A few more places to eat with a toddler….

Posted on August 29, 2012 by katese11

Running around playing is all well and good when you’re a little soul. But eventually, that little ball of energy has to refuel. They may not like it. They may insist “I NOT hungry. I wanna plaaaaaayyyyyyyyy!” but  they usually are hungry. Mummy Knows Best. So, sooner or later you’re gonna have to sit down with the little beggar to eat.

Did I really just say “Mummy Knows Best”? Which Mummy am I referring to here? I certainly don’t know best. If I did, I wouldn’t get screwed over by a 3-year-old all the time.

I digress. So, where is good for a quick break with your bundle o’ joy? I know I’ve already covered this in quite some detail and then went back for another stab at the same subject, but this is different. Those posts looked at Central London eateries and were mostly chains. This time I thought I’d tell you about some smaller, more eccentric, not-quite-so-Central London places. Incidentally, please excuse the rambling, ranty nature of those original posts. I wrote them on my due date, when Eva was still firmly snugged up inside, and I’d just had the most farcical day to ever exist outside a 1970s sitcom. They are not my most succinct work.

And neither is this. Get on with it!

OK, first up is the cafe at the Garden Museum, Lambeth Palace. We retreated there on Bank Holiday Monday when – as with all Bank Holidays – the rain washed out our park plans. And it was lovely. You don’t have to pay the museum entrance fee for the cafe, and it’s a really nice historical setting that’s been sympathetically modernised inside. So, big stained glass windows (see top photo) and lots of space to run around. There are a few old dears that give you curious looks, but the lady on the desk had nothing but compliments for my beautiful baby, peering out of a sling on her Daddy’s chest.

In the interests of fair blogging, I should point out that Roo was asleep at the time. We don’t always get warm receptions in quiet places when the shouty one’s on form.

But I haven’t got to the best bit yet! The cart of wonder! It was packed with children’s books, explorer hats and craft materials. There was also a table laid out with colouring stuff. So, when somewhere has so obviously gone out of its way to court the toddler market, you don’t feel bad about bringing a live ‘un in there. For Roo may have been asleep, but his friends Luke and Rufus weren’t, and they enjoyed a good rummage and a play with the hats. Rufus’ Mum, Louise made this beautiful play landscape for them from stuff in the cart:

Which they mostly ignored, but I liked it. Eva also gave us a good chance to test out the baby changing facilities, as well as plumb the depths of the changing bag for new tights. We were there too early for lunch, but it was all vegetarian/vegan and grown in their garden. I think vegetarian tart and stuffed aubergine were on the menu, neither of which either of my boys would eat anyway. Never mind. The cakes looked lovely but sadly, they didn’t take cards so I could only get a coffee for Nathan and an apple juice for me, with the coinage in my purse. Note to reader: take cash. None of us had any, so they was an eventual way round it but I don’t think they do it on a regular basis, so I won’t spill here. Gosh, that sounds mysterious. A nice cafe then, but I could have done with sampling a few more of the wares. And maybe roadtesting with my own, lively boy (though a 2.5-year-old, a 3.5-year-old and two babies were probably worthy test subjects)

All of which brings me speedily on to Beanies, Croydon. I’m going to go one step worse and admit that I didn’t even have my toddler with me when I visited there. Just a tiny dot of an Eva. And some other Mums with babies, some of whom had also abandoned their firstborns and come to sit  and eat cake without the constant “Mummmaaaaayyyy”. Between us, we could muster 2xnearly 1-year-olds, who were tottering or crawling about causing general mayhem. So again, worthy test subjects.

Don’t be put off by the fact it’s in Croydon. It’s really nice. I’m as anti-Croydon as they come, thanks to my Bridezilla friend and our two trips to Croydon to choose her wedding dress. IN ONE DAY! But I still liked it. There’s a cafe downstairs, then the play floor, then another level where they do classes and things. We hung out on the play floor, where there are lots of toys but also comfy sofas and tables. There are menus dotted around and you can order, pay and eat on that floor. It’s not soft play, but it is a room full of toys – dressing up, imaginative play etc. I did feel guilty about not bringing Roo, but he was at the childminders and it was a chance for 3-week-old Eva and I to bond. She mainly screamed at me.

So onto a place I have actually sampled with an actual wakey Reuben – the Living Water Satisfies cafe in Crystal Palace.  Again, don’t be put off by the name – it is a social enterprise, but you’re never overwhelmed by the do-gooding. It essentially is just a big, spacious cafe that has a nice kids menu, lots of toys, nice cakes and a mean soy milk hot chocolate.


I’ve been there twice – once when I was heavily pregnant and convinced my waters (living or otherwise) were going to break on the bus. The other time was when Eva was 12 days old. Both times, Reuben found enough to occupy himself while I ate and chatted to my friend. Definitely worth a visit if you’re in the area.

There you have it – three toddler friendly places to eat you may never have heard of/thought of before. More to come soon, I’m sure….

