Some Playground News….

Posted on June 5, 2013 by katese11

This is the update I actually meant to post yesterday, instead of getting a bit of a rant on. But yes, I do feel better for it. Thanks for asking. Yesterday’s post contained a lot of words and almost no photos. Today’s is all photos. I’m worded out.

So, there has been some exciting playground action around the SE11 area. The little park next to the Tea House Theatre, formerly a bit of a wasteland, is coming on nicely. Here’s the before:

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And here’s the work-in-progress:

DSC02799DSC02800Gone is the brightly-coloured metal, in is the natural-and-green coloured wood. Looks like it’ll be much better. And that insanely hazardous slide mound is gone now (“What shall we build a slide on? I know, something REALLY hard and steep!”)

Meanwhile, wandering through the estate after dropping Roo at nursery, I spotted a new play area being built on the tiny scrap o’ green that is Doorstep Green. Again, it looks like a more “natural” look from what I could spy:

DSC02801Then onto the real prize of the day – the newly opened playground in the Victoria Tower Gardens, right next to the Houses of Parliament. I might have mentioned before just how underwhelming this playground used to be – just a sad looking slide and swings in one of the busiest tourist hotspots in London. It was ripe for a makeover. And so I was very excited when I noticed it was having one. Let’s remind ourselves of the before:

IMG-20130101-02112IMG-20130101-02111Are you ready for the after? Here goes:

IMG-20130604-03146 IMG-20130604-03150 IMG-20130604-03151 IMG-20130604-03152So, what do we have? A tyre swing that’s not a seesaw (Eva’s godmother thought it was), baby swings, a lovely clean sandpit and a small slide that I didn’t get as photo of because both my camera and my phone had run out of battery. I was mostly concerned that I wouldn’t be able to keep an eye on the time to go and pick Reuben up – annoyingly, the most famous clock in the world is just out of sight, behind a tree.

You’ll just have to take my word for it then that there was a slide, built onto some pleasingly chunky wooden steps. And a flat kind of roundabout that was wheelchair accessible (there was a girl in a wheelchair enjoying it when we were there). But the big winner, with parents and children, were the dance chimes. An unexciting -looking panel of nine metal squares in the ground, they kinda just look like a drain cover. But when you jump on them, they make a glockenspiel-like noise! I’m not exaggerating when I say that parents were pushing kids off them in order to have a go themselves. Well, maybe I’m exaggerating a little….

A HUGE improvement on the playground front then. The only disappointment was that the water feature was a little lame – just one water pump, going into a snake-like brick channel. I expected there to be sprinklers and things inside the channel itself but no, it’s just one pump. So a slightly half-arsed attempt at water play (and I was looking forward to having a local-er paddling pool), but other than that I’m impressed.

This playground update wouldn’t be complete without mentioning the sterling work of several Kennington parents in cleaning up the Kennington Park sandpit after glass was found in it. The contractors had failed to take any action, so the parents mobilised themselves instead, led by H’s Dada, H’s Mama and a friend we’ll called Magical Mumma (we were sadly in Devon at the time). It goes to show there can be community, even in the big city and reports say that the sandpit looks lovely and shiny as a result.

Happy playing!

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That Whole “Sharents” Thing

Posted on June 4, 2013 by katese11

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You’d expect me to have an opinion on this, right? A couple of articles are doing the rounds about “sharents” -parents who share too much on social media. I’m not even going to discuss that word. I mean, I love a ridiculous blended word but that one? No.

My first thought was – why are we picking on parents yet again? It’s been like open season on us lately. Isn’t it the elderly’s turn yet? I’m aware that by growing another human inside me, I automatically also grew a mod symbol on my forehead, with the words “Daily Mail aim here” next to it but this is just getting boring now. Yes, parents share a lot on social media but so does everyone. It’s kinda the point of social media. My child’s nappy is no more disgusting than someone else’s blood blister…and at least I don’t post photos of that (Sorry Lottie, it was an obvious example 😉 )

Everyone shares. Some people choose to share their bigoted views on muslims. Some choose to share their fantasies about killing their bosses. I share hilarious anecdotes about bodily fluids. Again I say, it’s how social media works.

