St Paul’s Green - teenagers in the playground
Coming back from coffee and the shops, I saw around half a dozen teenaged boys (in school uniform, but sadly no identifiable blazer badges) playing very roughly on the zip wire in the children’s playground on the green. They were all well into their teens, voices broken, tall and (a couple of them) quite hefty. They were so rough that I feared they were going to break the equipment. Heart pounding, I decided to go for it and asked - nicely - if they would please be careful, as the playground was for little kids. Of course, there was a load of lip in return, including: ‘This is a public park’. Yes, It’s a public park, but the playground isn’t. You want public, go and play on the grass. Some tedious back and forth ensued. I used some choice language and walked off, only stopping to have a look at the Rules & Regs board by the gate, which stated that the playground was for under 11s. I pointed at the sign and one of them shouted ‘I’m blind’ - I shouted back that he was… well, something else more, ahem, ‘fundamental’, if you get my drift. (I’d like to point out that I do not merely spew filth - I enunciate clearly, like an effing lady.)As a child, I was always frightened of the older children when I went to the swings. (By older, I mean 9 or 10, not 15 or 16.) Perhaps I was oversensitive, but seeing older children roughhousing filled me with terror. I’m sure I wasn’t alone in that at the time or - indeed - now. It’s intimidating, makes the atmosphere horrible for children and parents and knackers the playground equipment. I don’t know I what - if anything - can be done. There’s obviously no funding for a full-time park keeper. Even if there were one, I don’t think that teenagers would take any notice of them. When I was little, park keepers were scary authority figures; now, they’re probably as intimidated as the rest of us. My poor husband is sure that I’m going to end up knifed, but I feel that sometimes you do have to call out this sort of thing. It may not be the hottest anti-social behaviour ticket, but it’s really not acceptable. Or am I just yelling into the abyss?
Tracie Dudley Craig ● 31d6 Comments ● 25d