Horrible Histories

A few months ago, after watching one of our favourite family shows (Horrible Histories), I said to Rod, “Imagine if they had a stage play and it was on when we’re in the UK”. A google search by Rod, showed they did indeed, have a stage show. AND, there was one in Blackpool (an hour North of Liverpool), when we were going to be around.

We checked maps, train timetables and accommodation bookings. It seemed too good to be true. We excitedly purchased tickets. This show is cool. And we were going to see the Christmas Special live on stage. Sweet.

Once in Liverpool, Rod booked return train tickets. We’d need to leave a little bit before the end of the show, to make the 9.01pm back to Liverpool. We spent the morning at the Liverpool Museum, then walked through the shopping precinct, where I was disappointed I couldn’t spend the day. However, we had Horrible Histories to get to.

At Liverpool station, we didn’t really pay much attention to other line cancellations due to ‘lack of staff’, or indeed, when our train’s departure was delayed due to having ‘no guard’. Rod said, “What a lame excuse. Imagine having no staff for the train at Christmas”. We giggled when the locals in our carriage started complaining in a style reminiscent of The Four Yorkshireman (Monty Python).

We arrived in Blackpool in time for dinner before the show. Have you been to Blackpool?? Not that we felt unsafe, but it just didn’t have a good feel about it. Still, we’re visitors, it’s not for us to judge the families huddled outside the pubs in the cold with their babies (but we did judge).

Horrible Histories was great. We loved it. Loads of jokes for both kids and adults alike. The HUGE theatre was only partly full, but this meant people could move to seats other than their allocated ones.  We snuck out just before the end of the show and easily made our way back to the station for our 9.01pm to Liverpool, quietly congratulating ourselves as being “Parents of the Year” – but this didn’t end well.

Without any notification, we arrived at Blackpool station to see our 9.01pm to Liverpool had been cancelled: they couldn’t find a driver. What a lame excuse…said none of us this time. The next train was scheduled for 10.18pm and there was no other option (costing less than 200 pound) to get back to Liverpool. We were devastated and angry and disappointed all at once. Except Hamish. He got to drink hot chocolate, eat chocolate and play his tablet. Rod played Pet Rescue, drank a coffee and I played The Cat Empire (and ate chocolate). It wasn’t just the waiting in the cold, empty train station that rankled, but the fact that our beautifully-laid plans had been derailed.

Our train did eventually depart at 1040pm and we arrived back to our apartment 1230am. Again, super proud of Hamish’s ability to cope when things got a bit tough.

Roald Dahl

The next morning, Rod picked up our hire car and drove back to our apartment where Hamish and I were getting ready. We left Liverpool and headed to our current destination of Whitstable (North of Canterbury). This was always going to be a long day, but exacerbated by our unexpected late night. We’d previously looked up how we could break the drive and found the Roald Dahl museum kind of on the way. The traffic in the UK is intense even during off peak hours, but we arrived in Great Missenden by 2.30pm.

I am pretty sure Rod and I enjoyed the little museum more than Hamish, even though we are all fans. I found it touching to see his writing studio preserved exactly as if he’s just walked out to get a cup of tea and his reminder for parents not to be boring and to have fun with their kids. Something we forget when we get lost in our busy lives.

“When you grow up and have children of your own, do please remember something important: A stodgy parent is not fun at all! What a child wants – and DESERVES – is a parent who is SPARKY!” Roald Dahl

You’ll be pleased to know I scored 80% on the Sparky-Meter (Grandpa Joe Level) and Rod managed a 70% – Fantastic Mr Fox level. Not too bad I suppose!