1 7 7

P: Can we go to McDonalds?
Me: No.
P: Why not?
Me: We don’t usually go to McDonalds.
P: Me and mum did at the airport.


It was 5 weeks earlier when the 35 year old and the 5 year old got a burger and an iced latte at the Sydney International airport. They were about to cross the world to London. There would be incredible events in the month between. Events to stimulate the mind and stick to the 5 year old brain as it was hustled around a northern hemisphere summer.

There was a visit to the Harry Potter studio and a sighting of Platform 9 3/4 in Kings Cross. There was a stay at Chateau Aurticourt, a 14th Century French mini castle with a moat and a boat, and a ride on lawn mover. There was a week long World Championship event with thousands of 17-23 year old frisbee players, some of whom were interested in playing with a small boy.


There was a pretzel the size of your head in a Munich beer garden. A house full of toys and another 5 year old to play with. There were plane trips, train trips, van rides and pram rides. We swam in a lake, a river, a pond and nearly a moat.


There were a lot of croissants.


Everyone had first names and last names, this was fun to remember. In some places they spoke French, in others English and in 1 German. There was a place called Warhammer World and in Singapore there was an aquarium, and a movie theatre in the airport. On one day there was the Lion King stage show in London, this far exceeded expectations and vibrates still in the young imagination. There were new friends and old friends. Sometimes there were lots of tears, shouting and frustrations. Often there was ice-cream, even at the Louvre. We slept in a quiet country house, a mega capitol city hostel, a university dorm room, John's office, Juno's cool house, a delux Covent Garden apartment, a basement, and a castle. 


Me: Is that what you remember from the trip, the McDonalds at the airport.
P: Yeah. You don’t have to speak to someone when you order, you just go to a screen and press your order - I got a burger and mum got an iced latte. Then they make it upstairs and they send it down on a mighty conveyer belt and 1 person calls out 1 7 7 which means one hundred and seventy seven and then you go and collect it.
Me: Was that your order number? From 5 weeks ago?
P: Yeah. 1 7 7. ​