Traveling in London is not fun for anyone. With children it is even harder. I have previously written about the hell off traveling with children in London but today things got a whole lot worse. On the way back from an important appointment I got on a bus. There was a wheelchair user (who should always be given priority, and I always do) and then space for the pram. There was an older woman sitting there and I asked her to swing her legs round. I was worried I would get her toes.

She ignored me so I asked again. After the third or fourth time she looked at me, pursed her lips and shook her head. At this point a person on the bus told me this woman had just fallen on the bus. Okay, I said. I did not know that. I began to get off but the wheelchair user kindly moved further back so I could fit my pram in easily.

What happened next was truly shocking.  One woman had got up and was trying to help. Which is fine. But there was an older man who kept telling me to get off the bus. As well as older woman. The both started abusing me saying I should not be on the bus and that in their day they walked everywhere. The man said I should get off and run behind the bus and get some exercise. The women (who was separate from the man) was saying the same thing. I told them I had a right to use public transport and they had no idea how hard it was traveling in London with a pram. They continued to shout and abuse me. The woman who was on her feet and initially tried to help got very domineering when the bus moved off. I had to reach out and stop my four-year-old from falling over. She told me ‘look after my son’ and ‘go sit down’. While doing this she actually grabbed me and tried to push me in the direction of the seat.

When I told her I could look after own son she got offended and told me she was just trying to help. I told her she was a good person and thanked her as I did not want to escalate the situation. I told her I did not need anymore help.The wheelchair user needed to get off and I moved the pram and apologised to him and his carer for the uncomfortable experience, They were really lovely.

The man kept aggressively calling me a bitch. The older women said in her day they folded the pram up. All well and good but my 1-year-old was in the pram. Did she want me to juggle the children all the way? The man continued to abuse me, telling me to walk, calling me a bitch over and over. I told him to stop calling me a bitch or I would call the Transport Police and report him. The third woman who initially had tried to be helpful kept telling ME to be quiet even though I begged the two other people to stop talking and let it go. The third woman ended up getting off. They continued to abuse me and call me a bitch until my son started to cry. Only then did they stop. My son told me he was sad. I comforted him and told him everything was okay.

This is not okay. I was bullied and abused by three people in front of my children. I had a hellish journey getting there and only had a short time before I could give my son a quick lunch and then get him to nursery on time on the way back. We can do better than this London. We are better people. I wished the people abusing me love and light in their lives because I refuse to contribute to the pain and suffering in this world. I apologised to the woman who had fallen. I want love in the world, no hate. We can do better. We can be better. Our children are watching us.