"I Want To Go To Sidney's!"
Tantrum, a photo by Gillian Syer on Flickr.I was waiting for a bus home at Bethnal Green when I noticed a father and his young son standing nearby. The boy was holding a union flag umbrella and was arguing with his father about something. The bus arrived and the father ushered the pissed off little boy inside.
As they climbed the double-deck, the boy started crying. I'd been thinking about my brother and his son and I became curious about these two - about what they were arguing about and how the dad was dealing with it. So I chose a seat right behind them to eavesdrop on their conversation.
I didn't realise I'd just purchased A1 Stall tickets for the mother of all tantrums!
The boy cried louder and louder, his face red and wet from tears. The father told him to shut up and calm down but it only wound up the boy. "I want to go to Sidney's! I want to go to Sidney's!!" he cried. Louder. And louder. AND LOUDER.
The father slapped him once, then twice, then three times, telling him to shut up and calm down. He could go tomorrow to Sidney's, not today. This worsened the situation because apparently the dad had previously promised a visit to Sidney's today. Everybody in the bus was hypnotised (some disturbed, some smiling with sympathy.)