07-05-18 Children’s City

Monday 7th May 2018

An impromptu day of learning and adventure for all of the residents of Casa Hartley: five hours of play and education at the fantastic Children’s City at Creek Park.

Kingsley had of course, months ago, played for hours at Creek Park and even though Children’s City looked appealing, the pursuit of outdoors activities  / scooting along the paths / playing on the soft white sand of Creek beach / discovery of no less than three separate and extraordinary playgrounds within the park, was enough to keep him occupied. But that was then. This is now (its really hot out there).

As we wandered through the three storeys of Children’s City, Kingsley found his favourite spots: the magic carpet ride; the human body exhibition; learning about meteorite, the cartoon on ‘weather’ at the Planetarium; listening on the phones to the various songs of the Arab peoples from the region. Plus the soft play area.

Intense tears and distraught emotions came from this happy fellow the minute we declared – after 5 hours of play – that it is time to head home. (I WANT THE MAGIC CARPET RIDE AGAIN!!!…) Major meltdown followed as all adults attempted to reason with him though the breakthrough occurred through the kind intervention of a local Emirati lady behind the counter who calmly spoke with ‘the cute little girl’; asked ‘her’ ‘why you cry? You go home now, you come back another time. No more play here, we closing. You like it here?’ (to which a muddled Kingsley nodded, and returned to his serene ways with a “yes”).

And with that, she reached down into a cupboard and produced an orange ribboned box, handed it to the incredulous ‘little girl’ and we all kind of walked out in a tranquil way, his little fist gripping his consolation prize.