Whale of a time
There might be 64 years between them but Lindsay Sutton and his grandson Alexander share the same joy during a theatre and museum visit to London by train.
THERE’S something magical about a trip to London for the weekend. Especially if it’s for a birthday treat – and even more so if it’s shared by a grandpa and his grandson, with the odd 64 years between them. Just the two of them. Their agenda, their plan, their time off for good behaviour. Just “the boys” together. Grandpa Sutton on his milestone birthday, and young “Alexander the Great”.
The fast train down to King’s Cross is exciting in itself for an 11-year-old whose greatgrandfather was a steam train fireman, sometimes on the famous Mallard locomotive.
On the East Coast line, back in 1938, it broke the speed record going down Stoke Bank, south of Grantham. According to family folklore, it could have gone faster still but for having to slow down to go through Peterborough.
Not bad for starters: our London weekend trip was under way, and anticipation is a great thing in itself. Our agenda was defined, but not set in stone. Three major highlights – going to see the smash hit comedy musical Mrs Doubtfire at the Shaftesbury Theatre in the West End, and this experience after a pre-theatre meal at the swish Bloomsbury Street Kitchen. Alexander loved the filo king prawn with wasabi mayonnaise. Very sophisticated.
Then, taking in a couple of four-hour visits to the Natural History Museum and the equally sensational British Museum in Bloomsbury. Throw in a stroll to Covent Garden, with its magical outdoor acts and fascinating shops, the old market’s amazing interior and its lovely cafes for an atmospheric lunchtime meal, complete with a live classical music rendition by a three-strong ensemble. It’s all quite ethereal.
But don’t forget the excitement for an 11-year-old just savouring the nuts and bolts that hold London together. Journeys on the underground; on the top deck of an iconic red, round-backed London bus; travelling through Bloomsbury in a black cab, with a driver who knows everything. Even explaining “The Knowledge” in this digital age was an unfolding challenge.
Then there’s the general excitement of walking along the streets around the place where we stayed a couple of nights, the St Giles London Hotel, just off Bedford Square. Perfectly sound, not too expensive for London, and breakfasts nearby at Gail’s Bakery or Ole & Steen, the “all-day Danish bakery”, on Tottenham Court Road.
Before we’d finished, we felt part of the Bloomsbury Set. Not exactly in the financial bracket of Virginia Woolf, Lytton Strachey or EM Forster during the inter-war years. Certainly not the social milieu that led Dorothy Parker to say of them: “They lived in squares, painted in circles, and loved in triangles.”
But the buildings, the bookshops, the stylish Georgian rows gave us a feel for the charm that still exists. All within easy walking distance or short bus rides to Oxford Street, Leicester Square, Covent Garden and the West End theatre district.
Talking of which, the stage version of Mrs Doubtfire – 30 years on from Robin Williams’ film version – is a sensation to please all generations. Watch out for the name of the lead actor Gabriel Vick, who plays husband Daniel Hilliard and Mrs Doubtfire to perfection.
We all know the plot – the hugely entertaining but financially unreliable husband and father who finally pushes his despairing wife into a divorce. Then his brilliant “act” of dressing up as an elderly and experienced Scottishborn nanny so that he gets the job of looking after his three young children while his wife is at work.
Finally, the revelation that Mrs Doubtfire is, in fact, Daniel, and then a form of reconciliation and resolution. As American director Jerry Zaks says: “The musical is all about family, and the different forms family can take... it’s about what a man will do to be with his children.”
The entire, full-house audience loved it. It’s fast, fun and fearlessly deals with issues we all
‘The fast train down to King’s Cross is exciting in itself for an 11-year-old whose greatgrandfather was a steam train fireman.’
face. There were three encores and everyone left feeling happier and wiser. It’s entirely appropriate for children over seven or eight, and the musical runs until June 2, 2024.
Next up, the Natural History Museum, a “cathedral of nature” that needs little introduction. Of course, Alexander associates it with Sir David Attenborough and his TV depictions in the vaulted central hall. It was once dominated by the huge skeleton of a Diplodocus dinosaur – Dippy, to his friends. After his departure came the 25-metre skeleton of a blue whale hanging from the ceiling. Plus thousands of other artefacts and displays representing 4.6 million years of natural history. For once, the word awesome is apt.
Finally the British Museum and its equally amazing attractions. The vast, glass-domed roof of the Great Court is a touch of practical genius. And for Alexander, the Egyptian collection is a favourite. The Rosetta Stone is one of the most visited objects, as the key that unlocked the secrets of Egyptian hieroglyphics. Coffins, cases of mummies, images of ancient kings, golden masks and amulets. It’s all there to delight.
And the music to my Yorkshire ears is that the museums cost nowt. Overall, a London weekend is not cheap but look at it as an investment in future generations. And when it’s all over, back up North on the train. I wish it was the Mallard.
Advance train tickets on a Friday, York to London King’s Cross, Senior Rail Card + 11-year-old, from £75.70 return, Leeds, from £82.50 return. St Giles London Hotel, Bedford Avenue, near Tottenham Court Road tube station, room only, twin beds for two nights from £310. www.shaftesburytheatre.com, www.nhm.ac.uk and www. britishmuseum.org