An updated map

Posted on July 25, 2011 by katese11

Who doesn’t love a Google map?


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Ben & Jerry’s Festival – 24/07/11

Posted on July 25, 2011 by katese11

So, it turns out that Ben & Jerry’s Festival is another one of those things which is actually less fun with a toddler. Another shocker! The lazing around on picnic blankets becomes charging around other people’s picnic blankets. The 8 scoops of ice-cream, enjoyed at leisure become the 5 you can sneak while he’s not looking. And the pogoing to your favourite early 90s band becomes Gary Numan, somewhere over there, singing “Cars”. I think. I can’t quite hear it over the sound of sugar-induced tantruming.

But, for all that, we had fun.

Ben and Jerry’s really is the best festival ever. We went to the very first one, in 2005ish, and every subsequent one except for a blip in 2009 (why were we so busy that summer? I don’t quite remember). Over the years, it has got busier and more expensive and the queues have got longer but still, it’s an absolute bargain. This year was £17.00 for a couple of decent bands, some free fairground rides and all the ice-cream you can eat. Festivalkate was slightly mourning not going on the Saturday (Ash, Ocean Colour Scene, Fun Loving Criminals) rather than Sunday (Maximo Park, Gary Numan) but honestly, Roo kept me busy enough on the day that it didn’t really matter who was playing. The bands are a kinda added extra at B&Js. It’s all about the ice-cream.

Incidentally, we only stubbornly go on the Sunday because – back in the day – there was no Saturday. It was Sundae on the Common  – get it? – and now it’s a matter of principle. Yes, we choose a fairly lame pun over some decent bands. But it’s our pun. Anyway, both mine and Nathan’s bosses were going on the Saturday, so it may have been for the best (one sticky toddler encounter later, you suddenly find your bosses turning against you….)

So, what was for toddlers who are only mildly bothered by ice-cream? Well, funnily enough, the biggest draw for Roo was the animal corner with animals from Vauxhall City Farm. Yes, that’s right. Vauxhall City Farm. The one that is five minutes from our house, with the animals he could see Every.Fricking.Day if he wanted to. For free. Still, it was a great distraction from the carousel, which inspired both awe and distress in him every time he saw it. Awe because he realllly wanted to go on it. Distress because he didn’t understand that to get on it, he had to join that realllly long queue. Climbing through the railings was not an option. Even if you fit through (he did). We ended up taking him on it twice. He screamed and kicked whilst queuing both times and screamed straight through the ride once (I think he’d got a bit confused by that point and didn’t know what he wanted)

In conclusion – free carousel= good. Long queue = bad. Distracting animals = good. Oh look, Moo-Cow!

What else? There was also the reggae tent, with a sand pit (well, coconut boules pitch but who were they fooling? Not the toddlers building sandcastles) and a steel band that Roo liked to dance to. The helter skelter and swing boats, both of which I was too wussy to take him on (he is probably a touch little still). Various craft-sy stalls, which we didn’t even get round to looking at. The air guitar stage – ditto. Although Nathan may have been avoiding it, following his great Air Guitar Injury of 2008 (Sweet Child of Mine – Kate doing “the windmill” – Failing to notice Nathan behind her – A neat smack to the jaw – A bitten tongue and blood everywhere). Basically, lots to do and see that we just didn’t get to. I didn’t even take a photo of Roo with one of the many people dressed as cows…but here’s a photo of him with a real cow to compensate.

VERDICT: It actually is a fun day out for all the family. Just expect your toddler to be well over-stimulated by the noise, crowds, bright colours and..well, sugar. They will run around like a mad thing then at some point dissolve into a tantrummy, ice-creamy mess with the overwhelmingness of it all. So, just the same as any other day really.

