Our trip to London to see Emil and the Detectives.

Top marks to the children detectives who exposed the Hannover Bank Thief - all in an afternoon at the National Theatre! 

This weekend, my husband (Nick), our two children, (Abigail and William) and I went into London to see Emil and the Detectives at the National Theatre.  I love going into London and over the last few years have consciously made the effort to visit our great capital more often.  Although originally a ‘southerner’, for a period of time I lived just north of Newcastle but eventually I was lured back to the south by friends, family and a warmer climate.  When I returned, I could be heard saying to fiends “It’s great being so close to London again” with the implication that I would indeed partake of all that London has to offer.  However, the busyness of life and family meant that trips into London seldom happened and so I’m glad to say this is no longer the case.  Particular thanks go to my in-laws who often generously pay for the cultural experiences that we have the benefit of enjoying and this weekend’s excursion was no exception. We arrived at the theatre in plenty of time for our 2pm matinee where we met up with 'Granny and Grandpa', spent a little time looking through the programme before entering the Olivier theatre.

My daughter Abigail has always loved shows and performance; this passion increasing day-by-day as she rehearses for her school’s forthcoming production of Grease (more of that another time).  I realise that we are immensely privileged to be able to see a play at the National Theatre as a family and I wanted my children to appreciate this too, particularly as I didn’t get as many opportunities at their age.  As a parent I try and strike that balance between not constantly comparing their childhood to mine by pointing out all the many things they receive that were either not invented or too expensive for my parents to give to me at their age and ensuring that they can simply relish fun times for what they are without a debt of gratitude hanging around their necks! 

Needless to say, I wasn’t disappointed by their obvious pleasure in seeing a top performance in a renowned London Theatre.  It was great to watch them enthralled by the story and impressed at the illusion-like lighting and scenery which created an atmospheric setting for the young boy Emil, who, whilst travelling on a train to 1920’s Berlin, was robbed of his 140 marks (meant for his Grandma).   Emil is determined not to let his mother down and seeks to keep track of the thief in the whirling metropolis that is Berlin in order to reclaim his money.  The camaraderie of the many diverse children he meets in Berlin (the detectives) reflects the ability of human-kind to ignore their cultural differences and come together to act for the sake of what is right.  It’s an inspiring story in which the children are the example of honourable behaviour, juxtaposed to the poor judgment of the adult world.  The audience too are drawn into the action and are asked to “stand up for Emil”, which of course we do and so along with the detectives we feel part of the plot to enable Emil to not only catch the thief—the respectable looking Mr Snow—but expose his notorious identity as the Hannover bank thief.  Just occasionally it was hard to hear the dialogue of some of the children but apart from this, the array of twists and turns both in the storyline and the physical set (moving lampposts and bustling trams) the play was a huge success for the three generations that were represented by our family group and we would all definitely recommend it.

I have always enjoyed the buzz that is in the air when people leave the theatre following a good performance.  With the additional excitement of characters from the play running about the stalls during the final scenes of Emil and the Detectives; imparting a ripple of energy that continuing beyond the final bow, that post-show buzz was perhaps more tangible than ever.  As we pulled on our coats amongst the smiles and chatter of those around us re-living moments of the play, we made our way across the river Thames to seek out a pizza restaurant.  As we walked across Waterloo Bridge and looked at the view across the Thames, I thought again I do so love living close to my own, whirling, bustling and exciting metropolis that is London.

Are we overlooking the humble park?

Are we overlooking the humble park?

A visit to the local park is possibly quite an underrated trip out these days for families.  In the midst of busy life it’s perhaps the reluctant choice when there is no other choice and your children need an energy outlet and they need it NOW!  Certainly some would argue the humble park trip is lower in the pecking order than a visit to a farm or an amusement park or one of the magnificent kingdom-like indoor play areas.  These vast, colourful, multi-sensory kingdoms with their grown-up zones serving a plethora of parent pleasing coffee options to compete with even the most trendy high-street coffee houses (and in which, the English climate does not have to dictate the length of the outing) surely vie for our custom.  You may be reading this and thinking that you do still love the park and are loyal to its charms.  Nevertheless as your children get older, our sophisticated, high-tech world has made them less willing to want to go, opting instead to ‘WhatsApp’ their friends, create virtual parks on Sims or enjoy virtual park activities on-line such as bike riding and skateboarding.

 

 

In my case my 9 year old son is still keen to get out into the fresh-air  but my 11 year old daughter needs more persuading of the benefits of this past-time that frankly, she would prefer stayed in ‘past-times’.  However, the executive decision was made that there would be no choice and that we would all go to the park and on our bicycles to boot!  Even when your children are older, simply getting bikes out of the shed or garage and helmets on takes some time.  Inevitably, one or two interruptions  such as helmet adjustment, searching for a lost glove (if indeed gloves have been remembered and if forgotten require a return journey home to prevent the biting January air from completely numbing small fingers wrapped around bike handles) will take place on the short five minute cycle ride.  All such accumulative minutiae can be off-putting for the most determined park-enthusiast parent, but we persevere.

As a mum, I do see the value in being outside and getting active as a lifestyle choice for myself and my family but I have been tempted on occasions to go for the easy option.  On a cold winter’s day, to spare my Raynaud suffering fingers from inescapable trauma and think, perhaps the all-singing all-dancing wall-climbing, ball-pooling, abseiling, gigantic multi-slide and colourful tube laden indoor arena-esk play ‘zone’ is a more appealing proposition – or easier still stay at home and put the Wii on!  The easier option was not an option for us on the occasion I am about to recall, as not only was this good for the children it was going to be good for my husband and I too.  I can be prone to cabin-fever if I stay indoors all day so on this particular beautiful, bright, January Saturday we set off and we were not disappointed (of course we weren’t you can see I’m building to something good). 

Our park has received a large financial investment over the last year to improve and refurbish and its impact is palpable.  This was our first visit since much of the work had been completed and it was a real pleasure to enjoy the wonderful wide paths allowing for families like ours to pass by safely on bikes without catapulting the fast approaching dog or small zig-zagging toddler across the expansive lake.  All around the park it was like witnessing a scene from a Disney movie; happy families and friends enjoying being with each other in the glorious winter sun – we even came across ‘Percy the Park Keeper’ with his little wheelbarrow.  Yet this idyllic scene: young boys attempting stunts on skateboards; friends walking along by the lake chatting happily; playful squirrels chasing each other up century old oak trees; shouts of excitement echoing across the open-spaces as children whizzed through the air on the zip-wire, were actions not staged by anyone.  This was no fairy tale façade, dreamt up for the next big Hollywood animation, nor a virtual world - this was real life, real people, real time, otherwise known as reality.

Our family trip to the humble park was a huge hit - the shouts of excitement to be heard from the zip-wire came from our children.  We all enjoyed ourselves and like all kids, ours too relish the time spent with their parents, savouring the time we are willing to relinquish and call theirs.  I make no apology for the following, ever so slightly cheesy, American movie script-like style statement: that these precious times are what make lasting childhood memories.  By the end of our excursion, the four of us had heart rates that were pumping fast, a sense of satisfaction of a good time had by all.  Between us we had tackled a few mini-challenges including tree-climbing and navigating past a large dog whilst cycling (there’s more to this story but that’s for another time).  The simple pleasure of playing and cycling in the park with their parents never fails to gratify my hi-tech computer literate children.  Despite my numb white fingers and less than attractive ‘helmet hairstyle’ I was sporting by the end of it, I wouldn’t have swapped it for even the biggest, frothiest cappuccino in the most state-of-the-art, gigantic 21^st century play kingdom.