Because understanding how social media works is a key thing that these articles keep on getting wrong. They talk about parents sharing on “facebook, twitter and blogs”. Hold up, aren’t those three different things? For me, facebook is where I share the mundanity of my life as a WAHM (work at home mum), in the vain hope that someone else with similar issues will be online at the same time as me, and we can sympathise with each other. Been up all night with a teething baby? It’s nice to know that someone else is squeezing the end of that bonjela tube too. Stuck under a sleeping baby and needing a pee? Someone else will be too, and you can race to see which pelvic floor collapses first. If my status updates don’t interest you, they’re probably not intended for you.

My blog is different. The things I write on here may seem like incoherent rambles, but they tend to have slightly more point than my facebook updates. And occasionally there might be something in there that helps someone else do something. Like visit a paddling pool. And here, no-one is forcing anyone to read. If you’re reading this, it’s because somewhere along the line you chose to click on it. The link may have appeared in your Facebook feed, but no-one held a shredder to your comic collection and made you read.

Twitter I use for blatant self-promotion and to talk to the one friend who’s not on facebook. Nuff said.

So, have we got the point yet? These things are different? It’s a bit ignorant to accuse bloggers of the kind of oversharing that happens on facebook. And it’s wrong to accuse facebookers of sharing things “with the world” when they’re just sharing with selected people. Take the issue of sharing pictures of your kids on facebook – if you do it, is it possible that they’ll be seen by a paedophile? Yes. Anything is possible. But if that paedophile is among your friendslist, then they’ve probably met your kids in real life anyway. Best not to worry about it too much.

Which leads me onto…how much does any of it matter, really? You may be “creating your child’s virtual identity” but how much does it really matter? There are obvious cases where keeping your children anonymous is important – if you have an abusive ex, for example, or if you’ve upset a dangerous Nigerian cult. But you pretty much know whether you fall into those categories or not, right? And if you’re the kind of person that can upset a dangerous Nigerian cult without really knowing it then yes, you probably should stay away from social media.

IMG-20121103-01673One example an article gave was – what if your child became Prime Minister one day and photos emerged of him as a baby, with spaghetti on his head? (Let’s not question why a future PM is automatically a man) I mean, what would that say? Err, that he was a baby once? Aren’t most people? Believe me, if your kid is going to be a politician, he will embarrass himself in far more serious ways than that.

Cause here’s the bottom line – it doesn’t matter what you do when you’re three. I dismissed one article before I’d even started reading because it worked on the assumption that no parent would ever have carried out their threat to show a teenage child’s love interest their nudey baby pictures. The article suggested this would be both ghastly and humiliating. But my parents showed my boyfriends the nudey baby pictures, and we all survived. In fact, I welcomed the nudey-baby-photo showing as a distraction from my drunk Uncle Gerry hollering abuse at aforesaid boyfriends and trying to dance with them. Parents will always embarrass their kids, this is just a different medium. My nieces and nephews were babies at the dawn of the internet, and my sister used to send us photos by e-mail, along with the funny things Nat had said that day. They’re all now old enough to potentially be embarrassed by that kind of stuff and guess what? They don’t care. They like to
hear what they did as babies, and the internet has given us ways of recording that more efficiently. I was stumped on the date of Reuben’s first steps until I checked back over my Facebook statuses. Maybe one day he’ll thank me for that.

But the real issue I have with these articles? They’re dour. They’re tabloid-esque, making an issue of something to satisfy some kind of gloom-mongering urge that these people have. And that’s just not me, sorry.  One article asked – “Are we sharing these updates for the child’s own good or for the comedy?”

The comedy. It’s always about the comedy. Glad we got that one cleared up…

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Devon With a Toddler

Posted on June 2, 2013 by katese11

DSC02722Yes, you read that right. I went to Devon with a toddler. I think. Well, I didn’t go there with one but I seem to have one now. Almost. Eva has taken the opportunity of a week away to try out this walking thing the rest of us seem to enjoy. She’s not quite there yet, but I think the toddler days are upon us, what with the screaming fits every time Reuben eats something she wants or we try and get her dressed. When your baby cries, it’s because something is wrong (hungry, windy, tired). When your toddler cries, it’s because you are not doing exactly what they want you to do. So, she’s at least a trainee toddler, even if she hasn’t passed her toddling proficiency course yet.

