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Lights, Camera, Action, WIGGLES!

Blog: Norfolk Single Dad
Posted by: Eddie2sox Sunday 17th June 2007, 8:58am
Last edited 17/06/2007 8:58am by Eddie2sox

Yesterday I was lucky enough to be with Sam on a day trip to that there London, to see one of his favourites, The Wiggles....

Due to the tight timescale for getting back at night, we drove to the station - how lazy! We bought tickets months ago when Sam was sleeping here on a Saturday and there would be no pressure to get back, but Sarah swapped the night since then so we had to be on our toes to get back to Norfolk. The easiest way seemed to be to leave the car at the train station so we could make a quick getaway later - and it only cost £1 to park for the whole day, I think hospitals could learn a thing or two from that!

So into the booking hall to get a ticket, mine was £31 including Underground travel, Sam was FREE, but the man in the office "printed" a special ticket for Sam anyway so that he had one to give to the guards, thanks Ticket Man! Actually, on a slight tangent, I find this kind of thing happens a lot with me and Sam. People often go out of their way to make his time a little bit more special, whether it's the man selling train tickets, the police woman who "checks" his driving licence when he's out on his bike, or the waiter in Costa Coffee who makes a special effort to spend time talking with him, people are so kind. So, onto the train and off to the big city!

Our journey was pretty uneventful, Sam played a lot with his Lego and we read a few stories and did some puzzles in a Thomas the Tank Engine annual, and then we started going through some big tunnels (it means you're getting near London) and Sam started getting excited. We got slower and slower as we got nearer King's Cross, Sam thought Arsenal's new ground looked like "a stadium, Daddy!", and wanted to know why they had left the old one (which is still being demolished about 300 metres away). Arrived, got off, Sam was gobsmacked with the size of the station (pic at top is Sam at KX, looking round in awe). We ditched our big bag at Left Luggage and off we went.

We headed onto the Underground, I showed Sam the underground map on the wall, and that we were heading for Hammersmith......found Hammersmith, traced the PINK line there, so we went to find the pink line for real (Hammersmith & City Line). Sam seemed to really enjoy hunting through the maze of tunnels under KX and St Pancras, and before long we were on the platform waiting for the big blast of wind that would tell us our train was approaching. Sam thought the automatic ticket barriers were great fun and quite dangerous, but we didn't get eaten once all day! On Friday night we'd looked on the Internet at Underground trains, and Sam really wanted to go on a red, white and blue one......so karma helped again when we had to board one of them for our trip to Hammersmith.

Sam loved going underground! He's SO up for new experiences, much more so than me at the same age I think. A quick half an hour later and the sign said "Hammersmith" so we jumped off, braved the barrier, and we were out in the big city! We were both hungry (although Sam was saying he wasn't!), so we decided to have a bimble round looking for a suitable eaterie. Fried chicken, nah. Fish and chips, nah. We went for a cosy looking Greek establishment, mainly because I spotted what looked like three generations of the same Greek family sitting inside, and guessed it must be OK if the locals used it. Turns out it was actually Turkish food, but there's little difference, if you go to any event at the Hammersmith Apollo I would really recommend filling up atthisplace before you go in. I ordered a big plate of salad, grilled meats, and chips, which Sam proceeded to tuck into (just as I knew he would). The waiter geezer was fantastic, kept checking if we were OK, asked Sam where we were going and if he was excited etc, top bloke, TOP food, delicious!

After our dinner we strolled up the road to the Hammersmith Apollo. It was only one o'clock so we had an hour in hand. Sam saw a building covered in huge cloths with pictures of a church on them likethis and it turned out to actually be a church underneath, undergoing renovation! We had a mooch round the venue then wandered off to "have a look round London" (Sam's suggestion!). Lots of interesting things and people to see, so by the time we got back to the Apollo it was nearly time to go in. In another great moment, karma let us see the flypast for the Trooping Of The Colour go directly overhead as we waited in the queue, we were obviously in direct line with Buck House, and Sam (and it has to be said, most of the kids there) were loving seeing big groups of noisy planes cruising past us so low.

