UK – London

2019 MAY 26 —–

I flew WestJet from Halifax to London Gatwick. I had planned to sleep on the plane, as it was a night flight. But it was cold on the plane and the seat was very uncomfortable. There was an empty seat between myself and the other person, and usually this allows each of us a bit more room to shift our bodies for a better sleep. The seats were super slippery and no matter how I positioned myself, I kept sliding forward. Note to self: pay the extra and fly Air Canada.

Len had arranged for an Uber to pick me up at Gatwick. The car was warm and I was tired. I leaned my head back and quickly fell asleep. I woke up at Whipps Cross. We pulled onto Sandringham Road and I saw Len and Freya walking up the street. Freya spotted me in the back of the car and bolted back toward the house. She flew into my arms and was virtually shaking with excitement. After a minute they both headed back on their walk to her High School Musical group.

Michaela greeted me at the door. Julian was in the back garden busy with a hand saw and cutting a board in two. It took him a good hour to not be shy and let me sneak in a quick tickle. He had a tooth that was so loose, it grossed all of us out. We kept telling him to pull it out, and he kept refusing. The next morning it was gone. He said it was bugging him in the night so he pulled it out, but the tooth fairy didn’t come. I told him it was because she has her rounds already set early in the evening, and how was she to know it came out during the night. That made sense to him. He put the tooth in a nice little box that night and was given two pounds for it.

At first I wasn’t tired at all, then suddenly my energy switch shut off and I was instantly exhausted. I took a nap and woke up refreshed.

Sara came over briefly, but had to leave early as she had work in the morning.

Freya insisted on sleeping with me on the futon, which is not the most comfortable sleeping apparatus to begin with. She doesn’t kick much but still manages to hog the bed.

May 27

The next morning it was pancakes for breakfast. It is always Grandma’s pancakes for breakfast when I visit. The kids usually tire of them after about 3 days, but not this time. Julian is on a growing spree (one cm in one month) and ate more than I did at every meal. Freya is more fussy and leans toward being a vegetarian.

The next day was a bank holiday so we all went to the park for a Fun Festival. There were lots of food vendors as well as activities for kids. Julian and Freya each painted a ceramic flower pot to bring home. Len and Julian went on the big Tilt-a-Whirl Swing. Julian was all smiles and not scared one bit. Freya was more interested in a small group of singers and a tent of dancers doing the polka, jive and fox trot. I think we could have left her there all day and she would not have noticed us gone. It was a cool, but not cold day, so we stayed later than we had originally planned.

Back at home the kids both wanted to sleep with me, but they were tired and fell asleep in their own beds.

May 28

Len took the day off and we took the kids to the Science Museum, which is near the Natural History Museum. If they taught science in school like this I’m sure we would all be scientific geniuses. We went straight to the third floor where it was entirely children based. We saw a demonstration on the Tesla Coil. We made paper cones with a flared part of the cone ripped into long sections that acted as a helicopter when we hovered it over an air vent. Mine spun to the ceiling again and again. There was a high speed camera that caught water drops as they hit a bowl of water then projecting the image on a large screen. We could adjust the lens speed to catch the drop in mid-air or as it hit the water bowl. There was a magnetized liquid that turned spikey as we raised and lowered a magnet. There was a table with dry ice that the kids could put their feet into and affect the flow of the artificial fog. There was a demonstration on bubbles. The guy blew a huge bubble then injected dry ice into it so the bubble was filled with fog. The bubble fog hovered for a second after the soap bubble popped. He blew mini bubbles into a bigger bubble. He blew fog into every other bubble to create a caterpillar looking thing. There was a giant slide with three different surfaces so the kids could experience friction – or lack of. Julian loved it. Freya went down only one and was too scared to go back. There was lots more and we spent a few hours in that area. Then we went for lunch.

After lunch we explored the space section. I have never been all that interested in the space program, but they made it so entertaining it was hard not to be captivated. For example, they showed how astronauts go to the bathroom in space. Space nappies! The just go and suction pulls ‘it’ out.

Seeing a replica of the first space craft that crashed into the sea gave me great appreciation for the fellow inside. It was smaller than a Volkswagen Beetle. Len and I were having a hard time keeping the kids interested so we decided to leave through the telecommunications area. It was there that Freya spotted an activity table that had sparkles. She let out a squeal and ran straight to it. She suddenly had lots of energy again. We let them play a bit, then we left.

The tube home was super crowded. I managed to put Freya in a corner of the carriage so she wouldn’t get squashed or trampled. Poor thing fell asleep standing up while leaning in the corner. We could not wake he up no matter what we tried. She was like a sack of potatoes. She eventually woke up after two hours and with me really aggravating her.

