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For Tiny Londoners & Their Adults

Bablands is a resource for Londoners who find themselves with a small creature to dress up and entertain. Part-magazine, part-guide, Bablands follows the adventures of Bab as she seeks out London's coolest kids' shops, best child-friendly hangouts and under-fives activities that won't make mummy want to gauge her eyes out with a weaning spoon.

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M&S Food on Mare Street has TINY trolleys and they’re too adorable. We used to have these in our local Safeway when I was little and my Mum would never let me have one because she said I’d steer it into people’s heels 😂😭 Anyway, I couldn’t not let Roma pootle around a supermarket with a tiny Roma-sized trolley and tbf her control was pretty good! We only popped in for some snacks (and let’s ignore the fact that we’re standing in the fruit and veg section but the trolley’s full of Wotsits and chocolate digestives), and I definitely can’t afford to do my weekly shop in M&S, but it was about the least stressful supermarket run we’ve managed in a lonnnng time (although I can imagine it would be a different story if this was big Sainsbury’s in Camden at rush hour and all the kids had trolleys 😂).
@assembleplay and @freespaceproject hosted the most gorgeous event in the garden of my doctors’ surgery last week. Unfortunately it had been absolutely pissing it down all day until literally five minutes before it started, so it was a lot quieter than it should have been. SUCH a shame as the play situation was incredible and there was so much lovely stuff laid on for us. Massive, massive shoutout to @maryamluongfacepainting - she was so patient and lovely with the kids and her work is BEAUTIFUL. If you’re looking for a face painter for a party then Maryam is your woman. She’s so fast too! @assembleplay will be back - minus the face painting - at @toynbeehall this Saturday the 25th and on Chingford Green on Sunday the 26th!
Hey Baby is back! We had absolutely cack all to do this morning so I was practically beside myself when I discovered that one of our all-time favourite playgroups has restarted. I’m SO into playgroups at the moment (had you noticed? 🥴) I think it’s a combination of having not done any for 18 months and knowing that this is the last year ever that we’ll be able to go to them 😭 This one makes me so nostalgic for Babu’s baby years and it’s even better than it was back in the day now that the beautiful @stjohnathackney has been renovated. I don’t know if they still serve Monmouth coffee but it’s good coffee nonetheless, and they have oat milk, which is unheard of at under-5s playgroups. They also serve healthy snacks for the kids halfway through and there’s singing at the end, which is always very cute. Toys include ride-ons, dressing up, a play kitchen, a small bouncy castle, vehicles and loads of baby stuff, plus the toilets and baby change are lovely and clean. There’s a little toddler playground just behind the church with a nice play fountain, so we spent quite a while there afterwards. The playgroup is free (though donations are welcome) and runs 10-11.45am on term-time Mondays.
I still hate the Mound, it’s such a ridiculous waste of a frankly obscene amount of money. I can’t quite get my head around the fact that forty-six percent of children in Westminster are living below the poverty line, and yet Westminster City Council thought that spunking six million quid on a chuffing scaffold was a good idea.
I was so disappointed when @houseofvansldn won the bid to take over the new pedestrianised section of the Strand for two weeks this month over our faves @assembleplay . Then when I realised they were offering free family skateboarding lessons I started getting excited, only to have my hopes dashed again when they pretty much immediately sold out. So MASSIVE shout out to @southbankfoodie for letting us have her spares ❤️
We had an unexpectedly free day so decided to brave the schlep to Clapham Common to see @colourscape_music_festival , which I’d completely forgotten about. We last visited when it was pitched up in Wembley Park in May 2019 (where the HELL does the time go?!).
Another playgroup that my child was seemingly the only one at 😆 This one was actually quite busy but in a nice, bustling rather than overwhelming way. We went to this once before when it was being temporarily held in the basement of Holborn Library (because Barbican Blocks was randomly there too). Before that it was at Bedford House, a building that’s since been demolished to make way for the shiny new Holborn House - the playgroup’s new home. These free under-5s soft-play sessions run on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday mornings from 9.30-11.30, and there’s also a stay-and-play from 10.45-12.45 on Wednesdays (I guess that involves more toys and things). The lady said they’re limited to 15 families per session at the moment so it’s worth booking - you can contact them via holborncommunity.co.uk or I have her number if you need (it feels weird putting someone else’s phone number in an Instagram post).
