Christmas in England

Back in England over Christmas tends to be the usual things. Of course a lot of time with my sister, her husband and their two kids as well as my mum, sister and dad. That usually means lots of meals, occasionally walks to the local park, and sometimes something more ambitious like going to a play or indoor playground. Ice skating led to some injuries last time so this time we went roller skating in an indoor arena without any incidents! It is usually wet and cold, so that means some board games, or nowadays more often it means playing some more physical and fun games on the Nintendo Wii, such as dance or sports, which can also be 4 players.

We went into London once, for a very long day, with my good friend Jon accompanying along with my sister's family for a visit to the Young V&A (formerly known as the Museum of Childhood) though its hard to manage a combination of 4 kids whilst also talking to a friend and possibly seeing something of the museum. But the kids found something interesting and it was indoors and free (and they actually limited entries due to over-crowding). If anything the museum is too interactive, in that the very young kids just play with various things and don't learn much.

We had a slightly more successful visit to the Museum of London Docklands, which I had been to a few years ago, and is now even better. There is a lot of information that is also well displayed and some things to keep kids entertained whilst also trying to explain more of the history and context as the area grew over the last couple of centuries. There is a lot to cover --from the early years with its important role in maritime trade (including the slave trade), through the World War periods, past the regeneration and modernisation of the docks to the more finance driven area that it is now. It covers all sorts, from transport and accommodation developments and has a good mix of short movies, interactive exhibits, very visual displays and some more kid friendly activities.

We then went across town to the Twist museum, a privately-run, paid-for, underground museum that is not really a museum, more an interactive exhibit that explores art, design, illusions and the senses particularly focused on visual trickery, but also some that use audio and touch. Mirrors come into it a lot and as well as being a lot of fun, they try to explore the science behind the trickery and the reasons why are brain might get confused or whatever. Though lunch was McDonalds, dinner was Wagamamas after seeing some of the Oxford Street and Regent Street Christmas lights.

As a regular annual routine, it is so easy to just forget about work or the Kenyan life and slip back into a British life. It helps that work is slow over Christmas so it is easier to switch off compared to other times of the year.