More details here (official website)

Posted in Creating precious childhood memories or something (days out) | Tagged , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Walthamstow 22/07/11

Posted on July 24, 2011 by katese11

Ode to the new Victoria Line trains

Feel like I’m in space

Every time I look at you

I think you’re really ace

There’s room inside for me and Roo

You take me to a place

In fact you go to quite a few

Save me from the race

I didn’t have to guess – I knew

Announcing stops with grace

You’re better than the Bakerloo

You put the smile back on my face

And I love that shade of blue

Walthamstow is a suprisingly frequent destination for us. My cousin and her son live up there and we’ve just made a new imaginary friend in the same area. It’s an easy hop up the Victoria Line from Vauxhall and – as you may have gleaned by the above poem – there have these great new trains that look space age, have level access, a buggy space and (gasp!) announce which side the doors are opening, so you can move the buggy if it does end up against the doors. Super-ness! Why they have such wheelchair-friendly trains when there are only three accessible stations, no-one knows. But little by little…!

So, it was a gloriously sunny day – the sun does always shine in E17. We first went to Roo’s friend Jake’s house (I’d recommend the blueberry muffins) and then out to Coppermill Playground  (More details here). Two slides, a toddler size maze and a tunnel made Roo happy indeed. Apparantly, it also served as a tube station on the Piccadilly Line but that might just be when Jake’s there… Definitely worth a visit if you happen to be in the area (near Blackhorse Rd). Co-incidentally, if you live in the Blackhorse Rd area and spotted a bright yellow envelope on the floor, that was Jake’s birthday card. Leave it on the roundabout and he’ll pick it up…

We had lunch at my cousin’s house (these recommendations are getting ever more useful) and then went out to Lloyd Park (More details here). It’s being quite heavily redeveloped at the moment, but there’s a nice natural play area where they can climb on frames fashioned out of tree stumps  .

Did the boys show much interest? Nooooo! Not when there are diggers doing the redevelopment! They stood by the fence, in their matching hardhats, enchanted and occasionally whispering “Bob!” in awed tones. So, that’s my official Walthamstow top tip – take them to a building site.

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Where not to take a toddler in London

Posted on July 23, 2011 by katese11

(or…what I’ve learnt today)

#1 Pret a Manger picnic in “Euston Plaza”. Your toddler will chase the pigeons. The pigeons will eat your lunch. The old guy next to you will shake his head despairingly. There are a lot of bloody pigeons.

#2 Euston tube on a Saturday, when you don’t realllllly know where you’re going. Apparantly the northbound Northern Line isn’t in the same place as the southbound. Who knew?!

#3 The V&A. This isn’t from today, it just fits this list. I may have missed something but isn’t it all priceless ming vases and glass stuff?! I went there in desperation at 6PM on a Friday after Roo had been (unexpectedly) good all through an afternoon tea in South Kensington but needed a runaround before the long bus trip home. It was dark, the Natural History Museum and the Science Museum were both closed. What would you do?! Spend half an hour ducking under roped off bits to haul him back out is what I did….

Places to take a toddler in London:

To a gallery to play with dirt. Who woulda thought it?! Ok, this is only one for the day when the gallery happens to be running a toddler-friendly “play in the dirt” session. It was ace, it really was. I am planning to get some poster tubes and make my own giant sand pens and let Roo trail sand round the house. Err….on second thoughts no. And neither am I going to let him try another cat litter-based “lucky dip”. One day only, son. Hypocritical? Sending mixed messages? Letting him throw dirt about the place when he got into trouble for doing that very thing at a friend’s house on Wednesday? Why yes, I am confusing this way. But such is the way of mothers…

Certainly one I’d recommend if it wasn’t a one-off. Next, we went to East Finchley, which would be another pin in the map if we’d gone anywhere but my Uncle’s house (he does have an enormous, enclosed garden though. You should go there). Some fun was to be had sitting in the waiting room, watching the choo-choo-choobs going in and out but that’s really only applicable if you’re specifically sitting on the platform at East Finchley, waiting for your husband to turn up because he left you in Euston to go back to Camberwell to pick  up the car after its MOT to drive back to Kennington then come up to East Finchley. This was a sudden change of plans that you hadn’t accounted for (who would have thought the old girl would even pass her MOT?!) and that is why you found yourself a) having your lunch eaten by pigeons b) getting lost in Euston c) feeding your toddler a packet of Quavers for his lunch and d) stuck on the platform at East Finchley cause you couldn’t get all your stuff down the stairs on your own.

