Sunny Southbank

Woohoo! Flung open my curtains yesterday to be greeted by….THE SUN!!! Accompanied by his friend BLUE SKIES!!!! OMG…omg…I’m not prepared, we’re already behind (slept in)…crap…spiky legs…dammit…trousers it is.

It’s aaaages since we’d been up Southbank so small Monkey and myself graced it with our presence yesterday. As soon as I hit Southbank Centre I released him from the restraints of the buggy, and off he ran. Ugh….great stuff. I spend most of this outing using the lines “do you wanna see the boats”, “do you wanna see the water” to keep him near me. He’s not to bad to be honest, likes looking at the water, then sitting down like a little maneen to have a rest, oh apart from when he decides he wants to go back the way we came. I call him, he looks at me, I call him, he looks at me and I know what’s gonna happen, but I give him the benefit of the doubt.Why? Why do I do that, he’s off! So I’m off, prams left behind, I’m hoping nobody robs it! I feel like I’m running in a knees-up-mother-brown kinda way and I feel like a tit. I’m pretty sure my face was contorted into a lipless grimace just to top the look off. Anyway I catch the little fart, he thinks it’s funny, it’s not even that far from the pram but the distance seemed further…why do small children do this to us parents? Whyyyy?

So they’ve installed a sandpit opposite the skatepark now…thankfully small Monkey’s not interested. I kinda don’t like “managed” outdoor sandpits. I like the beach…apart from the sand that ends up in every crevice but purposely built outdoor, uncovered, unguarded sandpits concern me. I mean yes the kids love them and they’re great for us city dwellers that can’t get to a beach to handy, BUT, what happens at night when all the kiddies have gone to bed? You get late night dog walkers, cats, foxes and drunks who all think it’s a great place to have a wee….or worse, be sick….or a poop. Eughhhh, I shudder to think. Yessss I know the same could be said about beaches but they are where they are, they have no choice, you cannot put a lid on them and at least the sea comes in and washes the crap away.

Anywho we’ve reached the bit where you meet all the performers. First we meet a guy playing an accordion, its a bit melancholy but small Monkey still has a boogie. Next 3 “acrobatic dance” performers! Omg WOW! Omg EUGH but still wow. They flip and jump and cartwheel all over the shop to some African beats. Small Monkey’s loving it…gets his groove on again…some man to move ya know! The smallest guy is a contortionist and folds himself small enough to fit into a basin. He looks like a turkey…it’s freaky being able to bend like that.

turkey guy

They definitely deserve the £2.50 change I give Monkey to throw in…he thinks they deserve more and wants more….jayzus! God bless you coppers!

Back in the buggy, he climbed in himself, we reach the best bit…the Giant Bubble guy! What he does with bubble solution (Fairy?) and some rope on sticks is amazing. Of course he’s surrounded by kids and we’ve just caught the end of his show but he does do a few more blows of giant bubbles which Monkey and I get caught in. Yesss! Haaa little kids, we got his last giant bubble…booya!

❤ Small Monkey ❤

We move along passing another dancer shouting about how his wife is preggers, give generously, the strange statue people and a mime artist, and head towards the grass for a sit down and a snack. Monkey wants out, so out he comes.Runs off down the green, it’s not to bad this time though, it’s kind of enclosed and he comes back. He heads up to the walkway, stops, turns and looks at me. His face scrunches up. He’s just pooped! Great stuff! I just gave all my change to the bendy guys and even if I had it I begrudge paying 50p to use a changing room, so I do the classy thing. I drop his buggy back, plop him in and change his stinky butt. I did pull the hood forward though! 😀 Bum changed, Monkey now back in pram we turn to head home and catch this guy just chilling on a bench…..

A-MAZING OUTFIT!!