Posted in Cake and the finest wines known to humanity (eating out) | Tagged , , | 5 Comments

Pasley Park -25/08/12…My First Guest Post

Posted on August 26, 2012 by katese11

This is a Guest Post from Mr katese11, aka Nathan. Londonwithatoddler accepts no responsibility for the contents of this post, and views expressed represent the author’s own. 😉

So if, like me this morning, you find yourself with a small bored child on the Walworth Road and you are attempting to keep him from public meltdown while queuing for the photo-printy-out machine in Boots, which has just run out of photo-paper & the security guy is trying to fix it (“not really my responsibility, this” but bless him he was kind & patient to the lady in front who was ranting at him about the quality of her prints), then hopefully you will have also just come from the sorting office and thus have a couple of Mr Men books in a package from said child’s Nana to help keep him entertained (one of which was Mr Slow, and as the photo-machine was rebooting for the second time the irony wasn’t lost on me). I accept it’s unlikely that your day will be exactly like mine in this respect, but regardless of if you have books on you or not, which titles they are, or how you came to be in possession of them, you will have by this point promised the child a trip to the park as soon as this is over.

And so we’re in luck, you & I, for a quick internet map search from my Android Com-link suggested nearby green space in the form of Pasley Park. Swiftly passing the football pitch and the quirky peacock statutes on the way in, we made a beeline for the climbing frame/slide.  There’s also the standard swings/baby swings & see-saw that one would expect in a park (although I did nervously wonder if I’d assumed too much as we approached the park – a green splodge on a map doesn’t definitely guarantee a slide) but the icing on this particular park’s metaphorical cupcake was the brightly colored assault course that’s neatly hidden over the brow of the hill – we would’ve missed it had we stayed with the slide and not gone on the swings. Enough fun to keep the boy occupied for a half hour or so.

VERDICT: Better than hanging out on Walworth Rd.

More details here (official website)

Posted in Token attempts at fresh air (parks) | Tagged , , , , | 4 Comments

Richmond Park – 21/08/12

Posted on August 23, 2012 by katese11

A couple of things distinguish Richmond Park from other parks. 1) It’s big. It is, in fact the biggest enclosed space in London. 2) It is the only place so far where someone has actually vocalized what I’m sure many are thinking :”What’s wrong with that poor lady?”. They were, of course, referring to the strange, hairy growth on my chest, otherwise known as Eva’s head. Apparently babywearing is quite rare down Surrey-way. Admittedly, I was wearing a purple top and purple wrap, so she was quite camouflaged but really…wouldn’t “baby’s head” spring to mind before “hideous deformity”? If you look closer, I also have a pair of legs coming out of my torso…

We were in Richmond Park to meet my brother and sister-in-law, being as it is a handy halfway point between London and our ancestral home in Winchester. The train goes straight to Richmond from Vauxhall and – I thought – they’ve recently installed lifts at Vauxhall, which should make travelling with a buggy so much easier.

Wrong! That fancy new concourse they’ve been building for ages is just that …a fancy new concourse. No lifts. Essentially just a corridor. A poster proclaimed that Vauxhall was now more accessible to disabled people, because there was more space in the concourse. Err, how is that going to help? Never mind,  the same posters promised that lifts would be installed “Summer 2012”, so when Summer finally arrives the lifts will come with it. What dya mean we’ve had it already??

And yes, I know I should have checked this before I left home. But the only info I could find online was last updated in 2008, and there was no phone number. So there.

Anyhoo, I tackled the stairs on my own. After last week’s discovery about carrying buggies while babywearing, I decided not to risk that and took Eva out of the sling and into the buggy (seat reclined to flat, straps shortened) and made Roo walk, while I carried the buggy. About halfway up, a nice lady offered to help, so we got Eva+buggy to the top, and then I had to back down to chivvy Roo along. Faffety doo-dah!

I also had to get help getting the buggy on and off the train because good grief, those gaps are big! Especially when I’d been feeding Eva for a bit too long and so had had to hastily  re-wrap her as the train arrived. I think fellow travellers took pity on the mad-looking woman with a baby dangling out of a very bad wrap job,overloaded buggy AND toddler on the loose. It was only when we were on and settled that I realised that we were in the quiet coach. Against all the odds, I kept Roo quiet for the 20-minute journey (big biscuit) only to disgrace myself with the cardinal sin of answering my phone. That got me more dirty looks than the dangly baby. But it was a friend’s husband, saying his wife’s waters had broken. That’s the kinda phonecall you’re allowed to take, right?

Anyway, getting off at Richmond was simple enough (they did have new lifts there!), as was getting the bus to the park. So shall I tell you a bit about the park itself? Well, I may have mentioned this before, but it’s BIG, and we only covered the tiniest part of it. I mean, it’s really big. Looking to your left as you enter, it seems to stretch for miles. And it does. That’s London in the far distance there. Roo seemed genuinely confused by this state of affairs:

“We inna countryside?”

“Yes darling. I suppose we are”

“What dya do inna countryside?”

“Good question, darling. Good question.”

Luckily, this countryside had a playground. And loos next to the car park. And an information point, where you could buy maps and have your deformities pointed out. Luckily it seemed quite easy to get from the car park to the playground.

Unluckily, it wasn’t easy.