DSC02691You also read it right that we’re in Devon. In the countryside. I know, I’m not the countryside’s biggest fan but it’s OK for a holiday. True, it smells ropey but with Eva’s prolific bottom on our side, I’m confident we’re giving as good as we get, stink-wise. And I thought while we were here, I’ll tell you some things we’ve found to do In The Country which may or may not be fun with your child who may or may not be a toddler. And the other one who is (gulp!) starting school in a few months. Don’t worry, it won’t be a blow-by-blow account of everything we’ve done on our hols, but just a few tidbits.

(Don’t you just love it when you write something and then it comes to pass, so to speak? Thanks Eva)

Anyhoo…where to begin? We’re staying at Park Holidays Golden Sands, near Dawlish Warren. It’s not to everyone’s tastes, and probably not what Nathan and I would have chosen pre-kids. But these are post-kids times and it’s all kinda convenient. There’s a swimming pool and two play areas, one of which is right outside our door. 19 paces from apartment to slide. And yes, we have an apartment. We don’t really do caravans, after traumatic childhood experiences, and the apartment is pretty nice – double glazing, flat screen telly and occasional wifi. We haven’t done much of the park entertainment stuff, and what we have done was a tad lame (although we won a giant hand at Disco Bingo and were robbed at the Children’s Quiz), but as a base to explore it’s been perfect.

DSC02765Dawlish Warren beach is very close by and is a nice sandy one, although it’s not as remote as the map would have you believe. In fact, it’s fairly built-up, with amusement arcades, shops and a huge pub with soft play.

DSC02793That pub came in handy when a beach-trip ended in rain, so I’m not complaining. It’s always hard to know whether somewhere to eat is child-friendly, but when it has a soft play and a pictorial kids menu, it’s a pretty safe bet.

DSC02787But not all beach trips ended in rain. Look how sunny it was today! (That was Friday…by the time I post this, it won’t be Friday anymore thanks to aforementioned occasional wifi). We stayed there all day, and Nathan even took his top off at one point. You don’t get to see that.

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We also got on the beach in Dawlish itself, a spontaneous trip that followed a Devonshire cream tea at the Old Mill House. Reuben befriended some pensioners at the next table by asking them whether they were 17 or 18 years old. Eva just ate a lot of jam.

DSC02723Then there was a trip out to the World of Country Life, which sounds just about as exciting as watching 2001:A Space Odyssey on slow-motion. But it was great! Three different soft play areas, two bouncy castles, dodgems, go-karts, a whole host of trampolines and two outdoor play areas, one of which had a zip wire. Plus you got to pet animals and watch these amazing balancing goats:

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And did I mention the giant pirate ship to play on?

DSC02702It was awesome. The only downsides were the food was pretty dull, theme park stuff and the mascot was a sickly green moose that kinda freaked me out. And some of the museum bits were a bit dull too, although you have to love a photoshoot opportunity:

DSC02639ut those are minor things, and it was a really nice day out. Nathan had specified he wanted to go somewhere “not too exciting” i.e. a theme park with rides that Reuben wasn’t allowed on, and this fit the bill perfectly.

So, is that enough to sell Devon to you? There was also a great picnic, BBQ and ceilidh which all seemed strangely packed with friends from London, but I think that might be specific to us…

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Chris and Pui Roadshow – 19/05/13

Posted on May 19, 2013 by katese11

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We’ve been to some pretty cool gigs in our time. Even some secret gigs in tiny clubs with our cool DJ friends. You know, cool stuff. Cause we used to be cool.

I don’t know why I mention this. Anyway, today we went to see Chris and Pui from CBeebies.

Not that they were allowed to use any word that might be owned by the BBC, so this was just the Chris and Pui show. But yeah, they are from the place that sounds a bit like a bee called Bea that you might see….or that’s how Chris explained it anyway. The copyright issues only impeded them slightly – they were still allowed to ask people to show them, show them stuff and all the characters from the TV show appeared. Apparently not even the BBC can claim to copyright Humpty Dumpty.

