3am this morning
That's it! Finally! I've remembered what I wanted to blog
about the other night...stolen buggies!
Unfortunately this illuminating thought happened in the
middle of the night, but still! It's like when you're trying to remember the
name of that 1985 record at the local pub quiz when suddenly, a few nights after
the quiz has finished, you're fast asleep and you dart upright and shout,
"Agadoo!". This is also the moment when the person lay beside you has
a heart attack with fright at the thought that Black Lace might be in the room.
Yes, that was it, stolen buggies. I recently came
across this article from my MEN (Manchester Evening News) app with the
following headline: Greater Manchester a hotspot for 'posh
pushchair' thefts and that, coupled with the fact I dared to open
the door to the downstairs toilet (which is at present being held up by a number of buggies) got me thinking about the issues surrounding pushchairs; stolen or otherwise.
Within the article there was a sense of buggy or pram 'envy' as it is known. Whilst interviewing people from around the Cheshire area, the parents immediately listed the name of their buggy and it's value. At least one of the mother's did make reference to their child being their most precious thing. Whereas another mother seemed more concerned that the potential theft of her pram would be "a big blow" to her. A big blow to you? What about the poor beggar sat in the pram???
Within the article, I was surprised that there was no mention of people stealing the
Bill and Ted buggy.This is a very expensive twin buggy where the baby is on some parcel shelf next to the floor and the toddler is sat in the chair above them.
About 14 months ago we thought we might invest in one. I was 8 months pregnant with James and I knew that Bethan couldn't be trusted on a) a buggy board or b) to hold onto the pram. A double buggy would be just the job but they are so wide you would need to work, shop and live in a barn to get them through doors.
So we trundled into a major mothering superstore in Ipswich to just see how close to the pavement your newborn baby would actually be (it turned out to be very close). When we asked to see another model of the Bill and Ted buggy they said to us as if it was the most normal thing in the world, "Sorry, no can do, it was stolen earlier today". We were like, "When? How? What?" to which they replied "Yeah, somebody must have walked in and just pushed it out" !!!! PUSHED IT OUT! There are no words.
Actually, there are.
It just shows that it is not only the Mancs who appreciate the value of a good buggy; those from Sleepy Suffolk also like to get in on the act.
There is one way to get around this incredibly difficult dilemma; you could use a wheelbarrow to push your child around in. Nobody would want to steal one of those; additionally, think of all of the other stuff you could get in there. These 'posh pushcairs' might be fancy and expensive but where the hell can you put any of your shopping?