I’d like some affirmation here that I am not going entirely mad. This is the online map of Richmond Park. The paper version we bought looked similar. It seems to show a fairly easy route from the car park at Pembroke Lodge to the playground at Petersham Gate. There are baby changing facilities and disabled loos in the car park, so you’d assume they expect people with buggies and wheelchairs to use this park. And specifically, people with buggies to want to get to the playground.  But no. More on that in a minute.  And for the pedants who want to point out yet another flaw in this post, yes, I could have just caught the bus to Petersham Gate, but Bro and Sis-in-law were driving. So, once again, there.

We didn’t help ourselves by going entirely the wrong way at first, but I put this down to the infamous family sense of direction (Bro was map-reading). Still, we got to see Poets’ Corner, with Ian Dury’s bench, and climb up King Henry’s Mound, to look over leafy Surrey. Roo was mildly interested in these things, but chiefly interested in the playground he could see from the top. And therein lay the problem.

What the map doesn’t show you is the massive gradient between the mound and the playground. We doubled back as far as Pembroke Lodge in search of a path down that could handle a buggy and Sis-in-law’s disability scooter. We didn’t find one, so we stopped for a picnic at a bench rather meanly labelled “no picnics”. We ate there anyway. It would be more bad publicity than they could handle if they had to forcibly remove a disabled, pregnant woman, a nursing mother and two small children. Then back in search of the elusive path.

We eventually found one that seemed to go downwards without steps, even though the scooter and the buggy both struggled on the soft mud. We got down the hill, only to find our way blocked by a gate which neither buggy nor scooter could fit through. We stood around for a bit, before enlisting the help of some wardens, who took us back up the hill to a gate we’d previously dismissed on account of a couple of rough steps on the other side. We went through it anyway, carrying the scooter and Sis-in-law having to walk, while I bumped the buggy down. We both misjudged the height of the last step and almost had a pile-up, but thankfully didn’t.

From there, it was a clear downhill run to….the PLAYGROUND! And was it worth it? Nah, not really. It was OK – sandpit with a water pump and wooden animals (I think this was newly refurbished), swings, slides, an outdoor xylophone – but nothing extraordinary. Roo played happily for a bit, stripped right off (even though it wasn’t that warm), then we headed back. The kids and I got the bus from outside Petersham Gate and Bro and Sis-in-law walked back up via the road. Going home, we stayed on till Waterloo so I didn’t have to deal with the steps at Vauxhall.

Days like this make me regret taking a buggy, especially as Roo can walk so well and Eva’s in the sling. But the long walk from the bus stop to Pembroke Lodge made me grateful for it, and the sleep Roo had all the way home made me doubly grateful.

VERDICT: A spectacular park, but not buggy-friendly. Go by car, forget the playground and just let your toddler run free at the top of the hill with a ball or something.

More details here (official website)

Posted in Token attempts at fresh air (parks) | Tagged , , , , , , | 2 Comments

LolliBop – 18/08/12

Posted on August 20, 2012 by katese11

LolliBop may be your idea of heaven or hell. Or somewhere in between. Or both at once. For Roo, it was heaven. So much to see, so much to do, so much stimulation. Think he’s hyper normally? Let him loose here and he goes to a whole other level.

For people who have no idea what LolliBop is, let me explain. It’s like Glasto for preschoolers. Three days of brightly coloured mayhem, with some top names on the bill (thankfully not Justin). Exhausting and exhilarating at the same time. Let me talk you through it, bit by bit.

We went on the Sunday. All three days are the same, so no-one would really go for more than one day. Though there is enough to keep a three-year-old busy for that long. The first thing we saw when we got there were the ZingZillas on the main stage. I don’t know what Roo thought, but by gum was I excited! ZingZillas was really the first program I enjoyed, rather than endured on CBeebies. Nathan and I were quite the music fans in our youth, so a show promoting different types of music can’t be bad. And the defining quality of ZingZillas was that the songs were melodic, well crafted and not instantly irritating. I rarely felt the urge to punch the television, and so put up with the annoying Panzee and the tenuously-linked storylines. There were some subtle rock n roll references, and I always loved the Beach Byrds who only spoke in three-part harmony. Turns out that the musical brains behind it was a gentleman known as Wag – bassist of the Infadels, friend of Danny Wallace and (according to my cousin) quite the hottie. So, me and Roo used to eagerly gather round the TV to watch it. We played the album in the car. We bought him a Drum doll, and even coped with the ZingZilla microphone, which had no off switch.

Then they changed the format and turned it into monkeytrollop. With small children.

But never mind that, because “live” they were still thoroughly enjoyable. Even if all they did was dance around, with Alex and Katy from Beebies. We’ve seen most of the great bands of the 90s and 2000s – Radiohead, Blur, Oasis, Pulp etc etc etc – and it feels somewhat sad that nowadays we get excited about some people dressed up as anthropomorphic primates. But we are parents. Nice to see that Roo barged his way right to the front, just like Mummy and Daddy used to do. And hey, there aren’t many bands I can see where I know all the words….

