I’ve certainly spread myself around the UK since my last blog! Two jobs in Scotland followed by yet another early morning flight across the Irish Sea and finally a trip down the motorway to Essex. Fortunately I have a number of days in between each job both to stay on top of report writing and to catch up on some much needed relaxation. How do I relax? Well a wonderful wife helps and then there is jazz! Being the Chairman of Stafford Jazz Society I organise around 35 live concerts a year as well as acting as MC. This music ought to be available on the NHS it’s certainly got me through some difficult times!
Friday: To Scotland and to a very large new Play Centre. I decide to let the train take the strain for this one. Glasgow bound I settle down to a Sudoku puzzle – well it keeps the brain active! Glasgow Central then to Glasgow Queen Street, a brisk walk between the two and I am soon on my way to Falkirk. Quite the largest toddler play frame that I have seen for a very long time and the junior frame is huge too with a large Go-Kart circuit adjacent. I do admire operators who take on a business of this size. It demands both vision and a degree of bravery especially in these very uncertain financial times. They deserve to succeed.
Monday: Off up the M6 to Border country just beyond Carlisle. I enjoy this journey north once the green rolling hills and mountains of the Lake District surround me. Then there is my favourite Motorway Service Station at Tebay to savour. A Cumberland sausage? Why not! Destination - an attractive new site in a small border town and a Play Centre with a very agricultural theme to it. A good mix of traditional soft play features and others presenting more adventurous challenges, including a climbing wall! These have been installed in a growing number of play centres in more recent years but I have had little feedback on how popular they are.
Wednesday: Another 4 o’clock rise for the early morning flight to Northern Ireland. This time it’s Manchester to Belfast International and then a hire car to Carrickfergus. I really like driving in Ireland. The countryside is delightful and the roads are generally much more relaxed than over here. Hardly ever see a speed camera not that I am a fast driver. This job is at a newly refurbished Leisure Centre. I’ve had quite a number of these recently, must be some money to spend in local government. Quite a large three-tiered play frame and part of it designated for disco dancing! That’s a first!
Friday: A long car drive to Essex. Veronica joins me. It’s good to have her company in the car. An interesting annual inspection - the original owner was Italian and there is green, white and red prominent everywhere. The three-lane slide closely resembles a long flowing Italian flag and you will by now have guessed the colours of the balls in the ball-pool. Pizzas and garlic bread are on sale. How to have a wide circle of friends! Catch up with me next week.
Nick Balmforth is an inspector of Soft Play areas and is renowned for his expertise and knowledge of creating and operating safe Indoor Play areas. This blog is an excerpt of his diary which he shares with the Shareandcompareplay.com community in the hope that regular communication and insight will benefit the industry and raise standards.
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