It's started. In Wandsworth.
The Tory council are charging children £2.50 each to use the playground in Battersea Park.
News was on the front page of The Mirror this morning and a woman in the aisle at the supermarket was enraged. "Why, why?" she ranted in her Eastern European accent.
"Government cuts they're probably saying," I replied. Oh yes, Government cuts they are saying, this borough with the lowest council tax in the capital and councillors who are "some of the highest paid in the country...higher than the PM's salary." (page 5)
Hampstead Heath has an adventure playground. You have to be eight or over to go into it, although younger children do use it. My son plays in there all the time. Lots of children do.
The heath also has another playground, with swings and sandpits and so on and my son occasionally plays in that too. Lots and lots of children do.
What message are the Wandsworth Tories setting out here? That playgrounds are only for the privileged? That obesity is not a problem in our society? If children can't afford to play in the parks they should play....on the streets?
I scanned all the right wing papers to see if they too had covered the story - out of interest - the Sun is the country's biggest selling newspaper....
I've gone to all the online newspapers (and phew, we've still got a cross party selection that is available free) and the only place I found the story was
Yes, you might have guessed, and thank goodness:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/2011/may/12/tory-council-charge-children-playground
I don't know who you vote for, but would you vote for this?
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8 comments:
Outrageous isn't it, the council even admit that they won't make much money out of it. So what's the point, to stop other kids ouside their borough from playing in it!!
It's disgusting. Ideological cuts aimed at all the vulnerable. A claim that children from outside the borough are playing in it, but more I'll guess from in the borough...
I'm just really disappointed all the other papers didn't shout about it too, show the Tory party for what it is; Nasty...nasty nasty nasty!
Me again, just going to highjack this post you can delete the comment later.. But i didn't want to keep using the forum on Brit mums. In regards to using twitter, you should seriously think about using it to promote your blog. i have only been blogging for a couple of months so never realised how important it was to get people to see your blog. Of course you will get a lot of crap coming thru depending on who you follow but that is easy ignored... Sorry if i am telling you to suck eggs but i think you have a voice which should be heard...
That's so kind of you to say that(I shan't delete your post!)I've always been a bit scared to promote my blog and then, just as I get braver, I decide perhaps it's time to finish so no point going on twitter. I don't know. My blog's not everyone's cup of tea, though that wouldn't be why I stop (no! Been going over 2 years with people not warming to my tea!!) I'm battling with myself about it at the moment. I need to bring change into my life and I don't know if I can if I carry on writing about this part of it. Hmmm. Well, it's instinctively led and instinctively written so we'll both have to see!! It would be great if some good came from it though! Maybe some good does! Thank you x
Okay this is the last time i bug you about this. Your blog may not be for everyone but you aren't going to know unless you start putting it out there..so to speak. You may surprise yourself and find that there are people who are interested. The other thing as well is that perhaps Brit Mums is not the forum for you, i am not sure if it is for me yet As i don't really want to write about children all the time but until i know what i what to do with my blog and what other blogging communities are out there it will do. Write what you want to write about, have a think and perhaps i might see you tweeting away...
Hey, you can bug as much as you like! I thought when I started this, that mums in the same situation might like to add their voices, in comment sections but some are afraid. I did ask the ones I write about if they wanted to. I am constantly biting the hand that feeds me so I understand their misgivings....In the past I've got very paranoid! (All written here! Refuse to delete it!It's how some people feel!)
The upshot I guess is I don't really fit into any mould. I don't write about my child much, even though he is part of everything and visually, I give nothing away. Like you say, BritMums might not be for me but then again, I leapt right on to one of your political comments didn't I?! I've found some brilliant bloggers through that forum!
Go with your instinct with your writing and you'll find your way. It's best to be honest with yourself really, write for yourself. That's what I do and it is quite liberating! The minute I tweet...yikes! Maybe I should do it, the final frontier of blog promotion! Are you on there as Frankie P?!
thanks for yur comments today, it's a funny old thing you just don't know what posts are going to get comments. sometimes i think if i just wrote about the boys, motherhood etc then i would have a bigger readership but thats not really why i started to blog. I am on twitter as @frankie_parker really hope to see you soon...
I wouldn't worry about your blog, it's really good, varied, interesting! You're quite new to it and you've already got a good following and it's bound to increase, from what I read anyway!! As you go on, even if you do lose one or two, new followers will come along, in my experience anyway!I'll try find you on twitter, I was having real trouble with it yesterday!!
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