A Funny Day in Chinatown

We are walking as a human chain, like a creature we sing and laugh. As we exit the Tube station and walk along the great avenue to one side of Leicester Square, street performers, musicians, and people from all over the world creating the rich tapestry around us, and I think to myself as I do most days at Hi-London, how lucky we are to experience this great city in such a fun and creative way.

We turn to the right and walk down an alley, and the sounds and smells of Chinatown envelope us. We continue to sing and walk and talk. We stop in front of the bakery with its windows full of exotic shapes and colours. Chinese lanterns blow in the sky above our heads. I point to things that are interesting, and the children gaze with mouths wide open and grins.

We enter the bakery, and its warmth and sweet smells welcome us. The Chinese lady smiles,  and I suggest bean cakes and various things as the children choose something. Then we are outside with a collection of moon cakes and buns, and we chat as we munch on our treats.

Then one child is pulling on my arm. “Misha! Misha! My tooth!”, and sure enough there is a small gap with blood, and her tiny tooth hanging by a thread of skin and red stains on the thing she is eating. “Oh wow!” I say, and Vania comes to the rescue. “Bite down on this tissue”, she instructs softly but firmly. The child obeys and closes her mouth holding her teeth together. 

A few moments later, the tooth comes out and we wrap it in a clean tissue. “Save it for the tooth fairy”, I whisper. “It is extra special when you lose a tooth in Chinatown!”. A few moments later, we pack up our things and make our way back to the Tube station, one tooth less but so much gained on another grand day at Hi-London!