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News and Comment July 2013

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6 July (Part 2) - Fantastic Free Fun

The only TV programme I watched last week was a documentary on BBC2 and I stumbled upon it by accident ten minutes in. It explained how London’s buses are controlled by centralised computer systems which know where every bus is and gives the driver appropriate instructions. Very interesting it was too but I think the controllers must have lost the plot this morning. Two buses took 63 minutes to get me to Danson Park and the second one was so packed it ceased to pick up new passengers. I’ve not seen that for a long time.

I’d planned to post some Danson Festival pictures tomorrow but on second thoughts I think it deserves a second plug for tomorrow’s event because it is a prime target to be cut when Bexley council is forced to plug its £40 million black hole. Hints have been dropped.

It’s clearly not designed for 69 year olds unaccompanied by their grandchildren but it provided a fun couple of hours anyway, just wandering around watching families thoroughly enjoying themselves, though how they afford it I am not quite sure. It is a far cry from when my father gave me ten shillings (†) for a whole evening of rides at the 1951 Festival of Britain Fun Fair in Battersea Park. Some rides at Danson were £4 a pop!
Bus ticket Bus ticket
It was by far the biggest fun fair I have seen apart from Winter Wonderland in Hyde Park and in my opinion far better. Maybe the negative temperatures in Hyde Park last December made it hard to like.

Here’s a taste of what it was like three hours ago.

Danson Danson Danson Danson

For the out of town readers, that’s Danson House on the left - unless you are viewing in Mobile mode in which case it is ‘somewhere up there’.

Danson Danson Danson Danson

Danson Danson Danson Danson

The guy from Bexley council (final picture) sent there to security mark bikes - or something - did not have a lot to do.

Danson Danson Danson Danson

For those on a tight budget there is the free splash park and I was right, there was a man on the gate extracting six quid from people who didn’t fancy a 63 minute bus ride. It would have been quicker for me to walk, literally.

I could barely believe someone thought yesterday’s ‘advertisement’ for the free Danson Festival was an attempt to “diminish a community event” and to “rubbish it”, but I do rather regret my joke about Mr. Easton. I visualised someone having everything organised and operating with 100% efficiency and Mr. Easton came to mind. On reflection the comment about confiscating cameras was more appropriate to Kevin Fox. I suspect Mr. Easton has big enough shoulders to bear it.

While preparing the above photographs, I have had an email from someone less happy than me with the Danson Festival, more anon I expect.

"† 50 pence. This must have been close to 10% of my father’s weekly salary at the time.

 

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