I mean, not the City as in the Square Mile. That’s not a great place to spend any swelteringly hot days unless you’re inside an airconditioned office. Although I did see an exciting Superman-themed pop up booth outside Liverpool Street a few days back:
So what have we been up to while it’s been so ridiculously warm? Well, last weekend Reuben and I went to the open air pool at Oasis Leisure Centre for the first time since 2012. It was crowded but just about the perfect place to be when it’s 30c. There’s a sun terrace, which is only for the 16+ customers….Roo was about to turn back when he saw the sign before remembering that he was, in fact, 16. And the pool itself is gloriously cool. There’s also a little garden area and a sauna, not that we needed it that day.
Last time we went, we had a buggy and ended up changing in the disabled loo. This time I went to the very spacious ladies’ changing, which was a vast improvement. The lockers swallow coins but you can buy them from a vending machine in the reception area for 30p each (cash and card both accepted I think). A much smoother experience than doing the same trip with a newborn and a toddler. Funny that.
I obviously didn’t take any photos at the pool itself but here’s a Liptonice-themed bus we spotted at Spitalfields market afterwards:
Another refreshing find was a little beach in Docklands when I had a rare day without the kids. It wasn’t marked or anything but other people were paddling, along with an exuberant German Shepherd and some ducks. So I had a little paddle too. It’s near the cable car dock, in between Royal Victoria and West Silvertown. There are also some food trucks near the dock and I had a very tasty but messy Afghan chicken wrap. Luckily there was a handy Tesco so I could buy some wet wipes before even tackling it.
When I got back to HP, we had time for a cheeky Tiki at the Hulali Tiki Shack on our road before picking VK up. It’s not the only one we’ve had recently but it was very much needed after trekking around Docklands in the sun:
If you’re wondering why I was quite so footcooled and fancyfree, the answer is theatre. VK was at a Saturday rehearsal for her drama club show and Reuben was in some woods near Chesham, on a residential weekend with “Drama in the Woods”. He camped out for two nights, eating smores and being creative before taking part in a performance on the Sunday evening when the parents arrived for collection. It was co-run with friends of the blog Chickenshed so I recognised some of the leaders from various productions we’ve seen over the years and it was a lovely, inclusive group by all accounts. Naturally VK wants to go next year (it was for ages 14-17) – as she said “going feral and creating drama in the woods….what more could you want?”
Talking of friends of the blog, there’s something else I did recently that was both fun and “appropriately sad”. It was an event at Ivy House to celebrate the life of Becky, from Beanstalk Arts. She of the crazy bird puppets and the Britpop toddler discos. We gathered to play ukuleles, sing, shake shakers, hug, laugh and cry. A very fitting tribute to a lovely lady who left us way too soon. Our LWAT thoughts are with her family.
A sad note to end on but, as Becky herself said, appropriate. This post was about various warm weather activities and nothing was warmer than the love in that room. Rest well, slightly mad Becky.
