One word? When seven would do…

I checked the train times for London last night before I went to bed – 839am (the one we normally get when we’re doing the am RI sessions), 9.09am and 10.10am. There are more of course but these were the straight through, no change ones to Victoria. I kind of knew we wouldn’t really make the 839 one as that’s always a rush even when we do have to be there that early but I thought the 909 was a possibility and would mean we could do something else first before going to RI.

I was awake and I could hear both children awake long before the 8am alarm I’d set but I wasn’t in a rushing around mood so we left home at 930am, popped into the CoOp for some additional food supplies and got the 1010 instead. It was a really nice train journey – we got seats with a table, I got tea from the buffet cart and the kids DS’d quietly together while I read my book :).

We had a quick peek in the Lush shop at Victoria and then got the one stop on the tube to Green Park. As we walked in from one entrance Katy and the school of fish with one extra must have been entering from the other entrance as we sort of met in the middle.

The kids did plenty of playing with sticks and dashing about the daffodils, Katy nipped off with Kit to the loo and I had an old man come and sit beside me (I was poised to offer first aid but he didn’t seem in need), I valiantly shooed away a dog which came over interested in Katy’s bagels (well actually I was in more of a supporting role to Joshua who was also on the bench with me – it was a DOG!) and then Katy came back.

Alison arrived flanked by Gaffer and another HE family and then Mich arrived slightly behind Chloe and slightly infront of the child belonging to the other woman she was with whose name she stumbled over and whose child was hiding behind a tree. I did question whether Mich did indeed know this person at all and quite how she was a HEor when she didn’t have a child with her but I think it all became clear…

We had a nice rowdy picnic and then gathered up all the children to head off to the RI for the afternoon session for katy and I. We decided to call additional names across the park as well as our own children and including wacky and biblical selections although Gaffer won when he hailed ‘Jesus!’ across the park 😆

The talk at the RI was excellent, quite my favourite yet I think. A very theatrical mad professor type, a self confessed pyromanic who addressed the whole hall as ‘my dear children’ and put me in mind of Willy Wonka somehow (not the weirdy Johnny Depp one) with his genuine delight in chemistry and experiments and demands on us not to clap and waste time as he had so many things to show us. Really enjoyed it :).

Both kids wanted to ask a question – Scarlett to draw his attention to a paper plane from his earlier session which had ended up on a ledge and Davies to ask more about the Kipps apparatus which had fascinated him. I remember them being in the labs at school and along with the heat proof mats, splints, conical flasks and other asssorted ‘props’ had me thinking fondly back to science lessons of days gone by.

The session over-ran so with asking questions, general milling about in the foyer and another trip to the loo for Tarly despite her insisting she didn’t need to go it was about 330pm before we actually left RI. Our original plan of Monument was scuppered by the wind and rain that seemed fairly set in so we decided once we were at the tube station to head for South Ken and the museums. Davies and I had fallen out on the way when he stopped in the middle of the road to pick up a bit of broken car headlight. I gave out to him both for stopping in a road and picking up rubbish and made him drop it which upset him :(. I was at that point all set to go home really as I was aware we were holding other people up, unsure he’d be able to pull himself back together again in order to recover and enjoy himself and was slightly wrongfooted by the change of plans (not sure why really, I think I just have in my head that the museums are an all day thing rather than something you can go to for an hour or so. I was wrong and having already got tube tickets it’s not like it costs anything but I think I handle London best when I have a clear idea in my head of what’s happening where and when).

We did decide to carry on with the others, particularly as Tarly was having such a good time with Chloe :). We got to the Natural History Museum without further incident and decided to go to the basement for the hands on stuff. On the tube Katy had drawn my attention to Scarlett’s boot which having been on it’s last legs a couple of weeks ago had completely given up and the sole was flapping exposing her toes. Mich donated a hair band to hold it together and I cursed myself for having forgotten about it and not having glued it before.

The hands on bit was brilliant – loads of drawers of exhibits to pull out and look at, measure, weigh, draw, look at under microscopes and maginfying glasses, books to look up more details about them in and more information on the computer screens around the room about. It is manned by really friendly staff who are happy to help and chat too.

Scarlett and Chloe looked at loads of things together

Davies and I spent quite bit of time on a food pyramid game (we did ocean, woodland and ponds), drew a tortoise shell and looked at some starfish.

That area closed earlier than the main museum so we left there and looked at the fossil area (walking through the birds area on the way where Davies, Scarlett and I looked at dodos, the amazing wingspan of some eagles, a row of very big to very small eggs and a display of albino birds)

Then we moved on to the earth bit where we all got a bit scattered about but all ended up together. Not sure what Tarly took in, if anything as she was at the front with Clo but Davies and I looked at various things together as we went through. He really wanted to see the Creepy Crawley bit so we hastened there to finish.

We said goodbye at the tube – thankfully not for long as we’ll be seeing everyone again in the next 2 weeks and headed back the 2 stops to Victoria.

I felt really bad on the tube looking at Scarlett with her held together with an elastic band shoe, her hippy top with the long sleeves of her jumper sticking out that she’d been chewing so were soaking wet and a bit grubby with London dirt on them. She looked like some sort of uncared for homeless child :(.

We debated what to do at Victoria as they were both hungry and both wanted another look (read, me to buy something) in the Lush shop but agreed we’d catch the next available train home rather than waste time. In the event there was a train about to leave and although I sincerely doubted we’d make it we ran for it anway and just jumped on as the guard blew the whistle! It was a long train with 12 carriages, packed full and we had to walk the whole length of it as only the first 4 carriages reach the short platform at Lancing. We stood for a fair bit of the way and finally got a seat so they could resume DSing and I could read some more book while eating the last of the food we’d brought.

We got back to Lancing, walked back to the library to collect our car and got home to a bath run for the kids and dinner in the oven for them from Ady who also offered to cook dinner for us and sent me off with a glass of wine.

I’m incredibly stiff and have been for the last week or so and today hasn’t helped, particuarly as I stupidly took my bag with loads of stuff I really didn’t need which weighed very heavily on my shoulder. I can’t decide if I’ve done something which has made my muscles ache or if I should be worried but I hope it goes away soon.

Now I’m home, bathed, fed, wined and have looked at the photos it was a really nice day – lovely to see friends and change my mind about nipping to the museums for just one or two galleries for the future.