Busman's holiday trip to W1 for fun

Curly Haired Beauty and I took a trip into W1 today, I choose Friday the 13th for a girl's day out. What's the worse that could happen? There was an ulterior motive - I had booked her in for a measles booster jab at SameDayDoctor. After much anxiety when she was a baby (we didn't want to have the MMR) and lots of research, we chose this clinic as the vaccine they use contain no mercury and provides 95% coverage for this type of childhood illness.

As a sweetner prior to the jab I thought a trip to the ultimate toy shop Hamleys would be fun. On the 3rd floor they have a whole department dedicated to all things girly. CHB loved it - there was Tantrum Boutique, where you can have your hair done (curled or straightened), coloured clip on hair extensions, Fairy Princess make-overs and nail art. Wow what a choice they had and for £8 a speedy 15 mins later CHB was the proud owner of a set of flashy nails. She picked neon pink with white dots. (the above are not her hands! - she wouldn't sit still for the photo). A quick tour of the Hello Kitty section (mmmm nothing here for this mummy), Barbie and tea sets of various designs, sizes. CHB wanted a pair of silver glitter shoes, Princess dress and maybe a giant Hello Kitty toy. We negotiated that she could pick only one item (3 1/2 and a mean negotiator already) - she would bloody choose the most expensive item; another Snow White Princess dress, the Deluxe version with cape, headband and flower detail. We already have one at home, and a Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty, Fairy etc. Why she couldn't choose a different one I will never know???

I haven't been to Hamley's since I was a kid and the place felt very small and the ceiling very low...I know I was really short as a kid but I remembered it being so much bigger inside. The ice cream soda fountain is no longer there - or am I getting it mixed up with Fortnum and Mason's?  Note to self - you cannot power walk along Regent St/Oxford St with a push chair and the amazingly slow tourists getting in the way. I know I have mentioned it before - I sound like a broken record about the backpackers and language students - but its so frustrating  for me! Every day going to and from work I run into these hoards - who just love to stop for no reason at the narrowest point on the pavement.

So for lunch we grabbed some sandwiches from Pret a Manger (they now do children's sarnies with less filling) and went to Cavendish Square just behind John Lewis. It had only just stopped raining so I put some plastic bags on the bench before we sat down. Lots of pigeons sniffing around for a crust or two but I had to discourage CHB from feeding all her lunch to them. As the wind blew, the trees above dripped water onto our heads. CHB had her hoodie up and I turned up my collar up to stop the rain water trickling down my neck.

After eating we headed to the clinic in Wimpole Street- I was a bit apprehensive as although I have explained in my best Dora the Explorer voice "Toy Shop, Lunch, Injection!" and gave her a map of where we were going - I don't think she fully understood that a strange woman was going to stick a needle into her thigh....well she was a true star - no tears, didn't even see it go in, as she was busy colouring in a picture and got a big sticker for being brave. There was no localised swelling and no high temperature afterwards. If only everything was that simple.

I spoke at great length with the nurse about Thing 1 and Thing 2 egg allergy - the single measles and MMR jab both contain egg.  There is one clinic I found on Google based in Sudbury that uses a measles vaccine which is egg free but it is imported from India. We have no way of knowing how effective this one would be and how reputable this place is. Another horrifying Google search came up with the suggestion to have children with an egg allergy have the vaccine administered  in hospital so if they went into an anaphylatic shock they would be in the best place to be treated! I really don't want to put my two babies through this terror - it was bad enough having to rush to A&E after they ate scrambled eggs. We are still waiting for the appointment with St Thomas's Allergy clinic and hope to find out how severe their allergy is to egg. Possibly they may out-grow it by three and can go ahead and have the vaccine. But it will still be a worrying time and a long period to wait - anything can happen in-between. CHB is already at pre-school and is constantly exposed to lots of germs and bugs and no doubt bring home the dreaded nits at some point in time (she is going through a no hair-brushing phase). What a do and what shall I do?