Games will be played ……. the Rec ... with a nod to the past

I like the new table tennis feature on the Rec, which is an imaginative addition.

The table, 2022

Looking out from our front window on any day of the week is to see people using the table.

The swings, 1910

They are all ages, sometimes come as a group, take turns, and always seem to be having lots of fun.

In the background are the more conventional playthings which are equally well used.

And this being a blog devoted to the past, it is well to remember that in the past the Rec offered three of those old fashioned see-saws.  The ones which provided the chance to bump your friend opposite off their seat.

Added to which there was back in 1910 a large tree stump which could be anything your imagination wanted it to be.

That said the rocking horse and the merry go round never made it to the Rec, and as I never liked either, I guess that was for the good.

The tree feature, 2015

At which point I will pause and assume that at least three people will comment about the good old days, when park playthings were lethal, but were part of the collective push to make us kids stronger.  

Well I was of the same generation, born directly after the last world war and see the benefits in those soft floor coverings and regular maintenance of  the merry go rounds, slides and climbing frames.

Rusty metal bars and rotting wood platforms were hardy a recipe for park fun.

But that is in the past, and instead the slide, swings, climbing frame and tennis table are a tribute to the Beech Road Traders and the Friends of Beech Road Park.

Location; Beech Road

Pictures; the tennis table 2022, and tree feature, 2015 from the collection of Andrew Simpson and the Rec in 1910, from the Lloyd Collection