So, an hour and 15 minutes with CBeebies’ finest may sound like Hell to you, but it was pretty fun really. There was a lot of audience participation and the kids were encouraged to be noisy. An opening announcement of “please turn off your phones and turn up the volume of your children” reassured me that it was OK for the kids to be a bit noisy. And obviously, everyone else there also had a small child with them.  We were in the glamourous borough of Lewisham, close to the giant cat of Catford (below), and they threw in a few local references for some easy cheers (The Grand Old Duke of York going up Shooters Hill, for example)

IMG-20130519-03093In fact, there were a lot of gags for the grown-ups. We were there with Maria and her family, and both Nathan and her husband giggled for ages at Twinkle’s “constellation” joke. There were references to the Ikea horsemeat scandal, a speeding MP and even something that ran “on double A batteries”. It was all a bit saucy panto in places. And Chris is possibly even camper on stage than he is on TV, in case you thought that wasn’t possible.

But mostly, it was aimed squarely at the 1-4s. There were nursery rhymes by the dozen, puppets, a couple of loose storylines of a sort and a lot of interaction in the “he’s behind you!” genre. It was fun, it was fast-paced and they really know their audience. Reuben got very excited about pointing out the missing chicken as he popped up behind a wall (“There he is! There’s the chicken!”) and did some very enthusiastic marching when requested. He was eating his crisps while everyone else was doing groovy moves, but he waved his arms around a bit and Eva enjoyed a dance standing up on a seat. She mainly faced backwards, making googly eyes at the people behind us, but was enraptured during “Twinkle twinkle little star”, making star signs with her hands and grinning. It really had something for everyone.

IMG-20130519-03096Afterwards, there was a meet ‘n’ greet and both children melted down in the queue from overexcitment and tiredness. But Reuben rallied, in time to squeak a “goodbye” to the preschool celebs. They seemed genuinely nice, and took a lot of interest in the letter that Maria …sorry –Maria’s children had written to them. It was a nice way to end the show and they still seemed hyped enough to do it again in a few hours.

VERDICT: Great for pre-schoolers and their parents. Fun, camp and energetic…as long as you’re not bothered about looking cool.

More details here (official site)

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National Maritime Museum – 18/05/13

Posted on May 19, 2013 by katese11

DSC02510It was International Museum Day yesterday. Did you remember? We did, cause we celebrate a lot of these kind of days. Over lunch we made the unlikely decision to go to Greenwich, so I could revisit the National Maritime Museum with some toddler-ish children, as opposed to a 7 month old baby. That visit itself was inspired by a book we found at Nathan’s parents about a small stuffed penguin that went to the Antarctic and now resides in the National Maritime Museum. I think he was called Ponko. Anyway, long story short – he doesn’t live there anymore. But lucky we had neither remembered about the penguin nor hyped it up to Roo until we were there.

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By which time there was plenty of other stuff to look at. Nathan liked a big, interactive globe and I liked the neon-blue lettering on the wall (above) but it was the main hall that was most impressive. It’s huge and airy, not dissimilar to the Great Court at the British Museum and has a wall of figureheads, as well as a gilded barge and the entire frontage of a ship. Eva seemed to like the figurehead that had a cheeky bit of boob showing – I think it reminded her it was lunchtime. At the far side of the hall, we found a little play area, with a boat you could climb into and a seaside hut to play in, as well as dressing up clothes.

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Then we went to find the Children’s Gallery, which was also fun and interactive. There was (naturally) a few tussles over who got to operate the swinging-crane thing and whether or not you could climb into the cargo boat (you can’t), but once Reuben got his go, he had fun picking the bits of cargo up with a hook and dropping them into the boat. There’s also a play galley, more dressing up and this:

DSC02552And then onto my favourite thing – a giant interactive map, with plastic boats you could sit on and push around. They were a bit heavy for smaller kids to operate, but Eva enjoyed just climbing on hers, while Reuben got Nathan to push him around. And later on, a troupe of sea scouts helped to push him too. Before pushing him off. But Roo and Eva both had a good twenty minutes or so running around the map, scooting on the boats, jumping from landmass to landmass, and running ships aground in Africa. It was a lot of fun.

DSC02572But sugar crash was approaching, so it was time to go to the cafe for cake and juice. The cafe had this sign at the door:

DSC02597which is disappointing for a cafe. But luckily the sign was wrong and there was plenty of food and drink inside. Cake, juice, coffee and popcorn to be exact. As we were finishing up, Nathan gor a call from our friend Kay saying they were locked out of their flat and needed the spare keys that were in my handbag. Probably a good time to head home. We were getting the boat back, so had a glimpse of the Cutty Sark, with a burst of sunshine

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before getting back to the greyer skies of Central London. And rescuing our friends.

