West End Calling

Well it’s August again and time for our now annual trip to London for a West End show. It’s the third year that my son Connor and I have headed to the capital for a few days of fun. I know it’s not a relaxing trip and it makes your feet ache, but there is nothing better than taking in the sights and sounds of London. We stayed at our favourite hotel, The Cumberland at Marble Arch. You just can’t beat it, he likes the free wifi for his Ipad and the art work that he seeks out around the hotel. I like the modern rooms, the great choice of breakfast and the brilliant position of the hotel. How can you beat a hotel that lets you step straight on to Oxford Street.

We decided to try a slower pace this time, so after checking in to the hotel we took the tube to the Natural History Museum - an amazing place and FREE, who says London has to be expensive. It was busy, but I had pre-booked a time for the Dinosaur exhibition, so no queuing for us. We have been before so made a plan to see the bits of the museum we haven’t seen before which worked well. It’s so big you really need to plan. We stayed there until they closed and then it was back to the hotel to soak my aching feet.

After a big breakfast and a bit of a mooch along Oxford Street, we made our way to the Lyric Theatre as I had arranged something awesome for Connor. As part of Kids Week in the West End some of the theatres were doing special workshops. I booked Connor in for a ‘Smooth Criminal’ dance class with the cast of Thriller Live. He was so excited and so he should be - how often do you get to dance on a real West End stage. He had two hours of fun while I sat and watched the world go by on Leicester Square. London is a great place to people watch.

That evening we went back to watch Thriller Live with Connor dressed in his new red hat thinking he was Michael Jackson, the King of Pop.