My son was born not long before the first lock down in 2020, and his early life has been dominated by the pandemic, a time in which the menu of things to do with a small person has been more limited than it may have been before COVID. However, we were lucky in that we had a garden, and we live near several parks and other things that turn out to be intriguing to a toddler. While the pandemic was really raging I liked to let him watch the YouTube vidoes of Geoff Marshall about the UK rail network, because he talks to camera a lot and I was worried that my son wasn’t getting to see people talk. Geoff probably taught my son some of his first words.

I think perhaps this may have influenced his choices in what he really likes to do now, which involves quite a lot of watching trains and trams. One of the things my son really likes to do is to go and watch the trams that run on some old railway lines not far from our house. Sometimes we take him on a trip on a tram when they are not particularly crowded, but he seems to enjoy watching them pass far more than he does riding them. Recently I have noticed that when my son and I are standing, watching the trams pass, some of the drivers will wave, or ring the bell for him. I really appreaciate this gesture, and I think he gets a kick out of it too.

Thank you Croydon Tram drivers.

Continue reading →