Then we met Zak and Drum. One to add to the family album, along with Captain Barnacles and Rastamouse. Though ever since viewing the Barnacles shot a few weeks back, Roo has been whinging about “wanna meet Captain Barnacles” and we’ve had to tell him that he’s off on mission at the North Pole. Hopefully some ZingZillas will shut him up for a while.

But LolliBop was not all about those cheeky monkeys. No no. There was a LOT more to it. First off – the other acts. There was the Gruffalo stage show, which Roo enjoyed until the eponymous star came on (“too scary!”) and I was amazed at how much they managed to spin out a short and repetitive story. There was Shrek the Musical, which we annoyingly missed (unlike most things, it was only on once) and there was Dick ‘n’ Dom, who are a bit old for Roo yet. And there was Mister Maker. Oh yes, that was fun.

Reminiscent of the Arctic Monkeys’ planned appearance on the second stage at Reading in 2005, Mister Maker was in a tent that was just disproportionately small compared to his fame. The result was a very crowded and sticky tent (it was 30c by the afternoon). It was too hot for Eva, even just outside (and she was right in the sun there), so we sloped off to a shade spot and left the boys to it. Next thing I saw, Nathan was bobbing around, doing the “I’ve lost Roo” dance. Then I saw Roo nipping out behind his father’s back and darting in the other side ofthe tent. I dropped what I was doing (feeding Eva) and gave chase, losing Eva’s sunhat on the way (sorry if I was rude to the person who gave it back to me) and spotted our boy picking his way through the middle of the crowd. Don’t worry, we got him back eventually. But Reuben+crowds is not a good combination, especially as he can fit through gaps I can’t. He enjoyed the show though. Directly afterwards, he had a mini-breakdown and wailed “I wanna go home!”. When I asked him why, he said “I wanna watch Mister Maker on the telly”. Listen up, kids presenters…. personal appearances work. It’s worth the sweat and toil of entertaining screaming kids.

Luckily, there was lots still to distract him. I’ve taken up a lot of your time already, and Eva is screeching so I’ll be brief. But here’s what I remember: a bike track with balance bikes, swingball, toddler spacehoppers (see above), soft play blocks, wendy houses, slides, fencing and LOTS of craft stalls. All for free! A special mention must go to the lovely folks at the WOW! toy stall, where Roo was busy playing with the table-top figures and cars when the clouds broke for a brief but spectacular thunderstorm. They kindly let all four of us shelter in the tent, while Roo played and we fed him a bacon roll. Then I fed Eva in there as well, relaxing on a bean bag. They did have feeding facilities but they were in the same tent as the changing stations, and the smell of nappies would put even a baby off their food.

So, a day well spent then. Nathan particularly loved the robot dragon which breathed real fire (later accompanied by a robot horse) and there were various other strange and wondrous things around the site. We got in free (long story), but even if we’d paid the exorbitant ticket prices, I would have felt like we’d got our money’s worth. Food was also exorbitant, but hey that’s festivals for you.

VERDICT: A great day out. Wonder if they’ll give me free tickets again next year on the strength of this review?! (nb, we were NOT Press this year…but I can dream!)

More details here (official website)

Posted in Creating precious childhood memories or something (days out) | Tagged , , , | 5 Comments

William Morris Gallery – 17/08/12

Posted on August 18, 2012 by katese11

This post isn’t especially about the William Morris Gallery. It’s more a day out we had in Walthamstow, with a brief visit to the gallery. But I already covered generic Walthamstow stuff, so here it is…

First off, a wee note about the pushchair-on-an-escalator technique I described in my post on Getting Around London…yesterday, I found a flaw. Y’see, this was our first trip to the ‘Stow with the new, extended family and I thought it would be a breeze. Eva’s pretty portable still and  on the Victoria Line she was, as ever, tied to me in a sling while Reuben sat in/climbed out of/balanced on top of his pushchair. Getting on  had been easy and I assumed getting off would be pretty easy too.  Here’s me and Eva in our typical arrangement:

So, I got onto the escalator, leaned the handle of the pushchair as usual onto my chest…and you can see where it went wrong. Some hasty mid-escalator adjustments required, to stop the pushchair decapitating my little girl, and I ended up with the weight of the buggy (including Roo) on my shoulder. Not ideal. On the way back, we stayed on till Brixton (a whole other annoying story), so took the lift up but I *think* my alternate technique would be to step on first and hold the buggy behind me, maybe with me facing sideways. Don’t try this at home kids. Or if you do, don’t sue me.

Anyhoo, vague disclaimer over. What’s new in the ‘Stow? Well, Lloyd Park is still a bit of a construction site. Roo sobbed as we passed the half-built playground cause he wanted to “go to real park” (i.e. something with a slide) and wasn’t easily fobbed off with the big grassy stretches and the logs to play on. In Greenwich Park today, he again sulked and requested a “real park”. Sigh. What’s the world coming too, when a 3-year-old isn’t satisfied with one of the most beautiful parks in London? By contrast, a playground on our estate, known as “Ducky Park” (you’ll see why) kept him occupied for a good twenty minutes:

Yes, it’s a playground with only one working feature – a sinister but cheerful looking duck. Yes, that is a swing-less swing frame in the background. Yes, the Repairs Manager for the estate passed by and expressed his amazement that anyone would choose this playground when there were so many other parks nearby. But Roo wanted Ducky Park and Ducky Park only. I got a little off-topic here, but I guess what I wanted to say is that just because Roo disses something, it doesn’t mean there’s anything wrong with it. Boy just has no taste.

