An invitation for the world’s Wendys to leave their mark on literary history is now open in Angus.
One chance phone call to the birthplace of Peter Pan’s creator JM Barrie has seen the renewal of a tradition that ended more than 40 years ago.
The tourist attraction Barrie’s Birthplace has welcomed fans of his works from around the world to Kirriemuir for 77 years.
The celebrated playwright first wrote about Pan in the 1904 play Peter and Wendy, creating an icon of children’s literature.
But readers hold the main protagonist, Wendy, in just as much regard as “the boy who never grew up”.
As one of its early attractions, little girls called Wendy a name first used by Barrie in his work would get to sign a visitor book.
This has now been brought back more than 40 years later.
The property is run by the National Trust for Scotland, and manager John McKenna told The Courier that the book’s relaunch saw five Wendys come from all over the UK to sign, and receive a certificate marking the occasion.
Mr McKenna said: “The property was quite busy and that added to the atmosphere.
“We’ll have a big poster saying ‘Hi Wendy’ to grab people’s attention to get them to sign the book, and people will be over the moon with that.
“One lady was so excited she was thinking about changing her name so she could get to sign it.”
Mr McKenna said the original visitor book was long forgotten until a lady phoned after seeing it by chance.
“We thought it would be great to bring it back,” he said.
The first person to sign the book was local journalist Wendy Glass.
She said: “I’ve always loved the story of Peter Pan, especially as it was one of the few tales where a Wendy played a starring role, so I was delighted to be the first Wendy in 40 years to sign the visitor book.”
The Brechin Road attraction was also visited by comic artists Stref (Stephen White) and Fin Cramb, who are behind the recent graphic novel adaptation of Peter Pan.
The pair signed copies, including one for a little girl who had won a copy in a school competition.