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Saturday, January 26, 2013

As a loving and dedicated father who puts his own priorities aside at the weekend in order to spend some quality time with his children, there's simply no beating that look of unbridled joy and happiness which lights up your daughter's face as you treat her to an ice lolly at the playground on a Saturday afternoon...


It makes you feel all fuzzy inside. Which is the first sign of a stroke due to high blood pressure.

Anyhoo, if there's one thing I've learnt from two and a half years of marriage, it's that when your wife's had a bad night due to a screaming baby and a troublesome child, it's wise to vacate the premises before she starts throwing jars of peanut butter. So while Lisa went back to bed this afternoon, I took the kids out for a trip to the seafront. Amelie was only saying to me the other day that it would be great if we lived by the seaside, so I thought it was about time I admitted that it's only a ten minute walk away.

Obviously it's important in situations like this to make the best use of your local knowledge, so having dressed Toby like Igglepiggle...


... I told Amelie that I'd push him all the way to the beach if she'd push him all the way back. Naturally she agreed. Which explains why I'm smiling in this photo...


That's me and Toby nearing the end of our downhill-all-the-way route to the seafront. Amelie took the picture, and quite honestly, the way her photography's coming on, I may never need to use the self-timer on my camera again.

Anyhoo, having finished posing for photos in front of the gay cruising ground of Duke's Mound, we entered Madeira Drive, and soon found ourselves at Peter Pan's Playground. I'd already agreed to buy Amelie an ice cream when we got there, but sadly, having taken off my thick winter gloves and retrieved my wallet from inside my thermally insulated coat, I was told by the lady at the outdoor cafe that the only frozen desserts they stock in January (apart from her iced fingers) are Mini Milk lollies.

Amelie said "WOT NO ICE CREAM?"...


And I bought her a lolly instead. Which she ate with a frosty expression. Whilst giving me a cold hard stare.

Fortunately the thaw was quick in coming, and having warmed ourselves up by having a go on everything in the playground at least seventeen times, we were soon heading home with smiles on our faces...


That was at the bottom of the hill. And I was expecting the smile to fade about three steps later. But the thing about my daughter is that she's a girl of her word (occasionally, and not as often as I'd like). So to her eternal credit, she was soon heading up that hill like Sisyphus with a boulder...


I stopped filming before he rolled back down.

5 comments:

Phil's Mum said...

Toby is very brave!

Jon the Bassist said...

Phil, I will put in a maximum bid of £6.22 for your jacket. Please advise by return what the carriage to Milton Keynes will be?

Phil said...

It's about seventy quid for a first class carriage on Virgin trains, so we'll call it seventy-five all in, and you can make me a cup of tea when I get there.

Jon the Bassist said...

If you can get it here for under £20, then I won't pass the top picture of Amelie in a washing machine onto social services. No wonder she looks so upset 

Phil said...

Washing machines are a touchy subject in this house. I'm still pining for those truffles...