Because neither of us get enough exercise nor spend enough proper time with each other, Michele and I decided to get off the bus early on the way to my parents’ house today; sounds pathetic I know. We alighted in Kidbrooke and, in a desperate attempt to get away from main roads, decided to walk through Sutcliffe Park. Now, in my youth, this was a very dull, flat, park that was only ever really used by local football teams on a Sunday or the occasional funfair. However, a few years ago it was redeveloped and from the road it just looks like they dug a few ditches and left it.
\nToday we discovered that the redevelopment was a lot more impressive; now Sutcliffe park is a beautiful oasis with the backdrop of urban shite known as “The Ferrier Estate”.
\nWhat the council has done is create a wetland environment complete with bridges, a lake, and reedy marshland; it looked just like a mini wetlands centre. We wandered through the idyllic pastures towards the edge of the lake where a few families with young children were feeding the ducks, geese and moorhens. It was beautiful! <\/p>\n
One noticeable difference, beyond the landscaping, was the people. When I was a kid they would have been white, battered-faced, fishwife women with tearaway kids shouting “fuck” all the time. Now they were excited but well behaved kids, with fishwife mums all wearing hijabs. Everyone else there was Polish. I love it.<\/p>\n