I have recently returned from a trip to Northern Ireland.

Apart from being a beautiful country I was moved by the community spirit and the people. I put this down to many things, but for the purpose of this blog I want to talk about one element.

In many public parks there are outstanding facilities. There is nothing better than a park that is clean and well kept which people can meet, chat and let their children play in safely. It enhances a town and it can support togetherness better than many things.

In my ward there are some good parks, but more TLC is needed. I know there is a group working on this and I will put my all into supporting them. In Stroud there is Stratford park, there are some great children’s equipment for younger people to use.

However, what about adults? In this age there is a need to encourage people to use parks to exercise, meet and simply hang out. In many of the Northern Irish parks there were some basic gym style equipment for people to use (and used they were!). Sadly, the outdoor gym equipment in Stratford Park is not used and looks to me as if it is no longer wanted. I would hope that maybe in the fufure we see its return.