A picture speaks a thousand words.....

I'm getting so excited about the imminent arrival of the "Pond Yacht" I have always wanted one, and now I can justify the purchase in buying it for my son. 

I recall paintings on my bedroom wall as a child of a little boy and girl with boats on a pond, paddling knee deep,chasing the yacht. Probably a Mabel Lucy Attwell. 

For me, part of the innocence of childhood, is halcyon days spent idling in parks and on beaches in the sunshine, paddling,building sandcastles. boating, building dens, feeding ducks and swans, picnics with home made cake and lemonade. I recall collecting pebbles and shells which seemed to have some secret magical quality.

Do you remember the joyful abandon of swinging high on a swing without a care in the world? or the dizzy madness of the roundabouts,hair flying and feeling ever so slightly queasy? the anticipation of the speed down the slide, and the achievement of the first ascent of  the climbing frame?

 Playgrounds and parks are where skills are learned,both physical and social, patience is also learned (Who hasn't had to wait for another child to finish their "go") and the scent of adventure is smelled for the first time. Will you be brave enough to try the monkey bars? or courageous enough to climb to the very top of the net?

The first years of life, before school and before tests, routine, and stress kick in, before we become slaves to bells and time keeping, are such special years. All the children and babies we know play happily along side each other, each one absorbed or busy with his or her own thing. The squabbles and the fights and fisticuffs  have not yet started, everyone is  content discovering the world around them. Boating on the pond belongs to this segment of childhood.

Though I hope it will stay part of our lives long after school starts! But one thing for sure is that it will be filed away under the "happy memories" file. We love Victoria Park, it has a special place in our lives already! And we are only one year old!!!

See you in June, mummies and petit matelots!!!