Saturday, July 03, 2010

2.7.10 ~ 400(ish) word diary

We bumped into “cool mum” from MG playgroup at the tube and got chatting. So that’s three new friends in one week?! Then off to the V & A with my friend M. Had a luscious roast pork lunch. Jake impressed further people with his self-feeding-with-Mummy’s-cutlery and drinking juice-from-a-glass skills, though one woman felt the need to lean over and push his glass away from the edge of the table.

Then explored some of the Small Spaces exhibits. Our favourite was The Beetle tea house (this link takes you to a photo of what it looks like from the outside).  I had to climb up a ladder with Jake and hand him to M so we could get inside.







Then had a paddle in the water feature in the garden. Just as we were due to go in to the Quilts exhibition, Jake’s tiredness tipped over into a full-scale monster tantrum. There was screaming, pushing, hitting me in the face, flailing limbs, throwing himself facedown on the floor (all in the middle of a busy corridor just outside an exhibit people were queuing to see). People were kind though; they either kept out of our way or gave us sympathetic looks. One woman stopped and said, “Don’t worry, I’ve been there.” He was in his buggy then out of it then back in again. He tried pulling it and it tipped over on top of him. In the end I strapped him back in and took him for a walk round the garden / pool in the hope he would drop off to sleep. He didn’t. He screamed for another 10 minutes. Mad went to talk to the guard outside the Quilts exhibit to explain why we were late for our timed entry. I decided to take Jake out of his buggy again as I couldn’t bear his frantic, screaming requests for cuggles. He slumped onto my shoulder and hugged me for two seconds, then screamed to be put down. As soon as his feet hit the floor, he promptly threw himself on the ground and fell asleep. When I picked him up again, he had dirt stuck to his face and arms.

So we went into the Quilts exhibit while he slept and unfortunately he didn’t get to use the Gallery Etiquette his Daddy taught him (putting index finger to one side of his mouth while perusing an art work and saying hmmmm). It was packed full of older women and half of it was a bit dull, but the other half, the modern half, was excellent. So I left the V & A tired but inspired. Now I want to make a quilt. And become an architect.

1 comment:

Glovecat said...

Sounds great, you're getting out and making the most of London! When I lived there I was a bit crap, and somehow failed to see anything much, though I worked near the Tate Modern, so went there quite often at lunchtime. Seems like the little man is pushing you to the limits! It sounds like a lot of hard work - I don't envy you at all! Oh, wait, I'll be in your shoes soon enough :S

x