First we stopped off in Bethnal Green to visit the V&A Museum of Childhood which made for a really memorable morning. Glass case after glass case of toys from yesteryear onwards. Lots of parents going "ooh yes, I remember that", including us! There was a sensory section, dressing up area, a very tall robot which would move if you got it's cogs and wheels correctly lined up, and various other goodies to keep children, and adults, happy along the way. There was a section on children's clothing through the ages as well as several cases of beautiful dolls' houses.
My sis used to play with Pippa dolls, as well as her Barbie of course. I used to love Sindy, but always lost one of the hands (usually into the Thames, over the side of a boat, during a visit to London). Barbie and Sindy were on display too.
Knew my Unc. would be interested in this one.
Highlight for Katie - a rocking horse she could actually ride.
Cheeky chap!
This beautiful oil, by Henriette Browne, was one of many different paintings displayed around the museum - it presents an air of calm I think.
Took to this printing done by one of the local schools - it's given me some ideas!
So, after a quick stop at Holborn for lunch and a view of Paul's work place, we took the tube to Leicester Square - right into the thick of it! The crowds were unbelievable. There was a one-way pedestrian system in place but people were pushing and shoving, it wasn't pleasant. We managed to show the children the main China Town area, Gerard Street, with all it's pretty red lanterns and many stalls set up for the occasion. They enjoyed using "Fun Snaps", which, when thrown on a hard surface, make loud bangs. Although the box clearly states, "not to be used in public places", everyone was using them so there was lots of firecracker noises going on. We managed, through a sea of heads, backs and arms holding up digital cameras, to see the head of the Lion and later the Dragon, for their ceremonial dances. The Lion went along Gerard Street, dancing to the rhythm of the drum, taking a lettuce hanging from each doorway and passing on it's good luck for the new year.
We eventually escaped the crowds and walked to Trafalgar Square to see a glimpse of the Chinese dancing and singing on the stage set up there. The wind was bitter by now and we'd had several heavy snow showers. A visit to the National Gallery was also on our plans so we popped in there (together with everyone else it seemed), to take a look at some of the paintings of the 18th-20th Century. Katie particuarly wanted to see Stubbs' Whistlejacket, but she also showed interest in the Turner, Constable, Seurat, Monet and Van Gogh paintings on display. When pointing out the famous Van Gogh sunflowers to Ben (who was feeling rather weary by this time) his reaction was "so, it's only yellow flowers, why should I care about yellow flowers?" Bless!
Rather than stay for the 5 min. fireworks/fire crackers at the end of the celebrations, we decided to get the tube back to Epping a good couple of hours earlier than planned. I was feeling particularly "dead" by now and could hardly keep my eyes open. We had to change train at Loughton and then once we'd reached Epping Paul realised he'd left his bag with all our hats, scarves, etc., and his rather posh camera, on the bench at Loughton. Those three stops back seemed the longest ever and getting off the tube to see the bag was no longer there was not good. Luckily the control room was open and a lady there had either taken in or been handed our bag for safekeeping. There are some good people out there you know. Paul would have been mighty upset to lose that camera - a Christmas and birthday present from his folks and something he really treasures.
We made it home in one piece through snow flurries, heavy blizzards and then calm. A thin layer of snow greeted us when we got home. It had been a full, but fun day.
1 comment:
Sounds like you all had an excellent day out! The V&A Toy Museum sounds wonderful :o) Glad you got your bag back, that was lucky!!
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