I always feel slightly uncomfortable about members’ clubs and their keeping-out-the-riffraff vibes, so this felt like a nice, inclusive alternative.
kids
I’d love to say I’ve just discovered this awesome new kids’ shop that no one else has ever heard of, but I’m late to the party with this one – as in seven years late.
It goes without saying that anywhere where you have to surrender your toddler’s buggy and also they’re not allowed to touch anything is going to be a nightmare.
Play cafes are the eternal saviour of the sleep-deprived adult-in-charge-of-a-small-person, but sadly the pandemic has kissed goodbye to/coughed all over a hefty chunk of our favourites.
I can’t abide an ugly soft play centre, but if it’s tastefully appointed with a muted colour palette, clean lines and the odd kitschy add-on I’ll gladly climb aboard.
Thankfully our kids both love frolicking amongst the stuffed skins of deceased animals, so we were laughing here.
I’ve started to wonder how many other play cafes we’re missing out on because we haven’t happened to stumble across them on our way to something else.
Little Penguin opened back in January, in what was inarguably the worst moment to open a play cafe in the history of play cafes.
All that was left was for me to get over myself and my crippling fear of… well, most things, and just get on the sodding boat.
Being able to wander unobstructed by other humans without having to worry about losing toddlers in a sea of legs made it much less stressful.
bablands.com 