This is England on a spooky Wednesday afternoon in 2008
I think this sort of thing is what the designers of this playground had in mind for its use:
But when we were there yesterday in the warm sunshine, it was deserted.
It obviously cost a lot of money to build, but it seems not much has been spent on keeping it in good working order:
And there was lots of broken glass around nearby:
It was strange though. At first, we could hear some children playing, even though we couldn't see them for walls and railings, then we heard a bell ringing and it all went quiet.
That's the new Surestart 'Children's Centre', next door to a school. Two tiny buildings, each with outdoor tarmac yards about one tenth the size of the recreation ground next door.
Next, we drove through the town (population: 10,000)
Past someone's washing, blowing on the spring breeze:
We were glad to get home, put the kettle on, get the toys out and have a chat with each other, just to feel normal again. Who'd have thought a trip to our local town on a Wednesday afternoon in April 2008 could be so spooky?
But when we were there yesterday in the warm sunshine, it was deserted.
It obviously cost a lot of money to build, but it seems not much has been spent on keeping it in good working order:
And there was lots of broken glass around nearby:
It was strange though. At first, we could hear some children playing, even though we couldn't see them for walls and railings, then we heard a bell ringing and it all went quiet.
That's the new Surestart 'Children's Centre', next door to a school. Two tiny buildings, each with outdoor tarmac yards about one tenth the size of the recreation ground next door.
Next, we drove through the town (population: 10,000)
Past someone's washing, blowing on the spring breeze:
We were glad to get home, put the kettle on, get the toys out and have a chat with each other, just to feel normal again. Who'd have thought a trip to our local town on a Wednesday afternoon in April 2008 could be so spooky?
posted by Gill at
09:38
2 Comments:
Hi Gill (surfacing briefly from the mire of computerlessness),
Your post reminded me of some powerful articles about space for play I've read on the Playlink website.
For example this one.
And these telling images,.
Thought you might like to see them...
Hi Dani,
Oh yes, a lot of those are very similar, aren't they? And the weird thing is that our council can and does provide good facilities in its showcase parks, all cited away from social housing. Last Wednesday when we stopped at that little one (admittedly for the first time) the message seemed very clear to me: "If you live here, you belong in there." (The Surestart Centre or the school, behind all the railings, walls and gates.) Otherwise, there's no funding, care or thought for those children. They'd need a car trip or two long bus rides to get to a decent park.
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