Following on from Extra busy extra chaos London birthday midweek weekender (part one)...
Writing so far after the fact now that this will be too brief and miss things. We opened birthday cards, many of which were stuffed with money, and one - from my wife - contained tickets for Back To The Future the musical, this very day!
We left our hotel in Old Street and got a bus. Thing two is really into sitting at the back of the bus, so he went there on his own and read a newspaper. We checked into our second hotel of the trip and it was great! It's a "Z Hotel", with super compact rooms. I have stayed in a similar thing before but did not know they could do family room versions. The boys had a mezzanine level above our bed, and we had two TVs and controls for the lights everywhere. Really good and I'd stay here again, though yet again it was not cheap. Clare's paying though, because I'm fifty!
I bought some new Fjallraven trousers1 on a bit of a whim really, though I had looked at them a long time before. I had lots of money suddenly and thought I'd get myself a treat. A trouser based treat, if that doesn't sound too odd. Anyway I'm pleased with them.
The boys played up a bit in the shop, and they had to leave. A member of staff asked me to keep them under control, and if I didn't want those trousers I would have stormed out.
We had bingo cards for this trip, the same as I'd made for a forthcoming big boys day out, just adapted slightly to be child friendly. you can make your own here. The boys were on a constant lookout for things off the bingo card, but got distractd for a while by a street magician. The magician / busker was strangely needy, needing people to stand closer, stand on a certain line. I don't think it was part of a trick, I think it was a "if you draw enough people into this space you get paid" type thing, or a licensing issue, or something. Definitely something.
From there to Kings Cross where we had a vegan lunch booked at Mildred's. We walked via the station to pop in on Platform 9 3/4. The "official" one was busy, the shop was busy, and smelly. It was a very hot day. Obviously the Platform 9 3/4 there is fake, it's for the tourists. Thing two knows this and so he headed to the real one. He could get to it easily today because the gates were all open because of the rail strike. Both boys had unsuccessful goes on some virtual keepy-uppy challenge in the station promoting some sponsor or other of the women's Euro football final.
Mildred's was quiet but really nice. It seems Mum and Dad were meant to be surprising me there, but because of the rail strike that was all off in advance, and this is why they had visited the weekend before. All worked out. We ate too much food as everything looked good. I ordered some wine and Clare went for a Pimms-like cocktail which she didn't much like. A delicious meal though.
One of the things on the boys' bingo cards to spot was a celebrity, and wouldn't you know it we even did it! Recognised this lady in the restaurant, she's an actor, eventually we worked out she is Siân Phillips2. I recognised her from Midsomer Murders but she's in Dune3 and I Claudius3 and everything. Celebrity ticked off!
After this we headed to Zedel, as we do nearly every time now. We had Kir Royals and the boys had hot chocolate and they brought Clare a cake when they realised it was her birthday. Excuse me, my birthday too, I'm even wearing a badge! OK she can have this one.
Then to the Adelphi Theatre for Back To The Future - the musical. The theatre bar was all made out 1950s style. Good show, lots of fun, lots of music, and good effects with The Delorean. Everyone enjoyed it.
Next morning I had an actual pizza for breakfast. It's a vegan brunch flatbread thing in Soho coffee, with avocado and chilli and things, very good.
We went to Camden again, to a new thing on us, Babylon Park. It's a strangely huge amusement arcade in Hawley Wharf, underneath Camden somehow. I think it was a bit too young for the boys really, particularly thing one, but they seemed to enhoy it. They burned through the money quickly enough, playing Cruise N Blast and other games and going on an actual indoor rollercoaster.
We split up after this point so Clare and the boys could start heading back to the station to have dinner and I went back to the hotel to get the bags. I was meant to go via the sweet shop in Covent Garden to get some particular sweets they boys had had last time, but I forgot, bad dad. We had late lunch / early dinner in Prezzo, sort of at Kings Cross, but really more like Euston. Nice though and with a discount.
Home to unwrap our birthday presents, and all is right with the world. I played my new records on my new gramaphone4, I got INXS and Blossoms and KISS. Clare seemed pleased with her hairdryer.
I might be back with more details of this trip. I had such a good time, I loved it.
Estimated 444 cups of coffee from my espresso machine3 prob'ly comes to £2.23 a cup (including actual coffee and now servicing3 but not the 'leccy).
Paul Clarke's weblog - I live in A small town. Wed and dad to 2, I am a full-stack web engineer, and I do js / Node, some ruby, python, php etc. I like pubs, running, eating, home automation + other diy jiggery-pokery, history, genealogy, TV, squirrels, pirates, lego, and TIME TRAVEL.