Lazy, Dangerous, Sunday Afternoon

There is a playground (more like an assault course really)we took our 20 month old girl to over last weekend that is in the mold of the playgrounds of old.

There is the slightest bit of danger present if you put a foot wrong or are too silly.

For the PC :

There is a BIG climbing structure made from rope, yes rope!

There is a water feature there that kids can participate in, yes water!

One set of swings is a massive pair that swings out over a sharply receding bank that if you get enough height your body wants to lift off and keep going at the top. Let go and you will be airboure 5 metres into the air!

Even the steps running down to the ground have to be carefully negotiated or you will tumble down a bank.

I remember a merry go round type thing in my old playground that you could spin around yourself to maximum revs (as fast as YOU could go) and if you got off too soon or someone got on with the wrong footing blood and guts would be the outcome.

This new playground is one of those! Even I am scared of the swing and was laughing like a kid using it.

Oh yeah, my girl didn't drown, hang herself or get launched into space because I was there to supervise - mental note how come my parents let us do all of this relatively unsupervised?

Kids learn alot from this sort of play. They learn about risk, adventure, discipline, boundaries and the possibilities they might bring latter on in life.

I think at least 50% of my fun was about how this thing was built in the first place considering the bubble wrapping most of us have been subject to, especially our kids.

Humans need danger to survive, especially children, so they can understand what that word means and that life is chock full of risks.

No I am not going to tell you where it is because seriously if one of you PC lot here about this, you would want to close it down.

Mental note 2: There are also trees you can climb at the bottom of the playground, BIG trees !

What a great 30 mins on a lazy Sunday that was :)

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c Darren Rickard 2011

Sikhing a good cop, not a Turbanator

Oh dear lord, this definitely puts the PC into police constable.

A  Sikh constable in Nelson is going to be allowed to wear a large towel on his head instead of the regulation cap.

Stuff.co.nz

Nelson Bays police area commander Inspector Brian McGurk said adding a turban to the police uniform reflected that the organisation was becoming more diverse and more representative of the communities it worked alongside.

McGurk said he was delighted that the police had been able to help Mr Malhi nurture his religious and cultural beliefs.

There had been extensive consultation between the police ethnic responsiveness coordinator, its uniform standards co-ordinator and the Sikh community before the turban was approved, he said.

Now there are a couple of observations one can make about towels being applied to the head of a policeman other than when one comes out of the shower but I am too nice to mention them.

All I can do is wonder what will be next, Rasta cops with tea cosy helmets, Skater cops with backwards baseball cap helmets, how about a full Burkha for the Muslim woman who likes to do undercover police work even when wearing body hugging police issue blues?

Burkha Cops in Iran

On a less serious note, will our police dogs be wearing little booties(thanks Leighton Smith for the tip) as they do in parts of the UK, when they are required to search a Muslim household?

Probably, it is just a question of when.

His mates have shunned him

Is it any wonder why a certain cop was shot dead last week in the hell-hole that is South Auckland, by some scumbag when Labour Party sanctioned police priorities are to.

nurture his religious and cultural beliefs.

And.

There had been extensive consultation between the police ethnic responsiveness coordinator.

How about nurturing the ability of officers to be able to defend themselves from bullets, knives, rocks, cars and other things that are used to attack them.

No word yet on whether Mr Malhi has consulted the police ethnic thingamy whatsit to see whether he can stop and pray before he asks a mongrel Mob member to please don't shoot me and please put down your gun sir.

Bring back the tough cops and the tough attitude-where are you Clint Rickards and Anthony Solomona, both drummed out of the police by Labour for PC reasons. 

Related Political Animal reading

Go ahead make my day

c Political Animal 2008