awards.clouds.survey
So it is day 40 and we have come to a finish. We have finished on a run of hot days and today is another, although maybe slightly cooler. It is 1pm and the park seems quite busy. I am right in the corner and struggle again to see the whole park from here, in fact it feels like it’s own little glade here. There are the most trees of any section and can look like a little wooded area. However unlike yesterday, quite a few people and dog walkers come through my section. In fact 3 dogs and 2 dog walkers whilst I was talking. It was hard to see how many dogs were in the park in total but definitely more than yesterday and I think it shows that the temperature has come down a bit. There are two exits or entrances in this section, one is a bit hidden and until now I hadn’t realised it was there. It’s funny because maybe this corner was seen as the main entrance at some point as there is a large notice board which needs a bit of maintenance, shall we say, and any notices that may have been there have long disintegrated. The other corner (section 35) is definitely the main entrance now in my opinion.
There is an electrical box, well I assume it is. It is a plain greyish box with graffiti and spider webs covering it so I don’t know if it has any use anymore. This corner seems to have that slightly forgotten feeling. There is a dog poo bin but no other bin and no seating area but lots of undergrowth and flowers and the only litter really was by the wall on the side where the college students might gather and sit.
I have loved being part of this park for 40 days, how people recognise me and I see the regulars. We have talked to families with their children playing with Chloe and I have talked to people just relaxing and enjoying the park on their way home from work or shopping, people having illicit picnics, students enjoying their friends and chilling, couples meeting in a pandemic and sitting at each end of the benches, old people having a break from the home they live in and reminiscing about younger days in the park. I have met nearby residents who play a part in the park by planting things and collecting rubbish. I have learnt about The Friends of the Park. Tennis players, footballers, badminton players, hide and seekers and bike and scooter riders, everyone. The park, as I said, continues to surprise me. It isn’t one thing and there isn’t one type of person that comes here. It is a little slice of an area of Darlington. There are problems with drugs and drink that have been reported in the past but I didn’t see anything over the time I was there, but I also think that would be the same in any park and possibly worse in some, I don’t know. I do know that I see people not only enjoying the park but really caring about it. There were huge old trees and small saplings and all were beautiful and cared for. As one woman said to me, ‘in some parks the saplings would have been vandalised but not here,’ and that is true. There was litter but also people who came and picked it up and tidied. In autumn there are groups of leaf collectors and numerous children collecting conkers. I never felt concerned about my daughter as she scootered around and chatted to dog owners, she was always visible. I think I can only be positive about my time and of course we will continue to go and I might even continue to tell you a bit sometimes. It is an emerging space as the pandemic continues. People are seeing it as a place they can meet friends and feel safe and I am definitely see more and more interaction within the park. Of course students will be back soon and I would like to explore the park as we move through the seasons. So watch this space.
Today I saw 10 trees, 2 entrances, 1 dog poo bin, 1 large notice board, 1 electrical box thingy, 1 slight slopey hill, grass, path, daisies, clover seems to have gone a bit, bush, nettles, wall, some new codes on the trees, 4 feathers, lots of litter and cigarette ends round the wall, 1 scooter rider, spiders webs.
Parklife 