Last weekend was a scorcher in Dundee. The temperature on Saturday was 22˚ C (OK, laugh if you will, but that’s hot for us and it was warmer than the Mediterranean), there was little or no wind, and Dundonians en masse, it seems, took to the local beach at Broughty Ferry. And rightly so!
What wasn’t so right was that they left the beautiful Blue Flag beach (pictured), one of only seven in Scotland, just days before there was to be a ceremony to celebrate its second Blue Flag year, like a tip. Rubbish was strewn all over; people seemed to think that, just because there weren’t sufficient waste paper bins that the beach was a suitable repository for their rubbish. Cans, and worse, bottles were left along with discarded food wrappers. Even dirty disposable nappies were left on the beach for other people to enjoy in the heat of the afternoon.
Worse was yet to come. Someone advertised a beach party at the children’s recreation park next to the beach on Facebook, and over 200 people turned up, got drunk and trashed the place doing an estimated five figure sum of damage to what was a fantastic play area for kids.
Apparently the response of the Tayside Police was to send two Community Support Officers down to tell them to behave. And as you can see from the picture, that didn’t work. I know the police are busy on Saturday nights, but given that there were 200 drunken kids in a park wrecking the place, I think they might have been able to muster more than two CSOs.
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Several weeks ago the beautiful Barnhill Rock Gardens (pictured) were vandalized, not for the first time, by people who thought that that was a neat way to spend a Saturday evening. You have to wonder at what goes through the heads of kids when that is the way they choose to enjoy themselves. It really makes you hope that next weekend it rains and sleets. At least perhaps some of our hard worked for facilities might be left intact on Monday morning.
What wasn’t so right was that they left the beautiful Blue Flag beach (pictured), one of only seven in Scotland, just days before there was to be a ceremony to celebrate its second Blue Flag year, like a tip. Rubbish was strewn all over; people seemed to think that, just because there weren’t sufficient waste paper bins that the beach was a suitable repository for their rubbish. Cans, and worse, bottles were left along with discarded food wrappers. Even dirty disposable nappies were left on the beach for other people to enjoy in the heat of the afternoon.
Worse was yet to come. Someone advertised a beach party at the children’s recreation park next to the beach on Facebook, and over 200 people turned up, got drunk and trashed the place doing an estimated five figure sum of damage to what was a fantastic play area for kids.
Apparently the response of the Tayside Police was to send two Community Support Officers down to tell them to behave. And as you can see from the picture, that didn’t work. I know the police are busy on Saturday nights, but given that there were 200 drunken kids in a park wrecking the place, I think they might have been able to muster more than two CSOs.
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Several weeks ago the beautiful Barnhill Rock Gardens (pictured) were vandalized, not for the first time, by people who thought that that was a neat way to spend a Saturday evening. You have to wonder at what goes through the heads of kids when that is the way they choose to enjoy themselves. It really makes you hope that next weekend it rains and sleets. At least perhaps some of our hard worked for facilities might be left intact on Monday morning.
It’s such a shame that people feel the need to act like this. That park is very popular with young children and these mindless thugs have ruined it right at the beginning of the season.
ReplyDeleteThat said of course you have to ask how 200 people can trash a park and the police don’t notice. The beach was full of people all day and you would think that a police presence would have been a good idea in order to prevent the sort of crime that crowds attract. But apparently not.
Nah Munguin, It was a warm summer's day, Tayside Police don't want bother when it's warm. Best to be somewhere else.
ReplyDeleteSeriously, you're right. I don't know what we pay them for. Being rude and superior to people, I suppose.
No excuse as you say Tris. Leaving discarded nappies on a public beach is just filth and for bottles its an accident waiting to happen.
ReplyDeleteIf I was Dundee city council then I would just leave things as they found them. People will soon hate living in a mess and maybe it will dupe them into clearing up after themselves.
I never understand why kids now a days purposely go out and vandalise stuff. Unfortunately its not just Dundee which experiences this phenomenon, its an epidemic happening all over the country.
Ye see, it used tae be the case that if a bairn behaved like that, drappin' their nappies, or leavin' the swingpark in a mess, then there wis an exercise o' power ower them them. That power, tho it didnae aye end up sae, wis backed up wi' some form o' physical violence. If an errant bairn brocht shame oan a faimly they wid get their hide tanned by their mither or faither. The threat wis aye there, if no the actual punishment. That form o' discipline wis backed up wi' official sanction when a teacher or the polis used it. Violence wis seen as a neccesity in keepin' community an' society peaceful.
