Early one spring morning I decided to go to The King George V park in Ramsgate, Kent, with my camera and see what I could find to photograph. The sun was shining and the sky was a clear blue. Unfortunately, the park, like all parks on the isle of Thanet is not an attractive one these days. There are no flower beds giving stunning displays of gorgeous flowers grown in the local council’s nursery. I am afraid, going by the looks and general upkeep of these spaces, the local parks department gives the impression that it consists of  a 64 year old bloke called Brian with hay fever and severely arthritic knees and his assistant Glenda, a 78 year old part time volunteer awaiting both a hip replacement operation and cataract removal. Bless them both, but the parks, verges and roundabouts of Thanet need considerably more tlc than they have been getting these last many years.

 

I cannot understand why local authorities allow our public spaces to fall into such disarray. Am I the only one in the country that realises that these parks and gardens are vital for people’s mental health, for our wellbeing?  A well-kept park, with flowers and plants beautifully maintained is a joy for the entire community and a wonderful space for families to go to and allow the children to play and adults relax. Sadly, in today’s world of spending cuts and career Politian’s who could not care less about their constituents’, as they  don’t live near them anyway, and the chances are they will move to another constituency soon as the odds of their getting back into parliament are higher there, public spaces are not high on anybody’s agenda. Local councils blame spending cuts and it is easy to do so. Yes, we have had terrible, inhumane cuts in public spending over many years now and we are seeing the result of them. Higher rates of mental health problems right across the board.

 

What a successful policy it has been, violent crime going through the roof, less empathy, less sympathy less caring from all around for its’ victims. What an horrendous state of state affairs it is.

So let’s talk about the ladybirds at last!  There I was looking for something to photograph in the park. They call it a park but in fact, all it is nowadays is a poorly maintained  patch of grass lined by trees with a Victorian glasshouse in a very poor state of repair at one end against a wall and a cabin which, when it is open, sells coffee and ice creams etc. plopped at the other.  No flowers, no shrubs, no horticulture at all really, just a few trees and bushes that are there by mistake rather than design, at least that is the impression they give. If you go in the spring though you can see some daffodils, so all is not lost yet!

Wandering around feeling disappointed at the lack of park in this park, I came across a group of young ladybirds sunning themselves on the leaves of a plant that had defied the local council and grown there anyway. Naturally I photographed them and I have to say I do really like the results. That morning was not a waste of time after all, even though I was hoping for something completely different I got these amazing little creatures waiting for the day, and themselves, to warm up enough for them to be on their way. It just goes to show that even in these unkempt places we can, if we look hard enough, find something beautiful.

 

There are several ladybird pictures on my site available in different sizes.