Tara's Diary

I’ve never liked the idea of my children’s bedroom exploding with toys. Before Tara was born, Martin and I spent a couple of weeks in a Thai jungle, and especially since I saw how happy those children were, without the toy overload of our society, I was determined to try to not to accumulate too many toys. Having only a small amount of toys means that the toys need to keep the kids entertained for a long time. These are the toys which the children have to use their imagination for (also, these are the toys that have the largest educational effect too). Last week I went to the crazy world of Hamley’s in Regent Street – the world’s largest toy store. It’s absolutely massive, receiving around five million visitors per year. To my surprise, Tara was quite happy with just watching the toys from my sling. That was a relieve. Anyway, Tara got a bit bored with her old toys which she’s outgrown, so I was looking for a new one. And I found one. It’s beautiful and will keep her entertained for many years I think.

The Big Red London Bus is made of wood and consists of the bus, two decks with chairs that can be taken out, a removable ceiling and lots of little passengers. At the moment Tara loves just playing with the passengers or with the bus, but the time will come soon when she’s going to do pretend play with the entire set.

Big Red London Bus, by Hamleys, £30. From 3 years onwards.