Buggy off!

There are too

many nannies

in the park!

It seems like only yesterday that we were urging more activities for Boston’s Central Park – but that’s because it was only yesterday.
Co-incidentally, the latest issue of Boston Pravda – the borough council’s monthly bulletin – tells us that the park is undergoing its biggest makeover in the past decade.
It’s certainly not before time, because anyone who lives the town and has visited the park across the years will have noticed the steady decline of what was once a delightful place to walk or relax.
Whilst we have to welcome anything that sees an improvement in an amenity such as Central Park, we also have reservations at the nature of the improvements being made.
The reason is that they reflect the borough council’s relentless ambition to nanny its residents – to make them fitter through exercise or healthier eating.
For example, the park projects include spending £20,000 “as part of the council’s mission to improve the borough’s health and wellbeing,” on adult keep–fit equipment and a “special item” for the under-fives.
In addition, the grammatically inept “Grow2Eat” project will eventually see an area
of the park developed with fruit trees and raised beds of vegetables to help spread the healthy-eating message, and join the council-backed “Cook4Life” project to promote healthier lifestyles. Fine – or rather Jo1Egood - if they’re not nicked as soon as they are ripe enough.
As if all that was not enough, members of the council-run healthy walking group are keen to end one of their strolls at Central Park so they can then enjoy a spot of gardening - and members of the government family-support Surestart group want to have a go too!
The fact that kids like to play in parks hasn’t been overlooked, with plans for a £40,000 project for an “adventure” addition to the play equipment including a 20-metre zip wire, and other things whose nature eludes us.
How long, we wonder, before we hear the first complaints of rowdiness, as the borough’s “yoof” let off steam?
The is also the promise of new fencing to “guide” visitors - an interesting euphemism, given that as far as we are aware, the idea of fencing was to keep people out.
Whilst on the one hand it’s good to see improvements to the park, we repeat what we said yesterday – where is the fun?
Frankly, the idea of pitching up at Central Park after a five mile walk to spend an hour digging a vegetable plot so that we can enjoy a raw carrot for our tea is not our idea of a good time.
We mentioned yesterday that forty years ago, hundreds of people turned out to cheer on a pancake race. Who’s to say that they wouldn’t do it today?
Why aren’t we encouraging small groups to take space in the park to show what they do?
Could we not have a bandstand from time to time?
Or how about a book festival, a toy festival, an antiques fair, an occasional children’s entertainer? – the opportunities are endless.
In the old days, the only nannies you met in a park were pushing young children around in a pram. These days they come disguised as well intentioned but misguided councillors.
First and foremost a park is an area for recreation, enjoyment and entertainment – and nothing like that is being proposed as part of the new look.


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