DSC02609VERDICT: A great museum, with all the accessibility you’d expect of something so shiny-looking. And loads of interactive things.

More details here (official site)

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Posted in Token attempts at culture (museums) | Tagged , , | 1 Comment

Things to do over May half term in London

Posted on May 16, 2013 by katese11

DSC01748This is a guest post by Angus Carbarns, blogger and travel writer. He’s previewing some of London’s half-term activities because we are skipping off to countrysideshire again. Yes, you read that right. Two trips to the country in one month. What has become of me??

Anyhoo, thanks to Angus for these tips. Usual disclaimers apply etc etc…

Half term is the perfect opportunity to get away with the kids and enjoy a trip to London. We’ve put together a guide to enjoying a great value family holiday in the capital.

We’re fast approaching the latest half-term holiday break and across the country families are scrambling for ways to fill the days. If you’re in that boat have you thought taking the kids on a trip to London?

DSC01795There are loads of activities taking place in the capital over the half term break – the kind of stuff that you can enjoy just as much as the kids. And with a bit of forward planning a London half term break doesn’t have to be that expensive either.

If you’re not careful, the bill for a family holiday can quickly spiral out of control but we’ve got a few tips to help you control your budget and make savings on your half term holiday. Here are a few tips to help you cut your costs:

  • Book early: If you’re planning on flying to London or catching a train to the capital then you should book as early as you can to take advantage of lower advanced fares. And check the information on travel companies’ websites to see if they have any money saving family deals.
  • Get picky with your accommodation: The recent economic difficulties have provided some unexpected benefits for budget travels as the demand for low-cost accommodation has seen a surge in the sector. You’ll find a great range of cheap hotels in London like the Premier Inns spread across the city that offer not only good value but also high levels of quality.
  • Look for the freebies: The best thing about going to London is the range of half term activities that the city boasts. The second best thing is that a lot of these activities are free, meaning you keep costs well and truly down. We’ve picked out some of the best free child-friendly activities you can enjoy in London over the half term. They are just the kind of activities to keep you and the kids occupied, so read on.

DSC01755Trawling through the free attractions in London can be a bewildering experience – there are so many great things to do. To help you out, here are some of the best:

  • Back-packs and Trails: The Victoria and Albert Museum will be running this great event throughout the half term week offering your kids the chance to learn about the exhibits at the museum in a tremendously enjoyable, interactive way.
  • Family Art Fun: The spectacular Horniman Museum & Gardens is celebrating flying and swimming creatures in this family fun day. The event is free but ticketed so book your place now to avoid disappointment.
  • Spy Kids: The Museum of Childhood is offering spy-themed programme of family fun this year over half term. With interactive events taking place throughout the day, and the chance to win a prize, the museum promises a great time for budding 007s.
  • Play in style: If the weather is good over the half term week then spend a bit of time in the fresh air at the Diana Memorial Playground.  The huge park in Kensington (pictured top) is full of the kind of obstacles and objects that’ll fire your kids’ imaginations – including a huge wooden pirate ship that’ll be sure to get the timbers a-shiverin’… aaarrr!
  • See science live: The Science Museum (below) is a great place to take the kids at any time of the year, providing an educational and enjoyable day out. To take the experience further you can take the kids to see scientists carrying out live science activities in the museum, using visitors as volunteers for their studies!

DSC00387How do you intend to spend your half term holidays?

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Crazy Chimps Revisited – 11/05/13

Posted on May 11, 2013 by katese11

IMG-20130511-03023Our local soft play, Crazy Chimps, has been overdue for a revisit since we made a hasty exit from the opening party. There have been a few weeks of glorious weather, when the park has beckoned instead….and there was that inconvenient trip to middle-of-nowhereshire last week. But this Saturday was rainy and grim and we had nothing else to do, so we left Eva sleeping at home and headed down there.

(Nathan was at home too, in case you’ve hit the “Social Services” speed-dial key. I imagine most readers have their fingers on that key every time they read the blog…)

It’s changed a lot since we last visited. I met the owner, Sally, on the way in and she was kind enough to show me round to see all the new bits. There’s a lot of them, so hang on…I will try and remember!