In hindsight, there are things I would have changed about today. Hindsight is a great thing.

And here endeth the lesson.

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London Wetlands Centre – 05/03/11

Posted on July 18, 2011 by katese11

OK, this is one for a nice sunny day…Not a slightly cloudy, very cold Saturday in March. But maybe that’s just me.

London Wetlands Centre – feels like the countryside, despite being just south of Hammersmith (and “rural” is not a term anyone has ever used about the flyover and gyratory…). This is either a good thing or a bad thing depending on how much you like the countryside. You know my opinion…but I was there with a Yorkshire girl and a Slough boy (as rural as Hammersmith but never mind) and they wanted to do something outdoorsy, so we did!

First off, it is a touch expensive, especially when you forget to print off the discount voucher you found. And they won’t accept the super-zoomed in version on Nathan’s phone. Doh! So, I started out a little grumpy and very cold, having just paid twenty quid to look at some ducks. But it charmed me eventually.

(neither of these people are me)

There are a lot of different types of ducks! And the whole place (which really does feel miles away from anywhere) has been divided into carefully controlled habitats, depending on the specific type of duck  animal that lives there. It really is well done, it’s just that a lot of the nature was hiding on the morning we were there. Talking of hides, there are a couple of birdwatching places at the end of the walks, which provide great views of the whole centre, but are also places to be very quiet in. You can imagine how good we were at that!

Lunchtime. Stung by spending all that money to get in, I skimped on lunch and made me, Nathan and Reuben share a bowl of chips. Much to the envy of the baby at the next table and the pity of her parents. Ah yes, Reuben. Haven’t mentioned him much yet in this post. Mainly cause he was sulking in his buggy for most of the morning, refusing to talk about ducks or even point at them. He mainly wanted to get into the duck ponds but I think even he realised it was a little cold for that kind of malarkey.

After lunch, things brightened up a lot. We discovered the Discovery Centre, which was warm – hurrah! – and sponsored by…ooh, is that Mummy’s work again?! I wouldn’t mention it, except that I just have. It had lots of fun, interactive things for Roo to do, including an underwater zone and a game involving water pistols. Yes, after keeping him dry all morning, he gets soaked in the indoors bit. While wearing his coat. Sigh.

When we got back out, the sun was shining and we headed out to the other side of the Centre. Roo (now minus coat, plus some extra layers) was let out to walk on the strict condition that he didn’t throw himself into any large bodies of water and had a lovely time, crossing the bridges, ducking in and out of the quirky huts and things that were dotted around and just generally stretching his tiny legs. The sun really did make the difference. Have I made this point already?! Then we found a lovely little playground, which was aimed at older children (flying fox etc) but Roo enjoyed running through the tunnels and playing on the giant dragonfly-shaped bouncy thing. We had to rush a bit at that point cause we had a 2-year-old’s birthday to get to but could have spent longer there.

VERDICT: Maybe one for slightly older children (who y’know, have an active interest in nature and all that) but Roo still enjoyed himself. Claims to be “A great day out, whatever the weather” but really, really better in the sun!

More details here (official website)

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A round-up of South London soft plays

Posted on July 16, 2011 by katese11

You know what a soft play is. They’re the things that knacker your toddler out but you as well, they make your hair static and if your toddler is wearing Primark trousers, it makes them static too. I have learnt this the hard way. So, the local soft plays to us don’t really warrant separate posts each but I thought a summary would be good.

Peckham Pulse: The cheapest of the lot. Fairly new. Quite limiting for younger children cause adults aren’t allowed on the higher levels, so if your toddler is a bit unsteady, you should probably leave them on the ground. Otherwise, they could get stuck and you wouldn’t be able to get to them to get them back (at which point you retire to the cafe for a cup of tea. Ah, bliss…). Stuff on the ground level includes a couple of ball pools and some bits they can run around. It kept Roo entertained but he was about 18 months when we visited. Not sure how much he’d like it now.

