Boat making at the Maritime Museum

As always a day couldn't be better if is started with a trip on the Docklands Light Railway. This trip ended in Greenwich hoping to catch a sight of what is left of the Cutty Sark and take in a trip to the Maritime Museum. The museum is in the very impressive surroundings of the Royal Naval College, designed by Christopher Wren, which is always worth walking around on a nice day.

We only visited a small amount of the full museum on the ground floor; the only real hands on exhibits in this was a wave machine showing how waves form and break going up a beach, the Buggies all like to play with this. However, this was not the only thing that captured their imagination. An exhibition of the trans-Atlantic liners gave plenty to talk about, an exhibition of arctic exploration and a steam engine from a small boat also gave a lot.

So to the boat making; this was a paper craft affair along the cutout and glue together, the event was very popular and some kids made very creative models the Buggies, on the other hand, decided to keep things simple shunning even a deck for any would be sailors to walk about. Sadly, like many such events no real attempt was made to bring the museum into the activity, making boats could have been at the local children's centre and both Buggies would have got just as much out of it.

In conclusion a good museum for the Buggies and one we will visit again but if I'm looking for creative arts and crafts I would prefer something like the art trolley at the Tate.

What: Boat making
Where: National Maritime Museum
Getting there: Walk from "Cutty Sark" tube station or get the river boat to Greenwich; map
Cost: Free
Again: Definitely will visit the museum again to see the other exhibitions.
Try:
Arts and crafts: The art trolley at the Tate
Transport and boats: London Transport Museum, Science Museum, London Canal Museum
Top tip: Go on a nice day, although the museum is indoors the area is very nice to walk around.

Apple Day at Vestry Museum

Vestry Museum is one of Walthamstow's real treasures; housed in what has been both a workhouse and then the local police station the museum charts local history covering much of the last two hundred years. The best exhibit is the first petrol powered motor car built in Britain. A garden outside houses various herbs and flowers along with various outdoor exhibits including signs, sundials and a roman coffin.

Today's visit was all in honor of the apple.

On entry both bigger Buggies made a beeline for the car and various toy trains around the museum (no dinosaurs here for Buggy-D) and had to be dragged back to the garden. Apple cakes (complete with a paddy from Buggy-D), apple bobbing, apple drawing, apple crushing, apple drinking, apple growing were all on offer adding up to a surprisingly entertaining day. Not a vast amount for the Buggies but being local there were plenty of friends to be entertained by and there was always the fall back of some old toy trains and a very old car.

What: Apple Day
Where: Vestry House Museum
Getting there: Walk from Walthamstow Central; map
Cost: Cheap
Again: Yes
Top tip: Have a cake, yum.

Gamalan

With shadow puppets and the disappearing rooms so far the day had been quite a long one and the buggies were getting tired so we spend what little time was left listening to the Gamelan concert. I've heard a Gemalan orchestra once before in a Proms concert at the Albert hall; the intricate designs of the drums and gongs worked very well against the high Victorian setting, the setting behind this orchestra was the rather more incongruous Heywood gallery!

Surprisingly both Buggies listened quite attentively to the music and, even after a long day caused little trouble until Buggie-D had to answer the call of nature and we decided to call it a day and return home.

What: Gamalan orchestra
Where: South Bank Centre
Getting there: Cross the Thames from Embankment or walk from Waterloo; map
Cost: Free
Try: The south bank have many concerts in their free spaces.

Disappearing rooms

At lunch time we met up with Mrs Bug and ate lunch before investigating the disappearing rooms on the terrace. The fountain is made up of four “rooms” whose walls are 7ft high fountains that switch on and off allowing people access to the room. While the fountain or wall is off you can walk into the room, when it is on you just have to wait. The same fountain was here last summer where a nearly two year old Buggy-B unwittingly wandered into a room as the fountains around it started. Not wishing him to be cut off from the Bug even for the few seconds by a wall of terrifying water I jumped over the fountain as it started; the result was a wet Bug and a screeming Buggie. This year was much more successful, both buggies ended up soaking but very happy.

What: Disappearing rooms
Where: South Bank Centre
Getting there: Cross the Thames from Embankment or walk from Waterloo; map
Cost: Free
Again: If I'm around, its around and the weather is good, I'm sure we will pay a visit!
Try:I'm not aware of many good fun fountains in London. The play area in Finsbury park is well worth checking out though. Map