So I was at the pool today doing laps and because I’d forgotten my goggles I was wearing my glasses, which meant I could do a lot of people watching. A couple caught my attention – she was very pregnant and also getting a toddler ready for a swim with her husband. The lesson began and it all went well, he had a good time, the toddler was happy, the mum just sat there enjoying a bit of a rest.
Then the husband got out, handed the toddler over and stood in front of her. At this point it became obvious that he was a classic Silver Fox: a bit older, maybe mid forties, nice face and a very fit body (I’m only human). He had on some kind of white rash vest and little lime green shorts, and he stood in front of her and peeled off the shirt slowly, then stood for a while in front of her in just his shorts, hoping, I suspect for a bit of richly deserved admiration.
She was doing that awkward dressing toddler with baby bump thing where a shoe dropped on the floor necessitates much grunting and puffing to retrieve it and you get completely out of breath because it feels like your lungs are squashed up into your neck and it’s all just a bit difficult and she didn’t so much as glance up at her husband. He stood there for a few more seconds, towelling his chest, flexing a leg. Not a flicker of interest. A bit of a stretch, a light towelling off the hair. Nothing.
Eventually he just wrapped a towel around himself, sat down and started fiddling with his phone. At that point she finally turned to him and said something, and he reached into one of their fourteen bags and pulled out a packet of Tiny Teddies.
And in a round about way that is a bit how I am feeling about East London and this blog. It’s a fabulous place, there’s so much there to see and enjoy, but I’m just a bit distracted with child rearing and the most gorgeous scenery or fabulous restaurant isn’t quite as absorbing and all-encompassing as the sheer will of a toddler and the mewlings of a newborn.
I’m also not living in East London and more, and haven’t been for quite some time. So I’m going to leave it for now, until I can summon up the energy to move back again….
Thanks for reading.
East London Local 