BUZZY'S BUDDIES

Whilst relocating can be disruptive, it has also afforded the children the opportunity to make great friends across the globe, and here in London, Buzzy has a fantastic circle of friends. He was lucky enough late in 2015 to have flying visits from his closest mates from Spain and Sydney. Javier arrived with his mum Connie (just popping over from Madrid for a girls' catchup) for a weekend and it was as though the last 12 months not seeing each other had dissolved.

Ronaldo and Gerrard - Madrid, 2013

 First though, we had to wait for Liam to get out of school, so Javi and Don Legsy made the best of our time by heading into the Science Museum, where we got to do plenty of hands on scientific testing and check out the fabulous exhibits, including the space exhibition, famous vehicles and Stephenson's Rocket. Connie met up with us for lunch and she and Javi had a ride in the fighter pilot simulator - the screams could be heard on the floor below as they went through loops, rolls, and flips!!

Apollo 10 Command Module which flew around the moon in 1969

Stephenson's Rocket

'Miss England' - winner of the 1929 World Championship Speedboat Race

Krazy German Karz

We picked up Buzzy from school and, it being Friday, we headed for our ritual Malteser milkshake at Cinnamon and the boys endlessly chatted away catching up on each other's news.

Buzzy had a fencing tournament on the Saturday morning and Javi watched on with interest - I think I could detect his conquistador instincts being aroused!

Javier and Dulcinea keep an eye on Errol Flynn wielding the cold steel

Then it was on the tube into Southbank, not to ride The Eye - BETTER - to do the London Dungeons tour (Holiday Tip: if you visit London with kids then give it serious consideration. It's FUN for all ages, a little bit spooky sometimes, and EDUCATIONAL as actors role play stories about Guy Fawkes, Jack The Ripper, Sweeney Todd The Barber and other less savoury characters from England's past - what more could you ask for).

Given the locality then it goes without saying that we had to go past the Horse Guards!

Next morning we picked up Connie and headed out to Stanstead Airport. It was all too short, but so good to see two little boys rekindling their friendship and having a ball. Come back again soon Javier.

Leaving for Spain in 2012 was an emotional experience for the kids, primarily because of the friends they were leaving behind - they didn't properly understand that good friends stay with you forever, but Liam was about to learn that lesson, because The Big 'O' was coming to town. Oliver and Buzzy became great mates at Killarney Heights Primary School, and now Oliver and his mum were heading to Europe for a couple of months, including a few days in London. The last time they saw each other was when they performed in the school's Springfest concert in August '12.

 


Once again, for the boys it seemed like three years ago was only yesterday. We wanted to make the most of the time and so we all headed into the Natural History Museum (Travel Note: I've said it before but it bears repeating, this city is filled with some of the world's greatest museums and galleries, and they're all FREE! And the majority are just a short train ride from the hacienda!).

Darwin and his Disciples

The Big 'O' and Melissa

The lads!

Apart from being the location of the most recent Night At The Museum film, it's the home of some extraordinary exhibits - dinosaurs, creepy crawlies, info on volcanoes and astrology, a dodo and a drongo, you name it; they boys loved it.

Hummingbird display - amazing

Dodo (in the glass cabinet!)

Drongo - nothing like the Australian versions I've met!

Moa skeleton - thank goodness they don't roam the forest any more!

The similarity is uncanny

We did also partake of lunch in the museum restaurant where Don L felt duty bound to continue his quest for a world class latte. Here's the museum's insipid attempt at the brew the gods drink...

That is meant to be a latte - the Quest continues!

From there, we headed to the West End for the real surprise - the afternoon matinee performance of STOMP. If you haven't seen this percussive extravaganza then I strongly urge you to do so, it's brilliantly conceived and performed, and needless to say the boys were thrilled.

Stage setting

By the time we came out, darkness was falling and so it was the perfect time to walk down Oxford Street to check out the Xmas lights (Kylie had officially turned them on the week before). Stand by for a special Christmas edition blog that shows the London lights in all their glory.

Friday and we popped into Artisan for a coffee and to check out the artwork and find Wally in the cafe toilet,

Interesting artwork at Artisan

The toilet wall - more stimulating finding Wally than doing a sudoku!

but it's back to school for Buzzy as he had a rugby match on that afternoon which was to provide an hilarious set of events. Oliver also plays rugby in Forestville and was very keen to watch the Bennies go through their paces - even asking the night before if he could play (Don L flippantly replied "why not, if someone gets hurt" and thought nothing more of it). As we're standing on the sideline waiting for the game to start, 'O' strips off his jacket and shirt and, to my astonishment and the amusement of the other parents, he's fully kitted out in Liam's spare St Benedict's gear (including a mouthguard)!

Ready for action

I love young kids, they're so totally un-self-conscious. 'O' joins in the pre-match team talk and then patrols the sideline just waiting for his moment (which, given EH&S issues, wasn't going to happen, but the school coach handled it brilliantly). The Bennies are locked in a ferocious game and their smallest player, a fearless little terrier named Tom, gets poleaxed not once,

not twice,

 but three times (and this one really did hurt poor Tom).

Each time 'O' throws off his outer clothing and sprints to the huddle where the stricken Tom is being treated, before disconsolately trudging off as Tommy realigns his skeleton and jumps back into the fray.

Here's my chance....

....dang, he got up! 

This time....

....dang, he got up again!

3rd time lucky....

...gotta hurry...

...here's my...

...big chance...

...everyone looks concerned...

Tom's not looking too good this time....

...not good at all...

...but no, he's a rubber ball...

..."it's only a flesh wound sir" says Tom Terrific, and the Big 'O' has missed his chance

Oliver didn't get his moment on the ground, but it was fantastic that not only was he itching to get involved but the Bennies boys (and coach) willingly accepted him into their environment - and he joined them for a bowl of pasta afterwards. Oh yeah, the match ended in a resounding 7-1 victory to the good guys, Buzzy scoring the opening try of the game.

Baulk off the left and.....

...it's clean air to the try line baby. Nearly as good as my Dad!

Finally that night, there was nothing left for the six of us to do but walk around the corner to Paolo's for a taste of Italian and some magic tricks from Stef.

Once again, time had run out and the boys said their farewells. All that was left to do was drop Melissa and Oliver off at Gatwick where they were continuing on to France. Unknown (until a little later) to Don L, their terminal suffered a bomb scare and they were destined to stay in London a couple more nights, but that's another story altogether.

Liam's lucky to have two such great friends, both wonderful little boys, and he better understands that friendship has no limitations or boundaries. Thanks for visiting us Javier and Big 'O'.