Manners Maketh Man
Stevie's miffed. He says:"I was accosted in the Greenwich Park tonight at closing time.
Let me clarify that remark. It was 9.15pm and I was sitting at Woolfe's statue when the outsourced security van with responsibility for closing came on to that area at speed and it's horn beeping loudly and repeatedly
BARP BARP BARP BARP BARP BARP BARP!!!!! THE PARK IS CLOSING. YOU MUST LEAVE .... THE PARK IS CLOSING - LEAVE NOW ... BARP BARP BARP BARP BARP BARP BARP BARP! THE PARK IS CLOSING. YOU MUST LEAVE .... THE PARK IS CLOSING - LEAVE NOW ...
The tourists scurried away obediently while the locals exchanged remarks about what a rude way it had been to spoil the end of a lovely evening.
Is this the norm at closing time? And is it appropriate? Of course it isn't. Actions like this harry locals and visitors alike in a dreadful way.
Where's the moderate tone of 'The park will be closing shortly. Please make your way to the exits. Thank you.'?
Is this the norm at closing time? And is it appropriate? Of course it isn't. Actions like this harry locals and visitors alike in a dreadful way.
Where's the moderate tone of 'The park will be closing shortly. Please make your way to the exits. Thank you.'?
The Phantom is with Stevie here. Manners Maketh Man, as I discovered was my school motto, though only after I'd left (dodgy comps don't tend to do mottoes very well. Apparently there was a school song too. I never did find out what that was. The theme tune to Only Fools & Horses, perhaps...)
I assume Royal Parks believe that if they're not aggressive about it then no one will take any notice (or maybe it's the closest the guy driving the van gets to Absolute Powerrrr) - but surely they can add the odd veiled threat - (extremely polite and in hushed tones, natch) - something along the lines of "We are slowly closing each gate - when the last one is shut, we release the dogs..."
Any of us who have been caught like this will know it's a horrid way to end a lovely evening. Royal Parks, eh. Whatever happened to Court-esy? Not, of course, that Henry VIII would have allowed serfs like us in his park anyway...
What would be the recorded message YOU would megaphone-out to the dirty stop-outs who just won't go home? Or should be we just tug our forelocks and be grateful we're allowed in the park at all?
The photos, by the way, are from Stevie's Greenwich Park Flowers collection...
Labels: Debates
posted by The Greenwich Phantom at
08:22
18 Comments:
"Please make your way to the gates now, as the park will be closing shortly. Proceed to Royal Hill or the Town Centre, enter one of the many pubs or restaurants, and spend some money. Thank you."
I was sat in the park last night and found this - first time I'd been in the park at shutdown for many years and it's definitely changed for the worse. There used to be a Royal Parks Constabulary van that'd prowl around with a loudspeaker (but no horn), now it's some private contractor whose horn can be heard from across the park. Can't be much fun if you live near there.
And Saturday afternoon turned into a bit of a drama in the childrens park. I was with a group of friends having a picnic when I heard that the park wardens had locked the toilets in the kids park due to rumours of a water fight being arranged. Unfortunately the two ladies who carried out this duty didn't check the ladies properly ("well i did call out if anyone was in there") and then locked a 4 month pregnant woman inside! It then turned into a farce - I dont know the full details but the police were called and they waited for the ladies to return with the keys but then the keys didn't work as the lock had jammed. So the fire brigade were called and they had to break the door down with a sledgehammer! The poor woman was let out to be greeted by 50 odd people gawping at her.
Eeek.
The only consolation I can possibly think of is that apparently when one is pregnant/has children, Embarassment becomes a relative thing...
What slightly worries me is that if this woman was in the children's park loos, it implies she may have had other kiddies waiting outside, lost.
I wonder if these parkies are the same outsourced guys with the horns and megaphones? Not that I'm suggestion either would have been useful in this circumstance; but it does seem that in one case they're using too much force, the other not enough initiative.
