The Trip To London

This is an extract of a report about our trip to look at Playgrounds and Urban Farms in England in 1984.

We arrived in London at 6.10am on Thursday, 8th March 1984.  Following breakfast, the party split into two groups.  One group visited the London Association for Adventure Playgrounds where they were shown a film of the Association’s activities accompanied by an informal lecture and discussion.

Meanwhile, the other group were meeting with officials of Camden Town Council (Playground Section).  Among the items discussed with the officials were funding, staffing, training, equipment and insurance.  This was followed by a short tour of several of the Council’s Playgrounds.

During the course of the next two days (until Saturday afternoon) the group visited and studied the following locations:-

FARMS:        Vauxhall City Farm S.E.11.
Rockingham Estate City Farm S.E.1.
Kentish Town City Farm N.W.5

PLAYGROUNDS: Holland Park Adventure Playground.
Battersea Park.
Crumbles Castle Adventure Playground.
Haywood Adventure Playground for Special Needs Children.
Interaction Resource Centre.
Plot 10 Adventure Playground, Euston.
North Road Adventure Playground.

While visiting these Centres we talked with staff and children, discussing the day-to-day running of their Centres. The most striking features of both Farms and Playgrounds was the lavish funding by the appropriate Government Departments. This funding was available to both voluntarily run Playgrounds and Farms and to the Local Authority Centres. The funding had many aspects of it, such as:-

Capital Grants.
Staff Salary Grants.
Staff Training Grants.

L.A.P.A. for example, are in the happy position of having a permanent Training Officer to train their yearly intake of trainees (eight this year) who are all guaranteed jobs.

Each of the Centres visited were unique in their own way. Even so, all the Playgrounds carried out stringent safety controls and checks on a daily basis. All rope swings are removed at the end of Play and tested by an adult at the start of Play. Farms tended to breed only pedigree animals and found this to be the most interesting and most effective way of raising stock in the City.

NAMES OF PARTICIPANTS.

Kevin Kane
Phyllis Kane
Jimmy Morrissey
Geraldine Morrissey
Patricia Costigan
Bernard McDonnell
Paul McDonnell
Michael Byrne

COST PER HEAD.

Travel £60.00
Accommodation £44.25
Meals Miscellaneous £40.30.