Temporary Accomodation

 So could a kid live in a playground like this? Not really as there’s not much in the way of shelter. They could shelter under the slide but they’re going to have to put walls up and build a fire to keep warm. Having a rubber floor isn’t a great thing near a flame. They’re also going to need food, although an ice cream truck probably has a weekend residency and the café across the stream would also be worth a visit. How to fund these visits? Well, if you can’t charge other kids to enter your playground (which would also put the wellbeing of your property and risk); you’ll just have to be evil and mug them. Unfortunately; with or without crime, you’re going to be spotted very quickly as a resident by a grownup who might just have something to say about that or pass on a tip to the authorities.

Surviving the Axe

I’m not sure how this place will survive. It’s a lone small building in the middle of a building site that hopes to cash in on the passing rail travel when the HS2 terminal is finally complete. There’s an upstairs function room with extra seating and there may be a second bar there too but even then, it’s going to be a bit cramped with its central bar and small rooms. I don’t think that it’ll be able to cope with crowds. There’s overspill areas with picnic tables but people still need to get inside to order. At the moment it’s being fuelled by students and real ale fans. It’s going to be difficult to market as a destination pub with a limited capacity. It’s great that it’s being preserved but it’s going to be a tough one and prices will inevitably have to increase unless they can knock through.  

Roped Off

I suppose it’s good practice should they decide to take up life at sea as they’ll be good at climbing the rigging. But there’s not much use of that if the town’s in the centre of the island though. The next use is for practice should they want to join the circus. They can practice hanging and swinging like monkeys to build up their stamina, though not at height. And with the gained confidence in height training, they might want to stop at nets and focus on rooftops to see what other areas they can reach. Are we causing them to develop for the wrong reasons? Where does it stop? They might be enjoying themselves now, but they could have an accident if they attempt to apply their newly acquired skills to a different environment, especially if they attempt to reach places that they’re not supposed to get to. Hopefully they’ll get bored and try to interact with something else.

Futurama (Season 13)

Although short, this series had something to satisfy everyone. It was well-written without fear of cancellation again, with most of the stories being independent of each other. New abilities are backed up with well thought-out processes. Sometimes you wish things to be a bit bigger. Inventions and animation processes are well-thought out which contribute to the plot together with hints of past adventures for continuity. Yet some things haven’t changed and have taken trends into account like media streaming overtaking the cinema. At other times they’ve thought of everything incorporated into a character’s design and issues that are totally relevant that still haven’t been solved a thousand years later. But once again, while it tries to make jokes out of maths and science with a hidden agenda of how we can attempt to safeguard our future, there’s a few characters and plots that have been left out of this series.

Knotted Up

There’s a lot of rope involved to hold these playgrounds together. It all encourages kids to become acrobats and stretch their bodies in ways that they normally wouldn’t when on the ground. They’ll hang upside-down and try to touch the ground and they’ll learn about their body’s capabilities and be able to pull themselves back up again. There’s still a bit of wiggle room so that they get a bit taut when weight gets put on them. Nowadays they use metal rather than thread so that they don’t decay and they’re harder to strip apart. Unless of course, you strip the whole cable away. You could make a ladder in your own backyard. I suppose that there’s special locks installed to stop that from happening. Either that or no-one’s that heartless to attempt to saw through it and leave a playground abandoned. They used to in the olden days. Unless that was in parks that were less frequented. 

 

Exceeding Occupation #dreamdiary 206

I’m back at one of my old family holiday haunts. I haven’t been there in a while. I’ve walked on the beach and I’m following an old trail back to the hotel. It’s a bit overgrown. There’s grass everywhere and I have to push through, but the plants and branches are soft and haven’t hardened in the heat. Then I emerge onto concrete and a wave of humanity hits me. There’s people everywhere gathered around sunbeds on the pool, and there’s children dressed in swimsuits sitting on towels on the floor. The pool itself is also busy, and though there’s places to stand there’s nowhere to swim. There’s hardly a space that isn’t occupied, and the only route to the hotel’s reception is one drawn from my memory. It’s clearly the result of an increased population. I look back at the trail that I’ve left and all I see is a wall of hedge. I wonder if anyone knows if it’s still there.

Branching Out

Branches grow in many ways. In public parks and woods, they’re amputated to keep the bushels safe from the people and the people safe as they can’t climb up the tree. They can’t pick up the blossoms or the mushrooms that might grow on its branches. They can’t risk getting a cut or splinter or a branch landing on their head. But even though the council can’t do much about the leaves, it still leaves the tree vulnerable. What they think will protect could actually harm it. Some branches just don’t grow back. The growth is stunted and restricted to the way in which the tree can move or tilt itself towards the sun. That might suit the locals since it won’t restrict anyone’s view or it could be less likely to cause damage should it fall. It might even be angled to fall in a particular direction. And the tree might just fight back or die altogether which would be a waste of everyone’s time.