I have literally no recollection of booking @theblueparadox and had zero idea what to expect when we got there, other than an immersive ocean-plastics themed experience… and blue stuff. Thought it might be a bit shite, as these Insta-friendly, immersive things often are, but this was a good one. It was like being inside a big, blue David Attenborough documentary. I actually learnt stuff, and it was frightening. Did you know, for example, that the average person consumes a credit-card-sized serving of microplastics a week? And even if you did know that you might as well go - it’s free and for every visitor a donation will be made to @conservationorg to help protect 1 square kilometre of ocean.
We had a lovely afternoon chilling under this amazing rainbow installation in St. Anne’s Church Garden in Soho the other day. The Rainbow After The Storm pavilion was designed by young architects at @fosterandpartners and is the winner of the Pride Pop Up competition organised by @architecturelgbt and @londonfestivalofarchitecture . It’s designed to serve as a reminder that, for the LGBT+ community, Covid is not the first pandemic of recent years, and of the disproportionate effect the global HIV crisis has had on LGBT+ people and their families. The effect of the woven thread to create a kind of rainbow tunnel of hope is beautiful and it’s a really nice one for kids to interact with - particularly great if you’re in central and everyone’s losing the plot a bit. I’ve always loved this garden. Access via Wardour Street. On until the 26th.
Today has been peak ridiculous but I think standing under a tree in Regent’s Park for 20 minutes glued to my weather app was probably the low. It did eventually stop raining though 😆 I love Frieze Sculpture so much, it never fails to cheer me up. The first time we went was a total accident. It was 2017, I was horribly depressed and I’d dragged Babu to the park to try and blow away the cobwebs, then suddenly there was this massive @kaws mouse sculpture towering above us. Being in the presence of all this amazing art in the relative comfort of our local park (this was before I’d even attempted to take her to an actual art gallery) was so healing I instantly felt this burst of hope amid the horrible black cloud of misery, and I’ve looked forward to it every year since. So yeah, of course we went on opening day in the pissing rain 😂 There are some great sculptures this year but I think this one by Jose Pedro Croft is my favourite. I love how it looks completely different depending on where you stand, and the girls seemed to really enjoy hiding in it. Also we should have totally sheltered from the rain in here, because if anything the tree just made us wetter 😭😂 Frieze Sculpture is on now until the 31st of October in Regent’s Park’s English Gardens (right next to the Marylebone Gate playground).
Another day of just me and Ro, another super-cute toddler playgroup. I really loved this one. The toys reminded me of stuff from my own playgroup in the 80s - especially this amazing old-school slide omg. It’s a really lovely space with super-chilled staff plus loose parts, foam bricks and Cozy Coupes for days. It’s held at St Hilda’s East Community Centre near Arnold Circus on Mondays 10-12 and Wednesdays 1-3, and it’s totally free!
Very cute lil’ soft-play session at @clissold_leisure_centre the other morning. Very simply it’s a bouncy castle (but a good one with things in it and a slide), a ball pool and a bunch of squishy loose parts, but the kids loved it and it was very quiet and calm. Sessions run for an hour at 9, 10 and 11 every weekday morning. Booking is via your favourite Better app (select Clissold > book soft play > toddler’s world) and it’s £5.90 per child. I’d recommend for crawlers up to about 3. Swiss Cottage centre used to run something similar but last time I checked they hadn’t restarted it. Thanks to @northlondontwinmum for letting us know about this one.
There are only two weeks left to see Dancers’ Garden, an interactive artwork for families by artist @alaasatir that’s been installed in @themosaicrooms garden in Kensington. We visited a few weeks ago and it’s just gorgeous. Behind the two ladies there’s a little sandpit and some musical instruments, and you’ll also find some soft loose play parts, a Perspex easel with pens, and lots of chalks. You can visit the Mosaic Rooms and garden Tuesday-Sundays from 11am-5.30pm until the 26th, and on Saturday the 25th at 2pm Elias Matar will be hosting a family-fun session comprising creative play and interactive storytelling (free but you need to book and there are only eight spaces left - I’ll link it in stories now). Combine with a trip to Holland Park or the “big three” museums.