More details here (official website)

Brixton Leisure Centre:Also known as “tough play”, this is a staple for us, due to its locality and fairly cheap prices (more expensive than Peckham, less than Battersea). There is always a weird smell in Playzone and it’s not the best maintained. There’s a small baby area, with a little slide into a ballpool, which Roo will happily play in for a while (and I sit in the ball pool, pretending I’m in a jacuzzi). The main frame is a lot more challenging – it has three levels, each about the height of an adult, and some pretty sheer drops. Roo (at 2) is just about learning to climb down the steep slopes but when he was smaller, I was terrified he would just fling himself down. So, vigilance is key. And it’s a pretty tough workout for a parent, clambering up ladders and squeezing through little gaps. So, it’s well equipped but you will feel as knackered as your toddler.

More details here (official website)

Battersea Latchmere: The most expensive and also the smallest but comes with a big advantage – the soft play frame is in the cafe and there is only one exit. So, you can sit and have a coffee while they play inside, knowing they can’t escape. No particularly scary drops either, so I don’t tend to follow him round unless he needs me. Mmm, caffeine-y goodness!

More details here (official website)

Posted in Token attempts at exercise (leisure centres) | Tagged , , | 3 Comments

Royal Festival Hall

Posted on July 16, 2011 by katese11

This is another London-Mother staple. It’s fairly central, easy to get to and they don’t mind you sitting there for hours without buying anything. But they also have a cafe (and a bar!) selling tea and coffee, a soup and stew of the day (always yummy and with a huge chunk of bread) and those random cakes you always find in these places- pomegranete meringue and rhubarb crumble tart. So, I quite often end up buying something anyway. But point is, you don’t have to.  Which is a rarity, hence us spending large portions of the winter there. Reuben even learnt to climb steps there – a wholly inappropriate set of marble ones that led to a brass band.

Special features include a lift that makes a choral kind of “oooh” noise when you get in it. It’s a glass lift, so boys spend hours watching it go up and down. You can also see the trains from the front windows. There are always other toddlers there to play with. There is sometimes live music at lunchtimes and free kids events in the holidays. But above all, it’s somewhere you can go and not get wet or have to spend any money. And that is why we love it so.

VERDICT: Do you need me to say it? A good regular hangout for anyone local-ish or on the Bakerloo, Northern or Jubilee lines.

More details here (official website)

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New Cross in the rain 16/07/11

Posted on July 16, 2011 by katese11

Not the most promising title, I know…. We have some friends that live in New Cross and they were having a BBQ today (in the rain…cause we’re British). Roo was getting restless inside, so we took him to the park on Monson Rd.

There are three slides, so a good slide count, even if one of them is death-defying high for a toddler-sized person (see below). That’s about all I can say. Really, an excuse to put a pin in this corner of the map and also to show that our lives aren’t as interesting as this blog makes out. For every Science Museum trip, there are twenty trips to soggy South London parks….

VERDICT: Definitely one for people who already are in New Cross and haven’t yet located the station or bus stop.

Post-script – In trying to find a weblink for this road, I discovered that it is home to the pub used as “The Winchester” in Shaun of the Dead. So that’s another reason to go there!

Posted in Token attempts at fresh air (parks) | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

The offical “London With A Toddler” map

Posted on July 16, 2011 by katese11

So, you can find this stuff….
mappy goodness


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Vauxhall City Farm – 01/07/11

Posted on July 16, 2011 by katese11


Just a quick one this, as  it’s only little. Shockingly, considering how local the farm is to us, we’ve only been there once. It’s nice. There are animals – rabbits, ducks, cows etc and even a couple of alpacas (we’re not sure why they’re there and neither are they). Reuben liked looking at the horse and shouting “Hor!” much to the amusement of my friend Kelly. There was evidence of pigs and sheep but we didn’t actually see either of those. Roo was happy with a picture of Peppa Pig on his friend’s rucksack instead. It is very small – don’t expect to spend more than half an hour there. But worth a visit if you live nearby.

VERDICT: Compact but enjoyable, especially if your toddler likes to point at animals and make their animal noises. How the cows feel about being moo-ed at, no-one knows.

More details here (official website)

Posted in Food in cages! Walking around! Or maybe some alpacas! (Farms and zoos) | Tagged , , , , , , , | 5 Comments