Which brings us back to Lloyd Park, E17. A (very) random woman told us that the playground will be finished by the end of this month, having taken a year and a half to build. It will have sand and water features. There will be a cafe with grass on the roof. It will be awesome when it’s done. She is currently clearing out her loft. Only my cousin heard this last bit, as the rest of us had politely slunk away. But I have to agree with random woman – it will be lovely when it’s done. Just in time for winter!

One bit that has been finished is the newly refurbished William Morris Gallery, on the edge of the park. (Look, I finally got there, after 550 words…). Bless them, they have tried very hard to make it child-friendly. It’s all accessible, it has baby changing, it has kids’ meals in the cafe and there are lots of hands-on bits. Pity the clientele looked disapproving at the sight (and sound) of a three-year-old in an art gallery. There were a lot of trendy East End types, with skinny jeans and ironic facial hair, and some old posh people and the atmosphere was quite subdued. Roo’s cousin Leo had just been woken up from his nap and so was quiet and grumpy and Roo was manically rushing around from room to room in search of a slide. In a different mood, I think the two of them would have had fun there. But neither were quite in the mood.

So, what was there to entertain a 3-year-old? A surprising amount. Blocks to build your own Cathedral. Brass rubbing. Dressing up (though we never reached that bit cause it was too.darn.hot for dressing up). A puppet theatre, with beanbag chairs! On a rainy day, it would have been great. And for the most part, it’s light and bright and has beautiful huge windows.

I would have liked more time to look round, as ever. I learned very little about William Morris, other than he had a penchant for all things medieval (he liked to go “a-rubbing”, apparently), and I had very little time to take in the HUGE Walthamstow Tapestry by Grayson Perry. But such is life with a crazy preschooler. I did notice the large and graphic representation of childbirth…cousin Leo had already had that one explained to him. Luckily, Roo didn’t notice it as he’s been a little *inquisitive* about all things biological since Eva was born. But no, he ran on by.

VERDICT: Good for a rainy day, as long as the toddlers aren’t too sugar-ed up. Probably not one for an insanely hot day in August.

More details here (official website)

Posted in Token attempts at culture (museums) | Tagged , , | 8 Comments

A paddling pool special

Posted on August 17, 2012 by katese11

Cynical, moi? That’s what I ask myself as I look at my search engine terms (“paddling pools in London”), then decide to write a post based on that exact thing. I like to think of it as less cynical, more “giving the people what they want.”

So, it’s gonna be a hot weekend and when it’s hot, the people cry out for water play! OK, people….here’s a list of 6 places you can cool down this weekend:

1) Hampstead Heath

Yes, it’s got those wild pools where crazy people like to swim, but it’s also got a very blue and lovely paddling pool. Swimwear only in the pool – no nappies.

2) Coram’s Fields

A LWAT favourite for many reasons, but its fountain is switched on at lunchtime on sunny days, and there’s the infamous sand-and-water play area too. Bring a change of clothes.

3) Causton St Playground

Another LWAT favourite – paddling pool, sandpit, only one exit…what’s not to love?

4) Diana Memorial Fountain

The website says no walking on the fountain, but on a sunny day you’ll find lots of people doing just that. Be sure not to bring a bucket of pimms or a gazebo with you.

5) Myatt’s Fields

Newly renovated water play area, in the middle of a playground. Bring waterproof shoes, as the ground gets boiling and transition from water area to playground can be painful

6) Brockwell Park

Also newly renovated sand and water play area. Playground also newly renovated but a little walk away.

Why not check my Google Map to see where they all are?

Missing from the list cause I just haven’t had enough sunny days to visit them recently (and I would never blog from hazy memory. Noooo………): Clapham Common, Ruskin Park, Diana Memorial Playground, Clissold Park, Somerset House, Southwark Park….all to come soon, honest! Although I did dig out this adorable photo of Roo at a year-ish playing in the water at Southwark Park. I want an “Awwwww…..”

And then a “Doh!” as we all realise that I lost his soggy clothes on the way home. After we’d only gone there to buy some new trainers from Decathlon to replace one I lost. Blast and double blast…..

Update: I’ve made a paddling pool map! Check it out! I’ve also got round to reviewing Ruskin Park and the Diana Memorial Playground…

Posted in Token attempts at fresh air (parks) | Tagged | 2 Comments

Brockwell Park take 2 – 10/08/12

Posted on August 10, 2012 by katese11

It’s always risky to go back to old hurts. You just know you’re opening yourself to being hurt again, just like every time Rachel forgives Ross only to be once again told that they were on a break. Heart-wrenching stuff. And my last trip to Brockwell Park was equally heart-wrenching. So I’ve been putting off going again, just in case.

Just to break the tension, I’ll tell you right now – there was water in the water play area. Yehhh! Which is just as well, given that you have to wait for weeks for a day that’s worthy of water play. Yes, I know we had a few the week before last, but as discussed, I was scared of squandering a day’s sunshine on a risky move. But today we weren’t disappointed.

