YesBut a world class park?

As promised yesterday, YesBut’s ace photographer was sent to photograph the park recently constructed at Potters Field.

So this is what More London promised to be a “world class park”. I have seen more exciting looking window-boxes.

No giraffes, lions or wilderbeasts not even a rabbit or teddy bear and certainly no hunting lodge - how disappointing. And where is the boating lake? This is another case where, a design looks great on paper, (more likely computer), but when it’s built people say “are you joking this cost £3million?”. The trees they planted must be an extremely rare species - perhaps they were hand reared by vestal virgins in the heart of the Amazon forest.

The words “World class design” have been used in reference to the 2012 London Olympic facilities. The mind shudders at the thought of what we will get for +£9.0 billion. Perhaps the athletic track will be white washed lines painted in the local park.

Don’t even think of using Potters Field as an Olympic venue, unless marbles or tiddlywinks become Olympic sports. I can see now a line of little children marching with plastic buckets full of sand to construct a long jump pit. Though they will require men with barrows to collect enough sand for the beach volley ball venue. Where will they get the sand? Well at low tide on the south bank of the River Thames between Waterloo and Blackfriars bridges a strip of sand is exposed, (there is a seven metre difference in height between high and low water in central London each tide). Sorry Mr Sand Artist I guess you’ll be losing your sand in 2012.

Click here to see more photos of the world class park

Potters Fields

Within the shadow of London's Tower Bridge there is a patch of grass and dirt which obtained a degree of notoriety in 2003 as the site chosen by David Blaine to spend 44days without food, in a suspended Perspex box. For the period, the 30 year old magician was taunted and ridiculed by Londoners and tourists alike.

Then last year the area was fenced off and a sign put up announcing to the world:

“Potters Fields is about to be transformed.
A new design to create a world class park. . .”

Three million pounds was allocated for the project. My imagination raced away trying to imagine what the world class park would look like. Would it be a safari park, with herds of wilderbeasts, lions and giraffes? At dusk tourists could sit out on the hunting lodge’s balcony drinking their gin & tonic watching the animals comedown to the watering hole. Or it might match the grandeur of New York’s Central Park, or London’s Hyde Park with a boating lake and expanse of green lush grass.

Progress on the construction was slow. Small areas could be viewed through viewing holes in the surrounding fence, puzzlingly the activity didn’t quite equate with what would be expected for the creation of a world class park.

Then the fence was removed, and all was revealed.

Please control your excitement and anticipation, YesBut's ace photographer has been sent post haste to the new park, and the photographs will be posted on the blog tomorrow.