PARKS BEFORE BARBEQUES
At the age of three I was taken to Leeds parks to see the animals, to play on the grass, to see the boats and to have an ice-cream. A little later, I was taken there for a paddle, for a ride on the motor launch, to the fair, to watch Punch and Judy, to listen to the band, to attend Children’s Day, to watch cricket, to go on the children’s playground, to have a picnic, to sledge, to see the flowers, to see and feed the ducks. Later still I’ve gone there to swim, to watch yachting skills, to visit hothouses, to go to the circus. Later to meet friends, to walk and talk with them, to experience the beauty of a park at night, to sit alone in a park on a bench in the middle of winter and there to contemplate a change of career. And yet later, I’ve gone to Leeds parks, and taken others there for the therapeutic healing which their atmospheres can induce. I’ve pushed invalids in wheelchairs to Leeds parks – people with dementia to let them experience again what it is like to be with people out in the open air and all having a good time. I’ve taken my daughter as a child there, a fostered child there, I’ve exercised my dog there, I’ve taken mobile people with mental problems there and I’ve skated on ice there. I’ve flown kites there, played ball there, I’ve watched cycle racing there and I’ve fished there.
I’ve visited Leeds parks for Pop Concerts, Open-Air Theatre shows, I’ve wined and dined there, played tennis there, attended dog shows, taken part in sponsored walks, danced there, watched model aircraft being flown there. I’ve rowed boats there, made tree rubbings there, read books and studied there. To get to Leeds parks, I’ve trudged, walked, “trammed”, bussed and car journeyed there.
All of these things hold memories for me that I wouldn’t like to be without. Not one of them interfered with anyone else’s enjoyment of any park at any time. Isn’t this the fundamental problem with barbecues? BARBECUES INTRUDE UPON OTHER PEOPLE’S LIVES.
(photo courtesy of Photo Gallery)