Mayor Lucas Gabriel sworn in

AT PRECISELY SCHOOL HOME-TIME TODAY, the first Bratz Mayor of Smallvania was sworn into office. Giving his inauguration speech in the icy cold weather (the heating wasn't on), Mayor Lucas Gabriel vowed to usher in a 'new kind of Toyland.'

King Cheekius I handed over the ceremonial mayoral medal from P.Puddleduck to Gabriel and wished him good luck, in front of cheering crowds of hundreds of toys, with an estimated six billion more worldwide watching on television or online.

After thanking P.Puddleduck for his time as Mayor, Lucas Gabriel said Smallvania had many challenges to face, such as financial problems for the Bramble Department Store, the cornerstone of the Smallvanian economy, and erratic weather such as the unexplained cold snap in the week of December 27th - January 4th.

'We are a young city,' he said, 'But we have achieved so much. Only a few years ago Toyland was just a pile of blankets and soft toys. The pavement where toys stand today and call Smallvania was an empty walkway for hoovers and a musical dressing table. Look at how far we've come.'

'God bless Toyland, and God bless Smallvania!' he ended emphatically, to thunderous applause.

Busy

While food outlets and cafés in Smallvania were running at full capacity today, crowds stretched back into Boston park, where most shops were closed. Inbound motorway traffic was blocked for the duration of the ceremony, security organisers hoping for the best but planning for the worst - Tuesday being the regular time for a devasting Hurricane Julie.

Historic

The inauguration of Lucas Gabriel is a historic moment for a city that, despite being the most populated and wealthy part of Toyland, has faced its fair share of political conflict. In 2006, Chris and Spurry Steakface lead a coup to seize power away from King Cheeky, who at the time had a castle there.

In its time as part of Toyland, successive mayors have all been male woodland creature Sylvanians (Jeff Badger, P.Puddleduck). Bratz represent less than ten percent of the Smallvania population, and many in the crowd today thought they'd never see a Bratz leader of their city.

'To see a Bratz man take the second most powerful job in Toyland, after King Cheeky, brings a tear to my eye,' smiled Zara, a Bratz housemate of the new mayor.

Making his success even more improbable, Lucas is a second-hand toy from e-Bay. 'It just goes to show that with confidence, values and determination, any toy can get anywhere he or she wants in this great Toyland of ours,' Mayor Lucas noted in his speech.

Journey

Mayor Lucas' taking office marks the end of a long journey that started as far back as April 2008, when the half-Mexican Spanish American burst into Toyland in a yellow cadillac on Emily's ninth birthday. He quickly won the hearts and minds of influential toys around Smallvania, Boston and even the Land of Old Toys.

In November he won a landslide election against the incumbent mayor P.Puddleduck and local entrepreneur Barry Bramble, both of whom he mentioned in his speech today.

Challenges

Mayor Lucas faces big issues as he settles into his new job. Only on Sunday, as this paper reported, Toyland was all but shunned by Emily and her brother. Lucas may also wish to address dumping of rubbish behind the dolls house and the squalor of toys living in the Smallvanian section of under the bed.

He has received congratulations and support from leaders across the Toyish world, from Mayor Winnie the Pooh of Boston (who said 'I don't remember this kind of fanfare about me becoming Mayor but okay!') to whoever is in charge of Grace's Toyland.

In today's historic landmark souvenir cut-out-and-keep issue of The Toyland Express:
The Gabriel Mayorship: Pull out wallchart guide
'Puddleduckisms', send off for this FREE compendium of various gaffes and mispronunciations made by the former Mayor
First Bratz Mayor - a celebratory story charting Lucas' rise to success

TE

Philip visits home, not Toyland

***STOP PRESS: Emily notice the similarities between Arhur's dog Pal and Edward Wafflington in this episode!***

PHILIP VISITED HOME YESTERDAY BUT DID NOT VISIT TOYLAND AT ALL, it emerged last night. He popped in for 'less than five seconds' according to the Toyland webcam, but, as Emily was out, he left.

It was a difficult Sunday for the toys as storylines barely got a look in.

'I wasn't even looked at! No matter how much I yelled, "Play with me, Play with me!"' said local university student Marissa Cooper, adding, 'I was even wearing my best dress!'


