The Teddy Bears' picnic

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kiticat - 25 Jun 2005 13:40 GMT

It went really really well :)

I got to the playground well beforehand and decorated it with lots of
balloons and a sign Id made that says the park name in flowers (last
year Id done a glass mosaic from all the glass we picked up in the park)

I was really quite nervous.

At 11am people started to arrive. Soon the playground was full, I lost
count at over 60 people. Not bad considering the iffy weather. We also
had 4 town councillors and the head of the council come. It was a great
opportunity to plug my cause for phase 2 - facilities for older children
and teenagers.

Id organised a teddy bear treasure hunt for the kids to do, so soon
everyone was looking for clues around the playground. I had borrowed a
parchute so we did parachute games and also singing and rhymes with the
younger kids.

While everyone was having fun I wandered round with a survey to ask
people for their ideas for phase 2 , weve now got loads and loads of
great ideas to look at.

Then we all sat on rugs and had a lovely picnic, it was a great feeling.
I awarded the prize to the winner of the treasure hunt and made a (very)
short speech thanking everyone for coming.

It was all very cool and my ego is way to big now ;-)

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Sarah
It's an odd world I live in.

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Teri - 25 Jun 2005 14:00 GMT

I bet this day made all your hard work - and even the frustrations - worth
it :-).... it sounds like you're giving something to the community that they
may never thought could happen :-) I'm so glad the day went well.
Teri

> It went really really well :)
>
[quoted text clipped - 24 lines]
>
> It was all very cool and my ego is way to big now ;-)

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kiticat - 25 Jun 2005 14:11 GMT

Oh it did Teri :) Im as pleased as a puppy with 2 tails at the moment.
Its so very cool :)

> I bet this day made all your hard work - and even the frustrations - worth
> it :-).... it sounds like you're giving something to the community that they
> may never thought could happen :-) I'm so glad the day went well.
> Teri
>
>>It went really really well :)

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Sarah
It's an odd world I live in.

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Stara Baba - 26 Jun 2005 15:35 GMT

> Oh it did Teri :) Im as pleased as a puppy with 2 tails

TWO tails? That is one VERY happy puppy!! "-)

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-Barb, <http://www.jamlady.eboard.com> Sam I Am! 6-6-05

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Nan - 25 Jun 2005 17:54 GMT

>It went really really well :)

YaY!
You should feel proud of all your hard work :-)

Nan

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kiticat - 25 Jun 2005 18:25 GMT

>>It went really really well :)
>
> YaY!
> You should feel proud of all your hard work :-)
>
> Nan

:-)

I do <G>

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Sarah
It's an odd world I live in.

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Mamma Mia - 26 Jun 2005 10:30 GMT

GOOD ON you sarah. great to see someone doing somethign!!

chris

>>It went really really well :)
>
> YaY!
> You should feel proud of all your hard work :-)
>
> Nan

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kiticat - 26 Jun 2005 18:20 GMT

<g> Its definitely worth it!

> GOOD ON you sarah. great to see someone doing somethign!!
>
[quoted text clipped - 6 lines]
>>
>>Nan

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Sarah
It's an odd world I live in.

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Stara Baba - 26 Jun 2005 15:37 GMT

> It went really really well :)
>
> I got to the playground well beforehand and decorated it with lots of
> balloons and a sign Id made that says the park name in flowers (last
> year Id done a glass mosaic from all the glass we picked up in the park)

Sarah, didn't I read something a few days ago that your lovely new park
had been rather seriously vandalized? Or am I confused again? If it
was trashed, how'd things get cleaned up so well so quickly?

I'm glad it went well - sounds like a fun time.

-Barb

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-Barb, <http://www.jamlady.eboard.com> Sam I Am! 6-6-05

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kiticat - 26 Jun 2005 18:20 GMT

>>It went really really well :)
>>
[quoted text clipped - 9 lines]
>
> -Barb

Hi Barb, the park had been completely and utterly covered in broken
glass - tiny shards everywhere, it was obviously done deliberately.
There were cans and bottles and litter all over the place. Fortunately
other than the new picnic table being scratched (which realistically it
would be eventually anyway) the equipment was undamaged (hopefully its
pretty robust stuff, the company who does it does a lot of inner city stuff)

It was very upsetting at the time but it was quickly fixable.

The council came with in an hour of me phoning them and picked up what
they could, then they bought in a glass sweeping machine the next day.
They also agreed to send in a couple of people to check the park
Saturday am - despite them originally saying they couldnt do that , so
that the park was as spick and span as poss (I expect friday night
storms also helped!)

Soon, I and a couple of others are going to talk to the youngsters who
gather in the evening and without mentioning what theyve done, ask them
the sort of thing they'd like in the park themselves. Going to need lots
of courage for that one :-/

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Sarah
It's an odd world I live in.

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toto - 26 Jun 2005 22:22 GMT

>Soon, I and a couple of others are going to talk to the youngsters who
>gather in the evening and without mentioning what theyve done, ask them
>the sort of thing they'd like in the park themselves. Going to need lots
>of courage for that one :-/

Sarah, this is exactly what needs to be done and you are one
courageous lady for doing it. If you can get them to buy into the
idea that the park belongs to everyone *including* them, then
it is likely that the vandalism will be countered by the same people
who started it.

--
Dorothy

There is no sound, no cry in all the world
that can be heard unless someone listens ..

The Outer Limits

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Staycalm - 28 Jun 2005 11:52 GMT

> Soon, I and a couple of others are going to talk to the youngsters who
> gather in the evening and without mentioning what theyve done, ask them
> the sort of thing they'd like in the park themselves. Going to need lots
> of courage for that one :-/

Sarah, may I suggest you do this with someone who works in youth support
(social worker, etc) Try contacting your council and ask around so that you
can have someone who knows who you are dealing with and my already have a
connection with these kids. They could at least give you some good advice on
the best way to approach this. Having done a lot work with teens I know it
can be quite difficult to get a dialog going in the early stages.

Liz

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Family Forum / Parenting / Mothers / June 2005

The Teddy Bears' picnic