ReplyDeleteBut that wis then.
Now. Mithers cannae skelp their weans, teachers cannae use their Lochgellys, the polis cannae clip wee laddies' ears. An' the swingparks are aw trashed.
We want oor bairns tae graw up quick, we want them tae buy buy buy, tae spend their pocket money on commodities like electric gadgets make-up an' padded bras. We fill their wee heids wi' advertisin' images o' the pleasures o' fancy alcoholic drinks wi' funny names an' funnier colours. We want them tae vote afore they've even left school, we want them tae sign up tae debts tae pay fer their education, an' take oan mortgages that'll take them 50 years tae pay off, but we dinnae want them playin' in the swingparks cos the world's fu' o' paedophiles...
Ah think what ah'm gettin' at is jist how difficult it must be tae be a bairn these days, when they're no gettin' the upbringin' they deserve. Ah'm no sayin' it wis easy in latter days, but ah widnae want tae be a youngster in this world.
Oh God ah sound like a right apologist fer vandals an' miscreants. Ah'm no, an' the sight o' this kind o' messin' upsets me tae. Ah'm no excusin' it, ah jist want tae figure oot why they dae it.
ReplyDeleteAh'm shruggin' ma shooders an' shakin' ma heid.
Noo ah feel seek. Ah shouldnae shrug'n'shake at the same time.
ReplyDeleteWhy is ma telly news tellin' me that 'we're a thirsty nation' an' we'll drink mair than ever cos it's a 'World Cup summer' while they're reportin' oan aw the cheap booze ye can buy?
ReplyDeleteNae wonder the bairns are aye pished, gettin' lairy an' messin' the swingparks! Sae long as we let Tesco, Asda, Lidl an' aye, even the corner shops, dictate tae us, then we can gie up tryin' tae keep the parks an' beaches clean. We hae tae tackle this wi' minimum pricin', an' ah'm afraid that means makin' oor barbeques an' dinner pairties expensive affairs an' aw.
Allan: I suppose you could do that, but the rest of us would have to live with it. I love a walk along the beach at Broughty Ferry and I don't much care for nappies or broken bottles.
ReplyDeleteI think it would be an appropriate punishment to get them together and make them clean it all up.... but of course you have to identify them first. They all look the same.... trackies, trainers and a hoodie.
LOL... I must be getting old.
Sophia:
ReplyDeleteOh dear... I think you pointed out about everything that was wrong with Broken Scotland... Do ya want to be Prime Minister?
Me an' big Alec, tris, we could sort the world oot.
ReplyDeleteWell, me oan a guid day. Ye widnae want me oan a bad yin.
Well, no Sophia; that goes without saying, but on a good day... the world is yours, and Munguin beware!!
ReplyDeleteShona Robinson and Stewart Hosie live near there. Send them down to sort it out. Shona could warn them about their obesity and drinking habits and Stewart can tell them who he is as nobody saw him during the recent election.
ReplyDeleteAye beware right enuff. He tried messin' wi' ma heid, makin' me think ah wis like Fergie.
ReplyDeleteYe shoulda seen the monstrosity o' a puffball frock ah went an' pit oan tae go ma messages. Ah could hardly get in the door at the fish shop! So ah tried phonin' the Evenin' News tae see if they wanted tae set me up in a scandalous expose, ah wis gaunnae sell them contact wi' SylvesterPangloss, but he wis haein' nane o' it.
I'm surprised that they weren't interested... specially as you got all dressed up an all...
ReplyDeleteI expect that Sylvester will be a bit upset at not having the drawing power of Andy Airmiles.
Best tell him to clock up a few helecopter trips and dodgy deals in ex-Soviet states and they'll soon be flocking (yes flocking) to pay up....
Anon: I'm thinking someone might do well to tell them about their drinking habits since their parents seem to be either too drunk or too disinterested to do so.
ReplyDeleteI'm libertarian enough not to give a stuff if they die of cirhosis of the liver, or gum cancer at 23. That's their business, but it's my business to be able to take a walk along the front without being assulted by a herd of drunken 13 year olds.