Firstly, the toddler area. On the opening weekend, it looked like this:

cc3and it was in between the door and the playframe, so the babies were all a bit trampled by the older kids rushing towards the trampoline. But now, it looks like this:

IMG-20130511-03027There’s a green music-wall on one side, and a low white wall on the other side, enclosing the space so that the bigger kids are diverted around the outside. And the music wall includes a glockenspiel and some drums:

IMG-20130511-03029Then, within the toddler area there’s a separate bit for babies, which is even more enclosed, like a giant play pen:IMG-20130511-03026and that has all the foam blocks and things in that babies like to throw around. So, I think we can all agree it’s much improved. Safer and more stuff to play with. I know a few other parents were worried about the babies being trampled, so it’s handy to know you can stash them away!

There are also a few new sections – a hair salon, with ingenious car-shaped seats for kids that Roo rushed to as soon as we got there (sadly I didn’t get a photo), a treatment room and -coming soon – a cinema room that can be hired out for parties. There’s a cafe as well, which sells teapigs tea and innocent smoothies. I do love a cup of teapigs.

IMG-20130511-03025The play equipment looks different as well, with leaves giving it a jungly look:

IMG-20130511-03035There’s also a reception-operated gate between the play area and the outside, which should reassure parents again. And new tables with little chairs, and a screen showing CBeebies for when kids need a bit of time out:

IMG-20130511-03039I had a chat with Sally about the pricing too, and she assures me there are some good deals coming up, like a lunchtime entry price that includes a snack box. The 30% off admission also runs till the end of May and there’s also membership available.

Anyway, Reuben had a great time running around, jumping and stacking. He told me “I like the trampoline, it’s soooo springy” but he also liked the ball pool and the light-up slide. We also utilised the toilets a couple of times and they have those child-seat-within-adult-seat things that his friend C has. Very clever, and he managed to…err….perform in the right place (less said about other occasions the better). It wasn’t too crowded this time, the atmosphere was a lot more peaceful, although it was fairly busy and I was mainly able to watch him from the cafe area. So, a definite improvement on the opening party and we’ll be going back. I would recommend other local parents give it a look as well.  For more info, visit the Crazy Chimps website

IMG-20130511-03042Disclaimer: On this occasion, I was given free admission to Crazy Chimps to review the changes. All opinions remain honest and my own.

Posted in Token attempts at exercise (leisure centres) | Tagged , , | 6 Comments

A Quick Reminder About LolliBop

Posted on May 5, 2013 by katese11

LolliLogoLORESI’m in the depths of the countryside right now, with only Eva’s bodyweight in chocolate between me and those malicious looking sheep…but just a quick reminder that LolliBop tickets are on sale now! And why not have a quick peek at the LolliBop Harlem Shake? Normal service resumed soon!

And another update….Sid and Andy have just been announced. Whoop!

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Ladywell Fields – 27/04/13

Posted on April 27, 2013 by katese11

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I have a couple of previous connections with Ladywell Fields. The first is that I used it as the name of a 1930s transvestite in a choose-your-own-adventure-poirot-spoof I wrote for a friend of ours. Along with her friend Victoria Busstation.

The other is that I’d been there before, around 6 years ago. My friend Varnia was working in Lewisham Hospital at the time and I used to go and meet her for lunch. Together, we explored the wonders of hospital cuisine, as well as the very literal pub a few doors down, where a burger in a bun was just that – no sauce, no salad of any kind. Just meat and bread. They probably called a spade a spade as well.

One day, I decided to get the train from Ladywell home instead of jumping on the 436. I walked out of the back of the hospital and was confused to find myself in the middle of a nature reserve. Even more confusingly, there was a train station in the middle of it, which took me to London Bridge in a few minutes. It was like a little bit of countryside in a grotty bit of Lewisham. That’s London for you – full of surprises.

So, my transvestite’s namesake was well overdue for a revisit. It was baby Joshua’s birthday, so we went for a picnic in the North field. We parked on a road that ran parallel to the field on the map, but turned out to be separated by a railway line. Luckily my Google Street View research had shown something green at the end of the road, and yes there was a big bridge which led to the north field:

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It was curvy with wide steps but also a tarmac slope that someone had just stuck on top of half the step. It wasn’t the slickest job. But it was accessible by buggy, and that was all that mattered. Incidentally, finding parking was a lot easier than it was on our last trip to see baby Joshua, thanks to the tactic of “checking where you’re going before you leave”. I think it’s really gonna catch on!