So, water play at Brockwell Park – it’s cool. There is a large sand pit, with rocks in it, and an adjacent paddling pool, with fountains and sprays. The water and sand sometimes -regrettably- get mixed, which makes for a sludgy sandpit and a murky paddling pool but those are the risks of combined sand/water play. There is also a kind of river area, with a water pump and removable dams and that was verrry sandy today. Two boys were covering what I hoped was their scooter in the sludge and then riding it through the puddles. Mmm, laundry-y goodness. Lucky that Mums are currently being sponsored by a large pharmaceutical company – I assume that means a sachet of Ariel is on it way to all of us.

So, it was fun. We all got hungry by 11, so Roo and I had a picnic (and Eva had a picnic of sorts) in a scrap of shade next to a bush. And that brings me to my major gripe – the lack of shade. There was one decent sized tree, which had a lot of people crowded underneath it and then a whole lot of saplings. Obviously it’s a new play area, so you wouldn’t expect huge trees but they need something there.  By 12, the shade by the bush was non-existent, and Eva just had to lie in my shadow. The heat in the sandpit was pretty unbearable (Roo didn’t mind, but I did) so we sat out and watched Roo play with a random small child, from the other side of the sandpit. Basically, it’s a case of following the shade. There’s not much of it and it moves. As we left I saw a big shady area in the corner next to the paddling pool but you couldn’t see the sandpit from there. There’s also not a lot of seating, and none of it in the shade. It wouldn’t be such a problem with just a toddler but Eva’s a bit too new for a lot of sunshine. She’s barely even seen it before, so it’s a bit of a culture shock.

Other than that, it’s a nice play area. It’s “natural” and doesn’t have that roasting astroturf stuff underneath. The sand is pretty clean and so is the water, until the children get involved. It did get verrry busy . At times trying to spot Roo was like a magic eye picture – you just have to stare at this forest of wet-suited children until yours emerges out of the picture. But that’s to be expected on such a hot day. Roo spent more time in the sand than the water, which slightly defeats the point of trekking to somewhere with water. But I certainly appreciated dipping my feet. At one point, he asked me to cover him with sand and then got slightly affronted when I did as asked and starting saying “it’s sandy! I’m all sandy!” in a panicked way. “You’re sandy?” asked I. “No” said Reuben “I Reuben. Sandy sea turtle”.

It’s the way he tells them.

It’s also an obscure Octonauts reference, so don’t feel bad if you don’t get it…

Eventually, it was time to move on. So we wandered towards the new play area. Brockwell Park is undergoing a lot of renovation at the moment, and bits of it do have a building site feel. Because of that, there is no actual path between the two play areas, so you have to follow and informal buggy-trodden path through the long grass. Roo was excited about the “Big Orange Digger”, and you could still see the ducks on the lake, through the fencing. Mental note – next time, bring bread for the ducks. I thought Kettle Chips were probably a bit too good for them.

So, briefly then, the new play area? Also very nice! Last time I went, it was pretty unremarkable, with metal play frames and colour-coded blobs on the floor to signify which age group were allowed to play on which equipment. Try explaining that to a 2-year-old. There was also a sandpit that you could get into easily but not out of. Useful for the parents, but again try explaining that to a toddler…

Anyhoo, it’s changed. Now, it’s all wooden frames and soft, clean sand. Five slides in all, but I kinda lost count. Again not much shade and not much seating. Three sandpits. Several teenagers having a water fight, which swamped the toilets. And a nice natural feel again. It had the same tunnels as Archbishops Park, cut into grassy mounds. It seems like this is the way playgrounds are heading – less of the plastic and metal (which would have been crazily hot on a day like today) and more wood and grass. And random hippyish features like this:

All in all, they’ve done a nice job on it and once the building work’s finished, the rest of the park should match. You would never know you were a supermalt’s throw away from Brixton. After four hours in the park, I called time and we got an ice-cream from the yellow van just outside the playground gates. It was good ice-cream. I’d recommend it. Proper lemonade lollies as well. Mmmmm…..where was I again? Oh yes, onto the…

VERDICT: Lovely water play area and playground. Could do with more seating and shade.

More details here (official website)

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Olympics, the lazy way – 05/08/12

Posted on August 6, 2012 by katese11

You may have noticed *something* going on in London at the moment. I’m not an official sponsor, so I don’t think I’m strictly allowed to use the phrase. In fact, I may get in trouble if I mention the city I live in or the year. Oops, probably done that a few times already.

Anyhoo, I wasn’t exactly being an Olympic (doh! I said it) humbug, but neither was I super-enthused about it. It seemed a bit inconvenient to go to East London and pay lots of money to watch something I wasn’t that bothered about, with a small baby and a small boy who won’t sit still. Nevertheless, it’s a bit once-in-a-lifetimey isn’t it? So, one intermittently rainy Sunday, Nathan and I decided to Get Involved.