Pictured: To play another day? Every toy's worst nightmare

Amid reports from Philip's Toyland that he was 'ill', Adriana Atwood, who glimpsed him briefly, said, 'He wasn't really that sick so don't give me that nonsense!'

Lucas Gabriel was taken out for lunch on ice skates but never even left Emily's bag.

Smallvanian Mayor Puddleduck commented today, in his last day in office, 'I wish I could hand over to the new Mayor and say Toyland was safe, but he is going to have to deal with some huge problems, starting with how much Emily plays with us.'

King Cheeky released an official note from Kensington Palace assuring toys he thought yesterday was just a 'blip' and looked forward to swearing in Mayor Gabriel tomorrow.

TE

Polly Pocket Airlines crash into bath

THE POLLY POCKET AIRLINES PLANE CRASHED INTO the bath in the nearest bathroom to Toyland yesterday, at 'around bathtime'. All passengers survived and were unhurt.

'It was crazy,' said Polly, a Polly Pocket doll from Smallvania. 'First thing we were all rushing on board to catch Emily for some bath playtime then the pilot said, "Brace for impact."'

Another passenger, also called Polly, praised the professionalism of the pilot, a brown-haired Polly Pocket.

'Although I do wonder where Supersmall was in all this!' she added, referring to Supersmall, the tiny superhero who lives in Emily's schoolshoes.

The plane is believed to have been flown off course by a sudden gust of air from an opening door, sending it off course from the landing spot, resulting in an emergency landing in the bath itself. The plane is fully plastic and so completely waterproof.


Pictured: A Polly Pocket airlines crash in Grace's Toyland in 2002. Passengers said they were worried the same might occur to them.

Lucas Gabriel, the Mayor-elect who is due to be sworn in on Tuesday afternoon, called pilot Polly a 'heroine'.

Next week in the Toyland Express
Full coverage of the inaugration of Lucas Gabriel as Mayor of Smallvania, with detailed analysis of his oath of office, his speech, the colour of his shoes, the traffic situation throughout Smallvania and Boston Park, and special commentary on a historic day for Toyland.

Toyland Express Duck of the Year 2008

THE TOYLAND EXPRESS is proud to name the Duck of the Year 2008 as Ducky Mallard. The award each year goes to the most influential duck in Toyish life, and in the opinion of the judges, Miss Mallard surpassed all other competitors to take the title at the start of 2009.

Ducky faced competition from other Toyland ducks including Mayor Puddleduck of Smallvania, and his daughter and day-pupil at the Bunnage nursery Jemima Puddleduck. Probably the biggest, if not in size, competitor to Ducky's title was Kaitlin Cooper's pet duck Edward Wafflington.

'It's been a big year for ducks,' commentator Mick Reindeer said. 'We've seen ducks in all walks of life, as pets and Mayors, as Bostonians, Smallvanians and probably also Oldsvillians. But Ducky Mallard continues to be by far the most well known duck that Emily owns.'

Despite this success ducks have undergone some problems over the course of 2008. Mayor Puddleduck lost the mayoral election to Lucas Gabriel, a human Bratz doll, and unverified rumours suggest Emily's family ended the year with a meal of cooked duck.

Ducky Mallard wins this award for his multiple achievements this year including going on every single holiday Emily went on, maintaining his house at the top of the bed, and enjoying several spurts of overtaking Marissa Cooper as the most-tagged character on The Toyland Express. Ducky finished the year in France, as pictured above, flying skiing toys around the Alps including the Cooper sisters and new Jellycat Stella Nightingale.

Ducky's Mum, also a duck, was said to be 'especially proud', beaming to reporters utterly speechless with some fresh lipstick on, her McDonald's label proudly displayed. Ducky's Fairy Godmother, who hangs from Emily's ceiling in Boston, sprinkled glitter over Ducky's soft spherical head to congratulate her.

In the past Ducky has shown tremendous bravery over several past operations including a double heart bypass and a voice transplant, as well as a restuffing. She starts 2009 with toys finally universally calling her a girl and with the correct 'she' and 'her' pronouns. She returned to her studies at the Duckdale Academy yesterday.

Past winners of the Duck of the Year award include Edd the Duck.

Ducky is four years old.