The Kiwis are invading

As part of my ongoing quest to become Master of Parks, we visited Stamshaw park which is by the bottom of the M275 motorway. There's a lot of hillocks, tumuli and barrows left over from the building of the motorway, a small skate park and a medium swingpark.

The swingpark has a large compound climbing frame, a rope pyramid that spins round and a swinging basket. As soon as we got there it started  to fill up with the feral youths of the nearby estate, I thought you had to be 18 to get a tattoo. Next door there's a splendid adventure playground but it was closed: fortunately I have actually been in it because we went there last week from daycare.

Because you can see Whale Island (Naval base and home to HMS Excellent, the Navy firefighting college and previous arms fairs) we walked to it and got onto the bridge. It's got a great view of the international ferry port and the Naval dockyard, and as it was low low tide we crossed the seafloor by the old causeway and almost got onto Whale Island itself.

We threw rocks into the mud, because it's very gloopy and splattery and with a really good shot you can surprise the seagulls by splurging them with whiffy sediment.

On the way back we noticed a big yet eerily familiar climbing plant on the fence of Stamshaw sailing club. Can you see the Kiwi fruit dangling?
Later Jof took me to the miniature trains in Bransbury park because I haven't been for ages. It was quite quiet because most people were on the seafront for the Kite Festival, Moscow State Circus and all the bouncy castles etc the seafront tends to attract. On the way back we stopped off at normal swingpark and Bud met us and spun me senseless on the swinging basket, as you do. A small girl (approx 6 yrs) saw him doing his chinups on the monkey bars and asked him to get her friend down from the flagpole. This girl (approx 7 years) had climbed to the top of the pole and then frozen in terror. We asked her if she wanted to get down, she said no, she'd rather stay up there. So we left her to it. Half an hour later, as we left, she was still up there and had gathered quite a crowd of onlookers, encouraging her to jump, fall, or otherwise make the morning papers. Bud scaled the pole, released her from her precarious yet apparently permanent home and plucked her from the pole to much amusement from the gallows crowd. Hooray for stupid people, for we are many. It's been nearly a year since we last rescued someone.....