ROO PLAY

So, we found the right field and lost Reuben. There was a large play area with a zipwire in it and apparently it’s physically impossible to walk past one of those. I left him and Nathan there and me and Eva went to find the picnic, up at the station end. Roo came back to join us eventually, but he was drawn to the zipwire again and again.

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The rest of us hung out next to the stream, conveniently near the loos and with its own little wooden play area. DSC02431Reuben did enjoying pretending to be a look out and shouting “ship ahoy!” at passers by.

roo ladywellAt one point, he decided it was warm enough to paddle (one 2-year-old had already had a dip) and changed into this rather fetching wellies-and-wetsuit combo:

DSC02463It was pretty clean water, for South London and there was a kind of beach where you could get in with going through the stinging nettles. If it had been warmer, I would have joined him but it was mostly cold enough to be wearing cardigans and jackets all round.

I did join him in a gentle game of pooh sticks, on this perfect pooh-stick-playing bridge:

DSC02462Won one, lost one, drew one. Not a bad result for two bad losers.

It’s a surprisingly tranquil spot for deep South London, especially seeing as it’s sandwiched between a hospital and a railway line. The weather threatened to rain but never convincingly did until we were ready to go and so we made a break for it. And we’d been pre-warned that things might get muddy, so we dressed Eva entirely in mud-pallette boys’ clothes. Her pretty girly things just show the stains…

eva ladywellVERDICT: A great place for a picnic and for kids to explore. Keep an eye on them near the river.

More details here (official site)

Posted in Token attempts at fresh air (parks) | Tagged , , , , , , , | 6 Comments

10 Things I Hate About Now – A Rant about Misinformation

Posted on April 22, 2013 by katese11

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There are almost too many things making me cross at the moment. Through not-much fault of my own, I clicked onto the Daily Mail website 9 times in 2 days last week. I don’t know why it kept happening, but everything I googled on my phone (“Saucy pictures of David Tennant”, “Babies with excessively sweaty heads”) resulted in me unwittingly clicking through to DM. I can’t always see the domain from google, so the first I know of it is when I see the headline – “Babies with sweaty heads are all dying from IMMIGRANT CANCER caused by people on benefits” or “BAN THIS FILTH – Join the Daily Mail campaign for no more saucy pictures of David Tennant, ever.” But misinformation is not just spewing out of the tabloids – it’s everywhere, from Facebook to natural parenting forums. It’s too much for me to form into one coherent post, but I’ve been making a lot of lists lately. So, I’ve written a list of 10 home truths, to counteract all the things that are being repeated around the internet and are just not true. Apologies to anyone who wanted London/Toddler related things…some of these are relevant, many are not. I couldn’t really find a picture that summed this whole post up, so that’s Roo watching Tweenies with ear protectors on when he was about 2. Take from it what you will…

1) Measles is not the same as Chicken pox

Measles is not a standard childhood disease that you need to “get out of the way”. It’s a killer, and it’s currently at epidemic proportions. I generally believe in the philosophy of “An it harm none, do what thou wilt” (a steal from Wicca there) i,e. your parenting decisions are your alone and we should respect each other’s different style. BUT when it comes to vaccination, other people’s decisions not to vaccinate put my children at risk. Specifically the one who’s too young for her MMR. Luckily, in the light of the outbreaks in Wales and Manchester my GPs have agreed she can have her MMR early. But people who treat measles lightly make me furious. If you don’t believe me, do you believe Roald Dahl? And don’t get me started on Andrew Wakefield and his cronies…

2) The Czech Republic is not the same as Chechnya

This should be a no-brainer to anyone with a GCSE in Geography (not an O-level, they didn’t have those countries then). Two Chechens have been accused of the Boston bombing. But apparently that’s too complicated for some tweeters. If you’re on Twitter and you also happen to control the American nukes, please note that Chechens do not come from the Czech Republic. And it wasn’t Zooey Deschanel’s doing either.

3) If you have dieted every day for 30 years, that’s not a diet. That’s an eating disorder.

