Park life

East v West and something in the middle

Walking through London Fields on the weekend, I noticed a sign saying the park is open 24 hours. It started me comparing the parks in East London, with the parks I remember from West London.

West

• Closed
• Subscribers only
• No entry without the key
• No ball games
• No bicycles
• No children
• No fat people
• No uglies
• No walking on the grass
• No picnics on the paths
• No fun!

Kensington, London (Photo by Bruno Martins on Unsplash)

East

• This park is open 24 hours
• No roaming gangs of police officers looking for people to be offended by
• No signs saying “No.”

London Fields, not far from Our Albion, on a Summer weekend. (Photo by Robert Bye on Unsplash)

The magic middle: Coram’s fields

“No adult may enter unless invited by a child.”

Coram’s fields, in the middle of London, near London University, is a seven acre playground for children living in or visiting…