One of the
incredible things about being a child growing up in London is that your school
trips are likely to be pretty damn amazing. Today, for the first time, I
accompanied my youngest son on a school trip and what a day for it. Blazing,
glorious sunshine streamed down. Word on the street is that that is it, no
more. Bad weather is about to kick in, leading us into autumn, winter and a
period of endless gloom, until Spring next year. Whether it is the final warm
and sunny day of the year or not, we made the most of it. After travelling on
the East London and Jubilee Lines, we emerged at Waterloo Station and walked
towards our destination. The collective intake of breath and surge of
excitement, as the children caught their first glimpse of the London Eye, was a
moment to remember. Not many of the kids I spoke to had been on the London Eye
before, so after queuing for twenty minutes and soothing a few nerves, we
stepped into a pod and away we went. How incredible it is to be above your own
city – a city that in my opinion is the greatest in the world - looking down
and picking out world-renowned sights, buildings and monuments as they stretch
out across the urban sprawl before you. Little voices were piping up saying
things like ‘there’s St Paul’s Cathedral,’ or ‘can you see Buckingham Palace?’
and the funniest one, ‘is that the cheese grater or the walkie talkie?’ There
were many more besides, with places of interest scattered about in all
directions as we steadily rose above what appeared to become a miniature
version of London town. Seeing London in this way is a fantastic opportunity
for the kids to appreciate the magnitude of their city.
Next up was a
boat trip. With a running commentary from an extremely over the top but very
informative tour guide, we set out from the London Eye and glided past the
Houses of Parliament, before turning around and heading along the Southbank, all
the way past Tower Bridge, before heading back and returning to the London Eye.
It had been a
fantastic day. All that was left was the return journey on the Jubilee Line,
the East London Line and arriving back just in time for the end of the school
day. Hopefully occasions like this will live with the kids and help them to appreciate
what it means to be living and growing up in London.
