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Welcome to Napega – never let your ardour cool for the honour of the school.
Napega is indeed another fantasy city, with an expansive and well-connected metro network. I present my third map, a full map of the city’s network, capturing the nostalgia of my days at Dame Alice Owen’s School.
From my walk to school with Ezinne and Oladayo, fellow graduates from my primary school, on our first day as Owenians, myself carrying a bag over half my height, perhaps over-prepared for the day ahead – to the lift home with James Fung’s parents after the Owens Prom at the Fitzrovia Inn – I look to my days as an Owenian with grand reminiscence. I was surrounded by great company at school throughout, from most corners of the year (and walked out with some GCSEs and A-Levels on the side).
Creation of fictional metro systems has been something I have done since an 8-year-old. Inevitably, I did this as a student at Owens, commencing its development early on. Using the names of my peers to name the stations, I slowly crafted the original system – for the city of Conapega. The Napega part refers to Nathaniel, Pearce, and Gabriel, a few of my closest friends in the earliest days of Year 7. (I am not sure what Co stood for, though I do remember wanting to include Charlie, I did not like the sound of ‘Chanapega’).
With little experience in map creation, and limited experience of rail operations, the Conapega system was a contrived shambles. Designed as separate lines, trying to connect all these lines to form the final diagram, years later, ended up as ‘mutant Manhattan on steroids’ – a incoherent, intertwined tangle of noodles dangling from a colander.
For many years I have desired to overhaul the map completely, being marred by a busy career and intense softball and baseball calendar in the summer. However, after the completion of the Zafarnia map, I finally put all my scarce spare focus into Napega.
Continuing from St. Jacques and Zafarnia, this map features stations, named after people I have met. In Napega’s case, the majority of stations are named after fellow students in my year – the class of 2005-2012. I believe I have not missed anyone out in this map, which was one of the main objectives (which the original Conapega did not meet!) New in this re-design are stations for teachers too, some of my favourites during my time, as well as other memorable characters.
With a solid list of names, and no-one to add, was an opportunity to place stations in a particular way. Large interchanges are reserved for my closest friends, with more casual friends dotted around the central area (or as interchange stations in the outer zone). Acquaintances are predominantly located in the outer zone.
The original Conapega map was heavily based on the London Underground, even down to the line name and colours. After St. Jacques, I have vowed for future maps to eschew from any TfL influence – and Napega is successful with this, using a hexagonal design. London Underground line names have been completely stripped and replaced with names inspired by some of my closest friends throughout all periods of my time at Owens, helping to devise a far more personal and imaginative system. Conapega is referenced, however, by using many of the original station names, two line names and a selection of station names (not named after people) I like from the original map, used to form the Owenia Suburban Rail network, separate to the Napega Metro.
The St. Jacques Map indeed includes a small section for fellow Owenians – closest friends primarily, with several stations assigned to people, who I was not necessarily close friends with at school, but became closer after our school days, through meetings at The Byng, or parties with Peter. However, I hoped to create a fresh map that would include the whole lot.
Mirroring St. Jacques, I hark back on my primary school days as well. A Pope Paul student from 2001-2005 (Years 2 to 6), the basis of my first fantasy city (with a 1,089-line metro network and a smattering of motorways), I have incorporated a mini-network for a satellite city, Barbica City, within the map (you can’t create a bustling network with 30 people, and I’m not about a metro network with two or three piddly lines, quite frankly). Barbica was the original name for this Pope Paul gigalopolis, so I have retained the name here. All students in my year during my time at Pope Paul are included. The four lines are named after the renowned ‘Sophia Gang,’ and my best friend at primary school. Let us not forget the huge part the Biss family played in my early life, they have several stations plus their eponymous funicular. Overall, the map represents my life in school (and beyond), from 2001 to 2012, ages 6 to 18.
The map contains 459 stations, representing 310 people from Owens – 240 being students in my year, 58 teachers and a few stations for a small number of others in other years. In regard to Pope Paul, there are stations for 32 students in my year, 8 teachers and a number of stops for some of the Biss family.
I have had enormous enjoyment creating this map, recollecting the many memories within and out of Owens’ grounds. Perhaps I may be too sentimental. I realise that most people with stations are long departed from my life, going their separate ways with no contact; all part of life, I’ve done the same myself, though keeping several friends through the years – this map was insanely fun to design, and a long time coming! Who knows, perhaps this map may ultimately rekindle a couple of long-lost friendships…
The PDF provides an index of stations. For more information, navigate the toolbar at the top of the page.
On Owens, to the fray, and learn in the light of Christ.
© Jacques Smith 2025