But the easy way, naturally. Sod all that paying for stuff or travelling to East London. We decided to go and watch some of the Ladies’ Marathon as it neared the finish line. We watched a bit of it at home on the telly, had lunch, then took a leisurely stroll to Parliament Square for half one. Happily, the rain had stopped and both children fell asleep on the way. We found places in the crowd where it was only one-deep and a minute after we arrived, the leaders came through. I’m pretty sure they were cheating though, as a) they were on a vehicle and b) they were facing the wrong way. Nathan suggested that these might have been the photographers, but what does he know? It’s true that they did all have cameras.

A few seconds after that, some actual runners came through and there you go – we’d had a close-up of some Olympic medallists. They were blurry. But the key thing was, we’d seen them. Unlike the children, who were still asleep. But in 2016, when they ask “Mummy, did I go to the Olympics?” I can say yes. And then show them this blog post as evidence. Then stop Reuben reading the rest of the blog.

We watched the Brit come through – some way behind the leaders  – and then it started to rain, so we walked back home again. How’s that for an easy process?

Amusingly, we discovered an A-Z Wenlock on the way and the name of our road was emblazoned across his crotch. Let’s have a close-up of that:

I’m not entirely sure what kind of statement he’s making, to be honest. I’m also not sure why Vauxhall Walk now backs onto Constitution Hill. But it’s sure to push the house prices up around here.

If anyone fancies replicating our lazy Olympic style, the Men’s Marathon is next Sunday. See you there?

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Myatt’s Fields play area – 23/07/12

Posted on July 24, 2012 by katese11

This blog seems to be a bit fickle of late. Look, it’s raining! Look it’s sunny! Ah crap, it’s rainy again…welcome to the Great British Summer. Well, this week’s weather of choice is “sun”, so we’ve been out and about for a spot of water play. Monday’s venue was Myatt’s Fields, a patch of green in the triangle between Brixton, Kennington and Camberwell. Chances are, wherever you live, it’s further away than you think it is. Wandering down Camberwell New Rd, I kept thinking we were almost there but we didn’t turn off until we’d almost hit Camberwell. Funnily though, I remember it as being quite a trek from where we lived in Camberwell. It’s really only close if you live in that triangle made up of the Roads Camberwell New and Brixton, and the Lane of Coldharbour. Nathan’s work colleague WorkKate lives in just that triangle, so she came along and met us there. With her baby that looked a lot like Eva. Nathan assures me he hasn’t got his Kates confused.

Anyhow, all those geographical reasons mean that we haven’t been there very often. The only time I’ve taken Roo was on a freakily hot spring day last year, when the water wasn’t switched on and they wasn’t much shade. It was all new and shiny but oh, so hot. We visited the one o’clock club with a friend, her friend and her friend’s friend, all with kids attached. Somehow, I ended up looking after a 4-year-old belonging to the friend’s friend’s friend, while his mother had her hair braided in the playground. The climbing frames seemed perilously high and open-sided for my then 20-month-old and I desperately tried to follow him round, while the four-year-old hit other kids and their mothers blamed me. Fun times.

This trip was better. Way better. For starters, the water was on and I do love a water play.  Secondly, I didn’t have to look after any kids that I didn’t know, with a subtle violent streak. In fact, it was my child that went missing and have to be retrieved by a friend. Whoops. It was VERY busy, OK?

So, what was there? Well, there were two climbing frames, including one shaped like a pirate ship. Neither seemed particularly hazardous but I guess that’s just that Roo has changed a lot since our last visit. There was a metal slide (see below) that was roastingly hot and had kids pouring water down it. The ground was also roastingly hot, which is a problem when your child wants to alternate between water play and any other play. Shoes on or off? Roo’s friends J&A had some handy fake crocs (Nathan calls them “focs”, which almost sounds rude but isn’t) which worked for both situations, so definitely something to consider if you visit somewhere with a similar setup. After a trip to Sainsburys this morning, Roo is also kitted out.

There was also an adventure playground corner, with what looked like an aerial runway. I went on one in Norfolk and had forgotten how much fun they are. I couldn’t persuade Roo on it though. The play area is all pretty new, and well designed. There is some shade, but it was crammed with buggies and people picnicking in between them. Better to do what we did, and find a bit of the wider park to sit in.

And there was water play! No paddling pool as such, but fountains , a water bubble (see Roo wrecking it above), arches which you can run through and get sprayed, and lots of other bits. It was a lot of fun but very VERY crowded on the first day of the holidays when the temperature has finally crept above 20c. Be prepared for a bit of splashing and a small freakout if your child is a timid type.

As we left the playground, someone had set up what looked like pirate DVDs along a wall to sell. You can never quite forget that this is Brixton…

VERDICT: A fun, not-quite-local water play area but very crowded. Didn’t check out the rest of the park, but there seemed to be a couple of nice looking cafes.

More details here (official website)

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Mile End Park – 21/07/12

Posted on July 21, 2012 by katese11

“Ooh, it’s a mess alright, yes it’s Mile End”. Typically for me, I couldn’t stop myself singing this as we wandered around Mile End today. And Jarvis, you were right. Mile End Park is a mess alright. Nathan described it as a park that someone had shattered with a hammer. On the map, it looks like a long, thin streak of green but it’s really not one park – it’s lots of bits of park, divided by busy roads, a railway and the occasional canal.  Apparently it’s been created bit by bit, from land that used to be housing or factories. You can tell. Very confusing for us, and equally confusing for Roo, who kept demanding to go to “the park” and complaining when we kept having to leave the park to get to other bits of the park.