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My friend who watched it all unfold (crossed legged) didnt see any children but that she had a sister and partner outside talking to her through the door.
I guess it will be one of those 'hilarious' tales told at family gatherings forever on...
Got kicked out unceremoniously about 3 months ago at sunset, having almost been run over earlier in the afternoon by a park warden / police (?) car nudging people out of the way so they could park facing down the hill where the view was nicest.
Its no longer that fun in the park - cars everywhere, lunatic tourists / children riding skateboards, bikes & mopeds up and down the various narrow paths and through picnics. Dog t*rd abundant.
Bah! Humbug abounds this afternoon...
Well, this Friday everyone was on best behaviour for once. I wondered why? Passed the main gates when the regular park police were returning to their office with a Chinese Takeaway at 8.45. That's late for them I thought. Also the private security van did not arrive until 9.25 and was all sweet and nice and polite. Meanwhile the Park Poilce were back out for a final tour. The explanation? The Royal Helicopter sat in the park waiting for Charles or whoever to return from a nearby reception. Best foot forwards, lads, and all that! Well, if that's what it takes let's have the Royals popping into the park whenever they please.
"Mopeds"!?
Really? Bloody hell!!!
How the heck can things have slipped so far for that to happen?
You definitely are talking about 'mopeds' per se (which are 50cc motorbikes or scooters) rather than,say, those push-along scooters with a tiny engine at the back?
What sort of frequency are we talking about here?: ten of the little blighters per day?; one of them per week?; someone once heard someone else had seen one about three years ago?
I personally heard just last week that talks had recently been taking place been the parks department and a local cycling group, to come up with plans to tackle problem bicycle riding.
There was no mention of anything to do with rogue moped riders
@RogerW:
yes sorry - some confusion: I meant those zippy scooter things, not the petrol powered things (although I did once see one being pursued out!)
Even so, I've nearly been run over by said apparatus whilst walking down the path from the East side of the Flower Garden down to the Dwarf Orchard gate on about 3 occasions..
Apols!
The gate-locking is done by a private contractor, due to consistant slashed funding from the government - if they are not doing a good job, write to the Royal Parks so they can pass on complaints to the contractor/use it as evidence to go against them when re-contracting.
Sorry guys but Royal Parks Constabulary hasn't existed for about 6 years. It all comes under Met Police now.
If you want to complain or comment write to Superintendent Simon Ovens (Parks Borough Commander) Belgravia Police Station, Buckingham Palace Road, London SW1
Hope that helps.
i blame LOCOG.
Heard the blaring "please leave the park annoucement" one night last summer at 9.45 (park was closing at 10pm).
So I walked to the Maze Hill Top gate and found that it was already locked (about 9.55).
Police car turned up and one of the policemen asked me leave asap. I explained that I was trying but that the gate is locked. They said I need to leave by another gate.
I refused. "either you open the gate or give me a lift to another". A stand off ensued where bye I explained the gate should not have been locked before closing time. They "explained" that they did not have the resources to do this at closing time so had started early.
I pointed out that it didn't need two policemen to drive a car and maybe one of "their" resources could be better deployed. Stand off continued until they eventually opened the gate and let me out.
I am not a fan of the park police as you can guess...this is just another incident in a long line of incidents.
The Maze Hill gate is always one of the first to go - but I guess they have to lock them up in some kind of order.
If you're able, and find that gate shut, trot down the path for 25m and it's easy to pop over the railings.
But surely they should lock the FIRST one at 10pm, not start early so that they are locking the LAST one before the deadline? And the resources needed to do the locking are the same, whatever time you start and whatever order you do them in.
Let me hark back to my childhood days and my local park in North London. The Parkie there would tour the boundary of the park in an anti-clockwise direction with a bell ringing in his hand. It was the kind of moment a Housman or a Betjeman would have mulled on ie ' ... at end of day, no time to play, the bell's sweet ring a ling, says time to sing and play no more ... for tomorrow?'
And I'm only talking about thirty years ago. We still like bells, don't we?!
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