London Calling

We have had a rather hectic week - on Thursday we went down to London to see Pat and Bob and then on Monday we came back home with Bob who stayed for two nights.  So Tom has been royally spoilt and has had a wonderful time.

Thursday
We headed into Lancaster early and discovered a really nice cafe just down the road from the station which was good - we have always struggled for somewhere nice to eat in Lancaster as most cafes seem to be focussed on serving huge quantities of poor quality food for as little money as possible.

We then got the pendalino to London Euston.  All went well - train arrived on time and get this - Tom fell asleep for a good 40 minutes!  We managed to get a seat each so Tom had space to lie down.  We shared a table with a lovely grannie from Glasgow and a very camp business man, both of whom were quite chatty, so the time went really quickly.  When we arrived in Euston Bob was waiting for us and the Scottish Grannie went up to him to say what a lovely grandson he has - time to feel proud.

We then got the underground and train to Mortlake where we met Grannie.  Dinner was on the table in now time and Tom ate a huge 2 helpings of Mossaka and gave me strict instructions to make sure that we have it at home.

Friday

Concentrating Hard

We headed down to North Greenwich to sail across the Thames on the Emirates Air Line.  Unfortunately it was a very grey day so the view wasn't as great as it could be, but it was still fun.  The Air Line is quite close to London City Airport and a plane took off whilst we were in the cable car so that was pretty interesting.  

Once we had done our round trip we had tea and a bun at Costa Coffee (oh new idea for Lily Pad Bakery - bun was a giant sized Tunnocks tea cake - there are lots of opportunities for goodies like that - giant jaffa cakes, giant iced gems, giant jammy dodgers, giant Bourbons, etc etc - something to keep in mind)  We then went for a look round the O2 - I hadn't been there before and was curious.  I didn't really expect to see much as it is mainly just a huge venue, but there is quite a long street within it containing nearly every branded restaurant you can think off: Nandos, Harvester, TGI Fridays, Aberdeen Angus Steak House, Garfunkels etc etc.  You name it, it was there, although there wasn't any fast food.  Anyway it was much nicer inside than I was expecting.  

Excited boy waiting for a train

We then headed out on the underground to Stratford and Westfield Shopping Centre for lunch.  Found a nice Italian cafe which wasn't too busy.  The adults had a panini each and Tom had a risotto rice ball which was huge and very delicious (Matt and I had to help him).  Tom was looking quite tired at this stage and I was worried that he wouldn't be able to enjoy the rest of the day.  I was wrong, I guess the risotto ball was what he needed as he regained his energy and did really well for the rest of the day.

Next on the agenda was a ride on the DLR - this is very important as the DLR is driverless so small boys can sit at the front and pretend to drive it.  So that is what he did - he wasn't too bad, but not that great at looking where he was going (of course!)  We then went back to Stratford and bought a 10p platform ticket each to go on the Eurostar platform in the hope of seeing one - we did just as we were about to give up which was good.

We then got the underground to Liverpool Street and 2 buses (double deckers of course) to Waterloo and then back to Mortlake - a pure indulge the boy with as many vehicles as possible day.  Tom was very happy and very well behaved.  He carried on to eat a good plate of bbq turkey that Grannie prepared.

Saturday

Driver Tom

Saturday was the boys' day out.  I went to London to do some shopping - Japanese ingredients from the Japan Centre in Piccadily and a walk down Oxford Street visiting Pepperberry and Primark for me and the boy.

Tom and Grandpa

As is customary for our trips to London, one of our days there ended up being a boys' day out (as Nik mentioned). So, Tom, Dad and I decided to head to the Great Western Railway Centre at Didcot as they had steam trains running that day. We took the local train a couple of stops to Richmond, then another train to Reading (which passed through a seemingly endless succession of dreary commuter towns - Feltham, Staines, Bracknell, Wokingham, Winnersh and Reading itself), followed by a quick 15 minutes on a High Speed Train to Didcot.

Given that it was a Saturday during the summer holidays, the railway centre was surprisingly free of crowds, and we managed to see (and ride on) all the trains we liked without any delay. It's actually an excellent place, lots to see and do and a refreshing lack of health and safety restrictions. We were able to clamber on almost all the locomotives in the engine shed and quite a few wagons outside.

They had two trains running - a steam locomotive pulling a couple of very comfortable old coaches, and a strange old steam-powered railcar. There was also a diesel shunter (Diesel in the Thomas books) pottering about doing odd jobs. The weather forecast for the day was pretty grim, but the rain held off until around 2:30, by which time we had seen more or less everything we wanted to see, so we decided to retrace our steps back to Mortlake, this time with a 30 minute break at Reading to watch an assortment of trains go by.

The railcar

Tom was told in no uncertain terms that he needed to have a sleep on the train from Reading to Richmond, but couldn't seem to get comfortable on the seats. However, two minutes after resting his head on my lap, he was out like a light and had to be woken forcibly just before we arrived at Richmond.

The sleep definitely did him good, though, as he munched his way (as usual) through an adult-sized portion of curry, rice, naan bread and poppadoms before a short stint in the garden watching the planes go over, followed by bath, bed and the usual 12 hours of happy sleep.