That’s not to say we didn’t have an enjoyable day out or that it wasn’t a nice park. It was just bizarre. I’ll start – to quote Fraulein Maria yet again – at the very beginning. Well, not the very beginning but the bit at which we left the predictable confines of the Northern Line for the excitement of the wizard train. The wizard train wasn’t strictly necessary, as we could have got the Central Line to Mile End but who refuses a chance to take the wizard train?!

So, we DLR’ed from Bank to Limehouse and Roo was suitably impressed by the rollercoaster-like feel as you come out into the open. Then we walked from Limehouse to the bottom end of Mile End Park, which Roo wasn’t quite so impressed with. He was imprisoned in buggy, on the charge of “being a bit mad on the platform”, and it was quite a trek. To explain, we were in Mile End to celebrate a friend’s birthday with a BBQ in the far North of the park. The newly renovated children’s playground was in the far South tip. And it is a very long park – as you can guess from our DLR trip, the bottom starts in Docklands and the top almost hits Victoria Park. So, it’s long. But I was reluctant to visit that part of the world without checking ou the play area, so we left the house two hours earlier than needed and started at the bottom, then covered the entire park. You too can do this with an 11-week-old and a 3-year-old. If you’re mad. But really, it wasn’t that bad.

We started in the playground, then. And it was worth the complex planning and the walking around random bits of East London. There was a huge, bumpy slide that I made the mistake of going down with both children in my arms. With our combined weight, it was hella fast. Roo and I whizzed off the end, but I managed to hold onto Eva so she at least had a soft landing. There was a wooden climbing frame (see above), flanked by some totem poles and a spiders-web climbing frame with a trampoline in the middle (luckily I have A&E on speed-dial). There was a small play area for small children, which was a bit tame for Roo’s taste. There was a cafe and picnic tables. There were swings and -according to the signs – some kind of water play on hot days. Though that it obviously restricted by the “drought” we’ve been in. Arf Arf. Anyway, the point is, there was a LOT to do. We could have spent a lot more time there.

The sandpit was pretty spectacular as well. It had the prettiest rainbow coloured bridge, and canoes stuck into the sand. Various sand toys scattered around, which was handy as we’d neglected to bring any for Roo and he was stomping around, declaring “I. Want. A. PADE” for a while. And talking of rainbow coloured things, check out these outdoor instruments:

Aww, pretty! So, the playground was a hit. It had the feel of somewhere new and well-designed. But we couldn’t stay there forever. No no. For we had a Moment to capture. The Olympic torch was passing through Mile End the exact same time we had planned to be there (this was co-incidental), so we set off to find it. Along the way, we encountered some friendly Christians who gave us free coffee and biscuits (hooray!) and then we climbed onto the Green Bridge to try and get a good vantage point.

The Green Bridge – for those of you unfamiliar with East London landmarks – is a bridge over the A11, which is entirely grassy. It’s bizarre – you would barely know you were crossing an A-Road. It’s also accessible by buggy via a set of broad steps on the south side and a slope on the north side. I didn’t fancy standing on the A11 itself, trying to hold Roo back, so we picked a spot just over the bridge where we could still see the relay.

And there it goes! Turns out that at that distance we had a good view but couldn’t see much in detail. And the torch is quite small, as is the person holding it. So it was a bit like watching a traffic jam (buses with adverts on, moving slowly), followed by some men running. A bit underwhelming, and Roo had no clue what was going on. But at least we could say we were there.

So onto the main event (don’t worry, I won’t talk too much about it) –  a BBQ on the lawn in front of the Palm Tree pub. It also seemed to be the venue for a floating market – canal boats moored up against the side of the Regents’ Canal and were selling everything from antique books to Slovakian food. It was all very quirky and East London, but also very charming. In a way, I wished I had more cash on me to buy ice-creams and sweeties. In another way, I’m very glad I didn’t . Atop one boat, there was a mini-gig going on, under a parachute (see above) and -more excitingly – there was a curly-haired and friendly dog tied up opposite. Roo found the boats fascinating, and wandered along the canal with his Daddy, looking at everything. According to Nathan, they spotted some big fish. According to Reuben, they also spotted some eels, sea turtles, anglerfish and sharks. I blame Octonauts.

The market, sadly, is not a permanent fixture and will disappear with the Olympics. The canal boats and fish, I suspect, will still be there. So plenty more opportunities for small boys to waste the last of the grapes by feeding imaginary anglerfish. We also found a little slide in an overgrown bit just next to the pub car park.

And there was a little pond as well, next to the wind turbine. You gotta love a toddler near open, murky water…. Unfortunately we had to drag him away home before any real harm happened to him.

VERDICT: Mile End Park is quirky, unpredictable, scary in parts but kinda fun to be around. Just like the rest of East London.

More details here (official website)

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