One...Two...Three...

The weather had rain on its mind, so I took him to the big indoor playcentre beyond Sandyford. We hadn't been there in about nine months. He was nerevous when we pulled into the vast carpark, and when we got to the door he wanted to head back to the car. But as soon as he saw the fenced-off toddlers' corner he became eager to head inside. He was really too big for the ball-pool (or whatever you call it). But he had great fun diving into the things, something I wouldn't have let him do last time we were here. As usual, there were hardly any other kids around; all in their schools/creches I guess. Without a bevvy of kids, all the chunky, plastic, primary-coloured props seemed a little lonely, like a failed birthday. But when he moved on from the toddlers' corner we found a handful of kids with their mothers. He followed them into the older kids' area, a kind of two-story maze with big slides and swinging punchbags. The older kids were VERY boisterous, naturally enough, and one of them was a bit aggressive. But Simon was enraptured; couldn't get enough. When we had to go eventually he was inconsolable.