In the park

Sunday

Sunday we headed out of town to Marlow - not sure I've ever been there before.  It is on the river Thames and is one of those very picturesque Berkshire villages - somewhere where property is ridiculously expensive.  I think we could probably just afford a garage there.  Anyway there was a good playground which Tom explored well, a roundabout which Tom had 3 yes THREE goes on and a lock where you can watch boats coming and going and river levels going up and down.  It took a while for Tom to fathom it out but he got there in the end and was happy running up and down watching what was going on.

We had lunch in a nice cafe - good quality food, but quite over-priced, we definitely felt we were in the posh south-east.

Watching boats in the lock

After a last play in the playground we made our way back to the car.  We thought Tom would fall asleep in the car on the way home, but no - he was too interested in everything around him (Matt almost did though).  Oh well.

Another good day, rounded off with salmon for dinner - Tom ate his almost without drawing breath.  

Monday

Monday came round too quickly.  We took Grannie to work first thing and had an explore around her shop.  We then had a quick lunch and headed into London with Grandpa.  We went in early so we could experience the first class lounge at Euston (we were travelling first class back home as when we bought the tickets first class was cheaper than second class)  It was a little disappointing - I think we got there exactly at the wrong time - it was busy and dirty.   It did clear out and we had a free drink each, (Tom also had some biscuits) but really it wasn't worth getting there early for the experience.

We got our seats, we thought it wouldn't be that busy - we were wrong, it was packed, so Tom and I had to share a seat for the whole journey.  Not to worry though, he fell asleep after about an hour, cuddled into me and stayed asleep for a good 45 minutes.  We were a little late getting into Lancaster due to a passenger turning ill on the journey up meaning that the train had to stop in Crewe so an ambulance crew could attend (they did a call for a Dr to make themselves known on the train - not heard that before)

We stopped off at The Bridge Inn on the way home for a very satisfying dinner (Grandpa couldn't help but keep putting food on Tom's plate - he ate it all - we were all quite hungry)

Tuesday
Tuesday I stayed at home for the day - trying to get ahead of myself with baking etc.  I didn't have as productive day as I hoped.  I made a round ball cake - but got the quantity of cake batter wrong meaning it didn't turn out as a full ball.  Oh hum, at least it was a practice run and not for an order needed today.  I also iced some biscuits, iced some drums, did some lettering ready for cakes coming up towards the end of August.  I worked pretty much the whole time they were away but felt I should have been able to do more.


Tom, Matt and Bob headed over to the Lake District for another boys' day out.

Bassenthwaite

Yes, the boys headed out in the car to Bassenthwaite, as that's where my Dad's brother Colin had stipulated he would like his ashes scattered. We went by the longer (but quicker) motorway route, stopping at Tebay Services for a break. Those services are far and away the best in the country, being operated by a local farm collective, and could easily be a destination in their own right - the shopping really is that good. So good, in fact, that our collection of Herdy paraphernalia grew by one item.
We then stopped for "tea and a bun" at a very small garden centre just outside Keswick, before heading the last couple of miles to a parking area/café near the shore of Bassenthwaite, from which we walked a mile or so to the shore, just by a pretty little church called St. Bega's. It was a very tranquil spot surrounded by water and mountains, and I think Colin would have approved of the location.

We then headed back to the car and, after an unsuccessful search for a pub, toddled the few miles back into Keswick where we managed to get a very nice diner-style lunch at a café called The Filling Station, which used to be just that. There was a fair bit of motorcycle memorabilia in the café, and we also got chatting to someone who arrived on a Triumph Thunderbird. Tom was allowed to sit on a Royal Enfield inside the diner, and we tried to get him to adopt a racing crouch on the bike, but he was having none of it (as you can see).

The new bike

We decided to head back the scenic route via Ambleside and Windemere, but (surprise surprise) somebody fell fast asleep in the back of the car, so we ended up sat in a lay by near Grasmere for about 20 minutes before heading into Ambleside. I had been hoping to get Tom some proper walking boots, as I'm planning to get him to the top of Whernside before the summer is out, and we managed to get him some, in his favourite colour no less. The real treat, however, came when I popped my head inside a very high-end bicycle shop and my eyes fell upon exactly the type of bike we were hoping to get him very soon. Bright red, light weight, 16 inch wheels, low seat and no horrible Disney characters on it. Plus, it was £40 cheaper than the Isla bike I'd been considering. A great result.

We then headed home, where Tom naturally wanted to take his new bike across the road to the car park and try it out. His "adjusting to a new bike" period lasted approximately 5 seconds, after which he was zooming around as if he'd been riding it for years. Great to see.

Wednesday
Bob and Matt took Tom to nursery in the morning.  When they got back I took Bob for a walk round the village and then took him back to Lancaster train station for his journey home.

Big thanks to Bob and Pat for looking after us so well and playing so nicely with the boy - he certainly has been spoiled and very much enjoyed himself.  He's not fully enjoying the return to the regime of Mum and Dad!