Wednesday, June 5, 2013

Have baby, will travel


Public transport with a buggy. I've been putting it off forever. The thought of bumping up and down steps, the crowds, having to ask people for help and annoying fellow passengers with screams coming from my general direction all sounded like a recipe for disaster. But I couldn't live in my safe little Crystal Palace bubble forever, and on Monday the point finally came when I had to brave the train as I was due to pop into my office for the obligatory 'meet the baby' visit.

As always seems to be the case with me, it wasn't nearly as bad as I thought it would be. I mean, the steps at Gipsy Hill and Vauxhall weren't much fun to negotiate, but I simply slipped Samuel into the trusty Baby Bjorn and bumped the buggy without fear. Once aboard, Samuel seemed to enjoy the novelty of looking out of the windows and he didn't cry once. But as a seasoned London commuter, what really surprised me was how kind and helpful people were if they saw me struggling with steps or with the gap between the train and the platform – someone came to my aid every single time and loads more offered. Londoners get a bad name for keeping their eyes down and ignoring each other, but throw a buggy into the mix and they're lovely. Or maybe I just had good luck on Monday. 

The work visit went well and Samuel was a hit. My favourite of all the compliments that he received was that he had 'a lovely shaped head'. After a cuppa at one of my favourite cafes, the Tea House Theatre, it was time for the return journey. As he snoozed all the way from Clapham Junction to home, I thought to myself that now we can do the train, the world – or London at least – is our lobster.


  


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