Remember how I said we went to three soft plays on three consecutive days during the holidays? Well @kidspaceromford was the last one. I was expecting it to be pretty similar to @kidspacecroydon but it’s not at all really, climbing wall and go-karts aside. For a start the main structure is made of plastic rather than wood, and more like a traditional soft play than the Croydon one, but it’s also quite a lot easier to navigate as a massive adult - and thus easier to help toddlers on. The slides all say they’re for ages 5+ but Ro went down them anyway before we could stop her and loved it. There’s also a decent-sized toddler area, along with a ball-cannon area like there is with the Croydon one that the toddlers also seemed to like. I’m always going to prefer a wooden play area to a plastic one so I think overall I preferred Croydon (also I don’t know if it was just when we visited but Romford was MUCH busier). We paid £9.50 for Ro, £13.99 for Babu and £4.99 each for Adam and me, but that was during the holidays and it’s slightly cheaper during the week in term time. I’m going to do a longer blog post on both of them soooon but let me know if you have any questions in the meantime.
I’m so happy @bearandwolfcafe is back I could weep. Every time I’ve bought a takeout coffee from there in the last 18 months I’ve prayed for the return of their playroom - and yesterday it returned 🙌😭 I’ve been taking the girls here since Babu was crawling. Now she’s kind of big for the playroom, but it’s still great to have somewhere I can take them for that awkward hour between school chuck out and dinner time so they’re not tearing up the flat and trying to kill each other - AND I can get a decent coffee. I massively recommend the doughnuts and chocolate-hazelnut cookies, and they make Babu’s favourite macaroni cheese ever. Open every day until 5pm!
Was very nearly very late to pick up Babu from school seeing this show. I thought Adam was meant to be getting her then it transpired he couldn’t and I had to race home - literally RAN all the way there (@littleveggieeats you’d have been so proud 😂). I didn’t think “I was at an art exhibition in Mayfair” would go down very well with the school office. Honestly I’m such a wanker. Anyway, I’m absolutely obsessed with this @szabolcs_bozo exhibition at @carl.kostyal , it’s so much fun. It’s inspired by Hungarian folklore and mythology, and I love how sinister it is - especially the giant creepy rat thing composed of seven huge panels. Would 100% have one in my house. It’s on until the 25th of September, no need to book.
I always forget how good Baby Gym at Talacre is then am blown away by its brilliance. I mean it is literally just babies in a gym, but it’s so great! We’re so lucky to have this on our doorstep and we definitely don’t make enough use of it. I probably brought Babu here 5-10 times ever and now she’s too old and it’s so sad 😭 It’s on every weekday morning 10.30-11.30 and costs £8. You can book via the @better_uk app (select book other activities > make a booking > Talacre > class timetable > parent & toddler drop-in 60 mins). There’s also a soft play here called Treetops that’s not the worst thing ever, although I have no idea what’s happened to the new playground we’re supposed to be getting in Talacre Park (the current one is diabolical). Still massively appreciating being able to do stuff like this again 🙌
Borealis was so good. I still haven’t decided whether it was worth the drive to Greenwich and back waaay past the kids’ bedtime (which we are still very much paying for two days later), but I think I’d have been really disappointed if we hadn’t made it. Thank GOD for @christinarosebrown and her prebooked tickets because the queue for walk-ups was 50 minutes long, which would have been a disaster with three little ones. The (very blurry) pictures don’t do justice to how magical this experience was. The kids really responded to it and it was such a gorgeous spot by the @oldroyalnavalcollege . We went on the last night in Greenwich but it’ll be popping up at Woolwich Barracks this Thursday 9th-Saturday 11th, although prebooked tickets are predictably sold out there too 😬 Borealis is part of the free @gdifestival which ends on Saturday. Check festival.org/gdif for the full programme.
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