Blog: The Childrens' Film Foundation in E20

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How long have we been in The Current Situation now? Is it something like 10 weeks? Or were THE BEFORETIMES just an illusion? However long it's been, one thing I'm REALLY grateful for is that fact that we live right next to The Olympic Park, which has been a GRATE place to go most days for Mandatory Government Exercise. It is BIG and full of all sorts of different BITS, also WILDLIFE and, nowadays, KIDS.

There have always been KIDS in the park, but they've usually been young children taken there by their parents. Over the last couple of weeks though, since the weather's been nice and people have ventured out into the post-apocalyptic landscape a bit more, there have been noticeably more TEENAGERS. It seems that they have come over from nearby Stratford, LURED by the open space and especially by the HIRE BIKES, which they now pelt around in in large excitable groups, LARKING AROUND.

Apart from the generalised Are They Doing Social Distancing worry, there is somethig rather wonderful about it. Ever since we've lived here The Legacy Authorities have worried about how they can connect the park to Actual Stratford, but it's now clear that all they needed was a Global Pandemic, as LOADS of local people seem to have discovered it recently. It all feels like A Return To The 1970s as you wander around seeing Family Picnics taking place and, as i say, LOADS of Kids On Bikes. It feels being in a (very mildly) updated version of The Childrens' Film Foundation, as you see platoons of THE KIDS pedalling alongside the canal or down the Greenway, taking the piss out of each other and generally having GOOD CLEAN OUTDOOR FUN. It's as if they got completely sick of being stuck inside with their BORING families and discovered that this was a way to get out - and there's surely nothing more 1970s than that?

I hope that this all continues when/if things for Back To Normal, and that they have many summers of ADVENTURES and BOTTLES OF POP and SCABBY KNEES. The only downside of course, is for all those PROPERTY DEVELOPERS and CORRUPT COUNCILLORS whose evil schemes are about to get FOILED!

posted 10/6/2020 by MJ Hibbett

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SPAMBOT FILTER: an animal that says 'to-whit to-whoo' (3)
	(e.g. for an animal that says 'cluck' type 'hen')