May 29

I took both kids to the Museum of Childhood. I’ve taken them there before and is an easy way to spend a day while keeping them 100% entertained. It has huge glass displays of toys ranging from modern to hundreds of years old. The kids actually take interest in the old toys, wondering ow they worked, he material they were made from (not plastic), and the ugliness or beauty of others. There are lots of interesting stations for the kids to play, such as an old fashioned rocking horse. There is always a huge queue of kids waiting to ride. There is a sandbox, wooden doll houses, fibre optic light columns and a glass table sandwiching metal fillings and magnetic pens to make designs. We arrived early and just in time to participate in a puppet show. We spent a good deal of the day there. I was afraid if Freya fell asleep on the tube again I would not be able to carry her home, like Len did, so we left a bit earlier than we all wanted.

May 30

Julian went to Holiday Club at Barclay’s School while Freya and I went to Paddington to meet Sara for brunch. We ate on a boat restaurant on a canal nearby. After brunch we walked along the canal where we fed some geese our leftover toast. Sara and Freya played tag in a park and Freya picked some flowers for Auntie Sara. We sat in a Seedpod for a while. It is a large egg-shaped pod that offers shelter from the rush of the world. It was surprisingly quiet inside.

We had a juice and a brownie in a clever outdoor amphitheatre that faced the lunch shops as well as a small stage area. Sara said the benches fill up completely during lunch. We sat with the sun shining on our faces as we ate. Then Sara took us to her work for a quick tour before her shift started. Freya and I left her at her work and headed home. We stopped at McDonald’s for lunch. She wanted to play in the soft-play area and I was more than happy to oblige. She was happy to chase around with the other kids and I was happy to be able to sit quietly for a few minutes. We went to Tesco for some dinner items before going home.

That evening Len and Michaela went out for dinner while I babysat. Julian is such a big boy. He lets Freya go first at things, mostly to keep the peace. He loves to play soccer in the backyard and even indoors with a small ball. He has a clever sense of humor, too.

Every night was a negotiation on who gets to sleep with Grandma. I really could not allow them to sleep in the same bed as me because there is simply not enough room on the futon. A few nights Julian had a small foam mattress on the floor beside me, and he was content to be next to me. Freya slept on the other couch a couple of times, but she has the habit of waking in the night and crying for Mommy. Len had to carry her upstairs in the middle of the night, which is not pleasant for him. So they would tell the kids that no one could sleep downstairs with Grandma. However, Julian made a deal with me. He would go to bed at the same time as Freya so that she would fall asleep, then he would sneak downstairs and sleep on his little mattress. Giggling he made me promise that if he fell asleep in his own bed, I was to wake him up so he can come downstairs. In the morning, he would simply tell Freya that he got up first and came downstairs.

May 31

Both kids went to Holiday Club so I went to Westfield shopping. I got some great deals and came home with a lot of new stuff for very little money.

I was supposed to get together with Sara again, just her and I, but she got sick (she thought food poisoning) and had to cancel. That left me with some extra free time that was spent playing with the kids.

June 3

I like to take the kids to school when I am visiting. They enjoy it, it gives Mommy a break, and I love it. On this Monday, after a week off from school, I asked Julian if he wanted Grandma to take them to school or Meme (my clown). MEME!! I dressed up and was ready to go. Just then the neighbor girl knocked on the door to walk to school with Freya. She squealed with delight when I opened the door. All three kids were over the moon to have a clown take them to school. It made everyone smile, even the hard-nosed teenagers couldn’t help but chuckle. By the time I got back Michaela said she got a dozen calls and texts from other Mom’s about me.

June 4

I took the kids to school, as Grandma, because I was leaving for the airport right after. Freya’s teacher asked if I could come back as Meme. I said I would bring her next time and would be happy to.

Although Len had arranged for a taxi, it was Eid and most taxi drivers were taking the day off. I waited over an hour. Finally, Michaela arranged for another taxi. I was really behind by this time. I got into the taxi and said, “I hate to sound like an American, because I’m not; but I would really appreciate it if you could get me to Gatwick as fast as possible.” He had that car pinned every chance he got. At times I looked over his shoulder and he was doing 100 mph. I gave him a tip – which is not common in the UK. He was pleasantly surprised. I was grateful because by the time I checked my luggage and got through security, they were announcing my flight. I didn’t even have time to buy a snack or a water.

The flight back to Canada was on a much nicer plane. Maybe WestJet will get another shot at my business.