Oh yeah Anon, I also prefer not to have my park burnt down by the little rascals. I mean there's libertarian and libertarian surely.
ReplyDeleteAnon: It's Shona Robison, she is not a member of the Scots family Robinson yet as far as I am aware.
ReplyDeleteDid you try watching the TV during the election. I did and saw quite a lot of Stewart.
Like aw thae Eastern Europeans? Ah ken it's aff-topic, but see when Mrs Duffy asked that question - "Aw thae Eastern Europeans, where are they aw flockin' fae?" - well it did cross ma mind that that wis a daft question, an' so, tae gie her the benefit o' the doubt, ah jist thocht she musta said the other word. Ah could be wrang tho.
ReplyDeleteOan-topic again, it's a big subject ye picked tris, an' it's gied me sleepless nights aw efternoon. Whit dae we dae wi' thae drunken youngsters? We aw suffer at their hands. We see it aw ower the place. It's no the first time ah've had tae step ower a body in ma stair first thing o' a mornin', an' the stench o' stale drink an' auld piss wid knock ye oan yer back. Ma street's aw tagged wi' their grafitti, ye should see the auld social work buildin' up Leith Walk, it's like somethin' fae New York. An' the noise they make at night wid keep me awake if it wisnae fer ma pills. Ah widnae advise onybody tae tackle them either, ye wid get her heid in yer hauns tae play wi'.
Whit are we gaunnae dae? Ah ken it's nuthin' new, but it seems tae me tae be gettin' worse by the year. Is it jist the drink? Is it, as ah said afore, the lack o' discipline and/or punishment? Is it cos they've got nuthin' tae be proud o', nuthin' tae look forrit tae, nuthin' tae acheive? Ah'm fair vexed so ah am.
Aye, an' the wee buggers set fire tae ma back green at the weekend. Burnt the shed doon, an' half the hawthorn tree. It's an awfy mess so it is.
ReplyDeleteMind ah slept right through, never heard the sirens or nuthin'.
These pills must be pretty good Sophia.... although with sleepless night in the afternoon, I get rather worried for your wellbeing at times.
ReplyDelete"Is it jist the drink? Is it, as ah said afore, the lack o' discipline and/or punishment? Is it cos they've got nuthin' tae be proud o', nuthin' tae look forrit tae, nuthin' tae acheive?"
Once again with your razor sharp mind you've hit the ball for 6 there.
There's nothing for them to do. If they are not bright the teachers don't want to know. No Brownie points in getting a dim kid interested in something. Nope, it's the bright achievers they are interested in. So they are bored witless at school.
Loads of them have parents who simply don't give a damn. They are bored at home. No one to love or love them. A lot of them have 1000 mates on Facebook, but no real friends. They are bored witless at home.
There's few youth clubs, not enough places like Spookie's Academy, no wehre where they can find something to do at nights... football, billiards, pool, whatever..... They are bored witless at nights
No one cares. So they copy the adults. They do the 14 year old equivalent of going to the pub. They get hold of booze and they get splattered.
No one at home gives a damn; half of them are lying drunk or, when you ask them why they don't know where their 13 year old was all night, they reply..... "What can you do with them? titter titter"
They don't have a future. If they are really really lucky they can get a job in Tesco or B & Q.
Not that I'm saying that there's anything wrong with that, but, it's not inspiring like being a plumber or a sparkie or a chippy.....
There's hardly any jobs so they probably won't get the Tesco job anyway....
That's what's wrong. They are bored with the present and they are bored with the future... because there isn’t one.
Such a shame about the Barnhill rockery too. Volunteers attend to that with little council help. It's been there since I was a wee lassie. Yes I know it's hard to believe I was a wee lassie once upon a time, but I wis. Oanest!
ReplyDeleteOh it's been there years SR, maybe even more than 20 years..... long before you were a wee lassie.
ReplyDeleteI believe that the volunteers took it over when the Dundee Council, which in fairness to them has always done a great job with its parks, decided that it simply couldn't afford to keep the gardens.
As usual in Broughty Ferry, a suburb full of professors, architects, solicitors and businessmen, a group was set up to protect their interests.
From that a group of volunteers worked to keep the garden going and to improve and expand it.
It is a total joy to be in and gives pleasure to people from all over.... and I really mean ALL over.