiled up at the little girl, he knew she was very special.

Stan found himself in between lots of humans and suitcases with wheels on. Stan had to walk rather quickly to keep up with Mama, he sensed there was an air of urgency! They stopped outside the big red train. “Coach C” said Mama, “this is ours” as she scooped Stan up under her arms they boarded the train. Coach C was jam packed and Mama decided to walk further down the train to find a quieter and less busy seat. Coach F was lovely and quiet and once again Mama got Stanley’s granny blanket out of the case and Stan settled down for a snooze.

About thirty minutes into the journey Mama needed to go to the bathroom. Stan of course was coming with her and walked up the train with his fluffy tail held high. On the way back Stan was a bit worried that they wouldn’t be able to find their seat – they all looked the same! But Mama seemed to know where she was heading and Stan followed.

Then Stan heard a voice call out from nowhere – “can I touch your dog again?” Stan was woofless as he glanced up and saw the lovely little girl he had seen at the station. “Oh my goodness I can’t believe we’ve met you again!” said Mama and proceeded to talk to the little girl’s mum. Stan chuckled and winked at the little girl. He KNEW she was special, she had the Tzu Kingdom fairy magic inside her; how else would she be on the very same carriage that he was on! He was so happy and wagged his tail as the little girl chatted away to him about tzu stuff.

Stan and Mama headed back to their chair and Stan settled in for another snooze. The train pulled into Peterborough and Stan was excited when he saw the little girl heading down towards him, but then quickly realised she was leaving the train. Mama smiled and spoke to the little girl and handed her a signed copy of the Tzu Kingdom book. Stan looked at the book and saw Mama had written “To Jessie” and then another message which he couldn’t really read.

Jessie kissed Stanley goodbye and slipped off the train. Stan stood at the window and waved his paw until he could see Jessie no longer. What a lovely little girl thought Stanley as he settled in for what he hoped was going to be a rather long snooze.

The next thing Stan can remember was waking up on his blue cushion – he was home! As he snuggled into snooze mode again he sighed deeply and thought what a wonderful adventure he had been on. 

We would love to know if Jessie enjoyed the book and has maybe even read this blog - Please get in touch Jessie!