And then we were in, hoorah! First stop ice cream stall, second stop to pick up a baseball cap for Sam, then our customary bimble round exploring. Up the stairs to the Circle (but it's oval Daddy), decor was nice, lots of yummy mummies (I wasn't looking though, of course, ahem), looked down on those below, then we settled on the stairs to wait for the doors to open. Sam is developing great confidence in potentially intimidating situations, and I am loving seeing this happen. He is completely at ease in crowds, and in theatres, which will hopefully serve him well as he grows up. All of a sudden the doors are open and we headed into the Stalls. Our tickets were in the last but one row, so this must have sold out MONTHS ago. The Wiggles were soon on stage and Sam was LOVING it, they played all the songs he (and me, OK I admit it) knew. Rock A Bye Your Bear, Here Comes A Bear, Quack Quack Quack Quack Quack Cock-A Doodle-doo, all of the classics. What amazed me was that Sam was dancing like Tim Booth with epilepsy for the whole concert, dancing up and down the aisle, shouting and screaming at the stage, and generally having a bloody wonderful 4-year-old time. He befriended a slightly younger boy and they danced their asses off, and I had a great chat with this little lad's dad. It turns out we've probably been at 10/15 Leeds v West Ham games at the same time, obviously in different parts of the grounds though! Bemoaned the loss of terraces. He was also having a slightly trippy day, as it was the first time he'd been to the Apollo sober! Sam was amazed when he wanted a wee, we had to go down more steps! "Daddy, EVERYTHING is underground in London isn't it!" My favourite character Captain Feathersword was in attendance, and arsing around as much as usual, what a star he is. Does he ever get through a complete show without corpsing? And the giant inflatable Murray on stage was pretty good too, the generator wasn't quite up to the job and it took Jeff several minutes (amid much ridicule from his fellow Wiggles) to fully erect. All too soon the show was over, maybe just as well as Sam was nearly melting with the sweat and dancing, but we both felt just a bit sad leaving. Sam wanted to say bye-bye to The Wiggles in person.....

Back to the Underground, raced through the barrier again, boarded another train (red, white and blue, yay) and back to KX. On the way Sam was very animated, and "pulling" the women left, right and centre (you can tell by the look in their eyes, "I want THAT one" they think). I wonder how many of those ladies got home with their men last night and came out with something like, "You saw that lovely little boy on the Tube today....do you think it's time we thought about a family?" Sam MUST have been the catalyst for a few pregnancies in his time I'm sure! Off at KX, Sam wanted to play chase, so me and him legged it along the tunnels, dodging in and out of the people, generally having a LOT of fun. We had 40 minutes before our train. Problem? NO WAY, not for Sampants and Daddy! We just found something to eat and explored the station for a while, then settled on some quiet steps to lounge about looking cool! Once again, Sam was in full-on pulling mode, winning dozens of admiring glances. Lucky sod! Sam is getting VERY good at "cool", he is a relaxed little fella.

And then onto our train back to KL, Sam was VERY good all the way despite being very tired. We played some more and enjoyed talking about the things we saw out of the windows. A lady sitting opposite, who got off the train at Downham Market, took time to comment how good Sam had been, and ask where he'd been etc. Of course Sam wasn't shy in chatting to her, and they had a good ten minutes chat! As she got off, Sam yelled "See you again at King's Cross!" How cute!

Back at KL it was straight in the car and back to mummy's. We arrived at 1821, not a bad effort. So it was yet another great day out.

All that remained was for me to come home and have the tea that Sam suggested......"Hot ribs daddy". More than happy to oblige son. I love you.

I will be writing letters to say thanks for helping us enjoy our day to the geezer in the Greek cafe, the man in the ticket office at King's Lynn, and The Queen for sharing her flypast with a VERY excited little boy. Great times again!

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