and it got me thinking in advance of Sunday's meeting, which I unfortunately can't make, about the frequent occasions last summer when dogs in the Horniman Gardens caused me stress. In my humble opinion in this idyllic little park, dogs and people (especially little ones) do not mix.
Last year there were frequently yoof in there with terrifying terriers - very strong scary dogs they clearly couldn't handle. Shrubs and trees were stripped of branches and bark by the ONLY training they did seem to get - for their jaws by hanging the dogs from trees - yes, true and all the better to clamp round human flesh. I frequently saw (and intervened with) less unapproachable looking owners letting their dogs poop on the lower field and not pick it up. These concerns have been multiplied ten-fold by having a curious energetic toddler who can't tell a poop from mud and thinks all dogs are like the cute puppy on Big Barn Farm.
I KNOW there are considerate dog owners who will be irate at the suggestion and who have spent time training their dogs and who do pick up their poop etc etc but in the absence of any easy way to distinguish them my suggestion is to BAN all dogs from the Horniman. Get a good little swing park in the Horniman, turn the Triangle into a dog zone where they can fight and **** all day long and stop causing the neurotic non-dog owning majority so much anxiety.
Is there any way this could be put this on the agenda for Sunday?