StefanSzczelkun
KP-Saturday football
I was in the park at c1pm (March 2006) and noticed footballers (Portugese I think) leaving the North Field by the north west gate. Two day-glo clad beat bobbies were stationed at the opposite corner of the north pitch and aroused my suspicions. I asked the footballers if they had been asked to stop playing by the cops. They had not, and said that they had, anyway, been coaching a team of kids. They had no idea of the campaign to banish team football from the park.
I then went over to the cops and they told me they were indeed there to support the Park Rangers who were meant to turn up to turf off any footballers. They were annoyed that the Rangers hadn't turned up yet. I had a conversation with them and assured them that the people who wanted a ban on group games were not the majority of local park users. I suggested that the role of community beat officers might be undermined by taking part in supporting such actions as it would alienate them from the very people they were trying to build trust with. I also suggested it was a waste of their valuable time and they would be better engaged in apprehending people engaged in truly anti-social activity. I would encourage any supporters of collective park activity from picnic, to demos to games to engage local beat bobbies or the Rangers with their views on this!
I visited the park at around 2pm and took some photos of people playing basketball, and number of people of mixed cultures starting to play football on the south pitch. I spoke briefly to the footballers who had recently been told by a member of the public that they 'weren't allowed' to play football in the park.
Informal football has been a tradition in the park for more than 20 years. It is difficult to expect a unity of action from a number of disparate teams to defend their turf. Lets hope that this anti community Council policy is un-enforcable and too costly in the long term.
By the way 'pitch' is the original term used to describe these areas of grass that it seems were originally intended to host ball games (even if political gatherings were banned).
for more see
www.flickr.com/photos/stefan-szczelkun/137056084/?#commen...
KP-Saturday football
I was in the park at c1pm (March 2006) and noticed footballers (Portugese I think) leaving the North Field by the north west gate. Two day-glo clad beat bobbies were stationed at the opposite corner of the north pitch and aroused my suspicions. I asked the footballers if they had been asked to stop playing by the cops. They had not, and said that they had, anyway, been coaching a team of kids. They had no idea of the campaign to banish team football from the park.
I then went over to the cops and they told me they were indeed there to support the Park Rangers who were meant to turn up to turf off any footballers. They were annoyed that the Rangers hadn't turned up yet. I had a conversation with them and assured them that the people who wanted a ban on group games were not the majority of local park users. I suggested that the role of community beat officers might be undermined by taking part in supporting such actions as it would alienate them from the very people they were trying to build trust with. I also suggested it was a waste of their valuable time and they would be better engaged in apprehending people engaged in truly anti-social activity. I would encourage any supporters of collective park activity from picnic, to demos to games to engage local beat bobbies or the Rangers with their views on this!
I visited the park at around 2pm and took some photos of people playing basketball, and number of people of mixed cultures starting to play football on the south pitch. I spoke briefly to the footballers who had recently been told by a member of the public that they 'weren't allowed' to play football in the park.
Informal football has been a tradition in the park for more than 20 years. It is difficult to expect a unity of action from a number of disparate teams to defend their turf. Lets hope that this anti community Council policy is un-enforcable and too costly in the long term.
By the way 'pitch' is the original term used to describe these areas of grass that it seems were originally intended to host ball games (even if political gatherings were banned).
for more see
www.flickr.com/photos/stefan-szczelkun/137056084/?#commen...