Pigeons, Poppins, and a British Vacation.
Summer vacations in the early years of Thom’s life were always a bit of a challenge.
We had absolutely no money to afford to go anywhere, and to top it off, Yoni’s studies included a whole month of residential workshops, meaning he was away for the entire month of July.
On the bright side, he forged strong relationships with his fellow students, many of whom came from all over the world, especially the UK. This meant we had a standing invitation to stay with them if we could save enough money to get over there.
In 1999, we finally saved enough money for the flight. It was also the first year that EasyJet (before it turned into SleazyJet) started operating the Amsterdam to London route. We were probably among the first to jump on that unique opportunity, especially since children under three didn’t have to pay.
We planned a two-week vacation in the UK: one week in London, staying at a friend’s house, and one week out in the countryside in an old manor house turned community center, managed by another friend of ours.
The week in London quickly turned into three days as Yoni remembered how much he hates cities.
However, for Thom, it was a non-stop adventure.
Everywhere she went in the city, the one thing she enjoyed the most were the pigeons.
She kept asking us to feed the birds, and despite my repeated explanations that they were basically rats with wings, she loved them. Nothing got her more excited than feeding them.
The whole time, I kept singing “Feed the Birds” from Mary Poppins. Thom would laugh, feed the pigeons, and ask me to keep singing that song.
Those three days in London were a whirlwind of sightseeing. We were blessed with uncharacteristic warm weather, actually a heat wave, which allowed us to roam the streets and parks of London, but it was clear that the highlight for Thom was every single moment we spent in the parks, surrounded by her beloved pigeons. It didn’t matter how grand the sights were; the simple pleasure of feeding pigeons was her favourite.