Now I ask you in all seriousness is this a case of “health and safety” having gone completely bonkers?
Officials at St Blaise Town Council in Cornwall have decided that daffodils must be removed from the Old Roselyon Play Area play area because if eaten by the children could result them suffering from diarrhoea although even they admit that most people fully recover without treatment.
If the children got sick presumably they wouldn’t do it again!
This decision has been slammed by the Roselyon Play Park Committee, nevertheless the council is sticking to their guns stressing that following a recent inspection, they have been advised that daffodils should be removed from all play areas as parts of the plant can be poisonous.
The Committee pointed out that there have always been daffs in the park. It used to be an old orchard and there must have been about 1,000 flowers. ‘Most of them have now been cut down. And to say that it’s because they are toxic to children if they eat them is crazy.’
Indeed one part of Old Roselyon Play Area is normally so full with the spring flowers, it was nicknamed ‘Daffodil Walk’.
Parents of children who regularly use the play area recall that when they were children they were given a daffodil bulb to grow, got certificates for the best and no one could recall anyone trying to eat them or being poisoned.
Someone else suggested that perhaps the council might like to consider getting rid of all the bees and wasps, and to make sure no one ever gets stung by a stinging nettle, maybe they should consider stronger methods.
Someone else quipped: ‘Daffodils are also poisonous to dogs, even my mutt has the common sense not to eat them.’
Going back to an earlier age well before issues of health and safety had even been heard of, Margaret Mills took us back to an incident which occurred on the 6th December 1875. As a direct result of this incident it was decided that Harwich – and later other coastal areas needed to install lifeboats.
Listen here to what Margaret told me about this incident:-
I look forward to seeing you again tomorrow,
Scott
