Update on public transport....

So it looks like there may have been just one too many near miss incidents between pedestrians and the tram... Look what they have just painted on our crossing:

Phew..guess we were not the only ones that assumed a green flashing man meant you could cross safely.

And I should add there are distinct advantages to living in a NON english speaking country when you are taking public transport with small children...  On the whole, I am relatively confident that the other passengers do not understand the vocal sounds my darling cherubs are releasing from their mouths...

Particular moments that spring to mind include little dude D ( 3 years old) who has a habit of calling anyone (young or old) who is bald - "granddad".  So as he is yelling "hi granddad" to the 20-something cool guy who has shaved his head, I can rest assured that he is more than likely not going to understand and save myself some embarrassment.  (And yes you may have guessed, his granddad does not have hair, hence  the association between lack of hair and granddad status).  This does not work quite so well in non english speaking countries or areas where the level of english is high amongst the general population. Little dude did in fact greet one of hubby's work colleagues (with excellent english) as "granddad" which was less than ideal for a first impression. 

Another slightly uncomfortable incident was when O (7 years old) decided that she would loudly count the number of muslim women on the bus during one trip home. Declaring that there were "7 of them altogether". Children can be so black and white, but also with such complete innocence.

As I have yet to discover a reliable volume control switch for my children, I remain grateful that most of what they say is unlikely to be perfectly understood by the majority of the other public transport riders here.