Big - Small - Big

It's strange how technology starts of big, becomes much smaller and then gets bigger again. A prime example is the mobile phone. However, consider the humble pram too. They started off as massive carriages, minus the horses - aka the Silver Cross prams that mothers and Norland nannies all over the world used to perambulate their charges. The Silver Cross basically required its own garage. Mothers and nannies had to leave the kids outside any shop they had occasion to visit and I'm certain a lot of babies were nicked while their mother popped into a shop of some bacon.

Then came the Maclaren buggy. Small, efficient and convenient for packing away in a car boot. If ever you see anyone in their late 50s or early 60s with a missing fingertip, you can almost guarantee they lost it while folding a Maclaren in the 70s. No problem at all going through a shop with one of these, as they were only as wide as a child.

Then some bright spark decided to combine the function of a baby car seat with a pram, and now we once more have humungous Swiss Army prams that mothers insist on bringing into crowded coffee shops. They're designed so as to accommodate the entire kitchen and a massive Kath Kidston baby bag containing everything required for a week's stay in the Cotswolds.

One day someone is going to cross a pram with a 4x4...