Adventure day!
Earlier this month I had the privilege of showing off my jewellery at the Malaysian High Commission in London, as part of the Hari Raya (Eid) Charity Fashion Show event. It was organised by MERCY Humanitarian UK and Perwakilan London to raise funds for community projects in the UK. The runway showcased collections by BinQareem and Mode by Mirol Jonit, and the other Malaysian designers featured were Pauline Wong jewellery and MYJ Beauty London.
But for Dapple & Bay, it wasn’t just any other market stall. It was the first one with a baby, and in London! We live in Oxford and I’d only taken her into the city centre a handful of times, let alone catch a coach to London 😬 just the two of us. I guess I wasn’t sure what I signed up for when I agreed to take part!
I’d always relied on lists to get organised, i.e. what to get done beforehand, what to pack for myself and the jewellery sale, what to pack for baby. With multiple things on the go, I find it’s the only way to keep track of things! So off we went to take the Oxford Tube (this is a coach) with one backpack with the jewellery, boxes, mirror and associated items, a nappy change bag, and a car seat which clicks into a pram base.
I bought my tickets on the Oxford Tube app en route to the bus stop – with baby strapped in the carrier as I find that easier than pushing the pram. It was easy enough to fold the pram base flat and the coach driver helped me load it into the storage area. I brought the car seat onto the lower level of the coach and secured it with the seat belt on a seat with a table. There’s no requirement for babies to be in a car seat on the coach, but I figured it would help if I could put her down in it and have my hands free at times. She fussed mostly so I had her in my arms for a large chunk of the journey. This we need to work on in the name of safety! On the flipside, thankfully the background noise was loud enough to muffle the cries and other passengers were patient with us.
Getting from Oxford to west London by coach is convenient with its multiple stops in London, so it was just a 10 minute walk for us from Victoria to the Malaysian High Commission. I was greeted by the organising team and I set up my stand with baby in the carrier (where she remained for most of the event 😅). She’s still light enough for me to carry her for relatively long periods and I’m enjoying it, but my shoulders may beg to differ.
Babies weren’t allowed at the fashion show portion of the event upstairs, so we enjoyed some quiet time to ourselves in the sales room on the entrance level. Once the show was over and people started filtering into the sales room, there was a flurry of activity and a cacophony of sounds as guests chatted with each other and browsed the brands on display. I had fun speaking to everyone who came by to admire and purchase some jewellery. I was introduced to some lovely people and also met up with some old friends, which was a lovely bonus. The little lady was a charmer and drew people towards us, until it was all too much and she fell asleep burrowed against my chest.
My sister and nieces came along towards the end of the event. They got me some snacks and helped me pack up, then off we went to look for a quick dinner. We walked up around Hyde Park and decided on Selfridges Food Hall as they have a selection of quick bites, before I made my way back to the coach stop for our trip back to Oxford.
It was past 8pm when we left London which may have had something to do with traffic being smooth (phew!). Little lady still didn’t want to sit in her seat for the most part but I managed to snap a shot of her in it under the blue coach lights. I told friends she was at a rave! We got home way past her bedtime and she didn’t want to go to sleep as a consequence – we got there in the end without too much crying – but super thankful for the adventure and relatively smooth sailing experience. Something to learn from and get more used to with time!
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