Yes, Samantha Brick. I’m talking to you. Go and spew your bitter bile somewhere no-one can hear you please and try not to create a new generation of anorexic teens. Listen kids, eating disorders are not cool. And neither is writing for the Daily Mail.

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4) Religion and science are not polar opposites.

I’m a Christian (not a Wiccan as I may have suggested above). I don’t spam Facebook repeatedly with half-baked ideas, so can I politely ask atheists not to do the same? Latest culprit was a photo saying “In Science we trust”. Here’s a crazy thought for y’all – most Christians believe in science too, and some of us even take advantage of technology every day, just like you do. I think you may have us confused with the Amish.

5) There is no reason for a 4-year-old to be in the same place as a loaded gun

I wrote extensively on this somewhere else, but let me re-iterate the main point for you. If 4-year-olds are frequently managing to shoot people, there is something wrong with your gun control. Think on it.

6) You don’t need fancy gadgets to raise your baby

Yes you do, according to Upspring, a company who sell gadgets to help your baby walk (as opposed to the EXTREME risk that comes with them cruising around the furniture) in gender-stereotyped colours. And kits to measure whether there’s any alcohol in your breastmilk (hint: if you’ve had a drink, there probably will be. If you haven’t, there won’t. But everything is fine in moderation). Apparently, they are meeting “numerous unmet needs for mom and baby”, but essentially they are all gadgets to – in the words of Duncan Bannatyne – solve a problem that doesn’t exist. Baby not walking by 9 months? It’ll get there…

7) Breast pumps are not a good indication of how much milk you’re making

…which leads me on to an Upspring product so controversial it’s worthy of its own bullet point. If you’re worried about your milk supply, what should you do? Use a pump to measure how much you have and get it analysed by their software? Noooooo! I have only anecdotal evidence for this, but the most profilic breastfeeders aren’t also the best pumpers. You can feed a child for 2 years yet still be unable to pump more than a dribble. Because…and this is the real shocker….babies work differently to machines. I think they have a different mechanism or something.

The best advice I’ve heard about supply is if you’re worried about it, try going to bed for a whole day with your baby (set up your bed for safe co-sleeping with a bed guard  and no thick covers), a whole bunch of snacks and a ton of juice and just cuddle and feed while watching a boxset of something trashy. For mums who already have a child, this sounds like heaven…but it’s meant to be good for getting milk a-flowing.

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8) Sometimes, in the middle of a crisis, you should admit you’re wrong

You, Andrew Wakefield. You, Andrew Wakefield’s mate Jayne Donegan. You, posters on Natural Mamas who say that the measles outbreaks won’t change your mind on getting your kids MMR’ed.  Even if you can’t admit you’re wrong, at least you could stop spreading your poisonous anti-MMR propaganda. Haven’t you done enough? This guy sums up the whole sorry mess better than I could.

9) It’s OK for 3-year-olds to spend their days playing “with no real purpose”

Daily Mail again, front page today…blaming nurseries for raising kids with no manners who are unready for school. Err, don’t they play a lot in Reception too? Don’t forget that we start kids at 4, which is way earlier than some countries. Being ready for school doesn’t mean they’re ready to sit still for hours on end. Reuben’s nursery does a damn fine job in a tough, inner-city estate area. They let the kids play – some teacher-led activities, some free play but they can choose – and at the end they have some learning time in groups. 3- and 4-year-olds learn through play and anyone with half a brain (ie not a DM journo) knows that.

And will people stop comparing our kids to the bloody French?! Yes, French kids sit still and do what they’re told but I’ve met French teenagers – they’re as bad as ours and they have more to rebel against. And then they grow into repressed adults. Whoop-de-doo. I think I’ll raise my kids the way of my ancestors thanks – the classic Scottish/English/Hungo-Judeo/German way. Question for you DM – how can you simultaneously be so xenophobic and yet still harp on about how our kids should be more French all the time? That kind of paradox will surely destroy the universe one day.

10) Water is a basic human right.

Shush, silly Nestle man. Don’t say anything else. Ever. I would start boycotting you if it wasn’t 17 years too late. And you know what? I don’t even miss it? Milky bars aside, your chocolates are rubbish anyway…

And relax! That felt better! Do you agree? Disagree? Leave a comment saying which ones you would fight me on….good luck to you 😉

Posted in Rants | Tagged , , , | 6 Comments